[Roy Belson]: Roy Belson, 2500 Mystic Valley Parkway, Medford, a longtime member of the Jewish community, and a former employee of the Medford Public Schools for 50 years. I'm here to speak tonight on the proposed ordinance that you did lay on the table, but I believe I have some words to say that I would like to have heard. So good evening, Mr. President, members of the council. The role of city government is to focus on the welfare and betterment of the community. As individuals, you always have the right to advocate for issues in the international arena. As a local governmental body representing a diverse community, you need to promote harmony, not create friction and fragmentation over an issue that is not your mandate and well beyond your capacity to significantly influence. Words carry meaning. The old saw that sticks and stones may break bones, but words will never harm me is very misleading. Sometimes words are sharper than a sword. All you have to do is study social media or be bombarded with campaigns of disinformation to realize that words can lead to severe negative outcomes. To paraphrase, the road to disaster is often paved with good intentions. Do not let your zeal to advance your ideals blind you to adverse impacts your actions can and will create. The issues in the Middle East are not just contemporary, but are hundreds of years old. The causes and circumstances are complex, and the resolution has been defying even the most honorable peace brokers amidst the actions of multiple terrorist groups and partisan fanatics. You don't have to agree with all of Israeli policies and practices to recognize the Israelis' right to exist, but to recognize the urgent need to eliminate any possibility of anti-Semitism in our community. Recently, think about the young couple in Washington, Yaron and Sarah, who were gunned down leaving the Israeli embassy by a man screaming, free Palestine. And 11 days later, think about what happened in Boulder, Colorado, when a man yelling, free Palestine, threw a Molotov cocktail at peaceful marchers calling for the release of hostages. Think about Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who barely escaped with his family a fire in his home started by another man calling to free Palestine. I could go on. Don't think for a moment it couldn't happen here in Medford. We are as vulnerable as any other Jewish American community. The proposed ordinances are performative at best. Passage will not alter the international reality. Any study of BDS has not proven effective. Massachusetts law and practice makes implementation of such a proposal impractical and not in the best financial interests of the community. You already passed a resolution in February of this year. Will you accept accountability if anti-Semitic violence happens in our community? Don't delude the Palestinian supporters in our community that such an ordinance can even be enforced. Don't subject the Jewish citizens in our community to a greater threat of hate and violence. It can happen here. Instead, demonstrate real leadership by rejecting performative votes. Yes, you can preserve and advance your values and concerns much better by promoting community dialogue, by bringing citizens together, by promoting understanding. Council business has many challenges and you know it. Focus on what you can do to better unify the community. Thank you for listening.
[Roy Belson]: William Ellison, 2500 Mystic Valley Parkway. You have a great opportunity. Bring people together, bring people together in small groups, bring people together to talk to each other and talk with each other and understand the history of the Middle East. Understand the tensions, understand all the peace treaties that were broken and not gone forward. So we can basically have a really good understanding of how to go forward. A performative ordinance that's going to get knocked down by legal issues, financial issues, and other things like that, doesn't really bring people together. Try to find ways so people can sit together and talk. I can tell you that last year or the year before, we had a book club at the temple, and we invited the imam from the cultural center. Great discussion, great discussion. We're as concerned about Muslims as we are about Jews. We understand that any number of people can be discriminated against. the way to bring things together, the way to build community, is not to put something out there that fragments, but to put in place processes that enable us to talk with each other, share viewpoints, and come to new understandings that allow us to move forward as a community. I appreciate your understanding, and I hope that you'll take that advice. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Nice to see everybody. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to say a few things. And hopefully, what I express will help you understand what's going on. Obviously, I'm here to share my perspectives and my thoughts about the upcoming questions on the November ballot, especially those that affect public education. So while I'm no longer the superintendent of schools, I'm in my seventh year of retirement or semi-retirement, I still stay very aware of education items, both in the community, the state, nation, and it's very enlightening to see what people are doing around the commonwealth. I spent 50 years in Medford public education, 23 years as superintendent, And I also served at different times as the budget director, the curriculum director, and the personnel administrator, as well as a teacher. So I care deeply about what happens in our schools and our community. I'm not here tonight to criticize the school administration. I know how hard they work. I know the challenges that they face. And I know that some of the things are beyond their control. I have always believed, and I still do, that schools deserve solid levels of funding and that the budget process must promote and support quality programming, stability, and predictability. Budget development must be resourceful and creative. It should not be a destabilizing force, exercise, and create uncertainty and conflict. And I think that's what's happened in the last couple of years. Yes, there will be from time to time differences among officials, educators, constituents, but at all times, they should be based on the facts, on available resources, best practices, and the needs of students and their families, as well as the community at large. The current override ballot questions, initiatives, and two of them in education, and one, a debt exclusion for the fire department, Call for, if you will, in the school department, a $7 million hike. You had a half a million dollars for the DPW at 7.5. This is a property tax levy. This request is based upon the argument that the school system has been perpetually in a structural deficit, and it's not true. The pertinent questions are these. Is it true that we're in a deficit? How does Medford compare with other communities around us? Are there good alternatives available to meet our needs? Is this a one-time request or will there be another one, a larger request in the near future? And I think you know the answer to that. What is the real impact on the Medford taxpayer? And does the voting public truly understand the pros and cons? And has there been sufficient information and time for the public to make an informed decision? So let's take a look and let's consider the following. The last two years relied heavily on the use of federal ARPA and ESSER funds. They were put out there because of the COVID crisis. It was well known that when these funds were used up, there would be a need for the city to sustain staff and programs with local and state revenues. Otherwise, there would be undesirable cuts to program and personnel. So was this necessary? When the budget process took place in the last year, everybody knew that those funds had to be replaced. And those funds enabled the city to build up a free cash reserve that is three times what has ever been in place. Almost at this point in time, $35 million. And if that was the case, was it necessary? And did the mayor really fail to provide full funding consistent with the school committee's request? when there's a significant amount of free cash available to the city, much higher than the amount available in previous years. The school administration, by law, is required to ask, and the school committee as well, for an amount sufficient to support the schools under Proposition 2 1⁄2. It's their legal request to do that. The mayor or the city manager in the past, when 2 1⁄2 passed, had the bottom line, and the city council can only approve or cut what the mayor provides. So it's not simple. The amount of money reported to DOR of free cash was $25 million in 2004. And as I indicated, they added another $9 million or thereabouts in the current fiscal year. Why, given the often repeated mantra of the mayor, transparency. Interesting word. And the city's financial director, did they fail to provide a clean and complete report on the city's financial position to the city council and the school committee? I think the answer's simple. The answer is that they wanted to leverage a crisis to create a need for an override, because you're in a situation where you don't have it, you're threatening cuts to important services, and if you don't give me the money, we're gonna have to do drastic measures. This is not Proposition 2 1⁄2. In 1981, 1982, I was in the school system. I was working with the superintendent's office, and the budget of the city of Medford for the schools was $19.4 million. That year, we had to cut $3.2 million. That's a cut. 150 people got laid off. That was difficult, very difficult. We are not in that situation right now. We are not in that situation. When the 2024 DOR, Department of Revenue Tax Recap Report is studied, and I did that, There are clear underestimates of revenue amounts when compared with 2023, specifically by almost 15%. So in other words saying, if investment income was X, it was 14% less when they were projecting their revenue, almost $18 million. Why create a crisis? Before you ask the public for an override, should you not first use the obvious resources available? You can always go back later on and say, you know, we used up our resources. But when you have them, why won't you use them? Let's talk about the tax rate. The Medford tax rate is low. The residential tax rate is low comparatively to area communities. Nothing wrong with that. I don't think anyone feels like it has to be number one, the highest tax rate in the Commonwealth. So it's not a bad thing when affordability for housing and other needs is challenging. If the overrides and debt exclusion pass, taxes will increase, I think, by at least 10%. especially when you include the 2.5% statutory increase that happens virtually every year. And what about the impact of re-evaluation? You know what's going on right now. They're checking your houses out. And by the way, if you haven't noticed, your house is worth more than it was when you bought it, in most cases. And when they reassess it, they're going to reassess it and the taxes are going to go up. And on top of that, you're probably going to pay a little bit more for water and sewer. And when you add it all together, if you have to take an equity loan, you're gonna pay a hell of a lot more interest than you might like. And if you're a new person wanting to buy a home, the mortgage rates are still at 6.2%, and even if it goes down to 5%, it's a hell of a lot higher than it was when people refinanced a few years ago. And what about renters? Some of these people will never have a chance. They just won't be able to to get in and the landlords are going to pass on the rent to their tenants. So, that affects people too. When you think about it, there's also a deduction, tax deduction limit. You used to be able to take your income tax and your house property tax and interest. You can't do that anymore in the current rule. So, you can't even deduct some of the stuff that you used to be able to do before. Some people can get around it for various reasons, Not everybody. If you look at the age factor in the community, 22% of Medford residents are over the age of 60. 14% are 70 or more. A lot of these people are on fixed incomes. They don't have another alternative to go to. And they're probably supporting their children, their grandchildren, and everything else like that as well. So a hit like this is really significant. By the way, as the high school project moves forward, and it's in a planning stage right now, undoubtedly there will be another override request, which isn't out there right now. That'll make three override requests. The two that are there now, and the one that might come up, plus the debt exclusion, in the very near future. Given the cost of a rebuild, or renovation, this will be the biggest number that you've ever seen. The SBA reimbursement rate is not known at this time. It will only cover certain costs. Not everything is eligible. If you look at high schools that have been built or renovated in recent times, you're talking somewhere in the vicinity of $200 million to $400 million to redo the high school. We've got vocational shops and other things like that that have to be preserved. That's an expensive thing. And if you maybe get 35, 40%, not getting the 90% that we got for the schools, the K through 12 schools that we got several years ago with Rick as the chairperson of the building committee at that time. And we, by the way, sold the old schools so that we actually made money. Don't tell anybody. You don't get that now. So you're gonna be talking about potentially 100 to $200 million of local assessment over and above. That will impact taxes on top of the early override assessments. And by the way, if the override passes in November, you will see the increase on your January 2025 tax bill. You're not gonna wait a year to build it up. You're gonna see it in January. It's only a few months away. Now one of the arguments that comes around is that somehow Medford salaries and cost per pupil are not competitive. Now as a educator, I think I started off with this, I want every nickel I can get for the schools. I mean, I'd be less than honest if I didn't tell you that I think the schools deserve every nickel we can give them, and we have plenty of needs. But no one gets everything they want, and no school system is able to do that, and no community is able to do that. Well, let's take a look at the Medford Public Schools financials. And this is according to the latest Department of Elementary and Secondary Education statistics. The state average per pupil is $19,714. Medford is currently spending $21,372. Arlington is spending $18,615. Malden is spending $17,428. Melrose is spending $15,540. Peabody is spending $16,996, and I can go on and on. Now, someone can say, well, there are, Mystic Valley, by the way, one of the charter schools that sucks away dollars from our budget, is paying, is spending $14,167. Now, there are places, Somerville 23958, we just built a building so you can see where, that's involved. And by the way, if you want to chase Cambridge, Cambridge is spending $36,712. Of course, Cambridge has got a property base that's incredible. And Burlington is $25,297. And by the way, if we were still sending kids to Minuteman, the cost would be $34,176. And if we continued to send 50 kids there like we did when we cut it off, we'd be pushing $2 million a year of money out of our pocket. And that's why we rebuilt the vocational school. And people argued about, why are you not sending the kids to Minuteman? Because they're sucking dollars out of Medford. And we had a right to rebuild our own school and run our own programs at a far less cost. So, then the question comes about teacher salaries. Where's Charlene? Charlene? All right, Charlene, don't take offense. Okay. If you look at the average salary for the Medford teachers, average salary, and this is latest numbers, you know, obviously it's gone up a little bit. The average salary is $88,179. That's the statistic. If you're on the top step, 10 years, a master's plus 60, this year fiscal 25, you're going to make $111,000. In Arlington, the top salary is $83,466. I mean the average salary. Melrose is $76,369. Beverly is $84,765. Malden is $83,366. Marblehead is $84,365. Mystic Valley, the charter school, is at $73,823. Prospect Hill at $78, another charter school. And so on and so forth. Our teachers deserve good pay, but they don't leave because they can make $2,000 or $3,000 more in another community. They leave because they're afraid they might get their job cut. They leave because they don't have good benefits. And in Medford, health benefits and other benefits contractually are outstanding. There are a lot of reasons why people stay in the Medford public schools or come to us. Because our benefits are good. They're very good, by the way. and our salary is competitive. There is a teacher shortage in the country, so, you know, Medford's gonna be affected by that. There are a lot of people not going into education right now because they're feeling that it's too challenging. But people will stay with us for stability. So the argument that somehow we're not competitive is not real. Now, what are the alternatives besides free cash? Well, first of all, Medford's new growth is in the tank. We're on any building permits currently in place at City Hall right now. And unless you're really big on a beer haul, that's the only thing that I know about. How much are we leaving on the table? How can we grow the tax base rather than increase taxes on residents? We're not doing it. We're not doing it. Don't penalize the school system operations by building up huge reserves in free cash. Don't underestimate revenues. Let's strive for affordability. And in the request for the override, there's these general categories, teacher salaries, this, that, and the other thing. Be specific. The people who are voting for this are voting against it, need to know where every dollar is going. They don't want to just hear it's going into a tank someplace that hopefully will support the kinds of things that we consider to be important. General categories don't cut it. The override vote is less than two months away. And residents, citizens, are already voting or are going to start voting very soon. So besides the general information on the web, so the city's web, What does the average citizen know about the need and the impact? Probably not a lot. Many of you will vote by mail at the general election for the president and senator, and local races are at a minimum. So there aren't a lot of people who might even come out because, you know, they'll vote for the president and that's it. The Secretary of State, I'm going to pull this out. Most of you probably got this. Secretary of State sends out this every year, every year there's an election. And in it, not only are the candidates identified, but the ballot issues, there's five ballot issues statewide. They're identified with pros and cons and research so that you as a voter can actually decide based on some information based on partisans born against and research whether to vote for a particular item. I haven't seen anything in this city that would even comes close to that. You have a lot of people who will go in there that day and they will not know the impact of what they're doing. Some of them will think they're voting for $7 million for a new high school. They're gonna be surprised. Many will vote by mail. So, is this the right way to request an override from our taxpayers? Our city deserves, our citizens deserve more transparency than we're currently seeing. Our citizens need more information on the city's finances. The city council needs more information on the city's finances. They don't have it. How many times, and we go to Rick or to anyone else, George, how many times have you asked the city's finance director, is he still reconciling some previous year? Well, they're working on it. No one wants to tell anybody what's really there. And that's a problem. So people will vote without really knowing. Our citizens need to know that there will be a likely third override coming to them in the future for that high school. Now, whether it's a rebuild or it's a renovation, it's going to be expensive. It's gonna be expensive. And SBA will not give us 90 cents on the dollar like they did way back when. And we will not have buildings to sell off to pick up the rest and make money. Our citizens need to be assured, need to be assured that the school budget will not be shortchanged. That any municipal service will not be shortchanged. When legitimate resources are available without an override. Let's not leverage the override. Let's not create a crisis in order to get an override through. If there's a need for more money down the road for operations, after the high school project becomes known and the reimbursement rate, well, okay, put it out there and people can talk about it. But right now, you haven't got all the information. Right now, you don't know the big ticket item coming down the road. You haven't got any idea. At least you don't, many of you don't. And it's important that you do. Because too many people out there are going to be pushed out of their homes. Too many people are going to not be able to afford to come to Medford. And our school system will be played with. You don't leverage the school system. You make sure, you don't leverage the fire department, the police department. You don't leverage the, you make sure they have what they need to do the job. And if you've got the resources available, then do it. And if you really, really need something, then you make the case for it. And in my opinion, the case hasn't been made. The case hasn't been made. Thank you for listening.
[Roy Belson]: Nice to see everybody. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to say a few things. And hopefully, what I express will help you understand what's going on. Obviously, I'm here to share my perspectives and my thoughts about the upcoming questions on the November ballot, especially those that affect public education. So while I'm no longer the superintendent of schools, I'm in my seventh year of retirement or semi-retirement, I still stay very aware of education items, both in the community, the state, nation, and it's very enlightening to see what people are doing around the commonwealth. I spent 50 years in Medford public education, 23 years as superintendent, And I also served at different times as the budget director, the curriculum director, and the personnel administrator, as well as a teacher. So I care deeply about what happens in our schools and our community. I'm not here tonight to criticize the school administration. I know how hard they work. I know the challenges that they face. And I know that some of the things are beyond their control. I have always believed, and I still do, that schools deserve solid levels of funding and that the budget process must promote and support quality programming, stability, and predictability. Budget development must be resourceful and creative. It should not be a destabilizing force, exercise, and create uncertainty and conflict. And I think that's what's happened in the last couple of years. Yes, there will be from time to time differences among officials, educators, constituents, but at all times, they should be based on the facts, on available resources, best practices, and the needs of students and their families, as well as the community at large. The current override ballot questions, initiatives, and two of them in education, and one, a debt exclusion for the fire department, Call for, if you will, in the school department, a $7 million hike. You had a half a million dollars for the DPW at 7.5. This is a property tax levy. This request is based upon the argument that the school system has been perpetually in a structural deficit, and it's not true. Pertinent questions are these is it true that it's we're in a deficit. How does Medford compare with other communities around us? Are there good alternatives? available to meet our needs Is this a one-time request or will there be another one a larger request in the near future? And I think you know the answer to that What is the real impact on the Medford taxpayer? And does the voting public truly understand the pros and cons? And has there been sufficient information and time for the public to make an informed decision? So let's take a look and let's consider the following. The last two years relied heavily on the use of federal ARPA and ESSER funds. They were put out there because of the COVID crisis. It was well known that when these funds were used up, there would be a need for the city to sustain staff and programs with local and state revenues. Otherwise, there would be undesirable cuts to program and personnel. So was this necessary? When the budget process took place in the last year, everybody knew that those funds had to be replaced. And those funds enabled the city to build up a free cash reserve that is three times what has ever been in place. Almost at this point in time, $35 million. And if that was the case, was it necessary? And did the mayor really fail to provide full funding consistent with the school committee's request? when there's a significant amount of free cash available to the city, much higher than the amount available in previous years. The school administration by law is required to ask, and the school committee as well, for an amount sufficient to support the schools under Proposition 2 1⁄2. It's their legal request to do that. The mayor or the city manager in the past, when 2 1⁄2 passed, had the bottom line, and the city council can only approve or cut what the mayor provides. So it's not simple. The amount of money reported to DOR of free cash was $25 million in 2004. And as I indicated, they added another $9 million or thereabouts in the current fiscal year. Why, given the often repeated mantra of the mayor, transparency. Interesting word. And the city's financial director, that they failed to provide a clean and complete report on the city's financial position to the city council and the school committee. I think the answer's simple. The answer is that they wanted to leverage a crisis to create a need for an override. Because you're in a situation where you don't have it, you're threatening cuts to important services, and if you don't give me the money, we're gonna have to do drastic measures. This is not Proposition 2 1⁄2. In 1981, 1982, I was in the school system. I was working with the superintendent's office. And the budget of the city of Medford for the schools was $19.4 million. That year, we had to cut $3.2 million. That's a cut. 150 people got laid off. That was difficult, very difficult. We are not in that situation right now. We are not in that situation. When the 2024 DOR, Department of Revenue Tax Recap Report is studied, and I did that, There are clear underestimates of revenue amounts when compared with 2023, specifically by almost 15%. So in other words saying, if investment income was X, it was 14% less when they were projecting their revenue, almost $18 million. Why create a crisis? Before you ask the public for an override, should you not first use the obvious resources available? You can always go back later on and say, you know, we used up our resources. But when you have them, why won't you use them? Let's talk about the tax rate. The Medford tax rate is low. The residential tax rate is low comparatively to area communities. Nothing wrong with that. I don't think anyone feels like it has to be number one, the highest tax rate in the Commonwealth. So it's not a bad thing when affordability for housing and other needs is challenging. If the overrides and debt exclusion pass, taxes will increase, I think, by at least 10%. especially when you include the 2.5% statutory increase that happens virtually every year. And what about the impact of re-evaluation? You know what's going on right now, they're checking your houses out. And by the way, if you haven't noticed, your house is worth more than it was when you bought it, in most cases. And when they reassess it, they're gonna reassess it and the taxes are gonna go up. And on top of that, you're probably gonna pay a little bit more for water and sewer, And when you add it all together, if you have to take an equity loan, you're gonna pay a hell of a lot more interest than you might like. And if you're a new person wanting to buy a home, the mortgage rates are still at 6.2%, and even if it goes down to 5%, it's a hell of a lot higher than it was when people refinanced a few years ago. And what about renters? Some of these people will never have a chance. They just won't be able to to get in and the landlords are going to pass on the rent to their tenants. So, that affects people too. When you think about it, there's also a deduction, tax deduction limit. You used to be able to take your income tax and your house property tax and interest. You can't do that anymore in the current rule. So, you can't even deduct some of the stuff that you used to be able to do before. Some people can get around it for various reasons, Not everybody. If you look at the age factor in the community, 22% of Medford residents are over the age of 60. 14% are 70 or more. A lot of these people are on fixed incomes. They don't have another alternative to go to. And they're probably supporting their children, their grandchildren, and everything else like that as well. So a hit like this is really significant. By the way, as the high school project moves forward, and it's in the planning stage right now, undoubtedly there will be another override request, which isn't out there right now. That'll make three override requests. The two that are there now, and the one that might come up, plus the debt exclusion, in the very near future. Given the cost of a rebuild, or renovation, this will be the biggest number that you've ever seen. The SBA reimbursement rate is not known at this time. It will only cover certain costs. Not everything is eligible. If you look at high schools that have been built or renovated in recent times, you're talking somewhere in the vicinity of $200 million to $400 million to redo the high school. We've got vocational shops and other things like that that have to be preserved. That's an expensive thing. And if you maybe get 35, 40%, not getting the 90% that we got for the schools, the K through 12 schools that we got several years ago with Rick as the chairperson of the building committee at that time. And we, by the way, sold the old schools so that we actually made money. Don't tell anybody. You don't get that now. So you're gonna be talking about potentially 100 to $200 million of local assessment, over and above. That will impact taxes on top of the early override assessments. And by the way, if the override passes in November, you will see the increase on your January 2025 tax bill. You're not gonna wait a year to build it up, you're gonna see it in January. It's only a few months away. Now one of the arguments that comes around is that somehow Medford salaries and cost per pupil are not competitive. Now as a educator, I think I started off with this, I want every nickel I can get for the schools. I mean, I'd be less than honest if I didn't tell you that I think the schools deserve every nickel we can give them. And we have plenty of needs. But no one gets everything they want. And no school system is able to do that. And no community is able to do that. But let's take a look at the Medford Public Schools financials. And this is according to the latest Department of Elementary and Secondary Education statistics. The state average per pupil is $19,714. Medford is currently spending $21,372. Arlington is spending $18,615. Malden is spending $17,428. Melrose is spending $15,540. Peabody is spending $16,996. And I can go on and on. Now, someone can say, well, there are, Mystic Valley, by the way, one of the charter schools that sucks away dollars from our budget, is paying, is spending $14,167. Now, there are places, Somerville, 23,958, we just built a building so you can see where that's involved. And by the way, if you wanna chase Cambridge, Cambridge is spending $36,712. Of course, Cambridge has got a property base that's incredible. And Burlington is $25,297. And by the way, if we were still sending kids to Minuteman, the cost would be $34,176. And if we continued to send 50 kids there like we did when we cut it off, we'd be pushing $2 million a year. of money out of our pocket. And that's why we rebuilt the vocational school. And people argued about, why are you not sending the kids to Minuteman? Because they're sucking dollars out of Medford. And we had a right to rebuild our own school and run our own programs at a far less cost. So then the question comes about teacher salaries. Where's Charlene? Charlene, the room boy. All right, Charlene, don't take offense. OK. If you look at the average salary for the Medford teachers, average salary, and this is latest numbers, obviously it's gone up a little bit. The average salary is $88,179. That's the statistic. If you're on the top step, 10 years, a master's plus 60, this year fiscal 25, you're gonna make $111,000. In Arlington, the top salary is $83,466. I mean the average salary. Melrose is $76,369. Beverly is $84,765. Malden is $83,366. Marblehead is $84,365. Mystic Valley, their charter school, is at $73,823. Prospect Hill at $78, another charter school. And so on and so forth. Our teachers deserve good pay, but they don't leave because they can make $2,000 or $3,000 more in another community. They leave because they're afraid they might get their job cut. They leave because they don't have good benefits. And in Medford, health benefits and other benefits contractually are outstanding. There are a lot of reasons why people stay in the Medford public schools or come to us, because our benefits are good, very good, by the way, and our salary is competitive. There is a teacher shortage in the country, so, you know, Medford's gonna be affected by that. There are a lot of people not going into education right now because they're feeling that it's too challenging. But people will stay with us for stability. So the argument that somehow we're not competitive is not real. Now, what are the alternatives besides free cash? Well, first of all, Medford's new growth is in the tank. We're on any building permits currently in place at City Hall right now. And unless you're really big on a beer haul, that's the only thing that I know about. How much are we leaving on the table? How can we grow the tax base rather than increase taxes on residents? We're not doing it. We're not doing it. Don't penalize the school system operations by building up huge reserves in free cash. Don't underestimate revenues. Let's strive for affordability. And in the request for the override, there's these general categories, teacher salaries, this, that, and the other thing. Be specific. The people who are voting for this are voting against it need to know where every dollar is going. They don't want to just hear it's going into a tank someplace that hopefully will support the kinds of things that we consider to be important. General categories don't cut it. The override vote is less than two months away. And residents, citizens, are already voting. They're going to start voting very soon. So besides the general information on the web, of the city's web, What does the average citizen know about the need and the impact? Probably not a lot. Many of you will vote by mail at the general election, or the president and senator, and local races are at a minimum. So there aren't a lot of people who might even come out, because, you know, they'll vote for the president and that's it. The Secretary of State, I'm going to pull this out. Most of you probably got this. Secretary of State sends out this every year, every year there's an election. And in it, not only are the candidates identified, but the ballot issues, there's five ballot issues statewide. They're identified with pros and cons and research so that you as a voter can actually decide based on some information based on partisans born against and research whether to vote for a particular item. I haven't seen anything in this city that would even comes close to that. You have a lot of people who will go in there that day and they will not know the impact of what they're doing. Some of them will think they're voting for $7 million for a new high school. They're gonna be surprised. Many will vote by mail. So, is this the right way to request an override from our taxpayers? Our city deserves, our citizens deserve more transparency than we're currently seeing. Our citizens need more information on the city's finances. The city council needs more information on the city's finances. They don't have it. How many times, and we go to Rick or to anyone else, George, how many times have you asked the city's finance director, is he still reconciling some previous year? Well, they're working on it. No one wants to tell anybody what's really there. And that's a problem. So people will vote without really knowing. Our citizens need to know that there will be a likely third override coming to them in the future for that high school. Now, whether it's a rebuild or it's a renovation, it's going to be expensive. It's gonna be expensive. And SBA will not give us 90 cents on the dollar like they did way back when. And we will not have buildings to sell off to pick up the rest and make money. Our citizens need to be assured, need to be assured that the school budget will not be shortchanged. That any municipal service will not be shortchanged. When legitimate resources are available without an override. Let's not leverage the override. Let's not create a crisis in order to get an override through. If there's a need for more money down the road for operations, after the high school project becomes known and the reimbursement rate, well, okay, put it out there and people can talk about it. But right now, you haven't got all the information. Right now, you don't know The big ticket item coming down the road. You haven't got any idea. At least you don't, many of you don't. And it's important that you do. Because too many people out there are going to be pushed out of their homes. Too many people are going to not be able to afford to come to Medford. And our school system will be played with. You don't leverage the school system. You make sure, you don't leverage the fire department, the police department, you don't leverage the, you make sure they have what they need to do the job. And if you've got the resources available, then do it. And if you really, really need something, then you make the case for it. And in my opinion, the case hasn't been made. The case hasn't been made. Thank you for listening.
[Roy Belson]: language instruction of the elementary grades. It's a tremendous program, and they've involved the Italian Consulate, and as you know, there's been many more activities besides just the language instruction that they brought. The only thing I'm disappointed in tonight, Chikandra, is the fact that I thought you were gonna give me a Ferrari tonight. I thought that was part of the deal. But, having not received that, it's okay. Sorry, but you know they did bring...
[Roy Belson]: So now watch what happens with this one. Christine, come on up and get it before I spend it.
[Roy Belson]: Have you heard of some of the children? Have you heard of some of the children? Have you heard of some of the children? Have you heard of some of the children? Have you heard of some of the children? Have you heard of some of the children?
[Roy Belson]: Let me go over them real quick.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you, Mayor and members of the committee. Pursuant to our budget hearings that we had last Thursday, we reviewed some of the items that you brought up and tried to make some adjustments based on available funding that occurred during the few days that came after that meeting, and also based on what we perceived to be errors in the budget, at least in the first cut. So in front of you, you have a budget document follow-up. I'm just going to go through it for a minute. Two resignations from the vocational school, faculty yielded $17,116 in savings. One was in the auto shop and the other was part of the engineering program. Salaries would allow some gapping between what they would have made if they had stayed and what we will replace them at. So that gives us back $17,000. There was a few resignations from the special ed faculty, and that will yield another $3,339. And these total areas, the two of them, give us $20,455 in available funding to be reapplied. So one area that you actually voted the other evening was the banned travel account. Is that applause or is that just a... The band travel account got $3,000 that you actually voted. Now, just so we understand, we have not changed the lines in your budget because until we make all the agreements tonight, we're not going to change things internally because once we change one page, we have to change five or six pages at least, minimum, because they all play off each other. So, we're putting $3,000 into the band account. The elementary textbook account is going to be increased by $1,500 per school for a total of $6,000. Now, we put it in textbooks. It can be used for educational materials. It can be used for supplies. Whatever the principal feels is important, but that gives them a little bit more back based on some of the discussion that was had the other evening. The crew athletic program is expanding rapidly. We've had several meetings outside of that. The mayor has hosted several meetings, and there's several things going on. They have two seasons. In order to supply the coaches, we are $8,400 short, so we added that to the athletic budget. So we would cover that situation going forward this year. And then there were two corrections to the principalships of the Andrews and the McGlynn Elementary that needed to be brought up to date. They were using older numbers. That required $1,463 to go to the Andrews and $1,692 to the McGlynn Elementary Principalship. So the total additions of recaptured funds evens out at $20,455. The above adjustments and corrections will be made tonight if they're approved by the school committee. And as we progress toward the school budget, the end of the school budget. There will be multiple changes based on personnel matters and non-salary costs. So there will be people that come and go, just like there are all year. And we will bring you up to date periodically in order to free up some funds, either to fill an account that might need a boost because of cost, or maybe to add something back that we couldn't add back in the first cut. So as I said, we're not changing budget lines because it would affect too many page changes. We'll make the line adjustments once all decisions are made regarding the budget and provide copies to the school committee. Additionally, the second page of what you've been handed has a report on union settlements. And as I reported the other evening, the only union settlement at this point in time is a union settlement with the administrators. We're going to recommend later on this evening to look at the unit building principles and other units are still being negotiated. We have some discussion tonight about the teacher's contract and we're meeting with the teachers tomorrow as well as the paraprofessionals. So we'll give you information in that executive session as part of negotiations. In addition, today we met extensively with Safe Havens, That's the group that is doing the comprehensive study of our security procedures. We went over a number of things with them. Another visit will be coming back. They've already had two visits now. And when that is ready, we will come back with them with some recommendations regarding security. In the interim, we have kept the security line in the budget. But that doesn't mean that that will be the way we expend it. It will be tied to the recommendations of Safe Havens and the wishes of the committee. So let's see what that report tells us. There are a number of things we talked about today that are non-cost items that we think could be very helpful. There's some repositioning things that could also be helpful, no-cost items. And there are some things that are low-cost items that they think would be very helpful. Let's let that report come out. In the interim, we have the line item in place. We're not going to spend against it until that report comes out, but we'll prepare ourselves to go in several directions and provide information to the committee so that we're ready to move once we see that report and once we reach some agreement. So that is that piece there. Again, one other item that came up the other evening that I think deserves some sort of mention tonight, and that's the Buildings and Grounds budget. We believe that the projects that will be most consistent with what the community is asking for and what we've seen must come from capital funding. What we have taken from that budget will not meet those needs. What we have taken from that budget reflects our savings in telephone, reflects our savings in various forms of energy, reflects our savings in other areas, in cleaning, that we believe we can absorb at this point in time. And that allows the city to consider our capital requests, which I've given you some suggestions, but certainly others may be in order. And as a committee and the mayor, you can sit and decide what you think is most appropriate as opposed to anything that I might think is appropriate. And certainly Dr. Marice Edouard-Vincent will weigh in as well. I should tell you this evening that she would be here except the fact that her son Elijah had his wisdom teeth pulled and she's home giving him some comfort. But I spoke to her and I've gone over the materials and I know that she's in support of what I'm giving him. So I feel comfortable with that. But that's what we've done so far since Thursday evening. And I would hope that the committee would support the budget as we've presented it. A lot of work has been done. Staff has worked very hard to make things fit. Budgets have contingencies in them, as we've talked about the other day. You never know when something new is going to pop up, and you never know when we're going to save something. But that's the process of managing a budget. And that's what we do every year.
[Roy Belson]: Let me try and answer some of these things. First of all, there's only one reduction in the vocational faculty, and that's for a program that only had one student in it. I mean, you can't sustain a program with one student, and the demand statewide has gone down. We just have to be realistic when a program is not going to attract students. We can't fund it just simply because we've always had it or had it for a number of years. Programs will come and go a little bit. New programs will emerge. And there may be that coming forward a year from now, there might be a plumbing program. There might be some other program that is more likely to attract students. You talked about landscaping the other night. It might be something that's more attractive than the program that has one student in it. So the only reduction is the one teacher from the program that had one student in it. As far as the dollars and cents go, I don't want to get into individuals right now, but I know that some of them moved closer to home and also got more money. You know what I mean? And that's usually an attraction for people in the trades when they can do that. We just simply need to pay attention to that. The money we have, we're not moving any money away from it. We're just simply saying that at this point in time, in order to cover the variances or the different adjustments that you want, this is a good way to go. But if a person costs more money, we'd go to undistributed to take that money from that account. You know what I mean? So there's ways to make that up, but we have to begin someplace. You take it where it exists initially, and then you move to cover it.
[Roy Belson]: Um, so, so recruitment is underway. I mean, we're certainly going to recruit people. We're going to make every effort to bring people in. Can I absolutely give you a, you know, a guarantee that we'll have the person we want by September? No. But it's highly likely we'll be aggressive out there to get people. And there are people out there who want to. And if a person has got good skills and ability, it may require getting a waiver from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in order to help them bridge the gap between their trade and also their teaching. But we certainly have no intention of diminishing the faculty. These things happen. English teachers go. Social studies teachers go. People come and go. So we'll be at it. We'll be on it.
[Roy Belson]: I think, you know, the mayor has got many projects in front of her, you know, and I'll let her answer it. But I mean, obviously the schools were important, and I think she recognizes that has been generous over a period of time as as a predecessor has been. And I just think we need to put a list together and see where we can go. But I think we, you know, need to give ourselves a multi year plan. You can't promise everybody everything all at once. But if people see progress, I think they'll be encouraged. And I think we can work from there.
[Roy Belson]: I'm just going to suggest to you, you might be more productive to refer it to the legislature.
[Roy Belson]: Because it's clearly not a legal issue. It's clearly a way that the legislature funds these things statewide. And there are reasons why they place people in different homes. Sometimes there may be housing available in some communities, sometimes not in others. But maybe there could be an option that the legislature could put together. But I don't think that the solicitor can tell you that the legislature must do that. I think the solicitor can tell you that, you know, the possibility exists if they choose to do that.
[Roy Belson]: They technically are, but it's always subject to appropriation. The famous last words of subject to appropriation, which means if they don't appropriate the money, they don't have to reimburse us.
[Roy Belson]: I've been around a long time, as most of you know. And some people think too long. But nevertheless, I've seen a lot of budgets. If you get hung up on any one item, You're not helping because the budget is much bigger. We've got to be able to look at the budget in its totality. You can express your displeasure or your concern about an item or a particular thing, but you don't want to not vote for the things that you do care about, supplies for the kids, teachers, materials, all the kinds of things, services that kids need. I think, you know, if you have an objection to a particular item, express it. But don't not vote for the whole budget, because the budget probably has many things in it that you do want to support. And I think that's really something to say. You can come out and say what you don't like, but you certainly want to support all the resources, $60 million worth of resources going to young people and families in this community. That's the way you've got to look at it. I mean, that's the way I have to look at it every year, because there are many things that I would like to put in the budget that I can't. I mean, if I had, you know, an unlimited checkbook, you'd be a lot more things in this budget. But no one ever does. In fact, today, you should know that the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ruled against the Fair Share Amendment. That's the million dollars tax. That's 1.9 to 2 billion dollars worth of lost revenue that the Commonwealth will not... And the legislature is going to have to struggle, and the governor is going to have to struggle with how they are going to fund things. The discussion of the foundation budget is rife. Some of the offsets are rife, circuit breaker. We've talked about these things. Where are the resources going to come from? So no one, whether it's the state level or our level, gets to fund everything they believe should be in a budget. So I would just suggest that if there's a particular item that you feel needs more attention going forward, you express it. But don't withhold your support for a whole budget, because you're basically saying the other things aren't worth it. Of course they're worth it. A lot of things are worth it.
[Roy Belson]: So I'm gonna share this with our assistant superintendent for finance. Come on up, Christine. She did all the work in getting it together and out to, with Schaub and working together to get the stuff in. And we got back exactly what we expected to get back. because that's what we expected. But I think what's really significant beyond the work in here is the kinds of things that Lesley College is willing to do with us, and this is only the beginning. We've had some really productive discussions, they'll continue, and you know, Maurice has been involved and will continue to get more people involved.
[Roy Belson]: Are you looking at Minuteman or Milestones? Minuteman. OK. So Minuteman is a vocational technical chapter 74 program. Sometimes the payments are grouped. And I think the instance on the 63, is that what you're asking? Yeah, the 63 and the 25.
[Roy Belson]: Not really, not really. It's changed. I mean, they have a lot of kids in horticulture, believe it or not. By next year, they're likely to have two or three kids. Okay. Because it's really going down. It went down from 50 kids.
[Roy Belson]: Probably, what, three or four? Seven right now, maybe?
[Roy Belson]: Nine at minimum, that's including Essex, no?
[Roy Belson]: Okay, all right.
[Roy Belson]: So there is none? So we don't have a full minute. OK.
[Roy Belson]: Call upon our assistant superintendent to give this report.
[Roy Belson]: So as much as we're going to miss Rita, and we are going to miss Rita and her wonderful work, this week we begin the formal interviews of foreign language department directors starting Wednesday. So there'll be a team from the department. Mr. Osborne is also participating. And we hope to have something in front of the committee very soon.
[Roy Belson]: She'll be involved.
[Roy Belson]: She'll get to see the people that the department screens out, and then she can make some decisions along with everyone else.
[Roy Belson]: I can't tie her up every day so I mean so when we get it down to a few people that people are comfortable with we'll have her involved. Okay. She'll give me a feedback as well and we'll move on.
[Roy Belson]: So it really depends on the parent. Some parents like the youngsters to stay with who they've grown up with or who they've gone with. And other parents want them back in their neighborhood. They may have siblings back in their neighborhood, and they want them back with the siblings. There may be daycare issues. The issues and the variables are tremendous. There's no perfect solution, and that's the issue. So when you talk to policymakers in town, what they tell you is focus on the child. What's best for the child? You don't want the child moving around any more than you have to. You don't want a lot of dislocation. And you can't just simply concentrate everything in one place all the time, especially elementary, because you will overload that school. In middle school, it becomes a little bit more believable because kids are a little bit older. And there's only two of them, whereas we've got four elementary schools. It's very tricky. I mean, the state makes rules. The state makes all kinds of policies. They've got a new pro look, which we'll have to see how that plays out. But sometimes they don't take into account space. They don't take into account adding additional staff. I mean, what Paul was telling you is that to move things over to the Andrews, he needs four additional people. I've got to tell you, that's over a quarter of a million dollars plus benefits. I mean, just for that alone. So, I mean, there's a lot of tradeoffs here. And, you know, tonight as you're talking about different programs, you're talking about you want to add this, you want to do that. You're wiped out. You're wiped out if you're going to try and do some of this stuff.
[Roy Belson]: Originally, when the numbers were lower, the thought was always go back to your school, your neighborhood. But things have changed.
[Roy Belson]: It would be eight total.
[Roy Belson]: So one of the things that, listening to the whole discussion this evening, dealing with extra help and all the other things, we've got to begin to actively and more actively explore the use of software and technology. Because as long as something is labor intensive, You require more and more staff, more and more benefits. One, you can't afford it. Two, you can't schedule it. Three, you don't have enough space. We've got to find ways to use the technology more effectively and find those pieces that will attract youngsters, whether it's math or it's language arts or whatever the case may be. We've got to work with some people to see if there's technology assists we can use that also can go home with the youngsters to build language skills. Because we are just not going to have enough personnel, space, materials to do everything the state says we're supposed to do on a regular basis. And that's not just Medford, that's across the board. That's across the board.
[Roy Belson]: Well, what's the status of Title III right now? I mean, obviously, everything's up in the air federal. Do you have a sense of that?
[Roy Belson]: So last Thursday we had a committee of the whole. And at the conclusion of the committee of the whole, you voted 7-0 to approve the concept of the plan, but you wanted to understand procurement better and how we were able to do it under the rules so that we could move forward. Tonight I've handed you a sheet, two sides, which goes over that. And we've had substantial discussion, Christine, myself, Mark Rumley, Howard Greenspan, Howard's here, going over these various things and also phone calls into the AG and the IG and all these things as to what we could or couldn't do, and also with Lesley College. Now, we have to move forward if we're going to get this thing done. But in order to do it, we have to deal with it a little bit differently than we originally intended. So I'm gonna go over this a little bit as a partnership procurement plan. We have to develop an RFP, which is a request for proposals for the partnership that would include rental, renovation, and professional services between the Medford Public Schools and an area university, an area university, not necessarily any one. A request for proposals allows us to seek proposals from qualified vendors and to select the most appropriate respondents based on established criteria first and not price alone. It's not a price issue initially. This RFP cycle is a two-week posting process. That means once we generate the RFP, hopefully sometime this week with help, we would go out two weeks and put it out there and see who responds. The RFP would require the successful respondent to meet and agree to all the terms of the RFP specifications, everything we would put in. Funding for the project would be incorporated into the RFP, we would say what we're looking for, for negotiation between the successful respondent and the Medford Public Schools. The successful respondent would then be allowed to carry out the construction and renovation of the high school gymnasium facility with provisions for quality control. In other words, saying they would do it as opposed to we would do it, okay? Appropriate insurance coverage. would be in place to cover any unforeseen issues, any liabilities that would be involved. The plan would allow for a successful respondent to move quickly towards implementation this summer. Because they would be able to do things in the private sector, and we would insist on prevailing wage and things of that type. They would be able to move a lot faster than a public entity can move under these rules. Under the plan, Medford would reap all the benefits intended under the previous idea and still retain control. We believe it's an effective approach because it clearly spells out each expected item and it could be implemented without unnecessary delay. So I think it was a good discussion that we had. Christine did a great job working in town with people, Mark and Howard back and forth covering the issues legally. And with help from, you know, legal in town, I think we've come up with a plan that allows us to go forward and to get this in place. Take any questions you have.
[Roy Belson]: We put it in the RFP. Okay. Thank you. Sorry. Anything we put in there, the respondent has to accept. No.
[Roy Belson]: Well, one would think that if they're paying prevailing wage, there's no reason not to use. Of course.
[Roy Belson]: We've done all our projects that way. I mean, I did read in the emails that, you know, that like all these universities would
[Roy Belson]: Well, because in order for it to work, based on our concept of an interaction with an area university, we would want one in the area. Because if they weren't in the area, it would become very difficult to have the interaction that we want. It probably would not be attractive to a non-area university to want to rent one of our facilities.
[Roy Belson]: I would say you've got to have a radius of, you know, So many miles. We could come up with that, but I wouldn't expect it.
[Roy Belson]: We could specify.
[Roy Belson]: I just don't see us. The benefit to us is to have a university that's accessible to our teachers, accessible to our students, accessible to programs and the like.
[Roy Belson]: Because they can go out and do it and attract a vendor without going through multiple layers of bidding and the like. And since the money will be the same, I mean, it's up to them. In fact, we might even do better. because essentially they can work on it and we can work on the numbers with them. Oh yeah, absolutely. That's on the RFP. That's in the RFP.
[Roy Belson]: We've done RFPs before, and RFP is a standard operation.
[Roy Belson]: Well, it's a little bit different than we started out. It's not different. I mean, RFPs are generally a very interesting tool, because you're not stuck strictly on price. You're able to look at criteria, and you're able to look at who can provide what. And since this is a lot of qualitative interaction that's involved, You want to be able to look at the criteria rather than just strictly a dollar factor.
[Roy Belson]: For posting.
[Roy Belson]: It may take a little bit more time to actually construct the RFP. We have to go over very carefully. But once it's out, it's two weeks.
[Roy Belson]: You have to be each week in the newspaper, in a prominent newspaper.
[Roy Belson]: If someone shows up that we haven't thought of, that's interesting.
[Roy Belson]: We may get surprised. I don't know.
[Roy Belson]: So let's walk through it a little bit. Sure. Okay. If an entity wants to use the item, they certainly want to play on something that's quality. They certainly don't want to play on something that's less than quality if they can help it, okay? Two, they have to meet NCAA standards, okay, which will immediately ensure a certain level of quality. And three, we'll have a clerk of the works. We'll make sure that they follow certain specifications.
[Roy Belson]: We would look at it. We would look at it. But again, because it's an RFP, we have a lot of factors with qualitative discretion in it. It's not just price. If you have a university that already has physical facilities, they're not coming to us for another one. If you have a university that doesn't provide certain programs in areas that we're interested in, they're not meeting another criteria.
[Roy Belson]: So let's answer it this way. You just heard Kathy Medaglio tell you that they've balanced special ed students. You heard Paul Teixeira tell you that they've also allocated EL students. Those students can't go into the partial lottery because they've already been balanced, okay? So what's left are the students who we'll call typically developing. Students who have, you know, just basically doing their thing and don't have a designation as either EL or special ed. They're not part of that balance. Now, you can look at it in different ways. You can say that three of the schools have done some of their job, and they've sent some people to the school, and one school didn't. That's partial lottery going to the school that didn't. Otherwise, you encourage people, perhaps, to never send anybody, figuring, well, their chances are better if they don't send anybody. On the other hand, you can say that you have a school that that's a natural feeder into the McGlynn Elementary. Maybe you could take the 10, 15 kids that are still there and say, well, at least they're still in the same building. They know the building. That's another way of looking at it. A third way to do it would be to take all three of them, put them in the pot, and pull them out. Whatever you do, someone is probably not going to be happy. During the course of the year, We have heard repeatedly from you about some people that wanted to move from one school to the other, and because they had all kinds of issues with that. Now, you know, okay, I'm not going to argue that point. They had all kinds of issues with it. And it's incessant. So somebody who maybe doesn't get what they want is not going to be happy. The idea that we could move some people in cohorts was a good one, because they go with their friends, because that's one of the biggest reasons why people go to one school or the other and want to be with their friends. Now, that's another way of looking at the lottery. If you move the rest of the McGlynn over, they're all with their friends. If you, in fact, go with some of the other places, you've got to take a significant number of people from one school in order so they have friends. So if you put all three into the pot, there's a chance that and you're looking only for 15 kids, there's a chance that the school that doesn't send them might only have three friends, might only have two kids that anyone knows because the numbers could skew back to the other people. So no matter what you do, there's going to be a tradeoff someplace. There's going to be a tradeoff someplace. So we just got to decide. We just got to decide what's going to work. They're both good schools. They both have the same curriculum. They both have people that will give them leadership. It's up to us as a school system to work hard to rebuild some of the thinking and work at it. But we're gonna make a decision because we gotta get on with it. Because people are scheduling, there's resources that have to be allocated, we're working on a budget, and we gotta know what we're doing.
[Roy Belson]: That's stretching it. I think we've taken care of siblings at this point, haven't we?
[Roy Belson]: I think we took a good eye to look at siblings. And plus, there's going to be a few new people coming in, you know, between now and the end of the year, and a few people leaving. That's going to happen too. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: I think that we've talked about all these things, Mike. This isn't like, you know, this is the first time we're discussing it. This has been going on for a year. And the reality is there are some dynamic forces in the background that created maybe some preferences that are there. Now, historically, balance has shifted between the places. We're hopeful with some changes at one school that this won't be a permanent situation. This will change. But at any one point in time, at any one point in time, is it necessary, what do you call it, to, you know, hang our heads and say we didn't do it? I mean, is choice more important right now than making sure the schools are balanced so the teachers have enough kids in the classroom, and we need to move forward.
[Roy Belson]: Let's have a reason for kids to go to one school versus the other. I think we want to be careful. The vast majority of people got their choice. It's just a percentage right now. Now you could use the NBA rule. You want to play the NBA game? Whereas some schools have a weighted number versus other schools. So you might say that a school that has no one going there would have to send more. A second school might send, you know, which has more kids going, might send less, a smaller percentage. And a third school, which has even more going, might send an even smaller percentage so that no school gets hit totally.
[Roy Belson]: The plan you approved when we put this in front of you was a partial lottery, and the partial lottery spoke to the issue of disproportionality. It actually listed the concept of disproportionality. If one place did not send anybody, then that place would be the partial lottery. Otherwise, it's a total lottery. So you can get around it a little bit by saying, okay, we'll wait it a little bit with, you know, to some degree, because it's an experimental year. But at some point, you've got to deal with the concept of partial lottery, which is based on disproportionality. Because one other point you want to make is that if you send, let's say you only send two kids from the Brooks, then what are you going to hear? My kid has no friends. So if you send a group over there, at least you've got, the kid's got some friends. That's a, you know, that's a thought.
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: And you're going to get some people walking into the 12th Tower. I mean, the summer, you're going to have some walk-ins, and you're going to have some people leaving. But the number's not going to be great. It's not going to change the balance. But you will get a few more. And anyone new coming in is going to the McGlynn. It's just that simple.
[Roy Belson]: So the number doesn't have to be perfect. It's never perfect one-to-one every year, even when it was working well. So if you get a number that brings it closer, you have less pain that you're inflicting on people that might not want it, you probably can live with 15. You probably could live with 15. And then there'll be other kids coming in during the summer. You know, that's probably a good compromise. Yes.
[Roy Belson]: So you can clarify it by simply saying the only electronic communications allowable will be those for emergencies or for personal in nature, but not anything that impacts the discussion on the floor.
[Roy Belson]: School committee business. And that way you, you know, That way you cover it, because obviously it's an emergency. Something's happening at home. Something's happening in your life. You're going to want to get that.
[Roy Belson]: Cover what?
[Roy Belson]: Yeah. Well, I mean, I think that would be for effects to the general operation of the meeting.
[Roy Belson]: It's not our business.
[Roy Belson]: I mean, you wouldn't want the difference between someone telling you how to vote on a particular topic versus someone telling you that They can't hear what you're saying. Right.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, one of the things you do have, people can, under community participation, provide me with a document that they want me to introduce. They don't have to necessarily present it, but I can distribute it. So another way to say if you have a document or some position paper you want the committee to take under consideration, You send it to the office by such and such, and we'll distribute it for you.
[Roy Belson]: Are you looking at Minuteman or Milestones? Minuteman. OK. So Minuteman is a vocational technical Chapter 74 program. Sometimes the payments are grouped. And I think the instance on the 63, is that what you're asking? Yeah, the 63 and the 25.
[Roy Belson]: Not really, not really. It's changed. I mean, they have a lot of kids in horticulture, believe it or not. By next year, they're likely to have two or three kids. Okay. Because it's really going down. It went down from 50 kids.
[Roy Belson]: Probably what, three or four? Seven right now, maybe? Six or seven at minimum.
[Roy Belson]: Nine at minimum, that's including Essex, no?
[Roy Belson]: Okay, all right.
[Roy Belson]: We haven't approved him.
[Roy Belson]: That's the report you put in the wrong place. It's really not there. The only question is, is he?
[Roy Belson]: There's none. That's an idea. OK. The only question was they passed on a 7-0 for just a vote, too.
[Roy Belson]: Call upon our assistant superintendent to give this report.
[Roy Belson]: So as much as we're going to miss Rita, and we are going to miss Rita and her wonderful work, this week we begin the formal interviews of foreign language department directors starting Wednesday. So there'll be a team from the department. Mr. Osborne is also participating. We hope to have something in front of the committee very soon.
[Roy Belson]: She'll be involved.
[Roy Belson]: She'll get to see the people that the department screens out, and then she can make some decisions along with everyone else. Give us feedback.
[Roy Belson]: Schedule, I can't tie her up every day, so when we get it down to a few people that people are comfortable with, we'll have her involved. Okay. And then she'll give me her feedback as well, and we'll move on.
[Roy Belson]: So it really depends on the parent. Some parents like the youngsters to stay with who they've grown up with or who they've gone with. And other parents want them back in their neighborhood. They may have siblings back in their neighborhood, and they want them back with the siblings. There may be daycare issues. The issues and the variables are tremendous. There's no perfect solution. And that's the issue. So when you talk to policymakers in town, what they tell you is focus on the child. What's best for the child? You don't want the child moving around any more than you have to. You don't want a lot of dislocation. And you can't just simply concentrate everything in one place all the time, especially elementary, because you will overload that school. In middle school, it becomes a little bit more believable because kids are a little bit older. And there's only two of them, whereas we've got four elementary schools. It's very tricky. I mean, the state makes rules. The state makes all kinds of policies. They've got a new pro look, which we'll have to see how that plays out. But sometimes they don't take into account space. They don't take into account adding additional staff. I mean, what Paul was telling you is that to move things over to the Andrews, he needs four additional people. I've got to tell you, that's over a quarter of a million dollars plus benefits. I mean, just for that alone. So, I mean, there's a lot of trade-offs here. And, you know, tonight as you're talking about different programs, you're talking about you want to add this, you want to do that. You're wiped out. You're wiped out if you're going to try and do some of this stuff.
[Roy Belson]: So if- Originally, when the numbers were lower, the thought was always go back to your school, your neighborhood, but things have changed.
[Roy Belson]: It would be eight total.
[Roy Belson]: So one of the things that, listening to the whole discussion this evening, dealing with extra help and all the other things, we've got to begin to actively and more actively explore the use of software and technology. Because as long as something is labor intensive, You require more and more staff, more and more benefits. One, you can't afford it. Two, you can't schedule it. Three, you don't have enough space. We've got to find ways to use the technology more effectively and find those pieces that will attract youngsters, whether it's math or it's language arts or whatever the case may be. We've got to work with some people to see if there's technology assists we can use that also can go home with the youngsters to build language skills. Because we are just not going to have enough personnel, space, materials to do everything the state says we're supposed to do on a regular basis. And that's not just Medford, that's across the board. That's across the board.
[Roy Belson]: Paul, what's the status of Title III right now? I mean, obviously, everything's up in the air federal.
[Roy Belson]: So last Thursday we had a committee of the whole. And at the conclusion of the committee of the whole, you voted 7-0 to approve the concept of your plan, but you wanted to understand procurement better and how we were able to do it under the rules so that we could move forward. Tonight I've handed you a sheet, two sides, which goes over that. And we've had substantial discussion, Christine, myself, Mark Rumley, Howard Greenspan, Howard's here, going over these various things and also phone calls into the AG and the IG and all these things as to what we could or couldn't do, and also with Lesley College. Now, we have to move forward if we're going to get this thing done. But in order to do it, we have to deal with it a little bit differently than we originally intended. So I'm going to go over this a little bit as a partnership procurement plan. We have to develop an RFP, which is a request for proposals, for the partnership that would include rental, renovation, and professional services between the Medford Public Schools and an area university, an area university, not necessarily any one. A request for proposals allows us to seek proposals from qualified vendors and to select the most appropriate respondents based on established criteria first and not price alone. It's not a price issue initially. This RFP cycle is a two-week hosting process. That means once we generate the RFP, hopefully sometime this week with help, we would go out two weeks and put it out there and see who responds. The RFP would require the successful respondent to meet and agree to all the terms of the RFP specifications, everything we would put in. Funding for the project would be incorporated into the RFP, we would say what we're looking for, for negotiation between the successful respondent and the Medford Public Schools. The successful respondent would then be allowed to carry out the construction and renovation of the high school gymnasium facility with provisions for quality control. I would say they would do it as opposed to we would do it, okay? Appropriate insurance coverage. would be in place to cover any unforeseen issues, any liabilities that would be involved. The plan would allow for a successful respondent to move quickly towards implementation this summer. Because they would be able to do things in the private sector, and we would insist on prevailing wage and things of that type. They would be able to move a lot faster than a public entity can move under these rules. Under the plan, Medford would reap all the benefits intended under the previous idea and still retain control. We believe it's an effective approach because it clearly spells out each expected item and it could be implemented without unnecessary delay. So I think it was a good discussion that we had. Christine did a great job working in town with people, Mark and Howard back and forth covering the issues legally. And with help from, you know, legal in town, I think we've come up with a plan that allows us to go forward and to get this in place. Take any questions you have.
[Roy Belson]: We put it in the RFP. Anything we put in there, the respondent has to accept. No.
[Roy Belson]: Or... Well, one would think that if they're paying prevailing wage, there's no reason not to use... Of course.
[Roy Belson]: We've done all our projects that way. I mean, I did read in the emails that, you know, like all these universities, they seem to think they have no money.
[Roy Belson]: Well, because in order for it to work, based on our concept of an interaction with an area university, we would want one in the area. Because if they weren't in the area, it would become very difficult to have the interaction that we want. And probably would not be attractive to a non-area university to want to rent one of our facilities.
[Roy Belson]: I would say you've got to have a radius of so many miles. We could come up with that, but I wouldn't expect it.
[Roy Belson]: We could specify.
[Roy Belson]: I just don't see us, the benefit to us is to have a university that's accessible to our teachers, accessible to our students, accessible to programs and the like.
[Roy Belson]: because they can go out and do it and attract a vendor without going through multiple layers of, you know, bidding and the like. And since the money will be the same, I mean, it's up to them. In fact, we might even do better because essentially they can work on it. We can work on the numbers with them.
[Roy Belson]: Oh, yeah.
[Roy Belson]: That's on the RFP. That's in the RFP.
[Roy Belson]: We've done RFPs before, and RFP is a standard operation.
[Roy Belson]: Well, it's a little bit different than we started out. It's not different. I mean, RFPs are generally a very interesting tool, because you're not stuck strictly on price. You're able to look at criteria, and you're able to look at who can provide what. And since this is a lot of qualitative interaction that's involved, You want to be able to look at the criteria rather than just strictly a dollar factor.
[Roy Belson]: For posting.
[Roy Belson]: It may take a little bit more time to actually construct the RFP. We have to go over it very carefully.
[Roy Belson]: But once it's out, it's two weeks.
[Roy Belson]: You have to be each week in the newspaper, in a prominent newspaper.
[Roy Belson]: If someone shows up that we haven't thought of, let's be interested.
[Roy Belson]: I mean, we may get surprised. I don't know.
[Roy Belson]: So let's walk through it a little bit. Sure. Okay. If an entity wants to use the item, they certainly want to play on something that's quality. They certainly don't want to play on something that's less than quality if they can help it. Okay? Two, they have to meet NCAA standards. Okay? Which will immediately ensure a certain level of quality. And three, we'll have a clerk of the works. We'll make sure that they follow certain specifications. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: We would look at it. We would look at it. But again, because it's an RFP, we have a lot of factors with qualitative discretion in it. It's not just price. If you have a university that already has physical facilities, they're not coming to us for another one. If you have a university that doesn't provide certain programs in areas that we're interested in, they're not meeting another criteria.
[Roy Belson]: So let's answer it this way. You just heard Kathy Medaglio tell you that they've balanced special ed students. You heard Paul Teixeira tell you that they've also allocated EL students. Those students can't go into the partial lottery because they've already been balanced, okay? So what's left are the students who we'll call typically developing. Students who have, you know, just basically doing their thing and don't have a designation as either EL or special ed. They're not part of that balance. Now, you can look at it in different ways. You can say that three of the schools have done some of their job, and they've sent some people to the school, and one school didn't. That's partial lottery going to the school that didn't. Otherwise, you encourage people perhaps to never send anybody, figuring, well, their chances are better if they don't send anybody. On the other hand, you can say that you have a school that that's a natural feeder into the McGlynn. The McGlynn Elementary is a thing. Maybe you could take the 10, 15 kids that are still there and say, well, at least they're still in the same building. They know the building. That's another way of looking at it. A third way to do it would be to take all three of them, put them in the pot, and pull them out. Whatever you do, someone is probably not going to be happy. During the course of the year, we have heard repeatedly from you about some people that wanted to move from one school to the other. And because they had all kinds of issues with that. And I, you know, okay, I'm not going to argue that point. They had all kinds of issues with it. And it's incessant. So somebody who maybe doesn't get what they want is not going to be happy. The idea that we could move some people in cohorts was a good one. Because they go with their friends. Because that's one of the biggest reasons why people go to one school or the other and want to be with their friends. Now, that's another way of looking at the lottery. If you move the rest of the McGlynn over, they're all with their friends, okay? If you, in fact, go with some of the other places, you've got to take a significant number of people from one school in order so they have friends. So if you put all three into the pot, there's a chance that, and you're looking only for 15 kids, there's a chance that the school that doesn't send anybody might only have three friends, might only have two kids that anyone knows, because the numbers could skew back to the other people. So no matter what you do, there's going to be a tradeoff someplace. There's going to be a tradeoff someplace. So we've just got to decide. We've just got to decide what's going to work. They're both good schools. They both have the same curriculum. They both have people that will give them leadership. It's up to us as a school system to work hard to rebuild some of the thinking and work at it. But we've got to make a decision because we've got to get on with it. because people are scheduling, there's resources that have to be allocated, we're working on a budget, and we gotta know what we're doing.
[Roy Belson]: No.
[Roy Belson]: That's stretching it.
[Roy Belson]: That's stretching it. Okay. I think we've taken care of siblings at this point, haven't we?
[Roy Belson]: I think we took a good eye to look at siblings. And plus, there's going to be a few new people coming in, you know, between now and the end of the year, and a few people leaving. That's going to happen, too. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: I think that we've talked about all these things, Mike. This isn't like, you know, this is the first time we're discussing it. This has been going on for a year. And the reality is there are some dynamic forces in the background that created maybe some preferences that are there. Now, historically, balance has shifted between the places. We're hopeful with some changes at one school that This won't be a permanent situation. This will change. But at any one point in time, at any one point in time, is it necessary, what do you call it, to, you know, hang our heads and say we didn't do it? I mean, is choice more important right now than making sure the schools are balanced so the teachers have enough kids in the classroom, and we need to move forward.
[Roy Belson]: I think we want to be careful. The vast majority of people got their choice. It's just a percentage right now. Now you could use the NBA rule. You want to play the NBA game? Whereas some schools have a weighted number versus other schools. So you might say that a school that has no one going there would have to send more. A second school might send, you know, which has more kids going, might send less, a smaller percentage. And a third school, which has even more going, might send an even smaller percentage so that no school gets hit totally.
[Roy Belson]: The plan you approved when we put this in front of you was a partial lottery, and the partial lottery spoke to the issue of disproportionality. It actually listed the concept of disproportionality. If one place did not send anybody, then that place would be the partial lottery. Otherwise, it's a total lottery. So you can get around it a little bit by saying, okay, we'll wait it a little bit. with, you know, to some degree, because it's an experimental year. But at some point, you've got to deal with the concept of partial lottery, which is based on disproportionality. Because one other point you want to make is that if you send, let's say you only send two kids from the Brooks, then what are you going to hear? My kid has no friends. So if you send a group over there, at least you've got, the kid's got some friends. That's a, you know, that's a thought.
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: And you're going to get some people walking into the 12th Tower. I mean, the summer, you're going to have some walk-ins and you're going to have some people leaving. But the number's not going to be great. change the balance, but you will get a few more. And anyone new coming in is going to move on. It's just that simple.
[Roy Belson]: So the number doesn't have to be perfect. It's never perfect one-to-one every year, even when it was working well. So if you get a number that brings it closer, and you have less pain that you're inflicting on people that might not want it, you probably can live with 15. You probably could live with 15, and then there'll be other kids coming in during the summer. You know, that's probably a good compromise.
[Roy Belson]: So you can clarify it by simply saying the only electronic communications allowable will be those for emergencies or for personal in nature, but not anything that impacts the discussion on the floor.
[Roy Belson]: School committee business. And that way you, you know, That way you cover it, because obviously it's an emergency. Something's happening at home. Something's happening in your life. You want to get that.
[Roy Belson]: Cover what?
[Roy Belson]: Yeah. Well, I mean, I think that would be for, you know, affects the general operation of the meeting.
[Roy Belson]: Not our business.
[Roy Belson]: I mean, you wouldn't want the difference between someone telling you how to vote on a particular topic versus someone telling you that they can't hear what you're saying.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, one of the things you do have, people can under community participation provide me with a document that they want me to introduce. They don't have to necessarily present it, but I can distribute it. So another way to say if you have a document or some position paper you want the committee to take under consideration, You send it to the office by such and such, and we'll distribute it for you.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor, members of the school committee, ladies and gentlemen, at no time have I ever said that the McGuinn was a bad school, that the McGuinn teachers did not accomplish things, the McGuinn teachers didn't do a good day's work. From time to time in my role, Sure, I question certain things from time to time. That's my job. I'm supposed to ask questions. That's what I do. Now, when this situation took place, the one person who took the direct heat for it was me. So the comment that I try to deflect the blame is clearly not true, and everyone knows it. I didn't throw anyone else under the bus. I took all the heat myself and accepted full responsibility for it. Now, a police investigation is what it is. People ask a lot of questions, and I was asked a lot of questions about a lot of possible scenarios, and what the climate was at that school, and what might be possible. And if you read the report very carefully, you'll see there's a lot of gaps. And some of those gaps do raise questions. And before I go on at this point, Mayor, I'd like to ask the police chief to come up and explain the nature of a police report and to tell you that I answered questions that were put to me. There are some people who declined to answer questions and declined to reveal things, but I didn't. Chief, appreciate it.
[Roy Belson]: I'd like to continue for a minute. As the chief pointed out, I didn't name a single individual at that school or anywhere else. that I thought was responsible for anything. I took the blame myself, even though I never saw the clip, I had no chain of custody of the clip, and I had conflicting opinions coming at me from all angles. But I took the blame. Now, if anyone feels offended or upset, or feels that I did finger them inappropriately, then you have my apology, because that is not my intent. My intent was to aid the police department in their investigation, as the chief said, to leave no stone unturned, to let them know everything that was going on in that school, everything that was happening, because who can possibly know all the things that might have been possible at that point in time? My goal was to aid the police department. You know, it's tough enough some days for all of us in our very respective jobs. But I didn't go there with a lawyer. I didn't ask for any representation. I just simply answered the questions and provided the information that was asked of me. And once again, if there are members of the faculty who feel that I offended them, I apologize. I have no doubt that each of you is a dedicated professional. I have no doubt that each of you wants to do a great job for our young people. And in fact, as I look out, because I've been around a little while, I've probably hired most of you. Probably was the person who signed your employment letter. Clearly, I believe that the McGlynn can be a good school and is a good school. We've had some differences this year. That's factual. This isn't brand new this month. But I believe going forward that good things can happen and that if we all put our mind to it, We're going to make a difference, and it's going to work out just fine. So I appreciate your listening. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has. Mike, do you want to say something at this point? OK. I have a person with me.
[Roy Belson]: So let me try to address this a little bit so we can clarify these things for everyone's benefit. I have had a very extensive conversation with Dr. Edouard-Vincent. She met with us before she toured our schools. We had a good exchange of ideas of what was necessary to happen so that when she came aboard, she wouldn't be mired in doing a lot of functional and organizational things that would take an extraordinary amount of time. We have a number of open positions. Any departmental position that got hired would be subject to the professional status law, which means they only have one year. So if in fact they did get hired, they could be replaced within that one year. The second piece is that to leave all these things for an individual to come in would destabilize the school system. We have after school programs, a director of early childhood is leaving, they run the after school programs, they oversee the family network. All these things have to be taken care of. I can assure you that the mayor and I have talked considerably about including people in the discussions, including Mr. Osborne, so we can promote diversity. But I can assure you that the way we hire administrators is they always come before you, remember? These major administrative positions. And you get a chance to input. And I'm sure that Dr. Edouard-Vincent will have every opportunity to input. But if we stop our business right now, in July, Our successor is going to have one heck of a responsibility to put things together in two months, less than two months before school opens. And that's not a desirable outcome. Secondly, there are a whole pile of responsibilities with teachers and other things of that type. Leaves of absence, maternities, all kinds of things that have to be dealt with. Got to be dealt with. You don't want to drop that on your new person. I can assure you that you're going to be involved. I can assure you that Dr. Edouard-Vincent's going to be involved, because I'm rooting for her success. That's what I do. I want to finish strong. The only reason I'm needing to stay on is because there is a gap, not because I wouldn't have something to do if I wasn't in this role. As Mrs. DiBenedetto pointed out, I probably wouldn't work 25 hours a week. I'd probably work 80 hours a week or 60 hours a week. I'm going to work it anyway. But having the level of authority to do what needs to be done, to put things in place, to handle the collective bargaining that has to go on at this point in time is in your best interest. I can sit back, not do anything, but that means my successor is gonna have an awful lot to do. I would rather she comes in to a stable environment and have the opportunity to move her ideas and programs forward, and I will root for her. And I will work with her and give her as much support as she needs. But not to take care of the routine business of this school system, not to ensure that the partnership, some of the things that are on tonight's agenda, won't go forward, would be a disservice to you, to the community, and to her. So I respectfully request that you allow me to do what I have to do. I can assure you that you'll be involved. I can assure you that she will be involved. And I can assure you that any decision we make will be something that's collaborative and not an individual decision on my part, except for the routine kinds of things that have to happen day to day to keep the school system in place. So I appreciate your concerns. I want to assure you that that's my intent. Let's finish strong together. Let's have a good balanced budget. Let's put a budget together next year. That's going to be reflective of the things that you want to see and that will give our new superintendent an opportunity to innovate and do the things that will make the school system move forward. I appreciate you listening.
[Roy Belson]: The world is filled with rumortism, and that paralyzes everyone. The reality is that this is my community. If my community needs me to help, I'll be available. If my community doesn't need me to help, with or without compensation, of course, then that won't be there. I certainly won't be a trucee. But I've got to believe that a new superintendent is going to have a lot of questions once they get into the weeds. I'm a phone call away. I live down the street. And I'm more than happy to help, because this is my community. I've been superintendent and been in this school system longer than some people in this room have been alive. And this is my community. And I don't intend to reject my community. I don't intend to walk away from my community. But I don't expect, necessarily, that I would ever intrude on the prerogatives of my successor, on the school committee, or anyone else. But will I be helpful? Of course I will. I expect the school system to build on a very firm foundation. I expect the school system to progress and do well. So I'm not walking away, but I'm not intruding, and I'm available if I'm needed, and I will help wherever I can.
[Roy Belson]: Quick summary is that under school choice, people can come to our school district for a very low amount of money if we have open seats. And the cost that we would receive or the compensation received is not worth it to us. And we would have to educate people that would take seats from other people. It just doesn't work under the current rule. If you're a school system that has such open seats and you have no revenue coming in, maybe it makes sense. That's not our situation. We have to notify the state by a certain date.
[Roy Belson]: So let me add a couple of other dimensions to this thing. If you take the next two weeks, remember the principal who we are all talking about a little bit. who needs to think about it in terms of his own personal needs. I mean, he's obviously a person who has to weigh all his situations, but we've had discussions and, you know, I think over the next several days we'll get an answer, that's one. Second piece is that, we haven't done the numbers, but I have, is that the class size is at the McGlynn right now. If you were to go to class size, you're probably like 14, 15 in the class size, whereas at the Andrews, it's closer to 20. So maybe smaller class size is another attractive feature that's there for some people, not everybody. And thirdly, you know, if people would like to consider staying there with their friends and they go in a cohort, as Paul mentioned, you know, and have their friends go with them, because we've heard that before, that might do it. So a suggestion, over the next two weeks, we do what we have to do. We talk to people. We go over the principalship. make a serious effort, but at the end of two weeks, when we come back on the 21st, you gotta act. You gotta act because we gotta get in the business of doing business. We have to, you know, there's things to be done. And sometimes hard decisions have to be made. Now we don't need a one for one at the schools. They don't have to be exactly even, but they have to be close enough. They have to be within 15, 20 kids. I mean, that's a reasonable differential.
[Roy Belson]: So, one more thing. Tonight you saw some teachers come in from Lubbock Line. As we said before, and as I think we all agree, there's some terrific people there. It may be that we send a few emissaries over from Glen Middle to talk to some of the elementary school kids, and maybe they can talk about their programs a little bit. Talk about some of the things they'd like to do, and maybe that's a piece too. So there's four or five things we can do. It's not a guarantee, but it's worth a shot. We just have to be prepared that some people will say no and some people will say yes. Another issue that we've got to deal with is not specifically this one, but it's an issue, and that's the seventh grade. You have, you know, emailed me and other people have emailed me ad nauseum, no offense, about a person here and a person there. There are 12 people who wanted that shift. If we do it for one, you know, out of turn, It's going to send some other people unhappy. So we've got to look at that. Let's see what the numbers actually present in the seventh grade. We'll get a better sense of what the seventh grade is like. Maybe with the new principal, that would be a positive, too. But before we start taking any one person out of line, I think that's something else we need to be careful about.
[Roy Belson]: I would say the 21st we should be ready to make a decision. We should, you know, give you an idea towards the end of that week. Okay. You know, that it's either happening or it's not happening.
[Roy Belson]: That's there.
[Roy Belson]: So as you remember in the fall, there was a situation in which one of our players got hurt and there was an issue about whether the trainer at Beverly High School properly attended to this individual and what was going on. So subsequent to that, we've done a number of research items and we've talked about things and I want to read a statement so that the record is clear as to what we think happened and that Mrs. Simonides has some comfort as to her considerations. This email is intended to provide, or an email at the time, information regarding the soccer injury that occurred during the game at Beverly High School this fall. Consultation with the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association tells us that the organization considers the situation to be a local matter. The requirement to provide certified trainers does not cover all sports. Football and hockey do require a trainer to be present. but other sports do not. This includes soccer. The MIAA suggests that coaches and referees must take responsibility to determine if a player should not re-enter a game after an injury. The cost for certified trainers at every game would be prohibitive. As a result, Medford will intensify its training of our coaches and consider hiring an assistant trainer for certain sports to supplement our current staffing. Coaches will be instructed to exclude any Medford player who suffers a concussion or any other major injury unless the player is properly examined and cleared by a qualified trainer. Any student who suffers such an injury will require a written follow-up report and a subsequent examination by a qualified physician. It is also important to note that under MIA rules 56.4, that a trainer, if present, is responsible for both teams when the medical person for the visiting team is not on site. The Beverly Public Schools has indicated they will not be rehiring their current trainer going forward. They have advertised for contracted training service for next year. The Medford Public Schools will initiate a discussion with the Northeast Conference Schools on the issue of appropriate trainer coverage. I believe that the above steps are a significant response to the issue, and additional steps may emerge after those kinds of discussions. I'd like to thank Ms. Simonides for her diligence on this matter. Our on-field cameras, evidence, and subsequent investigation supports our interpretation of the events at Beverly. We appreciate her commitment to ensuring safety for student athletes.
[Roy Belson]: So I just would say that ultimately it doesn't need a problem because we'd be paying the bill. See, I think they could say, oh, you've got to have one. But the reality is, is that how many sports do we have, Bob? 21 sports, and let's say in every season there's four or five sports. I mean, you'd have to have people at every event. There's JVs, there's freshmen, there's all kinds of activities. It would be difficult. So one way to do it is to differentiate staffing. We do that with education too in many ways, is to make sure that the people who are on site know enough to respond. to take youngsters out of games and not just listen to the kids saying, I want to go back in, I want to go back in. Or to call for medical help and get the youngster to medical help on site. Some sports are obviously more combative and more physical. There's a higher likelihood of injury. So there's a balance wheel here that we can think of. If we hire another assistant trainer or some of the time for some of the sports, we will have gone a long way. If we intensify our coaches training, And we worked with the trainers who from other communities will have gone a long way to at least cover the basics that need to be covered and then move from there. But I think, you know, if you think about a trainer, a trainer is going to cost us $60,000, $70,000 a piece. So, you know, it's not like it's a, you know, a small investment.
[Roy Belson]: So typically the home team provides the trainer. But on that day, for example, there were at least three games going on simultaneously. So trainers on three different fields, moving back and forth. So, you know, it's obviously a situation where, you know, more is always better, but still, there can be a lot done to mitigate an injury by a person who's watchful. not putting a youngster back in the game, calling for medical help, doing what they have to do. We can go a long way with that. And I think it's very rare that we have a situation that would be totally medical. Like in football, you have the ambulance on the field. The ambulance is there. You know what I mean? Other sports, it's more of the, let's say, less, let's say, lethal.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, you get concussions and the like, but usually it's not, you know. Well, it depends on the injury, I guess.
[Roy Belson]: Did she already have it? No, because I gave it to her.
[Roy Belson]: Well, they'll be cleaning it up, they'll be painting, they'll be doing lighting.
[Roy Belson]: So one of the things that we've talked a lot about is inclusive education. Lesley has a center for inclusive education. Lesley has specializations for the kinds of things that we have been talking about over and over again. They've got specializations for social and emotional learning and trauma and things that we can't have the expertise locally. It's just too extensive, but we can work that out. President of Lesley College actively participated in this. This is not low level. And we think that their proximity to us, and the type of programs that they specialize in, the type of university they are, because universities have specializations, is a great fit for what we're doing. It also provides us opportunities for professional development for our teachers, professional development for other staff members, and it provides possible some opportunities for adult learning as well. So there's this tremendous potential here that will be cost effective, and that will not interfere with our otherwise operations and will help us upgrade our facilities. This is a win-win. So we've got to move forward because I don't think we're going to get this opportunity again because they're going to try to find something else if they can't work with us and they've got a short window. And we just want to, we just think it's something we should be supporting.
[Roy Belson]: So another aspect of it is the fact that in some cases we have programs like the TLP program that needs its own person to cover. some other specialized programs so that the schedule around them requires a little differentiated staffing. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: We'll have an answer for you very soon.
[Roy Belson]: That was that Empower program where they were having kids do more things to help the kids who were not doing as well to get some additional assistance.
[Roy Belson]: Want to answer that? OK. So Bistro 489 is well on its way. There are a few more things that have to happen. There are some parts that were not immediately available. We're also adjusting the bathroom for security reasons so you can go directly from the bistro into the bathroom rather than going into the corridor. There have been a couple of events up there, but we're very close. And I believe that this Friday, I want to make a tentative announcement, but this Friday prior to the marathon, The Crystal Campbell Foundation will probably have some event there Friday morning, and I'll give you information about that tomorrow when I get that straightened away. So it's operational to a degree, but full operation probably another week or so.
[Roy Belson]: So our intent is to take each one of these items, do a cost analysis, and do a feasibility analysis for you, and perhaps in some instances provide an alternative where the cost may be excessive. And some of these things are, you know, like, The duplicative and the initial fronts, you know, tap cards are very, very expensive. You're talking extraordinary amounts of money for that, to do that, all the things. But the metal strip is very inexpensive. So you have to ask the question which one of these two could be done quickly and, you know, efficiently and provide the same situation. You also want to be careful who you give keys to, don't give keys to. and give you an analysis and a cost factor. Some of it will go to budget, like Councilors and things of that type, and some of it will come to you over the next two months.
[Roy Belson]: So we would give you an idea of what it would take to put something in. So something that would take construction, obviously would take longer. Something that could be done just simply by adding it, wouldn't take very long. But then it would be a process of, you might say this is a two month project, when it's approved, if it's approved. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: We're going to use them too because the other factor is is that it's nice to have a tool But if you don't know how to put it on or apply it properly, it doesn't work.
[Roy Belson]: As you know, as a result of all this activity, we are spending an exceptional amount of money on additional personnel for security. And we've already spending in excess of $3,000 a week over and above what we budgeted for just security monitors in the schools. And if you cover every door, you just keep adding to that. So we've got a person at the door 31, which is down towards the physical education section. We've got somebody in the front. It's going to be very important for us to try to figure out what's the balance between covering every door and how much money we're going to spend, because it's not sustainable in the long run. So I think, you know, let us talk about that and come back to you with a report, because I think it's really a mistake to just simply putting people at every door. We'd get ourselves in a situation where it's expensive.
[Roy Belson]: There is a monitor in the front door of the high school. There's a monitor at door 31. That's the pool door. But this is the vocational door. Everybody you add costs money. There's a motion on the floor.
[Roy Belson]: So we've got to decide how much we're going to put out there at this point in time and where it's going to go, because you're raising the cost of security substantially at this point in time. And these things weren't budgeted at the beginning of the year.
[Roy Belson]: There's a secretary doing the job.
[Roy Belson]: And that's, there's an issue with that. Okay. We can talk about, I mean, look, it's, it's, it's money that you want to spend, we'll spend it, but you've got to understand that every possible door in this place, if it has a security monitor, you're going to keep raising the, the level.
[Roy Belson]: That's a choice we have to make. We've heard people advocate strongly for the pool door to be covered. We've heard people advocate for people coming through one point of entry. It never was a monitor at that door. It was only the buzzer system and the rapture system inside the vocational school office. That would be new to put someone at that door specifically. So we can do whatever you think is in best interest, but if we keep adding layers and layers of people, we're going to have to assume that cost. We just have to decide.
[Roy Belson]: I think we can assess the flow during certain times of the day. Certainly in the morning, there are people using the pool facility and other things of that type down that area. Other times of day, people do come through there. but there are people coming through the vocational entrance or wanting to come through the vocational entrance. There are going to be people wanting to come through the bistro entrance. There are people wanting to go to make way for kids. There are people going to go to a lot of different entry points because it's more efficient. The difficulty for us is to determine, you know, which is the most necessary and how much we're willing to spend on having people in that category or how much we're willing to rely on the cameras and the Raptor system. and the buzzer systems to be the most, let's say, likely form of check.
[Roy Belson]: There aren't motion detectors coming in those doors, no. There are motion detectors going in some of the rooms that trigger the lighting, but not the... But if you go in the vocational office, there is a whole panorama, as you know, of cameras, of television screens, that you can see every door coming into the book. So theoretically, a person sitting at a desk, if someone coming to the door, could recognize a person, just like they do at an elementary school in many ways, and let them in and tell them to come to the office. Again, it's an issue of how much we're prepared to do for security.
[Roy Belson]: We can certainly ask to do it. Obviously, they're doing other things and getting out of the movement.
[Roy Belson]: There are certain times of the day when movement through there is more likely.
[Roy Belson]: There's 43 doors in the high school, all the doors would be open.
[Roy Belson]: I'm not sure what you're saying.
[Roy Belson]: For the two days?
[Roy Belson]: So maybe I can just add a little clarity. I think that you're looking at a half year thing. You said December 31st, but you're really looking at half year. The half year, believe it or not, is not December 31st because teachers are generally on a 10 month year. So why don't you say the half year whenever that falls, the next meeting, and then at the end of the fiscal year.
[Roy Belson]: Perfect. And then you'll get a full picture.
[Roy Belson]: Sure. If you're looking for a payroll report, if it's the mid-year, you'll get the payroll report that falls at the mid-year, typically the end of January, beginning of February, typically is the mid-year for the teachers and everyone else. That's the bulk of the payroll. The other report, you'll get a payroll, maybe the last payroll of the fiscal year. And you'll see the, you know, all the payments that are made at the end. Now, because of the way we're, it's kind of interesting, because of the way we're, we deal with faculty and others, they get a balloon payment at the end of the year because we defer payments. But some of the negotiation requests, which we'll talk about later, could alter some of that. So this is a little tricky at this point in time, but I'm sure we can provide something that would give you a sufficient look at who's getting paid and what they're getting paid. But you need to be careful how you try to translate it across the lines because it doesn't add just times this, times that.
[Roy Belson]: So you just want to be careful that you don't try to infer things from it because it may not be exactly the case. Each person's payroll may be slightly different because of the type of contract they're on and the type of payout that they get.
[Roy Belson]: Usually it's an alpha listing. An alpha listing.
[Roy Belson]: I think you get a good picture of things, and obviously you'd see everything.
[Roy Belson]: If a person makes a complaint or brings it to the attention of the principal, if you look at the back of this thing, there are forms that a person needs to fill out and follow. If they don't bring it to our attention, we may not know about it. But if you do, we'd have a record of this forum and a resolution on what was done. And it's pretty extensive. Now, every year when the administrators come back from the summer and they get ready for the year, part of our orientation is to go over these materials. So we do go over them. And then, of course, it's building base to go over them with your people in the building to make sure that they are familiar and that they're willing to use these things when it's brought to their attention. The incidence of cyberbullying has been out there for a while. And social media, as you might imagine, difficult because people are constantly commenting to each other and sometimes you're not sure when someone's aggravating a friend or they're actually bullying them. We've got to do more with that because it's very difficult to control that because it's so personalized by people calling each other up and doing things. I think people are aware of it. I think sometimes it doesn't hurt to refresh. It doesn't hurt to go back over it again, make a bigger issue out of it, maybe hold a couple of forums on it. But clearly it's a shared responsibility. School alone can't stop it. Parents have to be aware of it. Students have to be aware of it and report it when it's happening to them, especially the older ones. And we need to make it a shared responsibility. Otherwise, it's going to happen. And the important thing is that if it is reported to us that it's properly followed, we follow up on it. And people are brought in. And if there are consequences, we deal with it. The other factor is that we file discipline reports with the state every year. And if there was a situation where a person did something that rose to the level of requiring discipline, that would be part of the filing with the state. And that's one of the categories.
[Roy Belson]: No, they're generally handled by them unless it's going to something more serious and reaches a point. But Mr. Johnson's here, maybe he can give us a quick snapshot of what happens at the Roberts since Cheryl was here about the Roberts.
[Roy Belson]: So Mr. Johnson's here. Maybe he can give us a snapshot as to his experience with the Robertsons.
[Roy Belson]: So I think the sleeping dog in the room is the fact that social media also brings out the worst in parents and citizens who bully each other on a regular basis. You know, you don't have to go very far on social media to find out that adults are pounding each other on a regular basis, and they're certainly setting bad role models for their young people. And this is a bigger issue than schools, because social media has provided a forum for adults to insult each other on a regular basis. I've seen it on recent months and weeks. You just people saying things that are really horrific, and then you expect kids not to do the same thing. That's tough. So it's a bigger issue than just the kids. It's really something that has to come into the community and people have to say, social media provides opportunity, but it also provides a downside if it's not used properly. The lack of civility that seems to exist in these days is quite apparent. We need to do something about that because we are the role models for our young people. And if we're not using that role model particularly well, what do you expect the young people to do? They'll do exactly the same thing.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call on our assistant superintendent to read this report.
[Roy Belson]: Oh. I just want to point something out. As these reports come up, these reports are really great transition reports for my successor because they talk about what's going on. They talk about what we're going to do. So just so you're aware, these are the kinds of reports that I would forward to the person you select going forward so they can actually see what the departments are doing. as they come in, so put them over because it also may inform questions you may want to ask as you continue to go through the process. Because these are the kinds of things that are really specific to the school that a person coming in might not know off the top. And so I just want to mention it. And by the way, Nicole did a great job.
[Roy Belson]: So normally you would take the recommendation of these experts in the field, your department heads, unless you had such a severe difference of opinion. I mean, obviously, they're working every day with the teachers, they're working in the classrooms. Science is a hands-on learning experience, and that's experimentation and inquiry is the heart of science. In fact, the great criticism of a lot of the standardized tests that our young people have to take is that they're paper and pencil, and they're not inquiry-based. The fact that the elementary program is going to become much more inquiry-based and much more hands-on should be a plus in everyone's mind. The difficulty has always been getting publishers to do that because it requires a lot more work. It requires a lot more planning. And what they've always tried to do is just simply give us something and say, we've covered the material. From what I can see, dealing with Rocco and the science faculty so far, is that hands-on is the way to go. And right now, the premier program, as Rocco has identified, is false. So I would not want you to move away from it. But the decision is ultimately yours, because we make a recommendation, and you either accept or reject our recommendations for curriculum.
[Roy Belson]: Aye. Just a quick comment. Rocco's done a terrific job. You can tell how thorough it is. And we're very pleased to have him in that role. There's a lot of good people in these roles. There's a lot of good people in Rocco and, you know, and... Nicole, Dr. Chiesa. Dr. Chiesa, you know, both did a great job in Tony World, too. And this forms the basis for succession and transition. I want you to see this, because when you're listening to interviews, sometimes people don't know all the things going on. Tonight, I bet you the person interviewing the other night probably didn't remember half, didn't know half these things. Right. And there's quite a bit going. And talk about partnerships, they're all over the place. So just keep that in mind. As you go through these things, keep this in mind that a lot of people are doing some terrific things that the next superintendent will inherit and build on, hopefully. Just important to know that.
[Roy Belson]: We have several people that have known, told us they're retiring. There are other people who haven't. made it formal yet and yet there are other people who don't want to talk about it. So if they've made it formal and they've told us, we'll give you that. If they haven't, we may suspect it, but I can't, I'm not going to preempt anyone.
[Roy Belson]: I'm not sure what you're saying.
[Roy Belson]: That's up to the mayor and the committee. Right.
[Roy Belson]: So the same thing, I've given you an updated report from early childhood. which Diane and I worked with Shelly Gross earlier today to go over details. And you've got some numbers and the like. But in a nutshell, essentially, it really depends on what is the number of people at each school that want it. It also depends on the ability to us to retain qualified staff. to create the right space arrangements and have some predictability, because in most instances, these are second jobs for people that are a few hours a day. and we need qualified staff to be there. We also have some challenges with regard to who is in the program. In some cases, we're open to everybody, but if in fact a student has need based on special needs, based on other kinds of things that may require some additional assistance that may be different, it's professional development. There's program development in order to make the programs attractive. But we recognize that at two schools, the Brooks and the Columbus, the demand is growing. And that we're beginning to work very hard to expand it so we can accommodate those things. We're not against doing it, but it's very important to make sure that we can service people effectively. Because if you can't get the right staff and you can't get the right setup, You know, you don't want to open the door and then have the wrong numbers, because there are quotas based on early education and care rules that we have to follow. So we believe we can do it. You've got some numbers in front of you. You've got some staffing patterns in front of you. And we'll keep you informed. But I think it's premature until we get a little bit more to actually tell you what you will and won't do. There's a need to plan this out a little bit in each school and make sure the demand is there, and make sure the staffing can be met. But I think it's reasonable to assume that we won't be able to accommodate anybody that wants it.
[Roy Belson]: At the Brooks? Yeah, or all of them. Well, at the Brooks, there's probably going to get up to 150. Okay. You know, and like the Columbus will grow slightly, but it'll grow. The other places appear to be fairly stable right now.
[Roy Belson]: It's still coming, though, because, you know, it's obviously people are starting to say, well, what am I going to do in the fall?
[Roy Belson]: And other people are saying, well, I don't need that anymore because I'm doing something else. So, you know, it's fluid. But we can project that at the Brooks, the numbers are going to be very strong. At the Columbus, they're growing. And at the Roberts and the McGlynn, they seem to be stable right now. Thank you. OK.
[Roy Belson]: When we originally planned these programs, we looked to outsource them at the time. We found that the reliability of the outsourcing was not good. that they had the same issues in getting people and getting people trained the way we wanted them to. We also recognized that their costs were much higher and we would have to transmit that. We can control costs a lot better by keeping it inside. The real issue is to take a look at the staffing, to make it attractive, what kind of incentives can we give to employees who are only working four hours a day or five hours a day to stay with us and to be trained. and to go on from there, because that's really the trick, to get them to move on. So we'll work on it. We'll come up with it. We've done pretty well so far, just that it is a difficult thing when people are working four or five hours and they want to get another job, or they can get something that pays a little better. We have to decide, you know, how much we're willing to pay based on what we're willing to charge as well. It's also a revenue source for the school district, which offsets the cost of other things you're looking for.
[Roy Belson]: I'll certainly give you another report. We'll get you another report.
[Roy Belson]: Whether we have all the answers by June, I don't know, but we certainly will give you another report, because a lot of recruitment takes place over the summer. as people are looking for employment or making decisions about what they will do in the fall.
[Roy Belson]: I put two papers in your folder, didn't put them on the agenda because they're really just informational. The report on the last day of school, which is June 20th right now based on the fact that we're not going to have another snow day. And then a little bit of information on the student walkout, because it's been a little while since, I feel like, you know, just enough to give you information on what took place. Thank you. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Want to begin by apologizing to everyone for any disruption that my actions may have caused. There are people in the community who obviously were concerned, and so I respect that. There's a certain element of people that have certain political agendas, and I understand that. But we'll move forward, and in time, everything will heal.
[Roy Belson]: So I want to begin by apologizing to everyone for any disruption that my actions may have caused. Obviously, a decision was made that people don't agree with, but it also set off a whole series of concerns in the community, and that never was my intent. I'm confident that Medford has a bright future for its school system. We have a lot of good things in place. We have a terrific faculty, terrific administrators, wonderful supporters, people that have worked hard to partner with our schools. And I know that we will get a lot done in the next several months. and that the new administration coming in will come and build on a firm foundation. Mayor's words. And I think that the reality for all of us is to get beyond, to work to learn from this situation, and to grow together, and to make sure that we do everything we can to protect the children and families of Medford. Additionally, we will work much more closely with the police department. We have for many years. This was an exception, but I have a lot of confidence in our police department and Chief Sacco and others. And I want to make sure that everyone realizes that we will do everything we can to keep our young people safe. Thank you for being here tonight. I appreciate your support and I appreciate your understanding. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Well, naturally, you know, I wouldn't like my career to end this way, but it's, you know, but I think that we've still been able to do a lot. Remember, this is 50 years, 23 as superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: A decision was made that people don't agree with. but it also set off a whole series of concerns in the community and that's never was my intent.
[Roy Belson]: Aye.
[Roy Belson]: President Roy Bellson, superintendent of schools. 2500 Mystic Valley Parkway, Medford, Massachusetts. Mr. President, members of the council. Historically, the chief of police and the school system have worked very closely together on all security matters. In 1999, when Columbine hit, the chief and I were part of a group that formed the STARS program, School Threat Assessment and Response System. It was part of NMLEC, the Northeast Middlesex Law Enforcement Council. And since that time, we've worked very closely together to put together all kinds of security measures for our schools. And we communicate very regularly with each other. When we think there's a danger, we talk and we take action. Recently, Back in and around December 28th or 29th, I'm not 100% sure of that date, a cleaning service that's employed by the public schools at the McGlynn Complex, middle school and elementary, found in the rear of the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, in the back row under a seat, a magazine clip that contained some ammunition in it. It is unclear how much ammunition was in it. We know that it could have been, based on the chief's estimate, at least three to four rounds, but not necessarily a full clip. We can't tell that because we don't have the magazine. But from the picture that we were able to see, that's a reasonable estimate at this point in time. The cleaning service turned it over to a custodian at the building. The custodian brought the magazine clip to the principal's office at the McGlynn Middle, and put it on a shelf. That's the report that I have. Mr. President, just a point of information.
[Roy Belson]: So, School went on Christmas break on the 22nd of December. To the best of our knowledge, at least at this point, we're checking on a couple of other things. Only one entity used the McGlynn during that weekend for a holiday service. The cleaning service has informed us that they did a thorough cleaning of the facility, including the auditorium, which they would typically do on Fridays, and found nothing at that time. The service was over sometime on Sunday, and the holiday commenced on Monday. Sometime around the 28th, the cleaning service went back into the theater, or the 29th, I'm not 100% sure. and they found under the seat in the back row this magazine clip that I just described. It was turned over to the custodian, in-house custodian, whose name is Daniel Tully. Mr. Tully took that magazine clip, according to his report, and put it in the principal's office, Mr. Edwards' office, and he said on the shelf, along with some other things that were there, Mr. Edwards has told us that he came into his office in and around the 30th of December to do some work and to do some cleaning, at which point he alleges that he cleared away some things that were unnecessary and may have, he doesn't know, may have discarded the magazine clip.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I'm telling you what I know.
[Roy Belson]: And if you have other stories, I'll be happy to listen to them. But I'm telling you my latest.
[Roy Belson]: I'm telling you what I know. If I had a different story, I would say that also. I'm telling you what I know.
[Roy Belson]: I understand, but you have more information than I have then.
[Roy Belson]: So Mr. Edwards told me that he cleaned his office and he may have discarded the item. Now, if you know what a magazine clip looks like, it's about this long. It's black. Has some appearances that looks like it could be a small cell phone, small remote control, small other electronic device.
[Roy Belson]: I don't know what other items he had there and how it could have been confused. But that's the story that he provided to me. Now, we did not have any evidence of a magazine clip available to us. Sometime in early January, Mr. Tully came to my office during his shift and told me about what he had found. I asked him routine questions about where he found it, who was there, Those kinds of things. And he couldn't really fill in much more except the fact that he found it and put that in Mr. Edwards' office. We checked with different other people. And at this point in time, I'm unable to identify where the chain of custody took place after Mr. Edwards allegedly discarded the item, or did not see it. Now, subsequent to that, we try to make some decision as to whether we felt this rose to the level of a reportable incident. I'm told that Officer Ricciardi, who is the school resource officer, was also told at some point in early January. That's what I'm told. I want to be sure that I'm not 100% sure of that. At the time, we felt that it was an isolated incident, that it was something that was not dangerous in the sense because it wasn't a firearm. Bullets don't fire themselves, not a weapon. No weapon was found. we should take our time and not raise anxiety. However, subsequent to that, in conversations that I've had with people in recent times, indicates to me that even though we did not feel it presented a clear danger, that other people do, and that they would have preferred that we made a full report to the chief of police. And as I indicated earlier, the chief and I talk all the time. I have no problem telling the chief anything. And we've talked about a lot of difficult situations over the years. We don't hide things. But a judgment was made. And that judgment said, we don't see this as dangerous at this point in time. So therefore, I take responsibility for not reporting it to the chief. But I did so, I believe, in good conscience. I believe that it was something that I needed to know more about before I raised it or elevated it. Over the years, I have reported any number of things the chief can verify to him that I thought were dangerous. I don't believe that Mr. Edwards would have any motive for not turning it in. After all, he wasn't there on the weekend, didn't belong to him. He has turned in many items, and Officer Ricciardi has indicated this, to him on multiple occasions. So I don't believe he had any reason not to turn it in if he knew he had it. At this point in time, since it has become an issue, especially in light of what's taken place in other communities around the country. We have authorized a full sweep today, full sweep of the McGlynn Complex, which was conducted by Medford Police, Somerville Police, Everett Police, and Arlington Police with dogs that are weapons and drug trained. and we found no trace of weapons, ammunition, or drugs in the complex. I'm comfortable that that building is clear. We have also initiated, in order to help the public feel comfortable, a sweep of all school buildings over the next few days to ensure that there is nothing there that would be of concern. We are also planning this week to put together material, media, and others to talk to the public about the nature of school security, what we have in place, without getting into sensitive items, but what we have in place, and also to address this issue. I have communicated with the Teachers Association President, Charlene Douglas, and It's possible that I will meet with the McGlynn faculty on Monday afternoon to answer any questions they have. We believe that our schools are safe. We believe that we do more than most school systems do to keep our schools safe. We believe that we will continue to review and upgrade what we have if we find that there is room here to do so. and we believe that we can go forward recognizing that the decision that I made with others in my employee needs to be upgraded in the future and that a lesson learned. I'm happy to take any questions.
[Roy Belson]: Yes.
[Roy Belson]: No, the chief of police was not involved. I did talk to the principal. I did talk to the custodian. I did talk to a couple of other people that I work with. And in my opinion, at that particular point in time, Officer Ricciardi did come in at some point, came to the conclusion that it was not something that warranted a full investigation at this point.
[Roy Belson]: I saw the picture last night. And the clip is, if you look at the clip, you can see one bullet at the top, and then there are holes on the side. The chief can describe this better than I can. But he can tell how many rounds might be in it. But the person's hand covered most of it, holding it. So he couldn't tell beyond a certain point whether there were additional bullets beyond the 3 to 4 that he was able to identify.
[Roy Belson]: We have notified people on all kinds of situations in the past.
[Roy Belson]: We've reported multiple situations over the years of all kinds. Certainly, you know, one can debate whether this rose to that level But given the consensus that I have- All due respect, there's no debate.
[Roy Belson]: I'd like to respond to the notification issue. If you're speaking about a couple of years ago when there was a bomb threat at the high school, the issue wasn't, notification, the issue was timing of the notification, whether it was soon enough. And the committee decided to make it a little bit faster. We notified the public about that. We just didn't do it immediately afterwards. We did it a few hours later. We felt that more people would be home. But the committee felt differently, and we modified. Now as far as this situation goes, it happened during a school vacation. It happened when no students were in the building. It didn't happen where there was a firearm anywhere near it. And there was a plausible thought as to how it may have gotten there. Now, since that time, we're all aware of what happened in Florida. And I'm sure that there's a heightened feeling that somehow that is the same situation. It's not. However, Massachusetts has tremendous gun laws, tremendous gun laws. We can't buy what that individual bought in Florida, in Massachusetts. You can't do that. From our standpoint, from my standpoint, I made a decision. In that decision, we have back and forth, and it was determined that that was the wrong decision. I accept responsibility for it, and we'll go forward from that. but I made the decision in good faith. Sometimes, you know, we make decisions that people don't agree on. If I thought there was something live, if I thought that students were in the building, if I thought there was a weapon anywhere near the place, my decision would have been different. So I stand on that for the time being. I apologize to anyone who may feel that I did the wrong thing, but I certainly didn't do it with malintent or reason to let's say obfuscate any of the information from the public. I'll stand on that.
[Roy Belson]: Why didn't I think it was necessary in January?
[Roy Belson]: No, we don't think that's the case, because the cleaning service that found it cleans that area regularly and did not see it. It's clear to me that it landed there very recently in proximity to the time that it was found.
[Roy Belson]: I'm not gonna evaluate a principal in this forum. Let's understand that. I will take actions on personnel matters as we go forward into the spring, but I'm not gonna evaluate a person in this forum. That's not an appropriate way to do it. Individuals are entitled to due process. They're entitled to the protections of the law. So the reality is that we will be reviewing personnel. We will be reviewing policies and practices. We will be ramping up some of our drills. I've also told the principals that the week we come back, we're going to run a special drill I'm a little concerned about it in some ways because I don't want to heighten in the students' minds that this is somehow an emergency. But on the other hand, I think we should at least do one more drill at this point in time. It might help the community understand that we're prepared. But I think for the most realities of this thing, we will evaluate personnel and situations and policies. The Medford School Committee is going to meet on Thursday night. I'm sure that I'll hear from them pretty directly about what they want. And we will follow that. And this judgment that I made won't happen again. It's just that simple.
[Roy Belson]: So Councilor, you've been on the school committee.
[Roy Belson]: And you've received multiple phone calls or letters from me when situations have happened over the years. And I believe Councilor Scarpelli, you have also. Anyone who's on the school committee knows that it's a regular practice, and we do it. There are some things that happen in a school. It could be a kid fight, something else like that, or in the backyard, or an injury, or something like that, that you just can't take everything that happens every day and send it out. But having said that, this situation, in retrospect, was one that deserved notification. And the judgment that I made was not the best judgment at this point in time. I accept that.
[Roy Belson]: The school committee wants to be notified, Mr. Falco. I understand that. They want to be notified. on situations that are serious and I should have notified them on this one.
[Roy Belson]: I understand. And I just want to say that, you know, Normally, I tell the chief virtually everything because we have very good communication and have for many, many years. In this instance, I didn't do it. I failed in that regard. I accept that responsibility. But typically, the school committee does want to know. And I think it's clear to me that I should have informed them. But I don't believe and I think this is the key point that needs to be made and needs to be heard throughout the community. I don't believe our schools are unsafe. I don't believe that our children are in danger. I believe that the school committee, the council, by paying money for cameras and other things like that, have provided quite a bit. The police department has worked very closely with us, with resource officers, with all kinds of things. We work closely with the district attorney to determine what's happening on the street on a regular basis. There is a lot going on that heads off issues in our schools. If I made a mistake this time, not if I made, I made a mistake this time, I accept that responsibility. But I believe enough's in place. And I believe that if we, we dedicate ourselves to it, we'll be fine. I believe our schools are safe as any school in the Commonwealth. But having said that, there are no guarantees. There are no guarantees that I can give you or anyone of sound mind could give you. because we live in a society that is a little violent. We live in a society that does do unusual things at times, and we do have a lot of mental health out there, and there are guns on the street. And that requires even more, more from the people that make decisions, make decisions about these issues and these policies. But in this instance, I accept responsibility.
[Roy Belson]: I will put that on our calendar for Thursday evening.
[Roy Belson]: Yes.
[Roy Belson]: So let me ask a technical question of the clerk, if I may, through the chair. We've posted a meeting, Mr. Clerk. We've posted it at the high school. Can we make a modification if the chair agrees to make that modification under the open meeting law?
[Roy Belson]: So I'll communicate with your office tomorrow morning, and you can tell me whether we fall within the guidelines.
[Roy Belson]: Not at this point in time.
[Roy Belson]: So a comment on that. Of all the letters in ALICE, the only one we don't do is confront. Because everyone alerts people if there's something going on. Everyone locks down if they have to. Everyone informs mutual aid or assistance when they do it. And everyone tries to evacuate if they can. It's the confront part that becomes of concern. And the reason it's of concern Think about young kids, little kids. Should they be trying to confront? Are all teachers, are all staff physically able to confront? Will they try to confront? Can we mandate that they confront? There's a lot to this that needs to be thought about. And what age group do you start? And when do you start? It's really an active shooter program. It's not just a general program for bomb threats or things like that. It's a program. So there's a lot to it. In that regard, who confronts and in what way, and who's able to confront, not everybody is going to be willing to do that. So we have to think about it. Chief and I have talked about starting maybe with the older kids and the higher grade levels. There's some issues with it. But look, I am more than willing to have the discussion and to have an active give and take on this subject. But we need all the players who are going to be expected to step up to tell us whether they're prepared to confront. Now, the other day when the Parkland situation took place, if you remember the sequence, the individual pulled a fire alarm to get people to evacuate the setting and then was going to pick them off with his gun. I've heard many times, why don't we evacuate this? And I've told you in previous occasions that evacuation isn't always the best drill because the explosive or the sniper could be on the outside of the building, not just on the inside of the building. It's all situation-specific. And it needs to be talked about, more than willing to talk about it. Let's not just put out alphabet soup, ALICE, and say that's a cure-all. Happy to look at it. Happy to get people to talk about it. But it's got to be adopted and committed to by the people who are going to implement it, or else it's just another training program that will go nowhere.
[Roy Belson]: Yes.
[Roy Belson]: It's been offered to the president of the MTA. OK. And she hasn't confirmed it yet, but she thinks it's a good idea. But she has to confirm it.
[Roy Belson]: Well, that's a police investigation, so I leave that to the Chief to answer that one.
[Roy Belson]: STARS was set up to look at school threats, the acronym School Threat Assessment and Response System. So when a school threat is identified, or we believe it is identified, and we believe it requires additional resources above and beyond what we have, we would notify the STARS commanders. Chief Sacco once headed that group. I'm not sure who heads it now. We would notify them, and they would provide us with those resources. So let's say we needed a graphologist. They might have a graphologist. Let's say we needed a certain type of psychiatrist. They would help us with that. Let's say we needed a forensic help. There are certain police departments and entities in the state that have forensic, the bomb squads. They would coordinate the kind of specialized assistance that we need to make the appropriate threat assessment and then make the appropriate response. If we needed, unfortunately, a SWAT team, that would be the ultimate. But it's a coordinated response. And I want to make that point very clear. There's a lot of people out there selling products about, coordinating with schools and the like. There's a lot of money being made in the school security business right now. And part of it brings up the idea that we could have an uncoordinated response. And that's the last thing we wanted. The chief and I both agree that if we have a situation that requires mutual aid or specialized assistance, we want that coordinated. You may not know, but I think we will have said it many times, but maybe you don't remember. There are floor plans on the computers of the police cruisers. There are doors that are marked that people can go to. There's all kinds of pre-preparation in place for STARS to work and for our own police to respond strategically and specifically to areas which we believe require attention. What we don't want is we don't want what happened in 1992. Remember 1992?
[Roy Belson]: In 1992, there was a altercation at the high school. And at that time, people came from everywhere. Helicopters were flying over the building. People were coming in all different kinds of uniforms, not coordinating. And that only created more problems than it assisted in helping. So it's very important, and I thank the chief and his comrades at NMWEC for the work that they have put in to ensure that a response of that type through the STAR system is one that is coordinated, thorough, and strategic.
[Roy Belson]: Very different. Very different. If it occurred when students were there, would have been a full report and immediate response.
[Roy Belson]: I'm not going to blame anybody else. I knew about it. I have a relationship with the chief. I should have made the report.
[Roy Belson]: The next step is to continue to fortify and to continue to assess. I expect to be in front of you in and around March 6. I know you're looking forward to seeing me again. Attempted humor. to get funding for the upgrade to all the security cameras that we've put in place. We have upgraded all of them so that they're now capable to withstand some of the weather issues that previously they weren't. They have better visibility. They have better ability to pan. And we think it's a distinct improvement over what we've been able to have in the past. So I'll be in front of you for that, too.
[Roy Belson]: I think so. I think there are a lot of terrific groups that rent our schools. And every group from Cub Scouts to all kinds of groups all the way up rent our schools or use our schools in a meaningful way. This is an outlier situation. This is not something that's happened frequently. Maybe we didn't handle it. Maybe I didn't handle it well. But that doesn't mean we should deprive the community of the resources of the schools, which I think are very important to providing appropriate recreation and assistance. Look, shut down the pool, we just did it. You want to shut down the gymnasium? We can't do that. We can't live in fear.
[Roy Belson]: So I appreciate the observation. I can assure you that my conversations with certain individuals will be very direct and very thorough, and that decisions will be made about a lot of things in the next short period of time.
[Roy Belson]: I don't think it was a question of coordination. Not notifying.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. I'll accept that.
[Roy Belson]: We don't brush things under the rug.
[Roy Belson]: We don't brush things under the rug. But from time to time, we make decisions. That's what decision makers do. We make decisions. And if I've made a decision that didn't square with everyone else, then I accept responsibility for that. But we don't brush things under the rug. And the chief will tell you that we have talked about some very tough items. And there will be some things you don't know about because they're personal and they're caught up in legal matters that you can't know and the school committee gets advised of because it's not a public matter. But that's the way it is. And that's what's required by law. But clearly on safety matters, safety matters, we don't brush things under the rug. Now as far as people using our facilities, we can cancel every basketball game, we can cancel every hockey game, let me finish, we can cancel every game where people come in who are visiting from some other place. We know, we know that in society today there are some people out there that do horrible things. And we can't just regulate everything that's going on all around us. Now, if you don't want to rent the school properties, if you don't feel that that revenue or that communication with the public is a good one, that can be a policy discussion with the school committee guided by some input that you want to make. But clearly, our schools Our schools are going to be places, they've been community schools for years. People have used them. And people come in visiting from other communities and the like. If we stopped everyone at the door, let me finish the point. If we stopped everyone at the door, the event would never happen. So I understand what you're saying. But clearly, we don't hide anything. This was a situation, it's unfortunate. And as I've said before, I'm taking responsibility for it. I'm not sure how much more I can say that.
[Roy Belson]: That's my assumption. Investigation is undergoing. I'm not going to conclude anything until the police finish their work. Right.
[Roy Belson]: These buildings, when they're rented of that type, like for example, the Japanese language school has two security guards there. They pay for them.
[Roy Belson]: They pay for coverage by custodians who function as security. So we have custodians that are now security guards. Are they paying a different rate? They provide us with coverage in those buildings. That's what we need.
[Roy Belson]: We have provided some security, have paid for some security of certain people in these large groups. I've mentioned the Japanese as an example. But, you know, not every group is paying for security, so maybe we need to look at it. Okay? Maybe we need to look at it.
[Roy Belson]: So Mr. President, if I make one more comment, if I can. I've heard the word retaliation. There will be no retaliation. There are a couple of legal matters pending. And those legal matters are being represented by legal counsel of the city. and to indicate that somehow something is wrong because we defend ourselves in a legal setting in this public forum is wrong. Furthermore, if there was any evidence of retaliation, I would not allow it in any way, shape or form. I hope you realize that. And secondly, with regard to that, There are situations and decisions that are made that people don't always agree with in terms of educational assignments, programs, services, and the like. But they're made. Some people agree and some people disagree. And that's the nature of how we plan and how we go forward. And just because there's some disagreement doesn't necessarily mean that people are at risk of losing their jobs. People have professional status rights. They have all kinds of rights under their contract, all kinds of rights under the law. Nothing's going to happen that's inappropriate. If we disagree with someone on an issue, that can happen. But that happens in almost every forum and any place you go, in any operation, there may be some disagreements. But no one is in jeopardy of losing their job in that regard because they spoke up or said something. In fact, I appreciate it when people speak up. I like it when people speak to my face directly and call me on the phone when they've got something to say, rather than go to everybody else. Not everybody does that.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Well, there are people, Mr. President, there are people, Mr. President, who want to go and find out from the person responsible. And there are people that go around. I don't have a problem with that in this particular point. but it does speak to the issue. And as far as trust goes, it cuts two ways.
[Roy Belson]: This committee, the whole meeting, is already been posted. Posted, all right? Location, time, and 48-hour notice. So you just can't change it.
[Roy Belson]: It's a little easier to do, but this is our department. I don't know if that.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. President, members of the council, I want to answer a couple questions that were raised during the discussion. I think it's important that this be public information. As I indicated earlier, I made the decision, whether it was right or wrong, I made that decision. I did not inform the school committee or the mayor until Friday. So I want to make sure everyone understands that. And the police chief and I talked Friday morning, directly. So I want to make sure everyone understands that sequence at this particular point in time. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Regular business.
[Roy Belson]: just so it's clear for everyone and anyone watching on television, the focus group for the general public is Thursday, the 15th of February, two sessions, three to five and six to eight. Three to five, six to eight, right here. The rules are that anyone can come up, there's no preferential order, no one gets any specific, Three to five minutes to make a statement. If you don't want to make a statement, you just want to give something written, it'll be taken by MASC and it'll be brought into the thing as if it were oral testimony. Okay, so any questions about that, anyone can come in. We're advertised, we're out there. The administrators will have an opportunity tomorrow to speak with MASC. The teachers will have an opportunity later in the day tomorrow and also they can participate in the general public if they choose to do so.
[Roy Belson]: It's not going to be televised, no. It's intake for the individual. OK.
[Roy Belson]: It's advertised. We put it out there. I hope that we contacted you, Miranda. Did you get that? I got it, yes. OK. So hopefully you'll give it a nice online Prominence and we'll get it all over our media We'll put it out.
[Roy Belson]: And then forward to City Council for their
[Roy Belson]: We can give you a breakdown.
[Roy Belson]: Who's using which school and when?
[Roy Belson]: Sure, I'll second that.
[Roy Belson]: There are two items. There's the committee report.
[Roy Belson]: There's the committee report, which was read, and then there's the action item on the old business. So we should look at the old business item, and that's what you're voting, not the committee report you're accepting for information. So we just have to make a distinction. So if you're going to make a reference, you have to look at this. The second thing is, is that you may know that Medford alumni Michael Bloomberg gave $50 million to the Science Museum. I have a funny feeling we won't have to cost it for our children.
[Roy Belson]: If you were to include the ADA regulations, you have to give them a book. And they're not going to read the whole book. The basic premise is it's accessible, transportation is accessible, the location is accessible and supports are provided, accommodations if required. Three basic principles.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call up Tony Sickney, our director of fine arts, to tell us about these music awards that have honored our students for their terrific participation.
[Roy Belson]: So we're very versatile as a school system. You just saw all the music awards. Now we're talking about marketing. We're talking about sales. We're talking about the economy. We've got our vocational director, our associate director, and our teacher of marketing, DECA, Frank Owisi, here to present some awards on DECA. the achievements that the students have made in their competition. Come on up.
[Roy Belson]: So if you get asked, is there anything going on at the Medford Public Schools, you have some remarkable stories tonight. Remarkable stories tonight.
[Roy Belson]: So every year, as you know, we have kindergartners who register for the Medford Public Schools. And we begin in March. We have building bridges to help parents understand the kindergarten program. You've got all the materials in front of you. And we're just doing this to announce it taking place. And if you want to attend and see how it goes, it's a great event. And it helps people better understand how kindergarten works in the Medford Public Schools. So without further ado, I think that's answers it.
[Roy Belson]: Maria's got a question.
[Roy Belson]: March 5th.
[Roy Belson]: So part of that is the fact that some of them will exercise choice options. And for some reasons, they're also involved in that. But we could probably arrange a, let's say, a program that ties it together. So once a choice is made, there's an open house or activity at the school. That might give us the best of both worlds. OK?
[Roy Belson]: Kathy passes that out all the time.
[Roy Belson]: They have that material through the Building Bridges Program? Okay, so I'll ask you questions I can look at I'll get you more specifics is actually what they do So the registration will begin on March 5th 2018
[Roy Belson]: So as the mayor points out, you asked that we look at housing units or complexes at 100. The last time we did it was 150. So this is that in-between group, and there were four of them there that we looked at. And this gives you a breakout. It doesn't substantially affect our enrollment in any way. We still have plenty of capacity, and this gives you an update in general enrollment in the public schools.
[Roy Belson]: We don't have access to that, so we can't really tell you that for sure. And oftentimes, the numbers of people coming and going, if they take an apartment for a short period of time, they leave before the child becomes school age. But if the pattern is consistent with what we're seeing, it's probably not that many people. They're not set up for large families, and so as a result, we don't see an impact.
[Roy Belson]: Remember the report we gave you was a September report, and naturally young people come in during the fall months. So this is really just the growth that would typically take place in the beginning of the school year.
[Roy Belson]: If you take a look, it's broken by school. You can see it.
[Roy Belson]: So if you take a look on the back page, you can see, for example, if you look at 48 Forest Street, where Forest Street is generally in the Roberts District. Okay. So as a result, you can, you can read, if you look at the thing, if you look at Mystic Valley Parkway, you're looking at the McGlynn primarily. If you're looking at station landing, you're probably looking at somewhere between the Roberts and the, um, and the McGlynn. Uh, 9th Street, again, the Roberts. And so that gives you an idea of where the, where the distribution is.
[Roy Belson]: No, these people were included in your numbers before, but they weren't broken out because they weren't by 100 units. You asked to find out whether or not there were young people in the 100 unit departments, and this is the breakout that's there. OK?
[Roy Belson]: If you have any questions, we'll send you the other report.
[Roy Belson]: So this is another, you know, report that you would ask for. Is Chad and Jill still here? No.
[Roy Belson]: Well, remember, the media program is infancy this year. Right. So what you see is, you see the youngsters, you know, coming up. If we find that that requires that.
[Roy Belson]: But at this point in time, you know, if they're not there 100% of the time, because the freshman numbers make up, you know, the largest portion of that. Because the freshmen are there and then the upperclassmen are only there one week on, one week off. Okay. The numbers really depend on the type of SHOP program that it is and also, you know, whether they're an A-Week, B-Week, and the freshman numbers of the first column. Now, as I indicate in the report, 40 to 60 percent of the freshman numbers will probably stay with it.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so that number will come down, but the next class will come in.
[Roy Belson]: So, we expect that the vocational CTE enrollments will increase. But they'll still be within margins that we can work with. If we need a second teacher, we'll go there. If we don't need a second teacher, we'll pull it back. The one thing I did note, that auto collision is very, very low. And it's a distinct possibility we'll either suspend that enrollment for going forward in the future and look at that area possibly for another type of shot. But we'll see how that goes. Let's see what happens as we move forward.
[Roy Belson]: The regional that we most typically use doesn't have that program, so that's a good thing.
[Roy Belson]: Others do. They might. I doubt it, considering the fact that if they wanted it, they would have signed up for it.
[Roy Belson]: So budget discussion. Mr. Ruggiero.
[Roy Belson]: say this for sure, is that if we recaptured a space such as the auto-collision space, we might convert that into something else. The one caveat of that particular space is it's right on top of the media center. We wouldn't want the banging going on in that center. We'd go with the flow a little bit. Did I say that? We'd probably move it to a different area near the HVAC and move something else into that area.
[Roy Belson]: Minuteman has about seven students right now. Essex Aggie has four. They're an agriculture school that we don't have the capacity to serve. We expect that the Minuteman number is going to drop down in half, if not more, next year. And little by little, we won't have anybody at Minuteman, I would think. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So we're going to call upon our Director of Finance and Administration to explain this report.
[Roy Belson]: So I've provided you a report on the state budget as it currently stands. Now, House 2 is the governor's proposal. The governor's proposal, with no disrespect to the governor, is generally dead on arrival in the legislature almost immediately because the legislature has its own view of what they want to do. Although, many elements in the governor's budget will be sustained by the legislature as well. And there are any number of things that have to go through. But we won't really get a final budget out of the state until June. We'll get a very good idea of where the House and the Senate are going with it. Primarily the Senate and the House, you know, when they get through the conference committee, probably in early June. Probably get a pretty good idea as to what's taking place. But we won't get a real vote on it until we're into June. But we work on estimates and we, a lot of these things are ideas and they're trends. But I want to go over some of them because they have an impact on us. And they also have an impact on what might happen at the federal level. and what might happen with regard to the new tax laws that may or may not take place, and also, in fact, the new tax law that's been passed by the federal government. So let's go over a couple of things so you're aware of it, because this informs our budget planning process. It also informs our lobbying efforts at the state level, as we talk to people and ask for certain supplementals and other budgets to be upgraded as we move forward through the budget process. So the process begins every year with a consensus budget revenue estimate, which is agreed upon by the governor and the House and Senate leadership. Now, that estimate this year went up about 3.5%. Now, that's nowhere near enough for all the things that people ask for, but that's where they're going right now. And the budget itself proposed a 2.6 increase to the budget of 40.9 million. The main source of education funding is Chapter 70. Chapter 70 is done by formula. It's done by student population, by need, and all those other factors. Based on that, we are a budget, our school, city, that is above foundation. Most cities are, although there are a number of cities that are not. If you're above foundation, you get minimum aid. The governor's proposal is $20 per pupil, which is a robust $93,000, which goes nowhere very quickly. Before we even think about it, $93,000 is out the window. The Senate and the House tend to increase that either by $5 to $10 a year. which still doesn't do that much for us, but it's still a little bit better. So we'll be lobbying the House and the Senate to increase that particular amount. Now, the overall increase to Chapter 70 is $104.9 million. That's for 321 operating school districts. You can see that's not a lot of money going out. And you can imagine the big cities Boston, Worcester, Lawrence, Lowell, Fall River, New Bedford, places like that, with high need, get the bulk of those increases. If we move on a little bit, unrestricted local aid, which is not education aid, goes to the city, and that's up by 425,970. Don't clap yet. Don't clap yet. You see the next line tells you that before you're through, When you take away the assessments and you get a sheet here, we lose $17,000 in change. So we're getting $17,000 in change less based on the ins and outs of the cherry sheet, which is included here, the estimated cherry sheet and the governor's thing. So it's tricky. You might think you're getting your way. When you hear people say you're getting all this money, you're not. What you're getting is you're getting a balance between assessments and revenue. Now that doesn't include things like, you know, meals tax and things like that. And that's, that's a different ball game altogether, but direct aid to the city and to the schools. Um, we net loss of 17,000. Um, two major concerns in the governor's proposed budget that I want to mention is the underfunding of the charter school reimbursements. It's probably somewhere in the vicinity, of $70 million less across the commonwealth than the formula or the entitlement formula would otherwise provide. So when people still rail against charter schools and enrollment in charter schools, it's because it's underfunded. I have no problem with kids who want to go to charter school, go, but if you have an entitlement formula funded closer to the entitlement in every year, that hasn't increased for the last four or five years, that assessment. So that's something to pay attention to. And the other factor is the circuit breaker. The circuit breaker is for extraordinary special needs costs. The way the circuit breaker works is that four times foundation, which in this instance is probably about $44,000. Kathy, roughly? Yeah, someplace in there. It used to be $28,000. After you hit $44,000 on a placement, The state allegedly will give us 75% back on the remaining budget. So let's say the cost of this private school is $100,000. Based on that, the $56,000 delta would then be eligible for 75%. However, they funded it at 65% in this budget, which means that at this particular point in time, Medford will be short somewhere around $155,000. By the way, going back to the charter school thing, the reimbursement's about $400,000 lower than it should be to Medford, based on the actual formula. So it gives you an idea that, you know, we have entitlement formulas, but they don't get funded. Probably the saddest words in budget preparation is subject to appropriation. They pass a law, you have an entitlement, and then it's subject to appropriation. If the appropriation doesn't keep pace with the entitlement or the formula, you don't get what you think you're going to get. So that's always a tricky factor. There are multiple other variables that must be considered when planning a budget for fiscal 2019. Uncertainty in the federal budget, impacting grants of Medicaid distributions to state, city, and schools. We don't know what's going to happen. The costs of health care, always going up right now. The cost of negotiated salaries. We're in collective bargaining right now. Whatever we negotiate has to be accounted for. The impact of possible reduction in the sales tax through the initiative petition. There's an initiative petition that could make its way to the ballot if it does. It could be a reduction in the sales tax. And then there's the fair share tax, which is sometimes known as the millionaire's tax. If that were to go through, the estimate is that somewhere, the state might get $2 billion. But how it gets distributed back to the cities and towns will depend on the formula that's used. And when, okay? And then of course there's the increase in other service costs, whether it be transportation, energy or any of those things all have to be factored into budget planning. So this is intended to give you a little bit of a appetizer as to how we have to look at the budget as we go forward for next year. Obviously, it's very important that we work very hard to secure our current and potential revenue. A lot of our budget is based on revenue. And we need to be aggressive about that. We have some good possibilities, but they have to be developed aggressively. to maintain and enhance them so our educational programs and services don't get cut by reductions in aid. The House and Senate will be preparing their budgets. The House begins in April, the Senate begins in May, typically, and the conference committee sometime towards the end of May, early June. And we typically do budget, full budget in June. We do pre-budgets as we go forward. In the next couple of months, you'll start seeing pre-budgets come out as the department heads and principals and school Councilors will come forward and tell you what they think their needs are. And we'll have to listen to that. We'll also be in collective bargaining discussions as to what we intend to do with our various unions. So this is a quick synopsis of the budget. I've also given you a couple of other articles to read in the back that you might find interesting with regard to budgets. They come from local publications. It's one of them state leaders are facing trickiest budget cycle in recent years. And there's another one back here that deals with the budget as well. So let me see if I can give you the title of that.
[Roy Belson]: So the challenges that the city faces, you know, in funding schools and other city services is really characterized by this type of funding.
[Roy Belson]: why don't we put it on an agenda for like community relations subcommittee meeting, which we can, and then possibly use our new media, you know, put it out there on the webpage and let people know the challenges the city faces. I mean, that's really, it's true of our virtually every city in town in the Commonwealth right now. And the good news is that Medford does do a lot of things locally to, to generate revenue, but it's a challenge more and more. The idea when two and a half came in was, is that the state would step in and pick up.
[Roy Belson]: We've intended to give people, you know, the inflation index numbers, you know, consumer price index, the other things. You give them an idea, but it really depends on what you're talking about, what the cost of a particular good and service is. Some things are inflationary, some things are deflationary. So, you know, you have to really look at the item itself because the totality contains both inflationary and deflationary items. So it's not easy to just simply put a simple number, but you can give people an idea. Give people an idea.
[Roy Belson]: There's some Cambridge activities. Some people have gone to Advanced Science, a little bit further, Marlborough. There are a few that's better, but the big ones, Mystic Valley, Prospect Hill, and Cambridge are probably the biggest ones. OK. We can give you a listing of those at this point. Again, let's just start off by saying, because I know it's a sensitive topic, is that not necessarily against charter schools per se, it's the funding formula that needs to be sustained. I mean, if you're going to say, well, this is going to happen, then it's got to happen. Otherwise, it's just really just taking people down the road, and communities have to bear the cost. The state doesn't want to take on the structural deficit, so they pass it on to the community. That number, that $80 million, hasn't gone up in years.
[Roy Belson]: Is there a second?
[Roy Belson]: So just to cover that, I appreciate that Cheryl's done some research, but we need to be very careful of a few things. When people come in and give estimates, remember, we're a public entity. We have to go through a bid process. We have to pay prevailing wage. We have all number of things that we can't skirt around that maybe a contractor might say, you could do it for this, you could do it for that. We also have to concern ourselves about liability, things that are put together by people who mean well, but maybe are not professional. might actually get it done, but there might be something that goes wrong. And if it goes wrong, we could be liable. So the suggestions are good ones. We'll look into them, but there's no silver bullet on these things. Uh, people give us estimates all the time, some high, some low, but there are some other factors we have to pay attention to when we do procurement. So I just want to make sure everybody understands it's not just a simple thing. And when we have do things, even with the best intentions, we run into liability issues if they're not properly put together. So thanks for the ideas. Let's look into them, but let's be careful.
[Roy Belson]: You've got to be very careful because if you put this interlocking rubber on top of what you've got, you've got to make sure that what's below it is properly set up. If you have the best intentions and you do certain things, you may undercut the ability to put these things. There may be a shortcut or two that may seem plausible at this point in time. I would want to make sure that it's done right because we're talking safety. You also have to make sure that the diameter of the rubber is at the proper thickness for the height of the structure. So that, I don't know what you quoted on the diameter of the rubber, but the rubber has to be a certain thickness in order to absorb shock. you know, that might take place. And we have some structures that are higher and some that are lower. All this should be thought through professionally, because the first time something goes wrong, there'll be some sharp lawyer out there who will take us down the street.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, well, you know, let's go over together. Let's go, you know No, but it doesn't have to be done by hand.
[Roy Belson]: We'll have to sign off on it. We sign off and send a letter of support.
[Roy Belson]: Paul Texera is working on different languages. But there's no reason why the English language one can't begin to be disseminated.
[Roy Belson]: When it's ready, we'll put it up as soon as it's ready to go. Great. We'll see. We're going to see Glenn this week anyway. Glenn's in Washington today, but he'll be back on this for the middle of the week.
[Roy Belson]: So Glenn is coming back from Washington. He wasn't sure how many nights we wanted to go with focus groups. He had set aside the 15th. or initially, but he's available on the 13th and the 14th. So when he comes back tomorrow, I'll have a discussion with him as to whether he thinks we can do two a night or two, you know, or, or three a night if it necessary or needs a couple of days to do it. Two a night? Well, you have, you know, an hour for one group, an hour for another group. You are an hour and a half for one group, an hour and a half for another group.
[Roy Belson]: Could be. Could be.
[Roy Belson]: But Glenn's going to be around. So we need to set up a time as to when it's convenient for people who are in certain categories to meet. Like you'd meet with certain administrators after school. You could meet with teachers after school. I just need time to talk to Glenn. I spoke to him today when he was in Washington as a conference.
[Roy Belson]: That's the 15th. Okay. And we'll, we have to sit down and find out what he thinks is, you know, and you'll probably get that answer on Wednesday. Uh, what he thinks is an appropriate number of people to be in a focus group. Cause obviously you don't need a hundred people in a room and won't, it won't give people a chance to talk, but you know, we're representative group and we have to think what that is.
[Roy Belson]: So I know that the applications have gone out to superintendents and assistant superintendents and other administrators across the state because I got one. Just kidding.
[Roy Belson]: A statement of her most interest.
[Roy Belson]: So a focus group of the administrators will be a collection of administrators. A focus group of teachers will be a collection of teachers representing all levels. The community is a little tougher, and I want to take some guidance from Glenn as to how we set it up elsewhere and how we've got representation probably from each school, from some of the other areas that have interest. Obviously, you can't have everybody in the room at the same time, or it won't be much of a discussion. Everybody will get half a comment, and it'll be over. OK?
[Roy Belson]: Right. And then when you go to the larger arena, when people have public interviews, meet the candidates, you will have opportunities for people to interact with you and give you feedback. This is a process. You're going to get increasing amounts of feedback, and I'm sure you'll Once names come out, you'll start to hear from people coming out anyway.
[Roy Belson]: We can talk to... Childcare for what event though?
[Roy Belson]: We can try and get that. We can try and get that.
[Roy Belson]: Just a couple of other things if I can. Thursday night, taping, 7 o'clock at the theater. Okay, just so you're aware of that. And next week, we're going to start earlier. I've sent you out an email. I'll get a posting on that.
[Roy Belson]: Community of the Hall. And it'll be across the hall. At 6? I'd like to do it at like 6.15. You know what I mean?
[Roy Belson]: 6.15, Monday night. 6.15. So we can go over some things that are associated with the selection process so that we've got some guidance, and then we can move that forward, too.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah across the hall. We'll do it here. We have to book 201 201 and the other pieces is that I've Suggested that in order to give us self-sufficient time that our regular meeting started 730, so we don't feel rushed You know if we want to take a few extra minutes to go over things. I think it's important that You don't feel like you're under fire to end the discussion if you need an extra 15 minutes. I
[Roy Belson]: Almost a record.
[Roy Belson]: Diane will answer that. We've put things in place, but there's some things to go. It still has to happen.
[Roy Belson]: So if I could, just before you go there, Christine is not able to be here tonight. So I may not be familiar with everything that's there. Maybe we could just hold it for another week.
[Roy Belson]: The Middlesex Partnership for Youth is a longstanding alliance we have. Originally started with the District Attorney's Office, has now moved independently because of certain regulatory requirements. But they provide multiple workshops and multiple collaborations with regard to substance abuse, child abuse, mental health, all kinds. We run all kinds of workshops. And that's an annual membership that allows us to participate.
[Roy Belson]: Let me take a good look at that one. Page 15 of January 12th.
[Roy Belson]: It's probably a function of funds that went unused because they could not be applied. Sometimes what happens, these things are for fringe benefits and the like, and if they're not applicable, we can't expend on them and then we have to return to the commonwealth at the end of the grant period. But I can get more specific once I get in behind it.
[Roy Belson]: Well, sometimes, you know, the categories don't match up.
[Roy Belson]: Again, it's probably for a category that we can't use. So sometimes it's more than most likely to infringe benefits. If a person doesn't take something, we have to put it in the grant. But if they don't take the benefit, we can't expend against it. You have to make a transfer, and sometimes they allow it, and sometimes they don't.
[Roy Belson]: Where is that again?
[Roy Belson]: So American Alarm is involved with our security and camera systems and the like. I don't know the specifics of each one of these, but I'm sure it's tied into the fact we've just installed additional security pieces. And I suspect that those are charges that are associated with that. I see, okay.
[Roy Belson]: Next one is not quite ready yet.
[Roy Belson]: It's on the agenda as a specific vote.
[Roy Belson]: Well, the estimates vary. It depends on what we decide should be the surface on those playgrounds because we may not want to go with the same surface. We may want something different, something that maybe is a newer product than what we put in place. 15, 16 years ago. And we need to get a better estimate on that. So while this may be an interesting opportunity, we're also looking at the community preservation grant for other issues as well. Going forward, generally for us in the second round, and I was going to give you some materials on that at a subsequent meeting, because the second round will be coming up as well. and to look at a larger picture. But I think if we, since it's March 2nd, I think we can put it on the table tonight. I'll come back with more specifics and try to give you an idea of whether this is feasible under the Community Preservation Grant or whether it needs to go through some other process. I think that's probably the best way to go. Obviously, we're glad to get any funding we can get, appreciate your efforts. But to do this right, this is not a $5,000 or $10,000 expenditure. This could be $75,000, $100,000, or more. So this is not something that's going to be easily acquired from any one source.
[Roy Belson]: Got it.
[Roy Belson]: If you want it on the next agenda, it has to happen in between now and the next thing. So she has a March 2 deadline to submit. So before February 2. Right. So before February 2. Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: So Mayor and members of the committee, earlier in the minutes you heard that we approved retaining Massachusetts Association of School Committees to be our agent to advance the search. This afternoon, the mayor and I met with Glenn Kuchar, the executive director of MASC, and went over all the different functions and activities that they can assist us with. And it's quite substantial. And as you know, because we pay dues, we're not incurring an additional charge, which we might if we contracted with someone else. In the interim, We've put a pretty aggressive schedule together, as the mayor indicated, we'll clean it up tonight and get something out to you over the next day or so. But the first schedule was obviously the search committee, and the mayor's put something like that out. But in the interim, just to give you some information with regard to this particular activity, Glenn Kuchar indicated to us that he could distribute our brochure, he could distribute our applications, he could take in the applications as they came in, turn them around very quickly, give us a tiering as to who's eligible and not, just simply by licensure and a few things like that, get it over to the search committee, generally within a day, believe it or not. and create the circumstances in which this would go forward. We'd also work on creating focus groups and other aspects of this search site visits and other things that you may want to do or not want to do. But clearly this will take us into high gear with the idea being that a decision would be made sometime at the beginning of April. And this is the path we're on so The report I'm giving you right now gives you an idea that he'll get it out to a wide audience to help us screen the applicants to make sure the people are eligible. The search committee will get every applicant, whether they consider them eligible or not, in hard copy as well as electronically. The survey developed by the school committee, I want to talk to Mr. Rousseau about that. He will assist in getting that out and pulling those results together along with the focus groups. Again, pulling it together so that it takes the burden off any one member to do that or the administrations to keep it clean. He'll assist in the preparation of interviews, questions for you to help you develop questions and appropriate information so you can group them properly. I went through a process of how they do that. And then, of course, following up with contract negotiations with the successful candidate or the candidate that you select. So there's a lot here. Clearly, having an agent on board moves it forward, takes the burden off us to do it, and it keeps us on track to have a decision by April, hopefully. Now, the one thing we've got to understand is that when materials come in, it's confidential at this point in time. Just because you get something doesn't mean you go talking about who applied, because people are entitled to a certain amount of privacy. Once it reaches the final stage, privacy's off. And then people can see it, there'll be public interviews, there'll be all the kinds of things that will give the community total transparency as to the process. It's very extensive, and I think that based on the discussions we had today and based on what you will learn in the next few days, that you'll see this is a very, very wide open search. It's intended to bring in candidates around. He's in Lexington tonight. I think Lexington's about to make a decision tonight on its selection and a few other communities that'll be moving forward. And I think we'll be excited to see pools of candidates come into our program. So with that, I think that gives you an update on MASC's involvement. Quickly came to the table with us today. Remember, we only did it last week and quickly came to the table today to work out some details.
[Roy Belson]: Just if we will, we have to go over a couple of things because it's on your account and we need to move it over. A couple of technical things that we're going to have to do.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. I think, you know, the multitude of activities that you'll see will indicate this is going to be a very public process.
[Roy Belson]: Well, there'll be some cost for materials that we have to pass out and things like that, but we're not talking about search consultants. Based on what I've talked about. Right.
[Roy Belson]: That's for full search done by them, totally by them. We've already put some things together. We've already done quite a bit. So it's different. We'll get a number, but the number is not what would have been for a full search if they did it from scratch.
[Roy Belson]: So I'm telling you tonight that Rita DeCarlo, done an outstanding job for us in foreign language, has announced her retirement. It's an important area for us. She spent over 30 years. And I'm telling you that I want to begin the search at this point in time for a replacement. And we will do it the usual way we do it, where we have some candidates come in, we screen them down, and then we give you a chance to look at the top three candidates that come to you. And you'll give us feedback, and then we make an appointment. I'd like to get going with that.
[Roy Belson]: So the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has launched an initiative which will celebrate Massachusetts and Massachusetts' achievements as leading the nation. Massachusetts, as you know, leads the nation in typical test scores and other kinds of indicators. Also, if you look at the PISA results, the international results, if Massachusetts counts itself as a nation, which we do in the rankings, we're always very close to the top, if not on top. Massachusetts has decided through the department to celebrate that and they've begun a project to provide a statewide platform for public schools in Massachusetts to celebrate their great achievements. We've already begun to pull together highlights and other things that are particular to us that go beyond testing. that highlight the kinds of educational programs that we're running, that we believe make Massachusetts not only tops in those categories of testing, but actually makes Massachusetts, in places like Medford, renowned for doing some terrific programs, whether it's Global Scholars, CCSR, or other things that you have heard about over the years. I want to make you aware of it, because we're going to start to ramp up very soon. And we hope that you'll all participate. And you can see some of the things that are going to go on statewide at the Statehouse and other activities, which will give us an opportunity to highlight our school systems. We'll also use our various media to talk about the things that are going well in our community and neighboring communities and the things we collaborate with. So that's just an informational piece for you right now to let you know and welcome any ideas that you may have.
[Roy Belson]: We've actually got some interviews going on, I believe, the end of this week. They'll be interviewing, they've narrowed it down to three finalists, a person who's a deputy commissioner in the state of New York, a person who's a deputy commissioner in the state of Texas, and the current superintendent of the Lawrence Public Schools have been designated as the three finalists. The board will interview them and potentially even next week, they'll make a decision and make their recommendation to the Secretary of Education, Mr. Pizer. will have an affirmation or a veto at his discretion. Hopefully we'll have someone in place very soon in that role. When that person will actually take office, I don't know. It probably depends on their current contracts and their current obligations. But I assume that in the interim, Jeff Wilson will continue to be the acting commissioner until that person can actually assume the role. So we expect that to happen fairly soon. And I'll get you posted as soon as I know.
[Roy Belson]: They've named three finalists. So if I want to speculate, I might have thoughts, but it would be inappropriate.
[Roy Belson]: I'll keep you posted.
[Roy Belson]: So as our community becomes culturally and religiously diverse more so than It has been, although, you know, it's quite a change. In 1982, 4% of our school population were persons of color. Today, it's close to 38%. You have an idea of what's taken place over time. But as we become more culturally diverse and religiously diverse, it's incumbent upon us to actively ensure that our students, employees, citizens are treated with respect and dignity, and that they celebrate their personal cultures and religious observances. So adopting appropriate inclusive holidays, observances, protocols does not violate the establishment clause of the Constitution. There's a difference between establishing religion and just allowing people to celebrate. It's a distinct difference. Rather it protects it by recognizing the rich diversity of people's experiences. Massachusetts laws prohibit discrimination in all its forms. The best way to ensure that discrimination does not occur is to educate our students and community through positive learning and experience. We must always seek to move forward, to go beyond toleration to understanding, an enlightened understanding for both our diverse and common human heritage. The topic is far too involved to have a broad discussion this evening, but we need to invest more time through focus groups and additional sessions. In the interim, I've provided you with some materials in preparation for a more robust discussion. And we certainly will include people, and I've listed holidays and other things that deal with inclusive practices that have been put out by various agencies that are known for their expertise in this area. Obviously, this is not only a local thing, it's a national thing, it's a statewide thing, and for us to be in the forefront of it is very important. A lot of good things happening in our community already, but the price of doing the right thing is eternal vigilance. You have to be diligent with it, you can't let it slip, and we have a lot of things going on. And different things will occur, and there'll be some people that perhaps don't understand it, but it's our job to make sure that everyone feels protected, feels safe, and that we don't have any situation where a person feels isolated because of the policies and practices of our school system.
[Roy Belson]: Well, what we do is you, I'll probably recognize the fact that if a person's out for those holidays and documents it as an excuse.
[Roy Belson]: We've actually had a practice of doing this.
[Roy Belson]: So every year we go through various stages of why we close school and why we keep open. And some people understand it, and some people agree, and some people don't agree. I found the last little while, the people who are more aggressively emailing me are generally students.
[Roy Belson]: High school students. Generally around 8 o'clock or the morning before a storm, I'm getting things being told that their life is being put in peril, and we're endangering them and their families. And I write back to them as courteously as I possibly can. But for the most part, people do understand it. But I want to take a little bit of opportunity in between storms, if you will, to go over a couple of things. So if people are listening, and we'll put it on our website again, they'll get an idea as to how we make these decisions. We want to keep open if we can. There are many youngsters out there who have no one supervising them if we close the schools. There are many youngsters out there who have no one feeding them if we close the schools. On the other hand, if conditions warrant it, having youngsters out in the cold and driving snow, possibly with vehicles sliding on the road, has to be balanced. with our decision to open the schools. Parents always have the opportunity to make a decision. And if they documented that they kept the youngster home because of the weather, and we have a reason to believe that the weather was that way, we will provide an excused absence. If, in fact, a youngster comes to us late on a day when conditions are such, rather than delay the whole day, which could mess up a number of things for a number of people, We won't mark them tardy to the extent that there's a reasonable arrival. If they come in two minutes before the closing, we might think that that's not reasonable. But if they're an hour or so late, that's not a bad problem for us to recognize that as part of travel conditions. So we're entering the winter season. We're in the winter season. And from year to year, we may have more or less closings because of weather, or cold, or any other number of reasons. Or for some reason that there's a building problem, or a safety problem that's different. We will use our media to inform people. We use all the television media. We use our own media to put things out. We use robocalls. We do everything we possibly can to let people know as soon as possible. Now this last storm, had to wait till almost six o'clock in the morning to take a good hard look to see what would come in. Now I knew in this area, we weren't going to get much snow. But a little to the west and a little to the north and the southeast, they got snow and they got bad conditions. So that was a tough one because we weren't sure what actually would happen, how we would track. The one before, people asked me, why didn't you call off school on that Tuesday when it was cold? If I had called off school on that Tuesday when it was cold, we would have been out Thursday and Friday anyway. We would have had one day of school that week because Monday was a holiday. So sometimes you just have to balance it a little bit and think about what's going to happen. You also have to think about the fact that teachers and others come from distance. And if they have young people of their own that have to stay home with, they may not come in. Or if they have the travel arrangements coming from the north or the south, it may not work for them to be in and on time. It may not be a productive day. So these are all kinds of considerations. We have to pay attention to whether DPW and the contractors can clear out lots, whether we think that the bus buses can actually make it up and go in the various routes, whether the bus stops and the sidewalks have had an opportunity to be cleared to the greatest extent possible, although it's never perfect. It's very rarely perfect. So there's a lot of considerations that we have to look at. I do talk to area colleagues as we come into this kind of season and we take a look and see what's happening and we try to make decisions that way. But it's very important for people to understand that schools provide safety, it provides warmth, it provides nutrition to many youngsters. We don't take school closings lightly. But if we think that safety is an issue, if we think that we can't clear the lots, we don't think we're going to have a productive day, we will call it. And I will try to call it as early as possible, often the night before. But some days it's not, we don't know until five o'clock in the morning, just the way it is.
[Roy Belson]: I would just tell you that there are people who, not what you're telling me, we should talk in the long term, but there are people who rush to do what they call blizzard packs. I find that unproductive. We pay our teachers to teach 180 days of school. It's not a trade-off to give kids some homework. They're supposed to do homework anyway. The reality is that we want our teachers in front of students, and they don't want to trade days. Now, if we get hit like the storm of 1978, we're out a whole week or ten days or something like that, we could probably have a plan in place to send materials out, especially with today's electronics. I think we should be very careful that we start trading days for short-term days off. But I hear what you're saying. If it's long-term, maybe we should consider it through a meeting.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah. We sent you out, you know, on that particular day, I sent you out attendance. And the high school was not badly attended that day. It was over 80% of the people that were there. That's pretty good since normal attendance is in the low 90s, you know. And so, you know, plus teachers, there weren't that many people. There were people out, but there weren't that many people out comparatively to what could have been out. As far as the cold goes, part of the issue was the fact that it came on so suddenly. Certain areas of the building were still trying to adjust. But we can work on the heating system. We can work on different aspects of it. But a lot of people were in school. And for the 80% plus of the people that were in school, I think it was good to have them there, as opposed to shut it down and then everyone's out. We'd end up making it up, and I think it was a day to have, especially that week. Because remember, again, if we called off school that day, we were in school potentially Wednesday. That was a whole week would have been gone. So at least we got a couple days in. I hear what you're saying. We'll certainly work on that. John and I will check.
[Roy Belson]: We'll certainly have the principals review that as a practice so that they understand that, check the room out. Put them in the warmest place as possible.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee, we had an extensive discussion in the committee of the whole. And again, just to briefly summarize it, The organizations that exist to support our schools are all good people. They're working hard. They give up a lot of their time. They generate a lot of support for our schools. We're very grateful and thankful. However, in order to optimize it, in order to make it more efficient and more effective overall across the city, and in order to tie it together with our own work, it's important for us to adopt some guidelines, adopt some training protocols, so that we can help these organizations do that much better. and to dovetail much better with us. So I've put together for you some recommendations to adopt oversight guidelines for PTOs, PTGs, and other 501c3 internal organizations. And I say internal organizations because I'm not talking about if a major corporation's 501c3 gives us money, I'm not going to ask them to audit their books. But I'm talking about groups that technically work with us or use our name. So if Michael Bloomberg gives us some money. I'm not going to ask him for his financials this week. I guess he probably wouldn't send them to me anyway. But having said that, our Cummings Foundation, things like that, they give us money and I'm appreciative that they do. But I'm talking about the internal groups that are clearly ours. And so I've listed eight items and I would ask that you approve them. I can read them off or you can accept them as they're written. Let me know what you're... Would you like me to read them?
[Roy Belson]: Up to you. I can read them. One, all PTG, PTOs, and other internal 501c3 organizations affiliated with the Medford Public Schools must be registered with the superintendent's office annually. All registrations must be renewed by September 1st of each year. A registration is simply a process of recognizing that an organization exists, and if they're out in the street, that there's a number they can have, and if a person who's a member of the community wants to donate, they know this is a valid organization. And we also know that they exist, and they're using our name and raising money using our name. To all registered organizations.
[Roy Belson]: MPS 1234, whatever it is. OK.
[Roy Belson]: Just a very simple thing, but I want to know they exist. Who they are. You'll see it as it comes down. Well, it'll come down. You'll see it. You'll see the things that will be on the form. Who the officers are, and so on and so forth. Where they're banking, and the likes of this.
[Roy Belson]: All registered organizations must submit bylaws, names of officers and board members, annual fundraising and expenditure plans, and a year-end financial statement. Obviously, we want to know that every organization has some rules. We want to know that they have a plan, that it's not just something. Now, if they want to modify it, they can let us know they want to modify it. I'm not running around trying to second guess every move, but they should have a plan. And another reason for that is the fact that if everyone hits the same bank, And everyone hits the same business over and over again. We're working on our community pretty hard. And also, when the school department goes to them for various things, they might say, but I already gave. So it's important for us to know who is being asked for money, who is being repeatedly asked for money, who is being repeatedly asked for services, and whether or not it interferes with something that might be a larger project that the school department might be able to do for the greater benefit of all.
[Roy Belson]: You can modify it. You can make changes. It's a projection. It's like our budget. We project certain things and changes happen during the year. It's just nature. You can just send in a note, say we did something different or we added something. Maybe it doesn't have to be that tight. Let me keep going and then we can hit it all. Some of these things intersect with each other. Three, bylaws must clearly identify how a person becomes eligible for membership and how a person becomes a voting member. Distinct difference. I mean, a person comes to a meeting, they may be a member, but if they've been to one meeting in three years, do they have the right to make decisions for a group of people that have been working on it for an extended period of time? That's a decision people can make. Bylaws must identify what is a voting quorum. Some of them, three people in the room could be a voting quorum. Is that a voting quorum? Do you have to have so many members of the executive board to be a voting quorum? Do you have to have so many members of the established membership to make a major decision? Bylaws must provide detailed information how, when elections for officers and board members will be implemented. When is it going to happen? What is the process? What is the distribution of information so that people know that an election is coming? Expenditures of funds must be done in coordination with the principal to ensure that supported programs, activities, and materials are consistent with the school's program and do not distract from the main mission of the school. We can't have an organization decide to buy a new curriculum that is counter-indicative to the ones the school system has adopted. We can't have people planning trips that get in the way of testing or planning trips that come just as the testing season's about to begin. We're planning trips that are not tied to the curriculum in an important way. Maybe once in a while, but not all the time. Remember, we only have 180 days of school. We want to make sure all of them are used properly. The public schools through the superintendents offer training to each entity. We want to make sure they all know what forms they have to fill out, if they're raising funds, if they're a non-profit. We want them to understand regulations and ordinances, what they can do. If you pay somebody money, and you pay them a certain amount of money, guess what? You've gotta give them a form where technically you're paying them under the table. It's not acceptable. If you're giving people money as reimbursement, reimbursement for what? What are you requiring? I mean, tonight you asked about slips and things like that. It's all heavily documented when it comes through the school system. Are we documenting these things? Gives us an idea of those things. And if a person doesn't participate and doesn't become these things, then we maybe decertify them and say, look, we're not going to register you. You're not going to be an allowable organization because we can't track what you're doing. And then an annual report should be made to the school committee about all the organizations that exist. And the general thing, there may not be every expenditure they have, but it certainly should give you an idea of what started the year, what ended the year, and the main activities and the like that they had, and if they had an election, did they change officers, if there were special circumstances, was it reported. And I think if we do something like that, we'll have helped these organizations be that much better. And we'll help ourselves as we try to coordinate their activities with our initiatives as well. So I guess the floor is open for discussion.
[Roy Belson]: I think we're looking at people who don't have experience. Obviously, if a person's been doing it and doing it successfully, you don't have to go to things. We don't have our teachers take courses that they've already passed and know. Sometimes there's a refresher. Sometimes there's new rules. Sometimes there's new forms that need to be filed. Sometimes there's changes. That may work. As far as the governance structure goes and elections, if there's no one running, you just simply certify it through the principal's office that we only have so many people. But you've got to let people know because, I mean, one of the complaints that we heard, rightly or wrongly, I'm not taking sides on this thing, was that people didn't know how you become an officer or how you participate. And theoretically, under the school councils, you're supposed to have that election every year. It's required. by the statute. Now, I know it doesn't always happen 100%, but it should. You know what I mean? Or at least there should be some declaration that the only people that applied for these offices or want to do it are a handful of people, but after a reasonable attempt. I think we've got to do that, or else people say, well, I'm not involved. I don't get involved. They don't consult me. I mean, what's part of the discussion? Are people consulted? Do they have a chance to participate? I mean, one of the issues I think you raised during the campaign was community engagement. Well, does the PTO engage the community that it represents? I don't know. So I think there's a balance there. I don't think we have to make it into a very rigorous process, but I do think there should be some notification that there are officers available, there are board positions available. Would you like to participate? Just a thought.
[Roy Belson]: Is that the appropriate subcommittee? Let's, you know, let's, let's understand what these subcommittees are supposed to do. Support services deals primarily with services that support the educational program. This is more rules of, this is more of the rules of the operation. You know, I'm just, you know, I'm just trying to clarify for you because I mean, if you want to keep some integrity to your subcommittee assignments, you can do what you want.
[Roy Belson]: Why don't we get it from the minutes, and then we'll move it over.
[Roy Belson]: I believe we made the adjustments you asked for. The amounts and thresholds in the area, so I'd ask that you approve it.
[Roy Belson]: I mean, let's keep it simple. Let's keep it simple. Obviously, if there's a situation that requires an additional cost, we'll bring it back to you. But if there's no such, you know, cost, let's not make people come back and forth five times. I mean, the goal of this was to be inclusive and to provide appropriate care. If it turns out that we have a situation, we'll bring it back.
[Roy Belson]: Well, we'll move through it. I mean, there's some people that resist any, early this evening you're telling me that I'm making things too bureaucratic for the PTO. Right. I'm telling you you're making things too bureaucratic for the teachers and everything like that. No, no, no. We'll work it out.
[Roy Belson]: I'm trying to take it down. I think, you know, obviously the nurses indicated it's okay until she sees something specific. And if something comes up, we'll come bring it back.
[Roy Belson]: Joseph Navetta was the husband of Angela Navetta, our retired secretary.
[Roy Belson]: Good morning and welcome to the Marsha Caron Theater here at Medford High School for the inauguration of our Mayor, City Council, and School Committee. An inauguration is a ceremony that provides us with an opportunity to rededicate ourselves, our leaders, our citizens, to the promotion and achievement of a high quality of life for all. In Medford, we have a firm foundation of quality that can be built upon to meet the challenges and aspirations of the future. My name is Roy Bellson. I'm your Master of Ceremonies for this program today. At this time, we would ask the Medford Police Honor Guard to present the colors. At this time, let's have a warm welcome for Deacon Mark Rumley of St. Raphael's Parish, Pastor Bell of the Baptist Church, and Reverend Wendy Olapade of the Sanctuary UCC. And now it is my privilege and pleasure to welcome our honored guests. His Excellency, the Honorable Charles D. Baker, Governor, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, The Honorable Edward J. Markey, U.S. Senator. The Honorable Marion Ryan, Middlesex District Attorney. The Honorable Maria Curtatone, Middlesex South Register of Deeds. The Honorable Michael A. Sullivan, Clerk of Courts. The Honorable Patricia Jalen, Assistant Majority Leader, Massachusetts State Senate. The Honorable Paul J. Donato, Assistant Majority Leader, Massachusetts House of Representatives. The Honorable Christine Barber, Massachusetts House of Representatives. The Honorable Fred Lasky, Executive Director of Massachusetts Water Resource Authority. It is now my privilege to introduce the leaders of our various city departments in the schools and in the city. Please enter. Kathleen P. Kreatz, Mia Quinn Mustone, Paulette H. Vanderkloot, Michael C. Ruggiero, and Paul R. Russo. Ladies and gentlemen, the members of the Medford City Council. Richard Caraviello, Frederick N. Dello Russo Jr., John C. Falco Jr., Adam Knight, Breanna Lungo-Koehn, Michael J. Marks, and George A. Scarpelli. Joining us is Edward Finn, our city clerk. Ladies and gentlemen, a warm welcome to the mayor of our city, Stephanie Buccini-Burke. She is escorted by her husband, Ryan Burke, her son, Ryan, with his fiancée, Sarah Punicelli, her son, Connor, and her daughter, Brianna. Seated in the audience, in the first row, is the mother of our mayor, Lee Muccini. Please remain standing. We'll call upon Deacon Mark Rumley to provide us with the invocation.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you, Deacon. Our opening speaker, please be seated. Our opening speaker today has significant and substantial leadership expertise and experience in both the public and private sectors. He comes from a family with a rich and distinguished career in public service. Here in Medford, we are particularly appreciating his commitment to career and technical education. This year, a $500,000 grant for capital skills helped create Bistro 489, which you will all enjoy at the conclusion of these ceremonies. He has had a strong support for substance abuse prevention, facing the crisis of opiates in our Commonwealth. His actions have helped DCF with staffing and clinical services so needed by the children and families of the Commonwealth. His Washington advocacy for sensible health care legislation provides needed expertise. His recent extension of the group insurance discount that supports homeowners and vehicle owners provides relief to all of us on a financial way. It is a great pleasure and privilege to introduce His Excellency, the Honorable Charles D. Baker, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
[Roy Belson]: I would now call upon our City Clerk, Edward Finn, to administer the oath of office to our Medford School Committee. Please stand.
[Roy Belson]: Ed, the only thing missing from that oath was their pledge to obey everything the superintendent tells them to do.
[Roy Belson]: At this time, it's our pleasure to introduce a musical interlude by the Medford High School Band Ensemble under the direction of Haley Redlow. The band played from Phil Collins, you'll always be in my heart. And now I'd like to call upon our city clerk once again to administer the oath of office to the city council.
[Roy Belson]: It's now my pleasure to call upon the President of the Medford City Council, Richard Caraviello, for remarks.
[Roy Belson]: And now it is my pleasure to introduce the Medford Public Schools String Ensemble under the direction of Fine Arts Director Anthony Sickney playing Masterpiece from J.J. Moray.
[Roy Belson]: Our next speaker has served Medford for many years in Congress of the United States since 1975. In 2013, he was elected to the United States Senate. This individual has played a very active role in substance abuse prevention, passing legislation that will help us prevent illegal substances from entering this country. He has also been a staunch advocate of climate control, environmental protection, and communication protection. His work on communications and the internet and net neutrality and all of these matters are critical to all of us. as we move forward into the future and become more dependent upon communications done through the internet and done through cyberspace. He has played an active role in advocating for stiffer sanctions against North Korea and serves on the East Asia Subcommittee of the Senate. In education, I like to steal one of his quotes on a regular basis. where he says, children may only be 24% of the population, but they are 100% of the future. It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you the Honorable Edward J. Markey, United States Senator.
[Roy Belson]: In two short years, our mayor has made great strides moving Medford forward. She has touched all the bases. Public safety, health, education, economic development, arts and culture, preservation of the environment. But perhaps most importantly, she has worked diligently to ensure that Medford is a safe and welcoming environment, a home for all, rejecting hate and discrimination in all its forms and promoting constructive dialogue and community building. It is my great pleasure to introduce to you our mayor, Stephanie Muccini-Burke.
[Roy Belson]: At this time, I would like to recognize the family members of the various elected officials. Will all the family members who are here today of the Medford School Committee please stand up and be recognized. I'm sure they really appreciate your support because I'm going to keep them really busy the next six months. And now I'd like to have the family members of the Medford City Council stand up and be recognized. Thank you. I plan to keep them busy too. At this time, I would like to call upon Pastor Gerald Bell of the Shiloh Baptist Church for an invocation.
[Roy Belson]: I want to take this opportunity to thank all of those who've participated in making this day and making this ceremony a meaningful and important event in our community. I'd like to start by thanking our band from the high school and our string quartet. Music always inspires the soul, and we've got great music in Medford. And thank you, Anthony, for your work and your dedication as Director of Fine Arts. We also want to thank all the people that donated non-perishable goods for the food pantry in Medford, in the area. Appreciate that. There's so many people out there who absolutely need this. And the more we can do in that account, the better off we are in helping our neighbors and friends. I want to thank Wegmans for their support of our collation which will take place at the close of this ceremony at Bistro 489. You're all invited to see this great facility funded in great part by our governor. Thank you. It's good. It's a great place. It's a great place. It's going to be a great place for the community to gather and for our young people to develop culinary arts skills that will give them the opportunity to earn successful jobs in the future. It's a terrific opportunity. We really appreciate it. I also want to thank all the volunteers who helped to make today special. The mayor's staff, the buildings and ground staff of the public schools, Corey Barrasso, the chef instructor of the Bistro 489, and Chad Fallon, the director of the Vocational Technical School for preparing the collation. And to all of you for coming out in the cold and braving it to be part of an important community event. At this time, I would ask the police honor guard to retire the colors. Please stand. You may be seated. As we close today's ceremonies, we leave with renewed commitment and hope and confidence that our community will move forward. The first and last task of any leader is to keep hope alive and I think today you know that hope is alive and well in Medford and we are moving forward under the leadership of our mayor, our school committee and city council, as well as our state government, the governor, our congressmen, our leaders in the state legislature and the United States Senate. We have terrific people leading us and all we need to do is get with it and support them so that we can continue to make Medford a great place. As we allow our city officials and honored guests to leave, please remain seated so they can leave the hall. And then afterwards, you're all invited to Bistro 489 on the second floor. We'll have guides to show you there. Come and join us. They've prepared a wonderful collation for us. Thank you very much.
[Roy Belson]: So I emailed the superintendent in Beverly with the details that I felt were pertinent to the matter. I've given you a quick update the other day. I'm waiting to hear back from him. I did speak with him and I feel like something will be forthcoming from Beverly very shortly.
[Roy Belson]: I do. Would you like me to do that instead of speaking to yourself right now? Go ahead. Yeah. So this evening, I passed out an update based on our discussions about what might be possible in order to provide additional assistance to students at the Columbus. In your packets, you have a much more comprehensive discussion about additional measures that we're doing, but apropos to some suggestions made from the outside, including Mrs. Ronay, I put this memo together to give you a clarification, an update of what additional things we're going to do, and if you'll permission, I'll read it publicly so everyone can hear it. Do you have a copy? As part of our plan to assist students at the Columbus with their mathematics preparation for MCAS 2.0, please note the following. Students in grades three, four, and five who require extra assistance to master the mathematics curriculum will be eligible to receive additional tutoring from paid Medford Public Schools teachers. Students will receive between one and two hours per week based upon their need. It depends on what the student's need is, you know, what kinds of recommendations their individual teachers make. We expect to hire six teachers for two hours each as tutors a week, who will be paid by the Medford Public Schools from our budget. This program is planned for 16 weeks starting in January, and the projected cost is an additional $6,200. We project that the cost of an extra afternoon bus at the Columbus will be paid approximately $150 a day for a total of $4,800. We're working with our current provider, Easton Bus, to arrange a schedule. We may have to find another provider since Easton's schedule is very tight and additional busing may not be possible through them, although we had discussions with them this afternoon and we think it is possible. But since there are three buses leaving the Columbus each day with different routes, We will have to devise a route that serves the majority of students in the program. And there may be a need to create a consolidated route. Obviously, buses go in different directions. In order for us to create a consolidated route, there may have to be some different types of stops. The overall cost of transportation, we believe, will be about $4,800. Since there are, well, the overall cost then is projected between tutorial and busing to be about $11,200 for the 16 weeks. There are multiple logistical issues to be worked out and there may need to be some modifications. We'll make those adjustments based upon multiple factors. We'll keep the school committee informed as we progress with implementation. Things like which teachers volunteer to teach, which days are most appropriate, which days the buses can go and what routes and so on and so forth.
[Roy Belson]: That's the way we're planning it right now.
[Roy Belson]: That's a variable we should look at, but I don't want to make any commitments till I see exactly how many students are riding the bus for this particular program, because I just don't know. It could be concentrated in a full bus. It could be that we have a lot of room. So let us get into the weeds, and we'll see exactly what's possible.
[Roy Belson]: We'll sit with the teachers and the principal to look at which students clearly need it. If a student's doing exceptionally well, then chances are they don't want the help. If a student really needs it, we hope that they will want to participate. I can't make anybody participate. There's some people that maybe don't want to participate who could use the help.
[Roy Belson]: I think we've got to begin with, let's target the students that we're looking at, and then we can open it up a little bit more. But let's see exactly what kind of response we've got. And I've also got to make sure I've got six teachers that want to do it. And I feel they can actually do that particular work. So there's a few things that variables, like I say, the logistics have to be worked out. And until we actually talk to people specifically at the school and work out some of the details as to how many students would be on which days, there may be some students who want to come one day, some will want to come two days. Got to work it out.
[Roy Belson]: If I can just suggest that, what do you call it, that the update, I can give you a briefer update through email or through some process, but it may take an extra little time to work out some of the logistics. Because remember, next week is going to be a fairly, well this week rather, is going to be a fairly chopped up week with different things going on, and the logistics of getting commitments from people to do things may take a little bit of time in January.
[Roy Belson]: We'll keep you posted.
[Roy Belson]: That's our plan.
[Roy Belson]: Can we discuss it?
[Roy Belson]: Madam Chair, since we're expending money, I think we should do a roll call.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call upon Carolyn Joy, who's here, our Director of Mathematics, to come up and talk about the very generous gift, once again, from Dr. Martinez, I'm sure.
[Roy Belson]: Absolutely.
[Roy Belson]: So I just want to make it clear to everyone that the work that the students are doing through the department It's not only incredible, but I've been told that at least one of the robots they're creating is going to apply as an internal candidate for my job.
[Roy Belson]: This is something that's been in the works for a few years. Mr. Trotta has continued to be involved as the director along with Michael Skorka as the coordinator. And you have some materials in front of you. I'm going to let Mr. Trotta tell you about what's here and have some of the students and Mr. Skorka tell you a little bit more because I think this is a terrific project and it's got tremendous implications for the development of our young people. not only as academics, but as full-blown citizens in our community and in the world, where I think that's a bigger need these days.
[Roy Belson]: So obviously, all these programs, We seek outside funding to support them long-term. Originally, the funding came from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Cummings is the next round. It's a three-year grant. We'll be looking to get more money into this activity and expand it and develop it. I might tell you, I think I mentioned it once before, that Mr. Cummings, William Cummings, is going to be a special speaker at graduation this year. And we'll be having other outreaches to different people at different times because obviously philanthropy is an important piece of what we do in order to keep some of these programs going and to develop them into model programs that can then receive even greater sources of funding long term. So that's the game plan. And obviously the great work, I think, you know, they'll tell you that they're finalists already in some outside programs. We're already getting some great recognition. I won't spoil this at this particular thing, but I was told on Saturday night that another one of our programs is going to go national. So I'm excited about that, but you can't find out about it tonight because I can't tell you why. But these are the kinds of things we want to do. And as we do these things, we attract sources of funding that are extraordinary and support our efforts to keep meaningful projects moving in addition to our regular academic and educational program.
[Roy Belson]: We just need to develop it over time, you know what I mean, and develop other dimensions to it and create it in a certain way. One of the things that's happening, again something I'll tell you about, at a subsequent meeting, is the Commonwealth Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is launching what they call it Celebrating Massachusetts Leading the Nation. And we had a meeting with representatives from the department the other day and the purpose of it was to identify projects in our school system and some other school systems that would demonstrate how Massachusetts leads the nation beyond testing. Because obviously testing is something that we brag about as a nation, I mean, as a school system, not a school system, as a state, as a commonwealth. But there are many other dimensions to education that Massachusetts leads the nation in. And this is a good example of it. And there's some other really terrific examples, our family networks, other things like that, that are really unique and model programs that other people should be trying to do. because they fill the gaps that many communities don't have. So this is one of them, and this will also bring in resources. This is how you do it.
[Roy Belson]: So we heard from the Massachusetts School Building Authority and the statement of interest that we put in place last year, last April, is not going forward in this round. Now, I had a good long chat with executives in the MSBA. And without going through the whole report, a year ago, 26 projects were approved based on available funding. This year, only 15 could be approved based on available funding. But we were strongly encouraged to go forward, to resubmit, to push the button, get it back in. And I have a feeling that a year from now, we'll be in the hunt. Obviously, there's work to be done. We update a few more things that are in the proposal. But I think it's going to go forward, and I think it's just a year delay. Just one of those things happens, and sometimes The money coming from the pool is greater or smaller. It just happened to be one of those years. So from 26 to 15 projects, it is what it is.
[Roy Belson]: It hasn't been released yet, but when it's released, we'll know. I was told by the senior staff and their key people that the fact they came out and visited us on a full blown visit with architects and engineers, that we were very close.
[Roy Belson]: We're going for the core program. The core program is April. The accelerated repair, we already got money from boilers for that. It's really a much smaller and more targeted program. This is much more expansive. has longer term value to us.
[Roy Belson]: We've got to come back to you for approval. We're just going to look over the application to see if there's any changes we want to make, if there's anything we want to emphasize or modify a little bit. And then we go back to the council and ask them to certify as well.
[Roy Belson]: I think that they obviously prioritize by need, but they also prioritize by money. So if you have a project like ours, which could be a very expensive project, they had to be able to fit it in. So.
[Roy Belson]: Okay?
[Roy Belson]: There are projects we'll go forward with, and there are projects that we should try to match up with MSBA because they're very expensive projects. But there's plenty of projects we could go forward. We'll be going to the Council on Technology in January and a couple of other things. So we're going to keep moving. It's just a question of trying to get somebody else's money to purchase our own resources.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so this is a report you've asked for. The committee has a much more detailed report. I don't as a rule, issue anything on security that could lead to someone perhaps interfering with our operations. So the cover report speaks for itself. The committee, if you want to ask me specific questions at some point, please do. But for the general public, let's just simply say that we've spent approximately $200,000 on security camera upgrades and replacements at our schools. security cameras, especially external ones, are very fragile devices. Over the years they have been susceptible to adverse weather conditions, unpredictable power outages. The newer models are a little bit more resilient. but are not invincible, and they're not invulnerable. Placement of external cameras on metal poles outside of the buildings tend to make them susceptible to lightning strikes, so we want to minimize that as much as possible. There are a few cameras we have no choice but to put them on metal poles because of the angle, but we try to minimize that and reduce that. We've contracted with American Alarm to upgrade and replace various cameras district-wide. There's 154 cameras across the district in our nine schools. And believe at this time that we have sufficient coverage to ensure security. Obviously there's some cameras watching different things that aren't as essential as the main cameras that are watching entrances, exits, and main pathways in the school. And you know, some of those are still a little bit more work to do, but you can see from the backup report that most of it's being done and will be done very quickly. The maintenance of full security coverage will require that we annually budget significant funding. It's not something that we can just look at every once every five years or four years It may be prudent to set aside funding and a special account to ensure that it'll be used each year for upgrades and replacements, as well as other security equipment that's related to that, like the Raptor equipment and things like that, because those things wear out after a period of time. If it's not used in any given year, we can roll it over and use it in the year that we absolutely need it. Security cameras, I need to emphasize, are only one element of our overall school security and safety response system. We continue to interact with public safety agencies and to practice special situation drills at all of our schools. You have specifics, I would ask that the committee wants to talk to me about it and do it personally. I'd rather not be talking about anything specific about security that might lead someone to gain the system help.
[Roy Belson]: Cameras are two types. Cameras that move and pan an area. Cameras that are fixed on an area. The cameras that move are very expensive, but they're also more susceptible to needing more repair and upgrades. We have upgraded our cameras many times since they were first installed, since 2001 and 2003. The system's changed. They no longer run DVRs. They're now more digital. Other things are different than when they originally were installed. Cabling has to be different. They have to be locked into 911 right now. So all these things require upgrades. And they'll continue to require upgrades as we go forward. So we've got good coverage. Some cameras cover the same area, but they cover it from a little different angle. As we talk and we set up our meeting, perhaps we can go into an executive session allowable for security purposes, I'll give you more detail. But I think at this particular point, we're in good shape and I think we move forward. I appreciate the fact that the mayor has authorized us to spend. for the security cameras because this is a big expense. I also want to thank Christine because Christine did an awful lot of work putting it together with Alan Arena in my office to ensure that we did all the work that needed to be done.
[Roy Belson]: Let me provide you with an update rather than try to talk about it. It's a big discussion about doors because even though we lock doors, we have buzzer systems and the like, somebody from the inside could let somebody in. make sure that people know that that's not allowed.
[Roy Belson]: I'd like to set up, if I could, a special meeting for this purpose, because I don't want to talk about security in public.
[Roy Belson]: I just think if we start talking about security, if we start opening up what is and what isn't, it's not going to work.
[Roy Belson]: When do we make it? As soon as possible. It could be the beginning of February. We want to get the work done, and we want to get a lot of other things in place so we can be complete in our discussion.
[Roy Belson]: I mean sorry charge policy I'm going to call upon our director of finance and administration to talk to you about this. It's a requirement of the federal government.
[Roy Belson]: So I think it's important that you understand one fundamental point about all this. The federal government gives us money to subsidize lunches for free and reduced. If people are getting lunches who are not eligible because they haven't done the work or haven't, you know, filled out their work or actually been declared eligible, the federal government looks at that as us taking their money to subsidize people who otherwise should be paying. That's where the federal law comes into play. They're concerned, and by the way, there are communities in the commonwealth that have run up balances of 50, 60, $70,000, in fact, Was it Wellesley?
[Roy Belson]: Framingham, Wellesley, places like that really got slammed because people were taking lunches on a regular basis. So we have to have something, but it has to be reasonable so it can be defended with the feds when they come in and do the audit. But the reason behind it is when they give us a free lunch and they pay for it, they're saying that we want to pay the kid that's eligible. We don't want to pay for somebody who's just never paying. That's the way they look at it. So we've got to find some way to get something on the books. If not tonight, we certainly have to do it early in January. And if you want us to come back with something a little less, let's say, severe as far as we're looking at it, that's fine. But we've got to do something that's got to be on the books.
[Roy Belson]: So, Dr. Perreault is here. I gave you two reports tonight. One is on the bus situation and the other is on vaping. I don't think we need major discussion tonight, but I want to give you an opportunity to get up-to-date on this so you're aware of what's going on. And you can follow up and I'll give you additional information as we go forward. Dr. Perreault has met with us today, and we've met with the bus company, we've met with the police, we've done a whole pile of things.
[Roy Belson]: You know, is it? So let me answer that a little bit, because we had an interesting discussion with the police. It seems that preferred seating is the back of the bus. They shoved to get to the back of the bus, because that's where they can have a little more mischief, perhaps, in some cases. And I say that benevolently, but I mean, they want to get to the back of the bus and they're trying to get preferred seating. Normally you like to sit up close and get off the bus faster, but that's not the case. So obviously we have to have a meeting with the students. We have to make it very, very clear that behavior on this bus is really going to be monitored very closely because You just can't put buses on just simply to get more of the same, because if they're going to push and shove on an uncrowded bus, they're going to push and shove on the next uncrowded bus. We've got to make sure that they understand that this is something, it's a privilege to ride the bus. We're trying very hard to give them the transportation they want. But they've got to work with us. Everyone has to own this solution. We also worked with the bus company, Christine worked with the bus company this afternoon, that if in fact we needed a backup bus on a given day because it was particularly cold or we anticipated bad weather. So let's say it was a snowstorm and we know that everyone's going to want to ride the bus. We could get a backup bus. in that situation, but then it costs us to do that. So we wanna do these things, we wanna have contingency plans in place, but we need the students to cooperate with us. As the headmaster points out, we're gonna have a meeting with them, we're gonna make it very clear. And if you do things you're not supposed to do, you're not gonna ride that bus, we're gonna take you off. The other thing that's a situation for us is that people like to go with their friends. We can't be in a situation where people who don't need the ride home get on the same bus, it just is not workable for us. There's a major expense with that, especially now we're talking about adding a bus to the elementary schools, we're talking about other kinds of costs, we've had to add a bus to move some ELL students to the Brooks this year. Transportation costs are not inexpensive. It costs $375 a day for a bus, times 180 days, that's a lot of money. So if we're going to provide services, we expect people to be respectful and we expect them to work with us. So we've gotta keep working at it, no question about it. And the injury is obviously tragic and unfortunate and we've been in contact with the family and we'll continue to be supportive to them. But everyone's gotta own the solution. It just can't be, you know, whatever you do will be okay.
[Roy Belson]: I just want to say one thing, I want to thank Justin. For the first time in my career, someone said I was completely correct.
[Roy Belson]: I think that, you know, Dr. Perreault is expressing extremely well is that this is a community thing. Parents, everyone has to be involved. If you put enforcement in one place, they'll go to another place. They'll just move the location. We've got to change the outlook on the dangers about it and why it's not a good idea. And we've got to work with the merchants, perhaps even to possibly put a city ordinance in to ban the sale of it. It may be something that we can look at. And possibly work with neighboring communities to get a regional ban in the area. So it makes it that much more difficult to acquire the materials. This is a comprehensive issue, but it's not going to be done by just having a person chase somebody down the corridor. nice for a particular situation, but not as a solution to the larger picture.
[Roy Belson]: I'm hopeful that maybe it's banned in general, because I don't think it's good for adults either. If adults have it, they give it to the kids at home, just like a beer. You're home, let's have a beer, we're watching a football game. Let's do this, let's do that. Sometimes there's a sense that if a parent's doing it, it's OK. Could I get that message across?
[Roy Belson]: So we have a number of presentations. We'd like to make each of them, and it's our custom to give everybody a chance to say something. So we can... Let everybody say something and then make the presentations. That's probably a good way to go.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So having been around a long time, and having seen an awful lot of things, and having interacted with both of you in different ways and at different times, I have some perspective. So I'll start with Bob. So Bob, you've been a coach. You've been a teacher. You've been active in the community. You've come from a family with tremendous tradition in public service. An uncle who was a mayor of the city. You had a relative who was an uncle, I guess, who was the Speaker of the House of Representatives. You've been on this committee through different periods of time when different activities were going on. You experience the sting of Proposition 2 1⁄2. You know what it's like to be a teacher who got displaced, so you always have empathy for teachers. And you work for the state auditor, and you had a really good investigative mind. So when you play Columbo in Mickey the Dunce, we know that you really know what's going on, even though you don't let on that you really know what's going on. And sometimes, you know, it's kind of interesting to see how you play that out. But anyone who knows Bob Scurry knows that Bobby really cares about kids. He does a lot of things that he doesn't take credit for, just quiet on the side, takes care of a kid here, takes care of a family there, and just doesn't talk about it. But I know about it because I hear about it. And I think that that really reflects on your good heart and your caring. And even though sometimes it looks like you've got that bravado coming on, you're really a soft puppy. And you really care about people. And you're really one of these guys that you can always count on for loyalty and knowing what's going on without making a big deal out of it. You were the secretary for the committee for many years. You went over all the bills. Very little got by you, if anything got by you. And you sometimes give me a wink and say, what is this? And I try to dance a little bit, and you give me a wink. And you say, don't do it again. And I remember all those things. So there's a lot of history, Bob. We go back a long way, and I look forward to seeing you around the community and interacting with you. Because I know that while you're not sitting as a member, you'll still be an active citizen and an active contributor to the young people of this community. And that's what it's all about. That's what it's all about now. So Ann Marie, you are a person that I've come to know very, very well. You've been very active. You were involved with student sports. You were involved with student activities. Very little went on that Ann Marie didn't get involved in, school councils. You were one of the great joiners of all time. If there was something to belong to, Ann Marie was one of the members who was joining on to that activity. You rose up through the ranks. You became involved in the state association and rising to the rank of president of MASC, which gave you incredible perspective and you brought back a lot of very good ideas and brought back an awful lot of very, very good thoughts to help the school system move forward. You've been a good friend. can always count on you to listen and to understand some of the perspectives we may have, even if you couldn't vote on a particular issue the way I wanted. But still, you understood it, and you provided good feedback. You're an individual that I will clearly miss, along with Bob, as I feel like you've really contributed. And I believe that your involvement at the state level will continue to be an important factor as we go forward in public education. I want to thank you both because it's been a great ride with both of you. As I reflect on all the things that I've succumbed to see, I know that the two of you are among the best school committee members that I've served with. So I want to thank you all. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So I emailed the superintendent in Beverly with the details that I felt were pertinent to the matter. I've given you a quick update the other day. I'm waiting to hear back from him. I did speak with him, and I feel like something will be forthcoming from Beverly very shortly.
[Roy Belson]: Would you like me to do that instead of speaking to yourself right now? Go ahead.
[Roy Belson]: This evening, I passed out an update based on our discussions about what might be possible in order to provide additional assistance to students at the Columbus. In your packets, you have a much more comprehensive discussion about additional measures that we're doing, but apropos to some suggestions made from the outside, including Mrs. René, I put this memo together to give you a clarification, an update of what additional things we're going to do, and with your permission, I'll read it publicly so everyone can hear it. Do you have a copy? Yes, thank you. As part of our plan to assist students at the Columbus with their mathematics preparation for MCAS 2.0, please note the following. Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 who require extra assistance to master the mathematics curriculum will be eligible to receive additional tutoring from paid Medford Public Schools teachers. Students will receive between one and two hours per week based upon their need. It depends on what the student's need is and what kinds of recommendations their individual teachers make. We expect to hire six teachers for two hours each as tutors a week who will be paid by the Medford Public Schools from our budget. This program is planned for 16 weeks starting in January and the projected cost is an additional $6,200. We project that the cost of an extra afternoon bus at the Columbus will be paid approximately $150 a day for a total of $4,800. We're working with our current provider, Easton Bus, to arrange a schedule. We may have to find another provider since Easton's schedule is very tight and additional busing may not be possible through them, although we had discussions with them this afternoon and we think it is possible. But since there are three buses leaving the Columbus each day with different routes, we will have to devise a route that serves the majority of students in the program. And then maybe you need to create a consolidated route. Obviously, buses go in different directions. In order for us to create a consolidated route, there may have to be some different types of stops. The overall cost of transportation, we believe, will be about $4,800. Since there are, well, the overall cost then is projected between tutorial and busing to be about $11,200 for the 16 weeks. There are multiple logistical issues to be worked out and there may need to be some modifications. And we'll make those adjustments based upon multiple factors. We'll keep the school committee informed as we progress with implementation. Things like which teachers volunteer to teach, which days are most appropriate, which days the buses can go and what routes and so on and so forth. So there's a number of things to be worked out in the interim, but this is the basic plan and hopefully that addresses your issue.
[Roy Belson]: That's the way we're planning it right now.
[Roy Belson]: That's a variable we should look at, but I don't want to make any commitments till I see exactly how many students are riding the bus for this particular program, because I just don't know. It could be concentrated in a full bus. It could be that we have a lot of room. So let us get into the weeds, and we'll see exactly what's possible.
[Roy Belson]: We'll sit with the teachers and the principal to look at which students clearly need it. If a student's doing exceptionally well, then chances are they don't want the help. If a student really needs it, we hope that they will want to participate. I can't make anybody participate. There's some people that maybe don't want to participate who could use the help.
[Roy Belson]: I think we've got to begin with, let's target the students that we're looking at, and then we can open it up a little bit more. But let's see exactly what kind of response we've got. And I've also got to make sure I've got six teachers that want to do it. And I feel they can actually do that particular work. So there's a few things that variables, like I say, the logistics have to be worked out. And until we actually talk to people specifically at the school and work out some of the details as to how many students would be on which days, there may be some students who want to come one day, some will want to come two days. Got to work it out.
[Roy Belson]: If I can just suggest that, what do you call it, that the update, I can give you a briefer update through email or through some process, but it may take an extra little time to work out some of the logistics. Because remember, next week is going to be a fairly, well this week rather, is going to be a fairly chopped up week with different things going on, and the logistics of getting commitments from people to do things may take a little bit of time in January.
[Roy Belson]: We'll keep you posted.
[Roy Belson]: That's our plan.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Chair, since we're expending money, I think we should do a roll call.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call upon Carolyn Joy, who's here, our Director of Mathematics, to come up and talk about the very generous gift, once again, from Dr. Martinez, I'm sure.
[Roy Belson]: Absolutely.
[Roy Belson]: So I just want to make it clear to everyone that the work that the students are doing through the department is not only incredible, but I've been told that at least one of the robots they're creating is going to apply as an internal candidate for my job.
[Roy Belson]: So this is something that's been in the works for a few years. Mr. Trotta has continued to be involved as the director along with Michael Skorka as the coordinator and you have some materials in front of you. I'm gonna let Mr. Trotta tell you about what's here and have some of the students and Mr. Skorka tell you a little bit more because I think this is a terrific project and it's got tremendous implications for the development of our young people. not only as academics, but as full-blown citizens in our community and in the world where I think that's a bigger need these days.
[Roy Belson]: Obviously, all these programs, we seek outside funding to support them long-term. Originally, the funding came from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Cummings is the next round. It's a three-year grant. We'll be looking to get more money into this activity and expand it and develop it. I might tell you, I think I mentioned it once before, that Mr. Cummings, William Cummings, is going to be a special speaker at graduation this year. And we'll be having other outreaches to different people at different times, because obviously philanthropy is an important piece of what we do in order to keep some of these programs going and to develop them into model programs that can then receive even greater sources of funding long-term. So that's the game plan, and obviously the great work, I think, you know, they'll tell you that they're finalists already in some outside programs, and they're already getting some great recognition. I won't spoil this at this particular thing, but I was told on Saturday night that another one of our programs is going to go national, so I'm excited about that, but you can't find out about it tonight because I can't tell you. But these are the kinds of things we want to do, and as we do these things, You know, we attract sources of funding that are extraordinary and support our efforts to keep meaningful projects moving in addition to our regular academic and educational program.
[Roy Belson]: We just need to develop it over time, you know what I mean, and develop other dimensions to it and create it in a certain way. One of the things that's happening and something I'll tell you about at a subsequent meeting is the Commonwealth Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is launching what they call Celebrating Massachusetts Leading the Nation. And we had a meeting with representatives from the department the other day, and the purpose of it was to identify projects in our school system and some other school systems that would demonstrate how Massachusetts leads the nation beyond testing. Because obviously testing is something that we brag about as a nation, I mean as a school system, not a school system, as a state, as a commonwealth. But there are many other dimensions to education that Massachusetts leads the nation in. And this is a good example of it. And there's some other really terrific examples, our family networks, other things like that, that are really unique and model programs that other people should be trying to do. because they fill the gaps that many communities don't have. So this is one of them, and this will also bring in resources. This is how you do it.
[Roy Belson]: So we heard from the Massachusetts School Building Authority and the statement of interest that was put in place last year, last April, is not going forward in this round. Now, I had a good long chat with executives in the MSBA. And without going through the whole report, a year ago 26 projects were approved based on available funding. This year only 15 could be approved based on available funding. But we were strongly encouraged to go forward, to resubmit, to push the button, get it back in. And I have a feeling that a year from now we'll be in the We'll be in the hunt. Obviously, there's work to be done. We update a few more things than in the proposal. But I think it's going to go forward, and I think it's just a year delay. Just one of those things happens. And sometimes the money coming from the pool is greater or smaller. It just happened to be one of those years. So from 26 to 15 projects, it is what it is.
[Roy Belson]: Hasn't been released yet, but when it's released we'll know. I was told by the senior staff and their key people that the fact they came out and visited us on a full blown visit with architects and engineers, that we were very close.
[Roy Belson]: We're going for the core program. The core program is April. The accelerated repair, we already got money from boilers for that. It's really a much smaller and more targeted program. This is much more expansive and has longer term values.
[Roy Belson]: We've got to come back to you for approval. We're just going to look over the application to see if there's any changes we want to make, if there are any things we want to emphasize or modify a little bit. And then we go back to the council and ask them to certify as well.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah. I think that they obviously prioritize by need, but they also prioritize by money. So if you have a project like ours, which could be a very expensive project, they have to be able to fit it in.
[Roy Belson]: Staff report, please, on file.
[Roy Belson]: There are projects we'll go forward with, and there are projects that we should try to match up with MSBA because they're very expensive projects. But there's plenty of projects we can go forward. We'll be going to the council on technology in January and a couple of other things. So we're going to keep moving. It's just a question of trying to get somebody else's money to purchase our own resources.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so this is a report you've asked for. The committee has a much more detailed report. I don't, as a rule, issue anything on security that could lead to someone you know, perhaps interfering with our operations. So the cover report speaks for itself. The committee, if you want to ask me specific questions at some point, please do. But for the general public, let's just simply say that we've spent approximately $200,000 on security camera upgrades and replacements at our schools. Security cameras, especially external ones, are very fragile devices. Over the years, they have been susceptible to adverse weather conditions, unpredictable power outages. The newer models are a little bit more resilient, but are not invincible, and they're not invulnerable. Placement of external calendars, cameras rather, on metal poles outside of the buildings tend to make them susceptible to lightning strikes, so we want to minimize that as much as possible. There are a few cameras We have no choice but to put them on metal walls because of the angle, but we try to minimize that and reduce that. We've contracted with American Alarm to upgrade and replace various cameras district-wide. There's 154 cameras across the district in our nine schools, and believe at this time that we have sufficient coverage to ensure security. Obviously, there's some cameras watching different things that aren't as essential as the main cameras that are watching entrances, exits, and main pathways in the school. And, you know, some of those are still a little bit more work to do, but you can see from the backup report that most of it's being done and will be done very quickly. The maintenance of full security coverage will require that we annually budget significant funding. It's not something that we can just look at every once every five years or four years. It may be approved to set aside funding and a special account to ensure that it will be used each year for upgrades and replacements, as well as other security equipment that's related to that, like the Raptor equipment and things like that, because those things wear out after a period of time. If it's not used in any given year, we can roll it over. and use it in the year that we absolutely need it. Security cameras, I need to emphasize, are only one element of our overall school security and safety response system. We continue to interact with public safety agencies and to practice special situation drills at all of our schools. You have specifics. I would ask if the committee wants to talk to me about any of it, you know, personally. I'd rather not be talking about anything specific about security that might lead someone to game the system at all.
[Roy Belson]: Cameras are two types. Cameras that move and pan an area. Cameras that are fixed on an area. The cameras that move are very expensive, but they're also more susceptible to needing more repair and upgrades. We have upgraded our cameras many times since they were first installed, since 2001 and 2003. The system's changed. They no longer run DVRs. They're now more digital. Other things are different than when they originally were installed. Cabling has to be different. They have to be locked into 911 right now. So all these things require upgrades. And they'll continue to require upgrades as we go forward. So we've got good coverage. Some cameras cover the same area, but they cover it from a little different angle. So, as we talk and we set up a meeting, perhaps we can go into an executive session, allowable for security purposes, I'll give you more detail. But I think at this particular point, we're in good shape, and I think we've moved forward. I appreciate the fact that the mayor has authorized us to spend. for the security cameras because this is a big expense. I also want to thank Christine because Christine did an awful lot of work putting it together with Alan Arena in my office to ensure that we did all the work that needed to be done.
[Roy Belson]: Let me provide you with an update rather than try to talk about it. It's a big discussion about doors because even though we lock doors, we have buzzer systems and the like, somebody from the inside could let somebody in. And we've got to make sure that people know that that's not allowed.
[Roy Belson]: I'd like to set up, if I could, a special meeting for this purpose, because I don't want to talk about security in public.
[Roy Belson]: I just think if we start talking about security, if we start opening up what is and what isn't, it's great.
[Roy Belson]: Why don't we make it as soon as possible? It could be the beginning of February. We want to get the work done and we want to get a lot of other things in place so we can be complete in our discussion.
[Roy Belson]: We're going to call upon our Director of Finance and Administration to talk to you about this. It's a requirement of the federal government.
[Roy Belson]: So I think it's important that you understand one fundamental point about all this. The federal government gives us money to subsidize lunches for free and reduced. If people are getting lunches who are not eligible because they haven't either done the work or haven't, you know, filled out their work or actually been declared eligible, the federal government looks at that as us taking their money to subsidize people who otherwise should be paying. That's where the federal law comes into play. They're concerned, and by the way, there are communities in the Commonwealth that have run up balances of $50,000, $60,000, $70,000. In fact, was it Wellesley?
[Roy Belson]: Framingham, Wellesley, places like that really got slammed because people were taking lunches on a regular basis. So we have to have something. But it has to be reasonable so we can be defended with the feds when they come in and do the audit. But the reason behind it is when they give us a free lunch and they pay for it, they're saying that we want to pay the kid that's eligible. We don't want to pay for somebody who's just never paying. That's the way they look at it. So we've got to find some way to get something on the books. If not tonight, we certainly have to do it early in January. And if you want us to come back with some, you know, something a little less, let's say, severe as far as you're looking at it, that's fine. But we've got to do something that's got to be on the books.
[Roy Belson]: So, Dr. Perrault is here. I gave you two reports tonight. One is on the bus situation. The other is on vaping. I don't think we need major discussion tonight, but I want to give you an opportunity to get up-to-date on this, so you're aware of what's going on, and we can follow up and give you additional information as we go forward. Dr. Prowler has met with us today, and we've met with the bus company, we've met with the police, we've done a whole pile of things, and let Dr. Prowler explain the reports in front of you.
[Roy Belson]: You know, is it? So let me answer that a little, because we had an interesting discussion with the police. It seems that preferred seating is the back of the bus. they shoved to get to the back of the bus, because that's where they can have a little more mischief, perhaps in some cases. And I say that benevolently, but I mean, they wanna get to the back of the bus, so they're trying to get preferred seating. Normally you like to sit up close and get off the bus faster, but that's not the case. So obviously we have to have a meeting with the students, we have to make it very, very clear that behavior on this bus is really going to be monitored very closely, because You just can't put buses on just simply to, you know, get more of the same, because if they're going to push and shove on an uncrowded bus, they're going to push and shove on the next uncrowded bus. We've got to make sure that they understand that this is something, it's a privilege to ride the bus. We're trying very hard to give them the transportation they want, but they've got to work with us. Everyone has to own the solution. We also worked with the bus company, Christine worked with the bus company this afternoon, that if in fact we needed a backup bus on a given day because it was particularly cold or we anticipated bad weather. So let's say it was a snowstorm and we know that everyone's going to want to ride the bus. we could get a backup bus in that situation. But then it costs us to do that. So we wanna do these things, we wanna have contingency plans in place, but we need the students to cooperate with us. As the headmaster points out, we're gonna have a meeting with them, we're gonna make it very clear. And if you do things you're not supposed to do, you're not gonna ride that bus, we're gonna take you off. The other thing that's a situation for us is that people like to go with their friends. We can't be in a situation where people who don't need the ride home get on the same bus. It just is not workable for us. There's a major expense with that. Especially now, we're talking about adding a bus to the elementary schools. We're talking about other kinds of costs. We've had to add a bus to move some ELL students to the Brooks this year. Transportation costs are not inexpensive. They cost $375 a day for a bus. times 180 days, that's a lot of money. So if we're going to provide services, we expect people to be respectful and we expect them to work with us. So we've gotta keep working at it, no question about it. And the injury is obviously tragic and unfortunate and we've been in contact with the family and we'll continue to be supportive to them. But everyone's gotta own the solution. It just can't be, you know, whatever you do will be okay.
[Roy Belson]: I just want to say one thing. I want to thank Justin for the first time in my career.
[Roy Belson]: Superintendent? I think that, you know, Dr. Burrell was expressing extremely well is that this is a community thing. Parents, everyone has to be involved. If you put enforcement in one place, they'll go to another place. So just move the location. We've got to change the outlook on the dangers about it and why it's not a good idea. And we've got to work with the merchants, perhaps even to possibly put a city ordinance in to ban the sale of it. You know, it may be something that we can look at and possibly work with neighboring communities to get a regional ban in the area, so it makes it that much more difficult to acquire the materials. This is a comprehensive issue, but it's not going to be done by just having a person chase somebody down the corridor. That may be... nice for a particular situation, but not as a solution to the larger picture.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: I'm just, you know, hopeful that maybe it's banned in general, because I don't think it's good for adults either. If adults have it, they give it to the kids at home, just like a beer, you know, your home. Let's have a beer or watch a football game. Let's do this, let's do that. Sometimes there's a sense that if a parent's doing it, it's okay. Gotta get that message across.
[Roy Belson]: So we have a number of presentations here. We'd like to make each of them, and it's our custom to give everybody a chance to say something. So we can... Let everybody say something and then make the presentations. That's probably a good way to go.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So having been around a long time, having seen an awful lot of things, and having interacted with both of you in different ways and at different times, I have some perspective. So I'll start with Bob. So Bob, you've been a coach. You've been a teacher. You've been active in the community. You've come from a family with tremendous tradition in public service. An uncle who was a mayor of the city. You had a relative who was an uncle, I guess, who was the Speaker of the House of Representatives. You've been on this committee through different periods of time when different activities were going on. You experienced the sting of Proposition 2 1⁄2. You know what it's like to be a teacher who got displaced, so you had always empathy for teachers. And you worked for the state auditor, and you had a really good investigative mind. So when you play Columbo and Mickey the Dunce, we know that you really know what's going on, even though you don't let on that you really know what's going on. And sometimes, you know, it's kind of interesting to see how you play that out. But anyone who knows Bob Scurry knows that Bobby really cares about kids. He does a lot of things that he doesn't take credit for, just quiet on the side, takes care of a kid here, takes care of a family there. And he just doesn't talk about it. But I know about it because I hear about it. And I think that that really reflects on your good heart and your caring. And even though sometimes it looks like you've got that bravado coming on, you're really a soft puppy and you really care about people. And you're really one of these guys that you can always count on for loyalty and knowing what's going on without making a big deal out of it. You were the secretary for the committee for many years. You went over all the bills. Very little got by you, if anything got by you. You know, and you sometimes give me a wink and say, what is this? And I try to dance a little bit, and you give me a wink. And you say, don't do it again. And I remember all those things. So there's a lot of history, Bob. We go back a long way, and I look forward to seeing you around the community and interacting with you. Because I know that while you're not sitting as a member, you'll still be an active citizen and an active contributor to the young people of this community. And that's what it's all about. That's what it's all about, pal. So Ann Marie, you are a person that I've come to know very, very well. You've been very active, you were involved with student sports, you were involved with student activities, very little. went on that Ann Marie didn't get involved in. School councils, you were one of the great joiners of all time. If there was something to belong to, Ann Marie was one of the members who was joining on to that activity. You rose up through the ranks, you became involved in the state association. to the rank of president of MASC, which gave you incredible perspective, and you brought back a lot of very good ideas, and brought back an awful lot of very, very good thoughts to help the school system move forward. You've been a good friend. I can always count on you to listen and to understand some of the perspectives we may have, even if you couldn't vote on a particular issue the way I wanted. But still, you understood it, and you provided good feedback. You're an individual that I will clearly miss along with Bob, you know what I mean, as I feel like you've really contributed and I believe that your involvement at the state level will continue to be an important factor as we go forward in public education. I want to thank you both because it's been a great ride with both of you. As I reflect on all the things that I've come to see, I know that the two of you are among the best school committee members that I've served with, so I want to thank you all. Thank you. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so I've had substantial contact with the Beverly Public Schools. They strongly dispute the account provided to us by Ms. Simonides. I've gone back and forth with Stephen Hershey, who is the superintendent there. He claims, and he gave me the name of the trainer, the certified trainer who was on the field at that time. He said that no trainer from Beverly did anything with the individual. As a result, he feels that it may have been somebody else who just simply helped out on the sidelines. So I have a lot more to do. I did contact the MIAA briefly and told them that we're in the process of continuing to investigate what actually took place. But there is a distinct difference of opinion between what Beverly feels happened and what was reported to us. So there's a little bit going on right now, and I'll have more reports soon as I get a better chance to talk to all the parties. The feeling from Beverly was that somebody assisted the student, but not necessarily the trainer. the play was allowed to go forward without any reason to stop the play. So there's back and forth, but Beverly strongly refutes the idea that their trainer assisted our student, and also that the trainer was not licensed, and they gave me the name and showed me the licensure.
[Roy Belson]: You know, this is still going back. In fact, the latest communication was as late as today. I'm Stephen Hershey. So I've got a lot more work to do. I mean, obviously, there's a real difference of opinion in what took place.
[Roy Belson]: I actually have it on my phone.
[Roy Belson]: According to the Beverly Public Schools, Since the referee didn't stop the play, obviously he didn't consider it serious enough. And that for some reason, the assistance was done on the sidelines. They suspect that somebody who maybe had a nursing background or something else like that may have helped on the sidelines. The question is, why did the youngster go back in the game too if he had a kick in the head? There are a couple of questions that still have to be answered.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, well, according to them, they didn't believe the referee needed to stop the game. And secondly, you know, and without casting any aspersions on anyone, as you know, Mississimini's was not at the game. And so as a result, we have a situation where people who were at the game have very different reports as to what took place there. Yes, but certainly blood is blood and if well, that's that's you know, an assumption that was made as to when the bleeding took place and who did what and where and I need more information. I mean, obviously, we have a back and forth going on. And I asked Stephen Hershey, who's the again, superintendent of Beverly, because Mississippi nineties was contacting the Beverly School Committee, and others up in Beverly. And they are siding with the Beverly Public Schools right now. So I need a lot more feeling as to what's really took place. Point of information, Mayor?
[Roy Belson]: I asked for that information, I haven't got it back yet.
[Roy Belson]: I didn't speak to the coach, but Mr. Maloney did. And so I'm gonna get a follow-up on that. But again, today's information, which I just got today, is a direct refutation of the story we got. And so I really need to ask a lot of questions.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, I just don't know when it happened, how it happened, and the like. I have two very different reports.
[Roy Belson]: I doubt they were filming the JV game. They may have filmed the varsity game, but I doubt they filmed the JV game.
[Roy Belson]: because I'm gonna put it on my cell phone, and it'll give you an idea of the strength of his comment. It wasn't like, I don't think anything happened. It was very, very direct. So let me read it to you.
[Roy Belson]: So I don't want to draw any conclusions until I have more investigation, but let me read you what Stephen Hershey wrote me today, and then attach some additional information which I'm exploring with others. Good afternoon. I'm sending you copies of what I have in addition. Your athletic director sent a letter to us. I spoke with several Beverly parents I know usually attend the games. While some of them remember the play, they do not report it as a significant injury. They note that there was no stoppage of play, nor the issuance of a card. Our trainer's name is Charla Berenas, and she has been with us for a long time without complaint. Beverly has taken this seriously from the start, but I have been unable to verify what has been reported. Our coaches and trainer are expected to deal with potential concussions with great caution. We perform ongoing training to ensure we are attending to the safety of all athletes under our own are players from other teams. I would like to find out what happened. Please forward me any information you have. So we have an ongoing investigation. I can't draw a conclusion without more discussion with people. This came through today. And we've got a little bit more to follow up. And I just don't want to draw conclusions until I'm comfortable that everyone has a chance to review the information back and forth.
[Roy Belson]: Yes.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, second. And you can add me to the meeting.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, I was present.
[Roy Belson]: Yes.
[Roy Belson]: It will be in the conference room.
[Roy Belson]: You've been handed a report tonight that was sent to us.
[Roy Belson]: Sure.
[Roy Belson]: It's probably another factor, too, in terms of busing. The more busing that takes place, the less likely they are to arrive. take it before the actual school starts.
[Roy Belson]: So let me just make one clarification. This is the breakfast program. This is not the total numbers of students on free and reduced. Not everybody comes in early enough for breakfast, especially at the high school and places like that. So we'll give you a report with the total numbers, because they're much higher. when you look at the school lunch program as opposed to the breakfast program, which is a more, let's say, niche program that not everybody participates in. It's one that we'd like to increase, and we've talked to Andrea Silbert over at EOS many times. But I think that the breakfast program doesn't give you a full accurate picture. If just at the high school alone, the number of youngsters who are in free and reduced, who don't pay a user fee for athletics, would tell you that it's much higher than this.
[Roy Belson]: So we're using the tobacco policy because vaping is sort of a derivative. But as we move forward, we'll obviously specify a little bit more completely.
[Roy Belson]: Well, we can just make one quick comment, as we've done this at this place every year for a long time now, and the reason we need to approve it so early is that if we have snow days, you know, we've locked in the date. So we don't have to have, you know, so many days. But if there are no snow days, we don't have to worry about it. And the other thing that I just will let you know is that Mr. William Cummings of the Cummings Foundation will speak at graduation in addition to the normal speakers.
[Roy Belson]: I think that it's really important to understand that cameras are fragile. And that every year, we're going to have to allocate money for this. Because lightning strikes, all kinds of things take place that are beyond our control. And we can go all year long and then find that we need cameras that have to be replaced going into the school year. I think the key thing, you know, apropos to your question is, is that are we covering the areas that people need to be, have covered, that people can see? The answer is yes. And we'll try to, you know, continually prioritize as we go forward. If a camera goes down, we certainly want to ensure that a key area is covered, so rather than one that might be a duplicate of an existing area. But for the most part, in the middle of December, we believe everything will be fixed.
[Roy Belson]: So let me answer that before we go too far down the road. Mr. O'Keefe did provide a substantial number, 30 additional cameras this year. Some of them are not compatible with what we need. Some of them can be used for limited purposes, but given what we're doing right now and given the upgrade in technology, Um, what's coming out of that institution that Bill gets it from, uh, is not necessarily compatible with what we've got. There's a few that can be. So, we've got to screen them out, but we really can't be overly dependent on that. We appreciate what Bill's done, but on the other hand, we've got to be careful that, uh, they're mostly inside cameras, and the things that deal with outside cameras are very different, and we're also dealing with a different way of, uh, of a transmission, uh, than we previously did. We can use them periodically, but it's not a one-to-one kind of application, but we do appreciate it.
[Roy Belson]: We do have expectations of coming forward with a proposal as the year progresses to enhance our human resources capacity. I mean, it's become a major, major area and you cannot continue to just simply treat it as a byproduct of everything else going on. So, that will come forward as a major proposal and we'll have that discussion.
[Roy Belson]: I doubt you're going to forget.
[Roy Belson]: So, as you probably know, the state legislature has approved an option for school districts to incorporate bilingual education into the existing SEI format. Now, 15 years ago, Ron Unz, who came from California, pushed a initiative petition, which he previously had some success in Arizona and California, and Massachusetts decided that it would adopt it as well. It was given great support from John Silbert at the time, and also Mitt Romney, who was a gubernatorial candidate, and it carried its way. Since the time it's been implemented, there's been mixed results. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But it comes with that whole idea that, you know, everyone should speak English, and we believe they should. But how to learn to speak English, especially to learn subjects that require deep cognitive knowledge or cognitive language, is not so easily done. And there are reasons for blending and doing things a little bit differently. We obviously are looking at that. We're going to be waiting for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to give us the latest guidelines as they see them, and we haven't seen them yet. We probably won't see them until either late spring or perhaps even into the summer. So, I doubt there's going to be much done in the next fiscal year. We are going to look at the blend of programs, and Paul is going to come up in a minute and talk about that, and how it comes together so that we can take advantage of the law where it's appropriate, while at the same time not lose track of situations which are best served by the current SEI. Also, as you probably know, our teachers have We've been working to get SEI endorsements, which are required now, for teachers who work with students who have EL requirements, and the vast majority of faculty members do, especially in the core academic areas. However, there's still some gaps, and there's still a need to continue pushing that as people receive students who have this English language need, to make sure that the teachers are fully prepared for them. We also have the issue of dealing with the distribution of students with EL, and we're going to look at that. We did some distribution this year. We'll have some comment about that. It's not an easy subject, because as you move people around, you create, you solve one problem, you create another. So we're going to provide some options for you in the beginning of the year, sometime in January, so you can look at what options are available to you and what it means financially and what it means programmatically. But tonight, we want to give you an idea about the law, the pros, the cons of it, and some of the other things that Paul has put together. So with permission, Paul, if you come on up and give us a discussion on this topic.
[Roy Belson]: It's going to be tied into our discussion about options. Okay, sounds great. It's a larger picture and, you know, Paul and I have had some serious discussions about pros and cons of any kind of movement of people. What it means for staff, what it means for transportation, what it means for siblings, what it means for, you know, language groupings. This is a very complex issue and it requires a great deal of trade-off. We have to decide what's the most important thing to us, what are the most important issues to us, and how we're going to solve them because there's no one perfect solution for any of this.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. At one time it should be noted that the courses were offered free, but that gate is now closed. Okay. So now we have to, if we have openings for new people, if they're not coming out of colleges with the SEI enforcement, we have to actually offer it if they have students. Okay, thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So we're going to ask our deputy superintendent to tell us how we've responded to some of the issues that were raised recently.
[Roy Belson]: I don't think it's gonna hold anything up. You know the basic premise of the report. Right, okay. I think if we allow us to just move forward, you know, and the formalization will take place when we get back.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I guess, you know, we're gonna have some field trips that are gonna show up in the next little while, and if it takes a little bit longer to get everything clear, we'll be operating under some old rules. It might be useful to just simply say that in the main, this is an acceptable piece, understanding the amendment. I mean, and that we provide the forms at the earliest possible time in January.
[Roy Belson]: and we'll provide them to you, but at least you'll have something that's, you know.
[Roy Belson]: I think you need to be careful not to overregulate because what happens is the circumstances change, situations change. What you're really saying to us, be responsible, be reasonable, keep us informed, make things, you know, don't let people go run amok and go too far down the road before, you know, you know about it. Because that's really what we're basically saying to people. And I think, you know, we've got professionals on staff, they've got to understand that that means give us the information in a timely way. Mr. Superintendent, do I dare remind you that just last week we were approving a field trip.
[Roy Belson]: We also had a full month where we didn't hold a meeting. And that's really, you know, that was really a circumstantial thing, but that's eight.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so I've had substantial contact with the Beverly Public Schools. They strongly dispute the account provided to us by Ms. Simonides. I've gone back and forth with Stephen Hershey, who is the superintendent there. He claims, and he gave me the name of the trainer, the certified trainer, who was on the field at that time. He said that no trainer from Beverly did anything with the individual. As a result, he feels that it may have been somebody else who just simply helped out on the sidelines. So I have a lot more to do. I did contact the MIAA briefly and told them that we're in the process of continuing to investigate what actually took place. But there is a distinct difference of opinion between what Beverly feels happened and what was reported to us. So there's a little bit going on right now and I'll have more reports soon as I get a better chance to talk to all the parties. The feeling from Beverly was that somebody assisted the student but not necessarily the trainer and that the play was allowed to go forward without any reason to stop the play. So there's back and forth, but Beverly strongly refutes the idea that their trainer assisted our student and also that the trainer was not licensed. They gave me the name and showed me the licensure.
[Roy Belson]: Not yet. This is still going back. In fact, the latest communication was as late as today from Stephen Hershey. So I've got a lot more work to do. I mean, obviously, there's a real difference of opinion in what took place.
[Roy Belson]: I actually have it on my phone, and I can give it to you afterwards.
[Roy Belson]: According to Beverly, uh, the Beverly Public Schools, since the referee didn't stop the play, obviously he didn't consider it serious enough and that for some reason, um, you know, that the assistance was done on the sidelines. They suspect that somebody who maybe had a nursing background or something else like that may have helped on the sidelines. The question is, why did the youngster go back in the game, too, if he had a kick in the head? There are a couple of questions that still have to be answered.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, well, according to them, they didn't believe the referee needed to stop the game. And secondly, and without casting any aspersions on anyone, as you know, Mississimini's was not at the game. And so as a result, we have a situation where people who were at the game have very different reports as to what took place there. Yes, but certainly blood is blood and if... Well, that's an assumption that was made as to when the bleeding took place and who did what and where and I need more information. I mean, obviously we have a back and forth going on and I asked Stephen Hershey, who's the, again, superintendent of Beverly, because Mississippi was contacting the Beverly School Committee and others up in Beverly and they are siding with the Beverly Public Schools right now. So I need a lot more feeling as to what really took place. Point of information, Mayor?
[Roy Belson]: I asked for that information, I haven't got it back yet.
[Roy Belson]: I didn't speak to the coach, but Mr. Maloney did.
[Roy Belson]: And so I'm going to get a follow-up on that. But again, today's information, which I just got today, is a direct refutation of the story we got. And so I really need to ask a lot of questions.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah. I just don't know when it happened, how it happened, and the like. I have two very different reports.
[Roy Belson]: I doubt they were filming the JV game. They may have filmed the varsity game, but I doubt they filmed the JV game.
[Roy Belson]: Let me, if I can, Mayor, let me read you the latest communication from Stephen Hershey, because I'm going to put it on my cell phone, and it'll give you an idea of, you know, the strength of his comment. It wasn't like, I don't think anything happened. It was very, very, you know, direct. So let me read it to you.
[Roy Belson]: So I don't want to draw any conclusions until I have more investigation, but let me read you what Stephen Hershey wrote me today, and then attach some additional information which I'm exploring with others. Good afternoon. I'm sending you copies of what I have in addition. Your athletic director sent a letter to us. I spoke with several Beverly parents I know usually attend the games. While some of them remember the play, they do not report it as a significant injury. They note that there was no stoppage of play, nor the issuance of a card. Our trainer's name is Charla Berenas, and she has been with us for a long time without complaint. Beverly has taken this seriously from the start, but I have been unable to verify what has been reported. Our coaches and trainer are expected to deal with potential concussions with great caution. We perform ongoing training to ensure we are attending to the safety of all athletes under our own our players from other teams. I would like to find out what happened. Please forward me any information you have. So we have an ongoing investigation. You know, I can't draw a conclusion, you know, without more discussion with people. This came through today, and we've got a little bit more to follow up, and I just don't want to draw conclusions until I'm comfortable that everyone has a chance to review the information back and forth.
[Roy Belson]: Yes.
[Roy Belson]: OK. Second. And you can add me to the meeting.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, I was present. OK.
[Roy Belson]: Yes.
[Roy Belson]: It will be in the conference room.
[Roy Belson]: You've been handed a report tonight that was sent to us.
[Roy Belson]: Pretty much, yeah.
[Roy Belson]: Sure.
[Roy Belson]: There's probably another factor, too, in terms of busing. The more busing that takes place, the less likely they are to arrive and take it before the actual school starts.
[Roy Belson]: So let me just make one clarification. This is the breakfast program. This is not the total numbers of students on free and reduced. Okay. You know, not everybody comes in early enough for breakfast, especially at the high school and places like that. So we'll give you a report with the total numbers because they're much higher when you look at the school lunch program as opposed to the breakfast program, which is a more, let's say, niche program that not everybody participates in. It's one that, you know, we'd like to increase, but, and we've talked to Andrea Silbert over at EOS, you know, many times. But I think that the breakfast program doesn't give you a full, accurate picture. If just at the high school alone, the number of youngsters who are in free and reduced, who don't pay a user fee for athletics, would tell you that it's much higher than this. Okay? So, we'll give you that report.
[Roy Belson]: Second.
[Roy Belson]: So we're using the tobacco policy because vaping is sort of a derivative. But as we move forward, we'll obviously specify a little bit more completely.
[Roy Belson]: Move approval.
[Roy Belson]: Well, we can just make one quick comment, as we've done this at this place every year for a long time now, and the reason we need to approve it so early is that if we have snow days, you know, we've locked in the date. So we don't have to have, you know, so many days. But if there are no snow days, we don't have to worry about it. And the other thing, the other thing that I just will let you know is that Mr. William Cummings of the Cummings Foundation will speak at graduation in addition to the normal speakers.
[Roy Belson]: I think that it's really important to understand that cameras are fragile. and that every year we're going to have to allocate money for this because lightning strikes, all kinds of things take place that are beyond our control and we can go all year long and then find that we need cameras have to be replaced going into the school year. So I think the key thing, you know, apropos to your question is, is that are we covering the areas that people need to be, have covered, that people can see? The answer is yes. And we'll try to, you know, continually prioritize as we go forward. If a camera goes down, we certainly want to ensure that a key area is covered. So rather than one that might be a duplicate of an existing area. For the most part, in the middle of December, we believe everything will be fixed.
[Roy Belson]: So let me answer that before we go too far down the road. Mr. O'Keefe did provide a substantial number, 30 additional cameras this year. Some of them are not compatible with what we need. Some of them can be used for limited purposes. But given what we're doing right now and given the upgrade in technology, Um, what's coming out of that institution that Bill gets it from, uh, is not necessarily compatible with what we've got. There's a few that can be, so we've got to screen them out, but we really can't be overly dependent on that. We appreciate what Bill's done, but on the other hand, we've got to be careful that, uh, they're mostly inside cameras, and the things that deal with outside cameras are very different, and we're also dealing with a different way of, uh, of a transmission, uh, than we previously did, so. We can use them periodically, but it's not a one-to-one kind of application, but we do appreciate it.
[Roy Belson]: I think we did once, but I'll send it again.
[Roy Belson]: We do have expectations of coming forward with a proposal as the year progresses to enhance our human resources capacity. I mean, it's become a major, major area, and you cannot continue to just simply treat it as a, you know, byproduct of everything else going on. So that will come forward as a major proposal, and we'll have that discussion.
[Roy Belson]: I doubt you're going to forget.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you, Kirsten.
[Roy Belson]: So, as you probably know, the state legislature has approved an option for school districts to incorporate bilingual education into the existing SEI format. Now, 15 years ago, Ron Unz, who came from California, pushed an initiative petition, which previously had some success in Arizona and California, and Massachusetts decided that it would adopt it as well. Uh, it was given great support from John Silber at the time, and also Mitt Romney, who was a gubernatorial candidate, and it carried its way. Uh, since the time it's been implemented, there's been mixed results. Um, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it comes with that whole idea that, you know, everyone should speak English, and we, we believe they should, but how to learn to speak English, especially to learn subjects that have required deep cognitive knowledge. cognitive language is not so easily done. And there are reasons for blending and doing things a little bit differently. We obviously are looking at that. We're going to be waiting for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to give us the latest guidelines as they see them. And we haven't seen them yet. We probably won't see them until either late spring or perhaps even into the summer. So I doubt there's going to be much done in the next uh, fiscal year. However, we are going to look at the blend of programs, and that Paul is going to come up in a minute and talk about that, and how it comes together so that we can take advantage of the law where it's appropriate, while at the same time not lose track of, uh, situations which are best served by the current SEI. Uh, also, as you probably know, uh, our teachers have I've been working to get SEI endorsements, which are required now for teachers who work with students who have EL requirements, and the vast majority of faculty members do, especially in the core academic areas. However, there's still some gaps, and there's still a need to continue pushing that as people receive students who have this English language need. to make sure that the teachers are fully prepared for them. We also have the issue of dealing with the distribution of students with EL, and we're going to look at that. We did some distribution this year. We'll have some comment about that. It's not an easy subject, because as you move people around, you create, you solve one problem, you create another. So we're going to provide some options for you in the, um, beginning of the year, sometime in January, so you can look at what, what options are available to you and, uh, what it means financially and what it means programmatically. Uh, but tonight, uh, we want to give you an idea about the law, the pros, the cons of it, and, uh, some of the other things that, uh, Paul has put together. So with permission, Paul, if you come on up and, uh, give us a, uh, a discussion on, on this topic.
[Roy Belson]: It's going to be tied into our discussion about options. Okay, sounds great. It's a larger picture and, you know, Paul and I have had some serious discussions about the pros and cons of any kind of movement of people. What it means for staff, what it means for transportation, what it means for siblings, what it means for, you know, language groupings. This is a very complex issue, and it requires a great deal of trade-off. We have to decide what's the most important thing to us, what are the most important issues to us, and how we're going to solve them, because there's no one perfect solution for any of this.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. At one time it should be noted that the courses were offered free, but that gate is now closed. Okay. So now we have to, if we have openings for new people, if they're not coming out of colleges with the SEL enforcement, we have to actually offer it if they have students.
[Roy Belson]: So we're going to ask our deputy superintendent to tell us how we responded to some of the issues that were raised recently.
[Roy Belson]: That may be tough because sound payments are generally made well in advance.
[Roy Belson]: I don't think it's going to hold anything up. You know the basic premise of the report. Right, okay. I think if we allow us to just move forward, you know, and the formalization will take place when we come back.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I guess, you know, we're going to have some field trips that are going to show up, you know, in the next little while. And if it takes a little bit longer to get everything clear, we'll be operating under some old rules. It might be useful to just simply say that in the main, this is an acceptable piece, understanding the amendment. I mean, and that we provide the forms at the earliest possible time in January.
[Roy Belson]: Forms, yes. And we'll provide them to you, but at least you'll have something that's, you know.
[Roy Belson]: I think you need to be careful not to overregulate, because what happens is that circumstances change, situations change. What you're really saying to us, be responsible, be reasonable, keep us informed, make things, you know, don't let people go run amok and go too far down the road before, you know, you know about it. Because that's really what we're basically saying to people. And I think, you know, we've got professionals on staff, they've got to understand that that means give us the information in a timely way.
[Roy Belson]: We also had a full month where we didn't hold a meeting. And that's really, you know, that was really a circumstantial thing, but that's eight years ago.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee, as you know, project 351 was started by Governor Patrick. It was an attempt to provide leaders who come from our middle schools, and they would do community service. Now, we've done this for a number of years, and this evening, we have two representatives, one from the McGlynn and one from the Andrews. And right now, we'll call upon our principal, Paul DeLeva, to introduce the person from the Andrews.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the School Committee, I'm going to call upon Tony Vento, our Health Supervisor, to introduce Dr. Patrick Sabia. Dr. Kristen Goodell has taken a position at Boston University. as a dean, and she's done a great job for us. And Dr. Sabia is going to do a great job for us. We met the other day, and we're really excited to have him on board. But I'm going to let Tony introduce him and let Dr. Sabia make a few remarks and answer any questions you may have.
[Roy Belson]: So this particular report is letting you know that the federal government has now approved our E-rate tier 2 funding, which is a substantial amount of money. It needs to be matched. If it's approved here this evening that will go forward, I'll go to the City Council at a future date to ask for the matching funds. It will allow us to expand our infrastructure to support our networks, to increase our switches and all the other aspects of the infrastructure that supports technology. Kirstine Patterson is a lead person locally on this and she's going to tell you a little bit more about it.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Pardon me. I worked it out the date with the mayor and based on what's on their calendar.
[Roy Belson]: So every year we have a Veterans Day program, and Dr. Bernadette Riccadeli is the coordinator, and she's going to come up and tell you about the program.
[Roy Belson]: Well, Mayor and members of the school committee, tonight we're going to prove there is such a thing as a free lunch. So Kirsten is going to cover that for us.
[Roy Belson]: I think it's going to the deck.
[Roy Belson]: Well, it'll be stocked. OK. The donation of the deck appears to be what's ticketed for.
[Roy Belson]: December 4th is the opening.
[Roy Belson]: 11 o'clock.
[Roy Belson]: So we have a couple of foreign language approvals in front of us tonight. We talked about them at our committee of the hall, so Rita is here. First of all, let me congratulate Rita publicly for her award from the Italian Association for her outstanding work as an Italian teacher and administrator promoting programs in Italian culture. The other reason. Thank you. The other evening, Friday evening, at the Dry Dock, the Innovation Center, Rita was there receiving audits from a whole pile of people who were involved in Italian culture, including the Consul General. And Rita deserves all the work, all the credit that she gets.
[Roy Belson]: State Leadership Conference in Marlborough, SkillsUSA. And this year is no exception and we're going to be sending a couple of teachers and four students. It will be paid for by grant money. They'll be staying overnight so that they can participate in the full range of activities and we need the school committee to approve it so that we can take this Trip on Schools USA.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, it was unfortunately a situation where Mr. Fallon is new to our system and didn't realize it needed to come into us. We wanted to bring it to you. But certainly in the future, we understand it needs to come to you.
[Roy Belson]: We'll call on our assistant superintendent to deliver this report.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee, I think we all know that building maintenance, building condition, is a popular topic. The MSBA, Massachusetts School Building Authority, is the authority that's been put in place to assist with renovations, major renovations of schools, but they also try to keep track of where schools are. Now, we all know where the pimples are and where the tiles are missing in any one school in our own world. But when you look at the range of schools across the Commonwealth, We don't do badly. And the report I'm providing you is a report that it was done by MSBA. It was done by a field visit to our schools by MSBA. And they went to all the schools across the Commonwealth, virtually all of them, didn't get to everything. And they assessed and evaluated several key factors, including building condition, general environment, capacity, technology, security, and maintenance. The study was conducted by architectural engineers, engineers in general, and who visited each specific building. Now, school buildings that were slated for MSB upgrades, already slated in the pipeline, weren't visited because they already had been out there and done that. The buildings were rated on a four-point scale. the general condition and general learning environment. A rating of one was the best, and a rating of four was the lowest. And all buildings were rated for capacity utilization. Underutilization was considered to be 80% or less, below 80% rather, and overutilization was above 125% of the capacity of the building. So I provided you with selected pages of the MSBA report. It was 96 pages. I didn't think you wanted to read it all, but if you do, I can certainly provide it. I picked those pages I thought were relevant to us and would give us insights as to how they came up with these decisions. But you'll note if you go down to Medford schools and the building condition, all of our schools, with the exception of the high school and the vocational school, were rated one. The high school and the vocational school were rated two. But all our buildings, for general environment were rated one based on their study, not something we did for them, not something we told them to say. They came out and rated it with their people. Now, building capacity, We fall into the average range in every building, while Brooks, Columbus, McGlynn, and Roberts are considered average, the Andrews a little bit under, McGlynn under, high school under, vocational under, and the Curtis Tufts under, in terms of capacity, in terms of room. Now people talk to me about, is there capacity to absorb young people into our schools? I'd say yes. Because I've looked at this, I gave you a report not that long ago on the impact of development upon enrollment. I'm working on a report that deals with some of the smaller buildings, which there aren't that many with young people in it. But clearly, that is not changing anything as far as I can see so far. So I think it's important when people ask us about our building conditions to recognize that we have had them looked at. There's certainly room for improvement. No one's going to say that we do everything the way it should be done. But clearly, we're not bad compared to buildings, school buildings around the commonwealth. We have put in an SOI to the state, statement of interest for the high school and the vocational school. We expect to hear before the first of the year whether or not we will be allowed to go to feasibility study. I believe we're now in a pool of 44. There were 88. We're now down to 44. It may be less than that now since their last visit to us. And hopefully we'll hear about that and we'll be able to move forward with a feasibility study looking at those two major buildings. So happy to take any questions you may have. Ms.
[Roy Belson]: Well, they do have that. We're generally better than many others, but there are some. I can get you that.
[Roy Belson]: But they also want to, if they put an app in. And they also want to make sure that buildings that are doing okay, stay okay. And there are specific elements of our world. Like in our world, we want to work on the systems in the high school and the vocation school. We want to work on the shops. We want to work on other aspects of the facility that will enhance it over time. Remember that building is, what, over 45 years old now. It's a solid building, it's not going away, but it can use some upgrades. And I think these are the things that we want to push with them. So we had a very good meeting with them. I thought when they left, they were very pleased with the kind of tour that we took with them and the information we gave them. But it's competitive, so we'll find out.
[Roy Belson]: Oh, they went around the whole place.
[Roy Belson]: They went around the whole place. Now remember, we've got an oil project from them, we've got the science projects from them. You know, we've got some other things from them as well. So it isn't like they've ignored us. But clearly, you know, the things we were talking about with them were, I think, well-received. OK.
[Roy Belson]: Well, actually, I turned that around on them. When I said to them, see, your money really was put to good use. Good.
[Roy Belson]: We're very good with your money. You should give us more. OK?
[Roy Belson]: I think they composited. The report did not break it down.
[Roy Belson]: They didn't break it down. But I can ask. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: You want to announce it Monday night? You want to talk about that?
[Roy Belson]: M-A-S-C.
[Roy Belson]: So in June 2016, the Medford school committee approved the succession plan for the position of superintendent of schools. I have attached a copy of that plan to my remarks this evening. While it's within your discretion to keep, modify, and change the plan, it is a fundamental blueprint to begin the processes of succession and transition. And that will continue on Monday evening with Glenn Kuchar, who is the executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. It has been my privilege and honor to be an educator in Medford, in the Medford Public Schools, for 50 years, and to serve as superintendent of schools, your superintendent of schools, for 23 years. I've greatly benefited from the high quality and diligence of professionals, support staff, school committee members, and citizens who have worked with me throughout my career. And I am internally grateful to them for making my tenure and responsibilities as productive and as rewarding as reasonably possible. I've been very fortunate to have seen former students become teachers, administrators, and staff in our schools. I've had the experience of enrolling children and grandchildren of former students. While no one does significant work alone, I've had the opportunity to build new schools, establish a full range of programs, acquire hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, for our community and school district. Understandably, there's room for improvement, but much has been done and more will be done in the months ahead. No one gets to finish everything, but we have put a lot in place and that will be a solid foundation for the future. Therefore, I am here informing the Medford School Committee that it's my intention to retire from the position of superintendent of schools, Medford Public Schools, at the completion of my contract on June 30th, 2018. This decision has been made without reference to any governmental change or any issues that are in our community. It is simply the right period of time for me to spend more time with my family and to pursue special causes and interests that have not been possible given the schedule and work responsibilities of an active school superintendent. It is my intent and plan to be fully engaged in the months ahead as your superintendent. We have a lot of positive opportunities, some of which we've talked about tonight, ahead of us. And I will do everything possible to optimize and achieve our goals. Furthermore, I will be committed to ensuring a smooth and effective transition to new senior leadership. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you, Pauline. Thank you very much.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Thank you very much.
[Roy Belson]: Aye.
[Roy Belson]: There's an extraordinary paper about concussions that fall over, but it's not making much of a difference.
[Roy Belson]: At that meeting, you made a motion. And since that time, grievances were filed and other processes, legal matters were filed. And therefore, I want to discuss it with you in executive session, because I believe it affects our legal status. And I believe that should be taken into account before any meetings are scheduled.
[Roy Belson]: That's the opioid grant. That was the expansion of the Michigan model.
[Roy Belson]: You have a report on the Nellie Mae Education Foundation Grant. With us this evening is our Director of Guidance, Amelia Jensen, along with Tim Kline, who is a recipient of the O'Toole Award. It's a very significant award. It's done a lot of very good things for us. We'll do even more. I'm going to let them explain it to you in great detail.
[Roy Belson]: So we're going to call upon our assistant superintendent to deliver this report.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the committee, this report is in two parts. The Global Scholars Program is now in its fourth year. The program is integrated into the seventh grade geography curriculum. It's an initiative of the Global Cities program of Bloomberg Philanthropies out of New York. Medford has been a pioneer school system in Massachusetts with this program. We're the first to do it. Most of the involved cities are large metropolises around the globe. There are over 20 major metropolises around the globe participating. And as such, we've had the opportunity to help shape the curriculum and methodologies involved in the implementation and development. Our Curriculum Director, Dr. Bernadette Riccadeli, and our Director of Humanities, Dr. Nicole Chieser, have supervised the outstanding work of our seventh grade middle school teachers. This year, the program will focus on the global food system. I'm going to allow Dr. Riccadeli to tell you more about it, and then I need to come back and talk about the upcoming symposium that will take place in Paris, France.
[Roy Belson]: So the program is a terrific program. really connects people you saw a little bit with the previous program, people talking to other students, peers around the world, talking to each other, solving social issues, talking about the kinds of things. This is cutting edge activity. And there's going to be 50 cities represented in Paris this week. And there's going to be incredible exchanges. Michael Bloomberg will keynote. There will be professors from around the world, the London School of Economics, Moscow, Columbia. coming to this symposium to discuss the outcomes. And you have some of the materials in the brochure that I've provided to you. In order for me to be compensated under the ethics rules, I need your approval for Bloomberg Philanthropies to pay for my expenses to go. I've covered Mr. Zizzo because I'm his appointing authority, you're my appointing authority, so I need your approval for me, but Mr. Zizzo has my approval to attend, and we anticipate that this is about a $1,500 expense on the part of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the airfare, hotel, and the like. I also intend to stay for about a day and a half more to enjoy the city with my wife, and I will pay the expenses for anything associated with my private time in in Paris. So I look forward to this activity and I ask your approval to have Bloomberg Philanthropies allow me to attend at their expense.
[Roy Belson]: There's a representative from Boston, and there's a representative from the Everett Public Schools. We introduced the program to Boston and Everett at the request of Marjorie Bloomberg-Tibbin.
[Roy Belson]: Absolutely.
[Roy Belson]: Oh, absolutely. It's, you know, obviously they're looking for educational leaders to discuss the impact of outcomes on these kinds of programs.
[Roy Belson]: This is an invitation on the part of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Marjorie Tiven, who is the executive of this particular program, selected Mr. Zizzo for his contributions. All the young people, all of our teachers, did a good job doing things. But Mr. Zizzo added some technological capacity, advanced the concept a little bit. Remember, we were the first school system in Massachusetts to do this. They were looking at us for ideas. I provided them with some positions, papers on project-based learning, and other things like that. So Mr. Zizza was selected for his contributions, as opposed to being in a school, a particular school. But there are teachers, and administrators, and professors, and business people from all walks going to this particular thing to have this symposium to trade ideas about how we can leverage international digital learning. and create some outcomes that are there. So it was a selection of the program.
[Roy Belson]: Well, he's already done that. But he'll come back, as I will too, and also meet with people to talk about the things that were discussed, and how it can be advanced, and where we can grow from it, and what other people have suggested. It's really an attempt to exchange ideas and bring back advancements to the program. Remember, it's only in its fourth year. And as you might imagine with the revenues or the resources behind Bloomberg Philanthropies, it can grow substantially. And so we bring back some ideas. And these are things that we'll try to do and try to advance and try to do even more than we're doing now, incorporate even more people.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Zizou actually participated in a teleconference.
[Roy Belson]: That was earlier in the year. And his contributions were such that they felt that needed to be shared in a more, let's say, complete setting at the international symposium.
[Roy Belson]: One of the interesting things I just shared with you, and I think it's fascinating, is that virtually everybody from everywhere else speaks English. Whereas, you know, we don't typically speak all the languages that we'll be communicating with. It was interesting. I think one of our groups, we had some Greek students who were able to speak to the students in Athens in Greek last year. And a few other examples are where some of our students who come from other countries or non-native language speakers were able to communicate in the language to the communities they were at. But it's more likely that the communication will be in English. And our students will be able to speak their own language as opposed to a language that belongs to another country.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to tell you one quick, one quick cute story, which I'm not sure I should, I should, but I will anyway, is that several years ago when he was running for mayor, One of our assistant principals, submasters at the time, made a serious mistake and released his transcript from Medford High School. And it showed up in the Boston Herald and the gossip pages. And it turned out that he got a D in French. So one of the questions I won't ask him when I'll see him is, how's your French?
[Roy Belson]: So we'll call upon our assistant superintendent to tell you about the Buddy Bench donation.
[Roy Belson]: So earlier this evening, an individual came up and complained about the vocational advisory committees. Chapter 74 programs require us to have advisory committees. They've existed over the years, but with the advent of Dr. Riccio, they became much more pronounced and much more involved and many more people were involved. They're supposed to meet a minimum of two times per year, and the committee members serve as resources to the school administration, the various shop instructors. And they're composed of a wide variety of expertise and experience categories, include business owners, managers, technicians, university instructors, engineers, teachers, students, and parents. They're also very helpful in finding co-op learning opportunities for our students. I've attached a public notice of the two meetings that will be held this year, and that's already posted so that there's no problem this year about the meeting being posted. Last year it was posted on the vocational website, but that did not meet the state requirement that it be posted at the city clerk and on our own website. So we're in violation, but This attorney general, and you can see I gave you a copy of that earlier in the front end, indicated just don't do it again. Okay? I've listed the number of members of each of these advisory committees. That number can go up and down depending on who's available. I've also given you a listing of some of the co-op locations that our young people go to. At this point in time, it's still very early in the year. There'll be more as we get into the late fall. And I've also given you a listing of the various members of the various advisory committees so you see who's actually involved at this point in time. Now again, these people can change, they can come and go. But we feel that there's a great representation and we think that the co-op program is a tremendous asset to our vocational program. And I think that it gives young people some real world experience in their senior year, in some cases their junior year. You can be sure that our current administration at the vocational school uses them to learn about various things that are developing in the trades and the technical areas, and we get good feedback. So I'm very pleased with what's taken place with our advisory committee. There's 16 different working groups, although there are 20 curriculum areas. Some of them combine because of the affinity for each other. They're really crossover areas. So happy to take any questions you may have, but I think you have sufficient information to get an idea that We have posted the advisory committee meetings two times for this year, and we've also provided you with information about who's on them and what they do.
[Roy Belson]: We actually have students right now. We actually have students in their businesses right now.
[Roy Belson]: Right, well, construction, most of it is done through the laborers, and we've got activities over there, so it isn't really mostly a business activity, it's mostly with the laborers.
[Roy Belson]: I can't tell you right now, except the fact that I know that Jill is working on filling all these areas.
[Roy Belson]: There'll be expansions of this. It's very early in the year for this.
[Roy Belson]: Christine can comment on that, because we've done some work on that. And we can give you a quick idea, and then we'll give you a formal report.
[Roy Belson]: Kathy, you want to comment?
[Roy Belson]: At that meeting, you made a motion. Since that time, grievances were filed, the processes, legal matters were filed. And therefore, I want to discuss it with you in executive session because I believe it affects our legal status, and I believe that should be taken into account before any meetings are scheduled.
[Roy Belson]: That's the opioid grant. That was the expansion of the Michigan model.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, you have a report on the Nellie Mae Educators Foundation grant. With us this evening is our Director of Guidance, Amelia Jensen, along with Tim Kline, who's the recipient of the O2 award. It's a very significant award. It's done a lot of very good things for us. We'll do even more. I'm going to let them explain it to you in great detail.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the committee, this report is in two parts. The Global Scholars Program is now in its fourth year. The program is integrated into the seventh grade geography curriculum. It's an initiative of the Global Cities Program of Bloomberg Philanthropies out of New York. Medford has been a pioneer school system in Massachusetts with this program. We were the first to do it. Most of the involved cities are large metropolises around the globe. There are over 20 major metropolises around the globe participating. And as such, we've had the opportunity to help shape the curriculum and methodologies involved in the implementation and development. Our Curriculum Director, Dr. Bernadette Riccardelli, and our Director of Humanities, Dr. Nicole Chieser, have supervised the outstanding work of our seventh grade middle school teachers. This year, the program will focus on the global food system. I'm going to allow Dr. Riccadeli to tell you more about it, and then I need to come back and talk about the upcoming symposium that will take place in Paris, France.
[Roy Belson]: The program is a terrific program. It really connects people you saw a little bit with the previous program, people talking to other students, peers around the world, and talking to each other, solving social issues, talking about the kinds of things. This is cutting-edge activity, and there's going to be 50 cities represented in Paris this week. And there's going to be incredible exchanges. Michael Bloomberg will keynote. There will be professors from around the world, the London School of Economics, Moscow, Columbia, coming to this symposium to discuss the outcomes. And you have some of the materials in the brochure that I've provided to you. In order for me to be compensated under the ethics rules, I need your approval for Bloomberg Philanthropies to pay for my expenses to go. I've covered Mr. Zizzo because I'm his appointing authority, you're my appointing authority, so I need your approval for me, but Mr. Zizzo has my approval to attend. And we anticipate that this is about a $1,500 expense on the part of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the airfare, hotel, and the like. I also intend to stay for about a day and a half more, enjoy the city with my wife, and I will pay the expenses for anything associated with my private time in Paris. So I look forward to this activity, and I ask your approval to have Bloomberg Philanthropies allow me to attend at their expense.
[Roy Belson]: There's a representative from Boston, and there's a representative from the Everett Public Schools. We introduced the program to Boston and Everett at the request of Marjorie Bloomberg-Tiven.
[Roy Belson]: Oh, absolutely. It's, you know, obviously, they're looking for educational leaders. to discuss the impact of outcomes on these kinds of programs.
[Roy Belson]: This is an invitation on the part of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Marjorie Tiven, who is the executive of this particular program, selected Mr. Zizzo for his contributions. All the young people, all of our teachers did a good job doing things, but Mr. Zizzo added some technological capacity, advanced the concept a little bit. Remember, we were the first school system in Massachusetts to do this. they were looking at us for ideas. I provided them with some positions, papers on project-based learning and other things like that. So Mr. Zizza was selected for his contributions as opposed to being in a school, a particular school. But there are teachers and administrators and professors and business people from all walks going to this particular thing to have this symposium to trade ideas about how we can leverage international digital learning. and create some outcomes that are there. So it was a selection of the program.
[Roy Belson]: Well, he's already done that, but he'll come back and as I will too, and also meet with people to talk about the things that were discussed and how it can be advanced and where we can grow from it and what other people have suggested. It's really an attempt to exchange ideas and bring back advancements to the program. This is, remember, it's only in its fourth year. And as you might imagine with the revenues or the resources behind Bloomberg Philanthropies, it can grow substantially. And so we, you know, bring back some ideas and these are things that we'll try to do and try to advance and try to do even more than we're doing now, incorporate even more people.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Zizzo actually participated in a teleconference that was earlier in the year, and his contributions were such that they felt that they needed to be shared in a more, let's say, complete setting.
[Roy Belson]: One of the interesting things I just shared with you, and I think it's fascinating, is that virtually everybody from everywhere else speaks English. Whereas, you know, we don't typically speak all the languages that we'll be communicating with. And it was interesting. I think one of our groups, we had some Greek students who were able to speak to the students in Athens in Greek last year. And a few other examples are where some of our students who come from other countries or non-native language speakers were able to communicate in the language to the communities they were at. But it's more likely that the communication will be in English, and our students will be able to speak their own language as opposed to a language that belongs to another country.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to tell you one quick cute story, which I'm not sure I should, but I will anyway, is that several years ago when he was running for mayor, One of our assistant principals, submasters at the time, made a serious mistake and released this transcript from Medford High School. And it showed up in the Boston Herald and the gossip pages. And it turned out that he got a D in French. So one of the questions I won't ask him when I'll see him is, how's your French?
[Roy Belson]: So we'll call upon our assistant superintendent to tell you about the Buddy Bench donation.
[Roy Belson]: So earlier this evening, an individual came up and complained about the vocational advisory committees. Chapter 74 programs require us to have advisory committees. They've existed over the years. But with the advent of Dr. Riccio, they became much more pronounced and much more involved, and many more people were involved. They're supposed to meet a minimum of two times per year, and the committee members serve as resources, the school administration, the various shop instructors, and they're composed of a wide variety of expertise and experience categories include business owners, managers, technicians, university instructors, engineers, teachers, students, and parents. They're also very helpful in finding co-op learning opportunities for our students. I've attached a public notice of the two meetings that will be held this year, and that's already posted so that there's no problem this year about the meeting being posted. Last year it was posted on the vocational website, but that did not meet the state requirement that it be posted at the city clerk and on our own website. where we're in violation, but this attorney general, and you can see I gave you a copy of that earlier in the front end, indicated just don't do it again. Okay. I've listed the number of members of each of these advisory committees. That number can go up and down depending on who's available. I've also given you a listing of some of the co-op locations that our young people go to. At this point in time, it's still very early in the year. There'll be more as we get into the late fall. And I've also given you a listing of the various members of the various advisory committees to see who's actually involved at this point in time. Now again, these people can change, they can come and go. But we feel that there's a great representation and we think that the co-op program is a tremendous asset to our vocational program. And I think that it gives young people some real world experience in their senior year, in some cases their junior year. You can be sure that our current administration at the vocational school uses them to learn about various things that are developing in the trades and the technical areas, and we get good feedback. So I'm very pleased with what's taken place with our advisory committee. There's 16 different working groups, although there are 20 curriculum areas. Some of them combined because of the affinity for each other, they're really crossover areas. So happy to take any questions you may have, but I think you have sufficient information to get an idea that we have posted the advisory committee meetings two times for this year, and we've also provided you with information about who's on them and what they do.
[Roy Belson]: We actually have students right now. We actually have students in their businesses right now.
[Roy Belson]: Right, well, construction, most of it is done through the laborers.
[Roy Belson]: And we've got activities over there, so it isn't really mostly a business activity, it's mostly with the laborers.
[Roy Belson]: I can't tell you right now, except the fact that I know that Joe is working on filling all these areas.
[Roy Belson]: Not necessarily.
[Roy Belson]: It could be outside. There'll be expansions of this. It's very early in the year for this.
[Roy Belson]: Christine can comment on that because we've done some work on that. We can give you a quick idea and then we'll give you a formal report.
[Roy Belson]: We obviously lock in doors, put kids in places, put people in key strategic locations to watch doors and corridors and any other possible area where someone might get in. And everyone follow that exactly.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. President, may I?
[Roy Belson]: Roy Bellson, Superintendent of Schools, 2500 Mystic Valley Parkway, Medford, Massachusetts. Mr. President, members of the Council, I just want to clarify a couple of things. Chapter 74 is the Vocational Education Act that governs vocational education. It has been around for a long time. Advisory committees have been part of Chapter 74 for a long time. It's not new. The Medford School Committee knows about Chapter 74 advisory committees, and many of you have participated on it, including Councilor Penter at one time, and others have been on these advisory committees. It's not an unknown thing. There was one error that was made. It was made without thinking it was an error. It was simply that advisory committees meet and they go over the program that they were interested in, the Multimedia Center for Students. Their issue wasn't community access, their issue was the multimedia program for students, because it's required by Chapter 74. Chapter 74 put out a manual and they increased the idea that the open meeting law should apply. The director at that particular time didn't see that, didn't pay attention to it at that particular time, put it on the website for the school thing and didn't think it needed to be posted. Typically a public body is a body that deliberates and then can make a decision. as opposed to a public body or a body that simply advises an administrator who then advises a governing body like a school committee what to do. So it was an error. That's all it was. And it didn't necessarily affect anything to deal with community access. People ask the question, well, what does Ben Brown fit in this situation? Well, Ben Brown, if he's going to manage this place, is going to interact with the teaching staff of the vocational school. So his name is going to come up, or his position will come up in that process. There's no attempt to block anything. I think we all recognize that this space is a good space, and we hope that it will be a terrific space for the community and a terrific space for the young people. And the good news is that we can share it, and we can do a lot of good things together. As to the CORI check, what's to prohibit a program that's being jointly produced by young people along with community members? What if they're together? What if they do a program together? I think that's highly desirable that our young people do that. But if they do that, then it would be good for them to know that the people who are going to be doing it in this space are people that we have checked out. I think safety is always on our minds. I think we all agree on that. It doesn't hurt. If an individual feels that the Cori check has been unduly denied, they have the right to get it and appeal. Now, do you think that any of us would ever be able to stand up in front of you and say that a person who had an insurance violation is a reason for denying them the right to come in here? But if a person has been involved with molestation or the person been involved with assault and battery and a person been involved with destruction of property, maybe we should know that. Maybe we should know that. So I don't think it's unreasonable. I think it's something that we should consider. And I think it's there. And I think as far as Chapter 74 goes, despite what the individual has to say, it was totally different than the community media thing. And it's really a part of us making sure that we're in compliance with the state. We can stay on the open meeting law. It won't happen again. In fact, we've posted all the meetings going forward to the advisory committees. And every shop in the school has an advisory committee. Every shop. and some of you have participated. We appreciate that because it's important for the young people to get expertise, not only from Medford, but from practitioners around the commonwealth. So I appreciate you listening. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So if I may, just for a minute. So we have football games at Hormel Stadium. So everyone comes through the gate, should be quarry checked, because they might sit next to a student.
[Roy Belson]: Hormel Stadium is a site.
[Roy Belson]: Hormel Stadium is the site of student activities. We have football kids there, we have cheerleaders there, we have other people there. Public access, public areas are not subject to the quarry. Now, it's direct, these key words, direct, unsupervised. If I'm working with you, if I'm in the area where I'm working directly with you, that's direct and unsupervised. Indirect is not the issue. People in areas, you could be anywhere. and have people who are near students and the like, or near young people. That's not the way the Corey statue has been interpreted and has been applied across the commonwealth. You know, we could check everybody out everywhere they go. When you go to the statehouse, you have to empty your pockets, you have to take off your belt, and you check everything like that. You can keep going and going and going. But at some point in time, the terms are direct and unsupervised. Otherwise, every public gathering, whether young people and families, would require everyone to be quarry checked. It's not the same thing. It's just the way it's been interpreted across the Commonwealth, and I'm sure there are plenty of people that would comment on it.
[Roy Belson]: Kirstine's not here, but I... Oh, maybe you can help me.
[Roy Belson]: So in the teacher's contract, okay, we put in during the last negotiations a piece that allocated $30,000 in year one and $40,000 in year two for teachers to take individual courses and be reimbursed up to $1,000. What you're seeing in that line, in those line items, is reimbursement for that purpose.
[Roy Belson]: They apply for it through the deputy superintendent's office. He reviews it. It's first come, first serve. We obviously review it for graduate credit to make sure that it's consistent with educational purposes. We approve it on a first come, first serve basis. When they provide the credentials and the evidence that's been completed, we pay it.
[Roy Belson]: This is for the hockey clothing.
[Roy Belson]: So that is for our fee to the Northeast Conference, which we have now joined. The individual named is the coordinator for that conference, and the check is made out to the conference.
[Roy Belson]: That's strictly for her, you know, for the FIFA. Instead of the GBL, we now belong to the Northeast Conference.
[Roy Belson]: If you can tell me the item, I'm not sure what you're referring to.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so let me look at what I've got. That was a refurbishment of the field. Every work on the turf fields and that's for rubber refurbishment of that field.
[Roy Belson]: So we had a committee of the whole on the vocational and high school merger. You have that in your folder. If you choose to read it, usually it's read by the secretary. If not, you can just simply waive the reading and just simply accept it.
[Roy Belson]: So we'll bring them down to the next meeting and get that straightened away. I'm sure it can be done.
[Roy Belson]: Why don't we get a clarification out this week. When I see Dr. Perrella tomorrow morning, we'll send you a notification as to what they can do. And if it can be done the way you want it, we'll do it right away. And if there's some other issue that has come up, they'll explain it and we'll deal with it.
[Roy Belson]: I suggest that, what do you call it, you give us another month to do that because people are still being placed, and this will be a very Transitory report this early in the year.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee, teachers of the McGlynn, ladies and gentlemen. We respect the teachers of the McGlynn. We respect the McGlynn school. We have two very fine middle schools. We never said that we didn't. But we also said that there's a public perception out there that one school is more attractive than the other at this point in time. Several years ago, it was the other way around. One school drew more students than the other school. And this year there was a significant imbalance in grade six coming up based on parent perception, based on what parents were telling us about the program. Now, whether they're right or they're wrong, our goal was to restore that balance, and our goal was to bring everyone into the picture and create ownership so that we would all move forward and change that imbalance. That's not an indictment. That's an attempt to try and say, let's do something about it. Now, the action plan, our suggestions and things that we put in place. Yes, there were some moves that we made by reassignment. But that's the right of the administration through the contract with the Teachers Association. We have the right to reassign people. And we did talk to union representatives. And we did try to negotiate something, but it broke down. My point right now is that I welcome your interest in working with us going forward. And I encourage it, because the only point we're trying to make right now is we have to own the issue. Right now public perception is one school is more attractive than the other. Our goal is to change that perception, to let them know how much you are doing for their children, to work on the distribution of population, and to try and move it forward in a very positive way. So I welcome your involvement, that's all we ask for in our discussions with union representatives. One of the key points was everyone would collaborate and work together. everyone would collaborate and work together. So I welcome it, we'll come down, we'll have a nice meeting, we'll talk about what we can do, what we can't do. Some of the things we're putting in place including deputy superintendent gave out to the committee some materials on clubs that have been expanded. Certainly, every budget has its limitations. You can't do everything that everyone wants in any one year. But there are expansions of clubs and activities which we think are extremely significant, and we're listening to you. And all we ask is that we tackle it together so that as we go forward, when people are making choices next year about where they want to go to middle school, that it will balance out. That's all and that we'll work forward to it. And if there are other things that have to be done, we intend to do them with you, not to you, with you. But we need everyone to accept that and work together with us as well. So I look forward to it. I appreciate you coming down. I appreciate your courage in speaking. I think it's really good. It's really a good stimulus that you got up here tonight and you spoke and you said who you are and you're proud of who you are. I applaud that. I think that's great. Let's keep it going. Let's do it.
[Roy Belson]: So I hear you adversity brings opportunity and we should collaborate, but I can't let one thing go I We did meet. You know we met and we had discussions and we brought people in and we talked about it. Now, it didn't end up in a positive result the way you wanted it, but we did meet. Now, we did meet and it could have brought some changes, but we couldn't reach an agreement. So, you know, I'm not blaming anybody. This is not a blame game. What this is, what this is, is an attempt to say the best result for all of us is to collaborate. So ownership, good results happen when everyone takes ownership of the result. We're here to help you. We want you to win. I don't win as superintendent if one school's not doing well. I only win when everyone's doing well. And so I want you to win, the school committee wants you to win. We all want to do it together. And if this is a clarion call to do more, then let's do more. That's all it is. It's a chance to say, okay, you came out, you showed a little spirit tonight, great spirit tonight. You spoke extremely well. Justin spoke extremely well. Next step is collaborate, move forward, listen to any suggestions you have, and let's move forward in an intelligent way. And next year, who knows? You might be even over-enrolled.
[Roy Belson]: I don't want to go back and forth. I know that you had conversations with the deputy superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: About many of the items in it. but at any point, it serves no purpose to go back and forth tonight. The issue tonight is your voices are heard, you are respected, we want you to know that, and we want to work with you, and we look forward to doing that in the weeks ahead. That's what you need to take home.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee, is Dr. Riccadeli here?
[Roy Belson]: Before she actually delivers this report, I want to say that today I spent a couple of hours with the Economic Empowerment Task Force of the Commonwealth. going over various initiatives that the state is putting in place that deal with helping families to save for college, to deal with financial literacy, to deal with debt, to deal with the kinds of things that are very, very significant to people in their lives in terms of being able to afford to live in the commonwealth. And we are, you know, right in the middle of it because we are strong participants with that activity, and financial literacy is extremely important to us. And we're going to continue to promote that in a very, very powerful way. So this program, Credit for Life, is one of the initiatives out of the state treasurer's office, and Dr. Riccadeli has been working with a small task force to get it ready so that we can have this Credit for Life Fair this January, and I can tell you that we are going to have an invite list of serious members from the state who want to be here for this particular activity. So I'm going to let Dr. Riccardelli talk about it.
[Roy Belson]: No, just receive and place on file, and we're going to move forward.
[Roy Belson]: So this is another very significant initiative that the school system is working through. We have Rachel Perry with us, who is our supervisor of health and physical education, actively involved in this. It's an exciting program. As we all know that young people like sports and they like to be associated with sports heroes, despite yesterday's loss. And, you know, I bet they like to be associated with that. And I think this is a really important thing because it not only does two things. One, it talks about, you know, how to recognize a healthy relationship, but it also deals with gender issues, which I think are really significant in our world today. And we've got to move forward on that. So I'm going to turn it over to Rachel. I've given you some additional material, a trainer's guide, some selected portions of it. I mean, the whole thing would be like 100 pages. But you can see the kind of curriculum that's in there. It's got a lot of sports-related kind of terminology in it, so it's like talking trash scenario, you know, the kinds of things like that, or, you know, being offside. So it's the kind of thing that appeals to young people. And we've got a whole team that's involved, but Rachel's going to explain it to you in detail.
[Roy Belson]: So, last week was it, Roberta? Yes. Roberta and I met, Diane was there, and we went over a number of things that, you know, might have value to the schools. We also talked about an ongoing process with our students in each of the schools coming up with ideas too. Sometimes there are small projects and preservation of artifacts, sometimes the preservation of small things that are out of school, that are historic, or from schools that are no longer there that might enhance the existing schools, or projects of that type. We've got to remember, too, that this is not just a one-time thing. This is going to go on for a while because the CPA is a continuous source of funding. And as it continues, there's some things that maybe we won't get in round one, but we should be planning for in rounds two and three because it goes forward into the future. And we also should be looking at, if we were able to come up with a project, is there a match that we can grab from the community, whether it's a bank or some other resource that we can entice? If we got this money from community preservation, would you contribute this to support this project so we can move it forward on a larger scale? So I think it's a great opportunity for students and faculty to participate in the identification of projects and in doing things that are meaningful to them in each of the various schools throughout the community and also possibly to create, and this is something we've talked about before, a museum of education that would preserve all the kinds of things that go back into Medford education. We were able to give Roberta a copy of Michael Coates' book, which is filled. I don't know if you had a chance to look through it.
[Roy Belson]: Which is filled with all kinds of historical things that talk about the city, some of which relate to the schools and some of which are just simply very interesting about the city. You probably don't know that we have two racetracks in South Medford, things of that type, but there's a lot of things in the city that that are interesting and could be preserved. And it helps our young people understand how a city evolves, how transportation evolved, for example. You see the bridge being built right near Medford Square right now. That first bridge was built under the auspices of Matthew Craddock in 1634. And it was rebuilt one more time, and it's now being rebuilt for the third time. It's only been built three times. So I mean, it's kind of interesting to go back and see that Matthew Craddock never, ever came to Medford. But the bridge is named after Matthew Crack. So there's a lot of very interesting things that we can do. And the last comment I'll make is if you stand outside the mayor's office, there's a very interesting plaque there. It talks about Medford's history, the home of rum and crackers. And I like the term crackers. It sort of reminds me of certain things. I'll leave it to your imaginations as to what that is. If you know, the Medford Cracker was particular to Medford, but it had a split down the middle. And the reason it's called the Cracker is when you broke it, it had a cracking sound. So, we're the home of crackers. And sometimes that shows up at meetings.
[Roy Belson]: So this report just gives you a quick synopsis of 54 vendors showed up at the mayor's and the schools and the athletic department and the city board of health's annual fair. It's the second time. Last year was held in the lobby. This year was held in the gymnasium. About 200 people attended. There was tremendous resources there for people to take advantage of, and it's a great opportunity. One of the things you'll see in this agenda tonight is you'll see a lot of things that deal with health and wellness and just taking care of yourself and paying attention to your needs outside of academic proficiency. And I think that's really important. Sometimes when people try to talk about our schools, they talk about only in terms of academic proficiency. One of the hallmarks of our schools is that we pay a lot of attention to a lot of other aspects of human development. And this is one aspect of it. I'm glad to host it. And I think that the mayor did a great job putting it together with various members of the city and the schools. And it was a great opportunity. And Blades, the Bruins bear, was there. And Pat, the Patriot, was there. And I got a picture with both of them. And that's going up on the wall tomorrow morning. I think it's a great thing. It's good that we have so many different vendors in our city that care about health and care about the well-being of our young people.
[Roy Belson]: Is that people in tonight's meeting or afternoon?
[Roy Belson]: Any piece of software requires constant training and updating of our personnel. It's complex, it's involved, but we're getting a lot of data into it to help us understand where our students are, where our teachers are, what the courses they're taking, and we have to report to the state and it has to cross-validate. There's about five or six reports we do, and each one has to be correct in order for them to cross-validate across the various reports. And this also plays into the student reporting to Holmes and Holmes reporting back to faculty members and the like. So it just gives you an idea that This is things we're doing with School Brains and it's a work in progress. People can say that, why isn't it perfect? Well, it takes time. This is a lot of work for people to understand how you input data, how you cross-validate data, how you use data more effectively. And I think I just wanted to give you an idea. I know these things are hard to read, but it gives you an idea just how much our secretaries and our staff have to learn about how to use a complex piece of software so that we can get to that point in time where we can use data very, very effectively and be totally data informed about what's happening in our schools, what's happening in the community, and how it relates to our progress. So I just wanted to give you an idea of what was involved. And I know that, you know, you won't read every word of this in between, but you get an idea of what people have to go through in order to be effective.
[Roy Belson]: Sure, I can do that.
[Roy Belson]: Well, the data is one aspect of it. human resources is a major field today and we have got to as a entity develop a human resources team because there's so many aspects to every aspect of an individual from licensure to professional preparation to ongoing preparation to other things they have to do, you know, FMLA, all the kinds of things that affect human development. We have over 1,000 people that work for the school system. And, you know, different aspects of what they do, are they properly trained for what they do, are they keeping up their licensure, all this stuff has to be tracked. And, you know, we've got to get to that point. At one time, none of this stuff had to be tracked. It just simply, you're saying a person's got a teaching license, great. You know, now we need all the kind of data. We need to look at things. We need to follow up things so that the people who are running the educational side of the operation concentrate on what they're doing. They're not chasing down the human resource pieces. So I think it may be a shift of some people as opposed to, you know, more people. I just think it may be just trying to develop a pattern that we have a human resource field, a field that ties into data, a field that ties into education, a field that ties into operations. And I think that will go a long way to bringing us completely into the modern age. It's just part of life today. Most operations have human resource operations today. And we're doing it with our existing people, and piece here, a piece there. But I think it's getting to the point where it's advantageous to look at it in a more, let's say, cohesive way.
[Roy Belson]: Does Perry love concussion law? Tony is here, and I want to talk a little bit about it to begin with. I gave you a handout tonight. It's in the Globe. Fantastic, I got it. About concussions and things like this. We have a trainer, we have a doctor. Although the doctor is leaving, we're going to have a replacement doctor. Come on up, Tony. We'll do this together. And there's just a lot of factors about it. You see in the news today about The trauma caused by brain injuries, the Aaron Hernandez case brought a lot to the forefront as well. BU has a major department on this topic as well. And it's just important that we understand what our experience is. Now, sports, they played with passion, they played with great force, there's going to be injuries. And every year there are injuries in all the sports. They range from broken bones to cuts and to other kinds of bruises and strains and ankles and things like knees, ACLs and the like. But concussion is something that has long-term impact, real long-term impact. You can get a repaired knee and things like that. It may not be the best thing to get, but you can get one. But if you have brain injury, It may not be something that you can recover from. And these are things that we have to pay attention to. One of the interesting facts that I learned, and I think it's important to understand this, that often isn't just one hit. Most of the injuries come from the cumulative effect of multiple hits over time. And it's really that's what takes place. And then that one hit maybe throws it over the top. But it's really generally a buildup, an accumulation of things. Another thing that I learned a little bit is that females have been more likely to get concussions than males. And you would think, why is that? Because you think some of the male sports are more violent, seemingly. But part of it is because of the neck structure of a female, the shoulders, things like that, or maybe the leg structures. they're not quite as pronounced and strong in some instances. Not always, but I mean there are some instances that there are issues like that that anatomically might lead to that kind of injury. So there's a lot here.
[Roy Belson]: Right, and you know in a game like soccer, you know, might have, hitting the ball, you know, A lot of discussion about should you be wearing helmets, shouldn't you be wearing helmets. There's all kinds of discussion that's going to come up. And I think it was useful for us to at least have it in front of you so that we're talking about. We track this every year. And I gave you three years of experience. And I think that it's important for us to understand what's going on and we move on from there.
[Roy Belson]: EDUARDO By the way, over the three year period there were 58 different identifications of concussion. all the seasons, and well, you might expect football was the leading one, but soccer, hockey, right up there. And believe it or not, cheerleading had eight. So it, you know, it sometimes surprises you where it can happen.
[Roy Belson]: I asked Tanya for that, but she didn't have it exactly that, but she'd have to go back and do the records. She'd have to go through the records. She just said it was slightly more female than male to me.
[Roy Belson]: Exactly. A better identification.
[Roy Belson]: Another thing we should talk about is that it's not just playing and getting back into sports. If a youngster has a concussion, counseling in the nurse's office, talk about accommodations made in the academic classroom as well, because the youngster might be dizzy and not able to complete their homework for a period of time. So there's communication on that level as well.
[Roy Belson]: I'm just going to give you two pieces of update. The Tarabelsi trial begins tomorrow in court. And, you know, there are subpoenas out there for people we have sent evidence over, and we'll let you know what's going on with that, despite the fact that some people think, you know, we don't prosecute things we do. But we don't. It's done by the DA's office, not by us. Okay. The second thing is, earlier this evening, a gentleman, an individual, I'm not going to use that term. All right, be kind. Yeah, I'm kind. Referred to. The open meeting law, I'm going to tell you about that, because you'll hear about it. The Chapter 74 Vocational Advisory Committee on Multimedia met. In the past, there were never, you know, postings for those kinds of meetings. It's just one of those things. But he pursued it, and quite frankly, the AG has ruled that that should be posted, so we're posting it, okay? But it was done very innocently by by Heidi and her team, and just simply bringing together people to talk about the studio, how the students would use it, but he's turned it into something that is more dark and insidious than it is.
[Roy Belson]: So what we've done is we've put out, I'll give you a copy, we've put out a list of all those advisory committee meetings, we've posted them, we'll continue to post them, and they'll be done and we'll meet that requirement. But that's what was being referred to. It's also in the agenda of the city council last night. and tomorrow night. So just if you hear about it, that's what it's about. Although it's being played up to a very different level than really is the, there's no penalty to the city of the schools for that particular activity. Mark Romley did a nice job in explaining it to the AG. And we're on from there. So those are the two items.
[Roy Belson]: It wasn't something that they ever did. You know what I mean, it was just things like that. And it only took on in life when it involved itself with the media and cable and things of that, it took on a life with this individual who, that doesn't mean we shouldn't post it, it just was something that
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, now we know. These were the kinds of things that weren't perceived at public bodies. They sometimes are interpretations.
[Roy Belson]: PTOs.
[Roy Belson]: I haven't heard anything about PTOs yet. So some of these things, you know, what is a public body? I mean that's really the thing that has to be determined. I heard through another missive that I received that the Attorney General Mara Healy is going to be putting out some additional guidelines on on these things as well. So we'll see what that is. You know, obviously we try and let everybody know about meetings that are of significance to them, but obviously that's one that slipped by the boards and I don't think it was intentional by any stretch of the imagination.
[Roy Belson]: I'm sure over time we can but I'll tell you this is not a not a new topic Because there are so many meetings, you know schools have to meet they have to work them in Obviously, no one wants to meet on Friday nights very few people want to meet on Saturday or Sunday so I mean so you've really everything gets compressed and sometimes you just have to you know, go to, choose which meeting you're going to, or set them at different times. One's at 6, one's at 8.
[Roy Belson]: We're posted, but it's hard. It's very, very hard to schedule all the things that people want to do. And there are plenty of people who don't go to multiples, they go to one thing, but there's always a few that cross over. And it's been a topic for years, and it's always come up short in trying to do that. But obviously, it would be good to communicate when things are close in nature, or there's a likelihood that the same people would be participating.
[Roy Belson]: So maybe by the next meeting, if someone can do it, we can do it.
[Roy Belson]: So in the teacher's contract, okay, we put in during the last negotiations a piece that allocated $30,000 in year one and $40,000 in year two for teachers to take individual courses and be reimbursed up to $1,000. What you're seeing in that line, in those line items, is reimbursement for that purpose.
[Roy Belson]: They apply for it through the deputy superintendent's office. He reviews it. It's first come, first serve. We obviously review it for graduate credit to make sure that it's consistent with educational purposes. We approve it on a first come, first serve basis. When they provide the credentials and the evidence that's been completed, we pay it.
[Roy Belson]: So that is for our fee to the Northeast Conference, which we have now joined. The individual named is the coordinator for that conference and check is made out to the conference Okay, cuz yeah, it just strictly for her You know for the for the FIFA instead of the GBL. We now belongs to the Northeast conference
[Roy Belson]: If you can tell me the item, I'm not sure what you're referring to.
[Roy Belson]: That was a refurbishment of the field every work on the turf fields and that's for rubber refer re-infer refurbishment of that field.
[Roy Belson]: So we had a committee of the whole on the vocational and high school merger. You have that in your folder. If you choose to read it, usually it's read by the secretary. If not, you can just simply waive the reading and just simply accept it.
[Roy Belson]: So we'll bring them down to the next meeting, and I'm sure it can be done.
[Roy Belson]: Why don't we get a clarification out this week. When I see Dr. Perrella tomorrow morning, we'll send you a notification as to what they can do. And if it can be done the way you want it, we'll do it right away. And if there's some other issue that has come up, they'll explain it and we'll deal with it.
[Roy Belson]: So you suggest that, what do you call it, you give us another month to do that because people are still being placed and this will be a very Transitory report this early in the year.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee, teachers of the McGlynn, ladies and gentlemen. We respect the teachers of the McGlynn. We respect the McGlynn school. We have two very fine middle schools. We never said that we didn't. But we also said that there's a public perception out there that one school is more attractive than the other at this point in time. Several years ago, it was the other way around. One school drew more students than the other school. And this year, there was a significant imbalance in grade six coming up based on parent perception, based on what parents were telling us about the program. Now, whether they're right or they're wrong, Our goal was to restore that balance, and our goal was to bring everyone into the picture and create ownership so that we would all move forward and change that imbalance. That's not an indictment. That's an attempt to try and say, let's do something about it. Now, the action plan, our suggestions and things that we've put in place. Yes, there were some moves that we made by reassignment, but that's the right of the administration through the contract with the Teachers Association. We have the right to reassign people, and we did talk to union representatives, and we did try to negotiate something, but it broke down. My point right now is that I welcome your interest in working with us going forward. And I encourage it, because the only point we're trying to make right now is we have to own the issue. Right now, public perception is one school is more attractive than the other. Our goal is to change that perception, to let them know how much you are doing for their children, to work on the distribution of population, and to try and move it forward in a very positive way. So I welcome your involvement. That's all we ask for in our discussions with union representatives. One of the key points was everyone would collaborate and work together. everyone would collaborate and work together. So I welcome it. We'll come down. We'll have a nice meeting. We'll talk about what we can do, what we can't do. Some of the things we're putting in place, including our deputy superintendent gave out to the committee some materials on clubs that have been expanded. Certainly, every budget has its limitations. You can't do everything that everyone wants in any one year. But there are expansions of clubs and activities which we think are extremely significant, and we're listening to you. And all we ask is that we tackle it together so that as we go forward, when people are making choices next year about where they want to go to middle school, that it will balance out. That's all. And that we'll work forward to it. And if there are other things that have to be done, we intend to do them with you. Not to you, with you. But we need everyone to accept that and work together with us as well. So I look forward to it. I appreciate you coming down. I appreciate your courage in speaking. I think it's really good. It's really a good stimulus that you got up here tonight and you spoke and you said who you are and you're proud of who you are. I applaud that. I think that's great. Let's keep it going. Let's do it.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent so I hear you adversity brings opportunity and we should collaborate But I can't let one thing go We did meet, you know we met, and we had discussions, and we brought people in, and we talked about it. Now, it didn't end up in a positive result the way you wanted it, but we did meet. Now, we did meet, and it could have had brought some changes, but we couldn't reach an agreement. So, you know, I'm not blaming anybody. This is not a blame game. What this is is an attempt to say the best result for all of us is to collaborate. So ownership, good results happen when everyone's ownership is resolved. We're here to help you. We want you to win. I don't win as superintendent if one school's not doing well. I only win when everyone's doing well. And so I want you to win. The school committee wants you to win. We all want to do it together. And if this is a clarion call to do more, then let's do more. That's all it is. It's a chance to say, okay, you came out, you showed a little spirit tonight, great spirit tonight. You spoke extremely well. Justin spoke extremely well. Next step is collaborate, move forward, listen to any suggestions you have, and let's move forward in an intelligent way. And next year, who knows? You might be even over-enrolled.
[Roy Belson]: I don't want to go back and forth. I know that you had conversations with the Deputy Superintendent. About many of the items in it. But at any point, it serves no purpose to go back and forth tonight. The issue tonight is your voices are heard, you are respected, we want you to know that, and we want to work with you, and we look forward to doing that in the weeks ahead. That's what you need to take home.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee is Dr. Riccadeli here?
[Roy Belson]: Before she actually delivers this report I want to say that today I spent a couple of hours with the Economic Empowerment Task Force of the Commonwealth going over various initiatives that the state is putting in place that deal with helping families to save for college, to deal with financial literacy, to deal with debt, to deal with the kinds of things that are very, very significant to people in their lives in terms of being able to afford to live in the commonwealth, and we are, you know, right in the middle of it because we are strong participants with that activity and financial literacy is extremely important to us, and we're going to continue to promote that in a very, very powerful way, so this program credit for life is one of the initiatives out of the state Treasurer's Office, and Dr. Riccadeli has been working with a small task force to get it ready so we can have this credit for life there this January, and I can tell you that we are going to have an invite list of serious members from the state who want to be here for this particular activity. So I'm going to let Dr. Riccadeli talk about it.
[Roy Belson]: No, just receive and place on file and we're gonna move forward.
[Roy Belson]: So this is another very significant initiative that the school system is working through. We have Rachel Perry with us, who is our supervisor of health and physical education, actively involved in this. It's an exciting program. As we all know that young people like sports and they like to be associated with sports heroes, despite yesterday's loss. But they like to be associated with that, and I think this is a really important thing, because it not only does two things. One, it talks about how to recognize a healthy relationship, but it also deals with gender issues, which I think are really significant in our world today. And we've got to move forward on that. So I'm going to turn it over to Rachel. I've given you some additional material. A trainer's guide, some selected portions of the whole thing because it would be like 100 pages. But you can see the kind of curriculum that's in there. It's got a lot of sports related kind of terminology in it, so like talking trash scenario, the kinds of things like that, or being offside. So it's the kind of thing that appeals to young people. And we've got a whole team that's involved, but Rachel's going to explain it to you in detail.
[Roy Belson]: So, last week was it, Roberta? Yes. Roberta and I met, Diane was there. We went over a number of things that, you know, might have value to the schools. We also talked about an ongoing process with our students in each of the schools coming up with ideas too. Sometimes there are small projects and preservation of artifacts sometimes the preservation of small things that are at a school that historic from schools that are no longer there that might Enhance the existing schools or projects of that of that type We got to remember too that this is not just a one-time thing this is going to go on for a while because the CPA is a continuous source of funding and And as it continues, there's some things that maybe we won't get in round one, but we should be planning for in rounds two and three, because it goes forward into the future. and we also should be looking at if we were able to come up with a project, is there a match that we can grab from the community, whether it's a bank or some other resource that we can entice if we got this money from community preservation, would you contribute this to support this project so we can move it forward at a larger scale? So I think it's a great opportunity for students and faculty to participate in the identification of projects and in doing things that are meaningful to them in each of the various schools throughout the community, and also possibly to create, and this is something we've talked about before, a museum of education that would preserve all the kinds of things that go back into Medford education. We were able to give Roberta a copy of Michael Coates' book, which is filled, I don't know if you had a chance to look through it.
[Roy Belson]: We're just filled with all kinds of historical things that talk about the city, some of which relate to the schools and some of which are just simply very interesting about the city. You probably don't know that we have two racetracks in South Medford, things of that type, but there's a lot of things in the city that that are interesting and could be preserved. And it helps our young people understand how a city evolves, how transportation evolved, for example. You see the bridge being built right near Medford Square right now. That first bridge was built under the auspices of Matthew Craddock in 1634. Okay, and and it was rebuilt one more time and it's all being rebuilt for the third time. It's only been built three times So, I mean it's kind of interesting to go back and see the Matthew Craddock never ever came to Medford But the bridge is named after Matthew Craddock So there's a lot of very interesting things that we can do and on the last comment I'll make is if you stand outside the mayor's office is a very interesting plaque there it talks about Medford history the home of rum and crackers and I like the term crackers. It sort of reminds me of certain things leave it to your imaginations. If you know the Medford cracker was particular to Medford but had a split down the middle and the reason it's called the cracker is when you broke it it had a cracking sound so we're the home of crackers and sometimes it shows up at meetings.
[Roy Belson]: So this report just gives you a quick synopsis of 54 vendors showed up at the mayor's and the schools and the athletic department and the city board of health's annual fair. It's a second time. Last year was held in the lobby. This year was held in the gymnasium. About 200 people attended. It was tremendous resources there for people to take advantage of and it's a great opportunity. One of the things you'll see in this agenda tonight is you'll see a lot of things that deal with health and wellness and just taking care of yourself and paying attention to your needs outside of academic proficiency. And I think that's really important. Sometimes when people try to talk about our schools, they talk about only in terms of academic proficiency. One of the hallmarks of our schools is that we pay a lot of attention to a lot of other aspects of human development. And this is one aspect of it. I'm glad to host it. And I think that the mayor did a great job putting it together with various members of the city and the schools. And it was a great opportunity. And Blades of Bruins Bear was there. And Pat the Patriot was there. And I got a picture with both of them. And that's going up on the wall tomorrow morning. I think it's a great thing. It's good that we have so many different vendors in our city that care about health and care about the well-being of our young people.
[Roy Belson]: Is that people at tonight's meeting or afternoon?
[Roy Belson]: Any piece of software requires constant training and updating of our personnel. It's complex, it's involved, but we're getting a lot of data into it to help us understand where our students are, where our teachers are, what the courses they're taking, and we have to report to the state and it has to cross-validate. There's about five or six reports we do, and each one has to be correct in order for them to cross-validate across the various reports. And this also plays into the student reporting to Holmes and Holmes reporting back to faculty members and the like. So it just gives you an idea that This is things we're doing with school brains and it's a work in progress. People can say that, why isn't it perfect? Well, it takes time. This is a lot of work for people to understand how you input data, how you cross-validate data, how you use data more effectively. And I think I just wanted to give you an idea. I know these things are hard to read, but it gives you an idea just how much our secretaries and our staff have to learn about how to use a complex piece of software so that we can get to that point in time where we can use data very, very effectively and be totally data informed about what's happening in our schools, what's happening in the community, and how it relates to our progress. So I just wanted to give you an idea of what was involved. And I know that, you know, You won't read every word of this in between, but you get an idea of what people have to go through in order to be effective.
[Roy Belson]: Sure, I can do that.
[Roy Belson]: The data is one aspect of it. human resources is a major field today and we have got to as a entity develop a human resources team because there's so many aspects to every aspect of an individual from licensure to professional preparation to ongoing preparation to other things they have to do, you know, FMLA, all the kinds of things that affect human development. We have over 1,000 people that work for the school system. And, you know, different aspects of what they do, are they properly trained for what they do, are they keeping up their licensure, all this stuff has to be tracked. And, you know, we've got to get to that point. At one time, none of this stuff had to be tracked. It just simply, you're saying a person's got a teaching license, great. You know, now we need all the kind of data. We need to look at things. We need to follow up things so that the people who are running the educational side of the operation concentrate on what they're doing. They're not chasing down the human resource pieces. So I think it may be a shift of some people as opposed to, you know, more people. I just think it may be just trying to develop a pattern that we have a human resource field, a field that ties into data, a field that ties into education, a field that ties into operations. And I think that will go a long way to bringing us completely into the modern age. It's just part of life today. Most operations have human resource operations today. And we're doing it with our existing people, and piece here, piece there. But I think it's getting to the point where it's advantageous to look at it in a more, let's say, cohesive way.
[Roy Belson]: So, but Tony is here and you know, I want to talk a little bit about it to begin with. I gave you a handout tonight, it's in the Globe, about concussions and things like this. And you know, we have a trainer, we have a doctor, although the doctor is leaving, we're gonna have a replacement doctor. Come on up Tony, you know, we'll do this together. And there's just a lot of factors about, you see in the notes today about, the trauma caused by brain injuries. The Aaron Hernandez case brought a lot to the forefront as well. BU has a major department on this topic as well. And it's just important that we understand what our experience is. Now, sports, they played with passion, they played with great force, there's going to be injuries. Every year there are injuries in all the sports and they range from broken bones to cuts into other kinds of bruises and strains and ankles and things like knees, ACLs and the like. But concussion is something that has long-term impact, real long-term impact. You can get a repaired knee, things like that. It may not be the best thing to get, but you can get one. But if you have brain injury, It may not be something that you can recover from. And these are things that we have to pay attention to. One of the interesting facts that I learned, and I think it's important to understand this, it often isn't just one hit. Most of the injuries come from the cumulative effect of multiple hits over time. And it's really that's what takes place. And then that one hit maybe throws it over the top. But it's really generally a buildup, an accumulation of things. Another thing that I learned a little bit is that females have been more likely to get concussions than males. And you would think, why is that? Because you think some of the male sports are more violent, seemingly. But part of it is because of the neck structure of a female, the shoulders, things like that, or maybe the leg structures. They're not quite as pronounced and strong in some instances. Not always, but I mean there are some instances that there are issues like that that anatomically might lead to that kind of injury. So there's a lot here.
[Roy Belson]: Right, and you know in a game like soccer, you know, might have, hitting the ball, A lot of discussion about should you be wearing helmets, shouldn't you be wearing helmets? There's all kinds of discussion that's going to come up, and I think it was useful for us to at least have it in front of you so that we're talking about. We track this every year, and I gave you three years of experience. And I think that it's important for us to understand what's going on and we move on from there.
[Roy Belson]: By the way, over the three-year period, there were 58 different identifications of concussion. all the seasons, and well, you might expect football was the leading one, but soccer, hockey, right up there. And believe it or not, cheerleading had eight. So it, you know, it sometimes surprises you where it can happen.
[Roy Belson]: I asked Tanya for that, but she didn't have it exactly that, but she'd have to go back and do the records. She'd have to go through the records. She just said it was slightly more female than male to me.
[Roy Belson]: Exactly.
[Roy Belson]: Another thing we should talk about is that it's not just playing getting back into sports. If a youngster has a concussion, Counseling and the nurse's office talk about accommodations made in the academic classroom as well. Because the youngster might be dizzy and not able to complete their homework for a period of time. So there's communication on that level as well.
[Roy Belson]: I'm just going to give you two pieces of update. The Tarabelsi trial begins tomorrow in court and you know there are subpoenas out there for people we have sent evidence over and we'll let you know what's going on with that. Despite the fact that some people think you know we don't prosecute things we do. But we don't, it's done by the DA's office not by us. Okay. The second thing is early this evening a gentleman, an individual, I'm not going to Use that term. All right, be kind. Yeah, I'm kind. Referred to the open meeting law, I'm gonna tell you about that, because you'll hear about it. The chapter 74 vocational advisory committee on multimedia met. In the past, there were never postings for those kinds of meetings, it's just one of those things. But he pursued it, and quite frankly, the AG has ruled that that should be posted, so we're posting it. But it was done very innocently by Heidi and her team. and just simply bringing together people to talk about the studio, how the students would use it. But he's turned it into something that is more dark and insidious than it is.
[Roy Belson]: So what we've done is we've put out, I'll give you a copy, we've put out a list of all those advisory committee meetings. We've posted them, we'll continue to post them, and they'll be done and we'll meet that requirement. But that's what was being referred to. It's also in the agenda of the city council last night. and tomorrow night. So just if you hear about it, that's what it's about. Although it's being played up to a very different level than really is the, there's no penalty to the city or the schools for that particular activity. Mark Romley did a nice job in explaining it to the AG. And we're on from there. So those are the two items.
[Roy Belson]: It wasn't something that they ever did. You know what I mean, it was just things like that. And it only took on in life when it involved itself with the media and cable and things of that, it took on a life with this individual who, that doesn't mean we shouldn't post it, it just was something that
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, now we know. These were the kinds of things that weren't perceived in public bodies. They sometimes are interpretations.
[Roy Belson]: Pardon me?
[Roy Belson]: PTOs.
[Roy Belson]: I haven't heard anything about PTOs yet. So some of these things, you know, what is a public body? I mean that's really the thing that has to be determined. I heard through another missive that I received that the Attorney General Mara Healy is going to be putting out some additional guidelines on on these things as well, so we'll see what that is. Obviously we try and let everybody know about meetings that are of significance to them, but obviously that's one that's slipped by the boards, and I don't think it was intentional by any stretch of the imagination. has been played into a different stratosphere.
[Roy Belson]: I'm sure over time we can but I'll tell you this is not a not a new topic Because there are so many meetings, you know schools have to meet they have to work them in Obviously, no one wants to meet on Friday nights very few people want to meet on Saturday or Sunday so I mean so you've really everything gets compressed and sometimes you just have to you know, go to, choose which meeting you're going to, or set them at different times, one's at six, one's at eight.
[Roy Belson]: It's hard, we're posted, but it's hard. It's very, very hard to schedule all the things that people want to do, and there are plenty of people who don't go to multiples, they go to one thing, but there's always a few that cross over. And it's been a topic for years, and it's always come up short in trying to do that. But you know, obviously it would be good to communicate when things are close in nature, or there's a likelihood that the same people would be participating.
[Roy Belson]: So maybe by the next meeting, if someone can do it, we can designate.
[Roy Belson]: Name and address of the record, please. Roy Bellison, superintendent of schools. schools, 2500 Mystic Valley Parkway, Massachusetts. So I just want to comment a little bit that I think that the enrollment is good. And I think that between you and the school committee, it supported the schools very well. And I think we were able to maintain good class size. I gave you an updated report tonight, which reflected another week into the school year, which is usually the first time there's a bump from the previous numbers that I was able to give you. In that period of time, there were 94 more new students that came into the public schools, 56 in the elementary, 27 in the middle, and 11 at the high school, Volkin and Curtis, a total of 94 students. There's no significant change in class size. There's no significant change in space availability and the like. The distribution of the new numbers, the Brooks had 21, the Columbus had 13, the McGuinn had 10, and the Roberts had 3 in regular classes. Overall, the Brooks had 26, the Columbus had 13, the McGuinn Elementary had 10, and the Roberts had 7. Now, overall, I think we're in good shape. Obviously, I continuously watch things, pay attention, but it doesn't appear that the development that you're bringing into the city is actually having an impact on enrollment because of the nature of the units and because of the cost factors and other things involved. We'll continue to track it and pay attention to it, but it doesn't look like it's doing that. The bigger issues for us are obviously the intensity of services that may be required. Sometimes people come into the community with a tremendous need, and sometimes that's caused by the fact that the city provides really good services. And I think that's something that, you know, it's a double-edged sword. It's sort of like a you know, conundrum in the sense you want to provide the best services possible, you want to provide good special needs services, good ELL services, but the better you do, the more likely you are to attract people who are looking for good services and they may not get them in some other communities. Another factor that we've got to pay attention to a little bit is obviously transportation, because as we move people around, Medford provides 18 buses at free transportation. We also provide a lot of small vehicles to bring people around to different schools. And when we moved the young people from the Roberts this year in EL classes to the Brooks, we created a little extra transportation cost. So those are things we have to pay attention, take a look to. We also want to see if we can't redirect some students over to the Columbus because that's the lowest enrollment right now. But overall, we're in very good shape and we should continue to be in good shape and we'll continue to keep you updated. I think that's, you know, it's important that you know. It's also important that the public understands that development's going to be very important to the community because finances, whether you're talking about the federal government or the cutbacks coming through Washington, you're talking about the state government where there's continued a search for revenue, although September numbers look really good. But I don't know if it's sustainable. If we don't have development, we're not going to be able to sustain the level of services we want to provide to our young people, public safety or any other activity that you want to do because it appears to be that there's not a real appetite for other kinds of revenue around the state or in Washington. Those are the big concerns and I think the development it can go hand in hand without impacting the schools But naturally we always pay attention. So I appreciate you listening. I'm happy to take any questions.
[Roy Belson]: 21.5 at the McGlynn.
[Roy Belson]: I don't see that. At the McGlynn, if I look at the latest numbers. If you're looking at the actual number. Oh, you're looking at the numbers. Yes. That's by choice of the principal. Oh, okay. Principal might, from time to time, decide that certain classes should be a little larger because the youngsters in it are doing well, and there may be another class that wants to cut it down a little bit because there's a youngster or two that may be more of a challenge.
[Roy Belson]: I just think it's not the kind of developments that are going to.
[Roy Belson]: It's not the kind of developments that seem to be attracting young families that one, can afford it, and two, that might have sufficient space. It seemed to be they were looking for other things. So that's a factor that we need to keep in mind.
[Roy Belson]: There's no requirement for regular ed, except if you get into the elementary school up in the kindergarten, you'd have to be like 28, 29. Is that a contractual requirement? That's a contractual requirement. Actual class size typically is around, in the contract, 25 and up, in the contract. So there's no requirement for an aide until you get to like 29 in the elementary school system.
[Roy Belson]: Well, if you count special ed, we're pushing over 90. If you're talking about kindergarten, there's 16 kindergartens and there's 16 aides now. I believe, I'm gonna count them up, probably about 10 of them are full-time and the rest of them are not.
[Roy Belson]: They're all teachers.
[Roy Belson]: No paraprofessionals covering any classes.
[Roy Belson]: As I indicated, most of them come from special ed, but I would say there's over 100 because ELL has some and some other areas have some.
[Roy Belson]: Pretty much, yeah. It just depends what they do. So for example, you could have a person who's a tutor, you could have a person who's there assisting in a kindergarten classroom, you could have a person who's helping out in a special needs classroom on a one-to-one aid for a youngster who's physically disabled or has some other impairment.
[Roy Belson]: There's no limit to what it's like. It's really a need and budget related thing. And you know, it really depends. For example, today, you know, we talked about a particular student who has real needs and we added one. I mean, just it's a matter of trying to determine what the need is and dealing with it. And from time to time, I suggest to special ed and some of the others, is it necessary to keep an aide where they already are? Can we move somebody over? It's always a juggle because obviously everyone, once they get an aide, they want to keep it.
[Roy Belson]: You might see another 50 students in the schools across the board. at least the way it's normally the pattern is. We started before September, we got pre-Labor Day, and that has an impact on some families. Some families just want to take the extra days. And some people don't get wound until they actually hit September. So that first week is sort of that thing. But the next week, according to the Parent Information Center, the movement into the schools this past week is not as heavy as it was the week before. It's much lighter.
[Roy Belson]: The first big cut, a look at this thing is around October 1st. We take a look on October 1st, that's when we begin to file numbers with the state as to what our enrollment is. And that drives Chapter 70 funding and other things of that type. So we'd like to get a really good handle by October 1st because that tells us what funding we might be eligible for going forward.
[Roy Belson]: If there is any time in which a worker is in the building, that worker would be quarried, even if he's working second shift, because there are programs that run in the afternoons. Exactly. So we would quarry anyone that might have the opportunity to be unsupervised with young people.
[Roy Belson]: So I'm here, Mr. Vice President, as tonight's security, because you were concerned about that, as I mentioned. Oh, you're providing the security. I'm wearing blue, so.
[Roy Belson]: Feel safe? We'll see. What's your answer? OK. So we do quarry checks on everyone who has unsupervised contact with students. And that's anyone who works here, a contractor, anyone who comes in like that. dedicated door that you can't go from the studio into the high school once it's fully operational. Obviously we're still using it with students so they can go during the school day. But there are any number of activities that students have that people coming up here in the afternoon might interact with them. And so I think that the city, and I don't have an objection to taking the extra step in making sure that anyone who might be up here frequently, who is moving around that area outside of the studio into the area, might find their way into the front door at a given time. we check it out a little bit. As far as other groups go, we've rented properties for years, and we haven't required it because generally they're under the supervision of people, and the people there are on a volunteer basis. So, it really isn't exactly the same thing, but it doesn't hurt to have the extra measure of precaution.
[Roy Belson]: Our students are here. So if we had a coach, and they were coaching on the field, they'd be quarried. If we have a rental out there, they're not our students. So it's not unsupervised contact with students. That's the requirement of the court.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, but access to the building isn't the standard. There are people who have access to the building. A parent comes up here. They're checked in, but they're not quarried. So access to the building is one thing. The standard for quarrying is unsupervised contact with students.
[Roy Belson]: Look, you can have a person walking on the street and have them contact with someone who's inappropriate. In this building, When we have a rental, and we have a situation where people, let's say the Japanese language school, because that's the sanity reference you're making, they have their own students, they have their own people, they have their own coverages, they supervise their students. We're not responsible for their students. But anyone who works with our students, if we had an athletic team, if we had a club that met on the weekend, whoever is a supervisor has a quarry check. And on top of that, most instances has a fingerprint check.
[Roy Belson]: But you're making two different things. So, for example, on parents night, parents come up for curriculum night. We don't quarry every parent who comes in the door.
[Roy Belson]: But they could.
[Roy Belson]: You're talking about a type of person in the building, but there's all kinds of people who come into this building who are not chlorinated.
[Roy Belson]: I understand what you're saying, but that's not the standard of Corey. The Corey check requires when a person has unsupervised contact, a frequent visitor kind of thing. So if a person's going to use the media studio, and they're going to come up here more than once, I assume they're going to try to use the studio more than once, they're not becoming a member to only have one production or one activity. So they're a frequent action person up here, and so it doesn't hurt to know who they are. That's all. Right, but it would be supervision, correct?
[Roy Belson]: They could walk into the front of the building. They go out the main door of the studio.
[Roy Belson]: You can't tell who's who's a problem on a given day. It could be anybody.
[Roy Belson]: I don't think it's unreasonable if a person is going to be up here frequently. have access to a particular area of the building.
[Roy Belson]: They're not working with our students directly. They're working with their population.
[Roy Belson]: All right, look, it's obviously a discussion. Right, thank you. Councilor Dello Russo.
[Roy Belson]: President, let me just make a couple quick comments on CORI so everyone understands how CORIs work, okay? First of all, a CORI check is very quick. You fill out the paperwork, you bring in your material, obviously identification is required to ensure that you are actually the person who is being CORI checked. That's just a safeguard. You get it back in about 24 hours or less. It's that quick, right? Now, if you're denied employment or volunteer status on a Cori check, what happens is you then can be told why you're denied, and you have a right to appeal it. Now, I can't share a Cori. If I get a Cori, and I'm the person who reviews Coris in the school department, I can't share that Cori with anybody. I have to look at it. I'll give you an example. Typically, DUI. insurance violation, failure to register your car. There's a lot of those things that show up. Those things are not terribly important to me unless, in fact, you're driving a bus or you're doing something that might be related to the particular offense. Obviously, substances, things of that type. And when it happened, how it happened, did it happen last week, last year, or did it happen 20 years ago when you were a kid? I mean, those things are different. Obviously, you look at those things. But let's say you're denied. You have a right to get your Cory check. You have a right to make it public yourself. And if you're denied for something stupid or something you think is discriminatory, you can make that public. I can't, but you can. So any issuing authority has to keep it quiet, has to look at it that way. But an individual who's affected by it has every right to protest. that, in fact, that Corey was denied for some superficial reason. So it's important to know that. So you can't discriminate just simply because, you know, I don't like you because you're a person who says things that I don't like. It has to be a substantive reason or a person has a right to appeal it. And oftentimes, people come in and they say, you know, that happened so many years ago. I've been this way for so many times. Can you give me a chance? That happens. So I just want you to understand how that process works. Now within the school system, everybody has to be fingerprinted as well. It's an FBI job. Not volunteers, but people who are employees. Fingerprinted. So there's a whole series of things that have to go on in our world. It's the nature of society today. People are very concerned about safety. They're very concerned about who's there, who's in contact with their young people. And there's a lot of steps involved. But you do have a right to protest an adverse decision on your car for each other.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. President, I'd like to be heard for a moment. I've been here all night. I've been here all night. And three motions on the agenda tonight, I stayed to answer them, and they just got tabled. So I'd like to be given the courtesy of making a couple of comments, if I can, because I've issued you a couple of reports that the school committee received. Maybe some people don't want to hear the facts, but nevertheless, here they are.
[Roy Belson]: That's OK. Your resolution was on the agenda. I came here and stayed here.
[Roy Belson]: Because I gave it to everyone, but I thought you wouldn't listen to the other. I'm not going to trade with her. But I'd like a moment as a citizen to be able to address the council.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Just want to say something. There are three reports on the agenda tonight. The school committee received these reports last night, or received the update last night. Let him speak.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you Mr. President, members of the council. Tonight, on the agenda, there were items that dealt with enrollment and real estate development, and the impact upon class size, the impact upon enrollment in the schools. And I think it's important that you hear this, and you are aware of it. I gave you reports tonight. One report was done at the beginning of the school year. The second report was done this week and given to the school committee, and they had a discussion on it last night. And I think it's important that you know this because there are some things flying around the community that are just patently not true. And I think it's important that you know it so that when you're asked these questions in public, you can answer them truthfully and you have the statistics in front of you. I'm gonna refer to the report that was given last night because I think that's the most relevant one right now. It talks about the impact of real estate development on class size, class enrollment in the Metro Public Schools. And we picked eight units or eight different developments in the city with 150 or more units in it and looked at the class size impact, looked at the impact of student enrollment by school, by grade. by different development to give you an idea of what the impact is. And if you read it closely, you'll find that there's 105 students in eight developments that come to our public schools, 105. Two of them are in outside placements. Two of them are in outside placements. And if you spread them out and look at it, the average class size in the elementary schools is 18.3. That's the best in the commonwealth. Almost the best in the commonwealth. You should be proud of that. You support the schools. The school committee supports the schools. You should be proud of that. Because you've got good class size. Because you've asked the question about class size over and over again at the various meetings that I've attended on budget. So I think you should have that as you go into the campaign. I think you should know that. But there is a rumor going around that somewhere development is overrunning the schools. The schools are overwhelmed. It's not true. It's not true. Go over the report. I'm not going to go over it with you now because it's late and you can read. But I think it's important that you know this as you move around the city and people ask you about development. Development is important to support the various initiatives, to reduce the tax rate, to do all the things that you want to do in the community. And at the same time, it's a legitimate concern to determine whether or not it's going to cost you more money in your public schools. Well, right now, we're doing just fine. Right now, you could add 155 seats to the elementary schools and still be below 20 students in a class, on average. Sorry, it's a flashlight. I'm sorry? Your light? Oh, I'm sorry. It's all right. I just had it so I could see. you could add 500 seats and still have decent class size at this particular point in time. Now, there may be some need for some looking at distribution. One school maybe has a little bit less than another. That's always the case. You work on that. But you should know as a city council, you should know as the people that help to fund the budget and do development in the city, that your schools have sufficient capacity to handle additional students right now. And we can move forward. You should also know that our schools are doing just fine. And you're part of the support. There's a lot of great programs going on. And then you're here tonight in this auditorium, which has been renovated in many ways. You're going to see any number of other additional renovations. Last night, the school committee received a report on the merger between the high school and the vocational school and the exciting programs that are taking place there. And we welcome the opportunity when the new Bistro 49 is there to have you there and to see that and to see how the youngsters use the new resources that you have helped to support. Last spring I came to you and I asked you to support the submission of an SOI to the School Building Authority. The School Building Authority will be in Medford on October 5 to begin their site visit to determine whether or not we can receive funding for that purpose. So we can look at that as another possibility of developing our schools, our programs, and moving things forward. So a lot of good is going on. And I welcome the opportunity to share that tonight. But I didn't want to miss the opportunity to tell you that the discussion about overwhelmed numbers in the schools are not true. It's not true. Look at the numbers. Happy to answer any questions you have. I want you to know that, and just in case you get asked on the street, and when you have to make development decisions, I want you to be fully informed. So I appreciate the time. Thank you, and have a good night.
[Roy Belson]: From our Mustangs in Medford to your Mustangs in Texas, you have our support. We're with you. Go Mustangs!
[Roy Belson]: Go Mustangs! We, Mustangs, are with you. From us to you, we support you.
[Roy Belson]: From the Medford Mustang softball team to the Kingwood Mustang softball team. It's winning.
[Roy Belson]: Superintendent. So, on the 6th of September, I believe, for Ms. Knowles went to court and asked, once again, same question, can we enroll in the Medford Public Schools?
[Roy Belson]: There's a piece of paper, which I'll provide to the committee. Enroll to the public schools. It's a second thing. And it was denied again. I don't want to get into a question back and forth about what we can and can't do, because I've taken legal guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and I've taken legal guidance from our own council, Howard Greenspan. But more importantly, I was able to get consent from to enable to speak to Greg Landry, who is the principal of the Atkinson School in North Andover. And he has indicated to us that the children are enrolled in North Andover public schools as they were in the past.
[Roy Belson]: Well, more than attending. They're attending the North Andover public schools and not out of school.
[Roy Belson]: We're not going to go back and forth. My answer is that they're enrolled in the North Andover Public School.
[Roy Belson]: The parents have to work out their arrangement. We are not going to work out the arrangement between the parents. They have to make the decision among themselves where they want the children. That's what the court has told them repeatedly. work it out. If they work it out, and Medford is the choice, then they will be enrolled, registered, and students in the Medford public schools. But right now, the concern was, are they getting an education? They're in the North Andover public schools. And Principal Landry has confirmed that. I'm comfortable that they're in the North Andover Public Schools when the parents work it out. By the way, this has been going on for a long time. This isn't something that only came about in the last month. This has been going on for an extended period of time. And so they've got to work it out. Maybe having them in the North Andover Public Schools will bring it to a head. But from our standpoint, we've consulted with the Department of Education. We've consulted with our legal counsel. We've gone over this matter multiple times. We've spoken to North Andover. They're in the North Andover public schools. If the parents want a different arrangement, work it out, go to the court together, and get it done. That's the way to move on the issue. And if it happens to be Medford, we'll welcome these kids with open arms.
[Roy Belson]: Didn't do anything.
[Roy Belson]: From our standpoint, the court said that Cheryl Knowles does not have the right to enroll the student in the Medford Public Schools. If we were to let the student into the Medford Public Schools, we would be aiding and abetting an individual who has been told not to enroll them in the public schools in Medford. Now, as far as I'm concerned, that's what we've done. We consulted with the state. If the state had told us you must enroll them, we would have done it. But the state actually asked us, and I'm going to say this point blank, the state actually asked us to file a 51A. because the parents couldn't come to an agreement. We declined to do that.
[Roy Belson]: So we would have had an objection from the other side as well.
[Roy Belson]: Right. So it's not our issue to argue with you one way. Get together. Solve the issue.
[Roy Belson]: And whatever you solve the issue, the children will be enrolled.
[Roy Belson]: No, no. It's not me to say yes. It's for you to solve it with the court.
[Roy Belson]: Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Because the court wants you to work it out. If I look at this document, this is the last one that came through, look over the card. The court denied it again.
[Roy Belson]: Let me just explain it this way The judge has a statement about not allowing them to enroll in Medford the judge makes no statement about not allowing them to enroll in North Andover and The judge has maybe not made a clean decision that you would like, but he's clearly implied something at this point in time. I'm not going to try and get in the middle of a domestic dispute on this situation, as long as the kids are in school. They're in school.
[Roy Belson]: So let me ask this, OK? Because we're all trying to solve this, but we have different viewpoints on how we look at it, OK? Lisa Greenberg is your attorney. She's filed the motion. If she thought that we didn't have a solid position, she'd be in our face. But she's not. You're coming here.
[Roy Belson]: But you know what? She's the legal representative for you.
[Roy Belson]: I'm sorry?
[Roy Belson]: Well, no. Look, if she's got a position that she thinks she can sustain, then she should be here. But I called the Department of Education. And I sat down with them and I said, tell me what to do. They went over it and quite frankly They're sustained our position so if believe me if I had a kid outside that wasn't enrolled the Department of Elementary and secondary education would tell me to enroll that kid if it was my Opportunity to do so believe me. They would not let me do we've been in through this many times with with desi if there's a kid out there that needs to be enrolled Even if they're an undocumented immigrant, I'm going to put it that way, they would tell us to enroll them and not check anything else. So the fact that they have not taken a position on this thing gives me great concern.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I did that today because I got a note from Greg Landry, who's the principal at Atkinson, says they're enrolled.
[Roy Belson]: Right, I spoke to DESE today, too.
[Roy Belson]: I've got to take some guidance from an impartial group out there. It can't be you and it can't be the other person, Nicole Denning. It's got to be a decision made by a third party. And I'll be happy to do it. We would be more than happy to enroll the children if we had the go-ahead, but we don't.
[Roy Belson]: So let me just say one more thing. My own gut tells me the following. It's not scientific, but my own gut tells me the following. The reality is, is the court probably is saying one child was in North Andover last year. Leave them there because, quite frankly, they've got some stability there. The other child, okay, so they're two together. And what we're facing right now, we're facing a situation where this party would like them to be enrolled in Medford, because then you go back to the court and say, guess what, they're in Medford. So we're gonna play one off against the other. The reality here is that if you told the court, my suggestion, you told the court that Medford is willing, if in fact, The court will make a decision, and you've got the same leverage you would have otherwise. We are willing to enroll these children if we get a go-ahead. That's all. We're not against it. We like children.
[Roy Belson]: We're at a council, I tell you.
[Roy Belson]: So let me just say one more thing. And I don't know your status. But as far as I know, you're a significant other, but not a custodial parent.
[Roy Belson]: OK. So as a result, I can't talk to you about the trial technically.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, well, I don't have that. No one gave me that permission yet. So this is a complicated little circle here. I mean, it's filled with all kinds of potholes of things that we can and can't do. So if the court had said, you can put them in part time, but the court is probably saying, I don't want to split the week up for these kids. Let them be in one place and not in two places.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the committee, we're going to call upon our deputy superintendent to take the lead on this. It's a very significant occasion for Team Medford, and I'm going to let her do it because it's an important thing.
[Roy Belson]: So another important thing, and Diane is going to fill you in on a Giro.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call upon our director of curriculum, Bernadette Riccidelli, to keep you informed of how MCAS is progressing out of the DESE.
[Roy Belson]: It's embargoed, Dave. Part of the reason is because of discrepancy reports and other things like that, they want to make sure everything is right before it goes out there. Now, you may have noticed in the Globe today, if you read the Globe at all, that there were some comments about 26 Boston schools were underperforming. Somebody leaked something out there, and I'm sure there's going to be some comment out there. It's very hard to know exactly how they're going to finally come down on things, but we know one thing is if your participation rate is good, there's no accountability rating this year outside of the high school.
[Roy Belson]: If I can just answer that a little bit. I think the thing that you've got to remember this is the first full year that MCAS 2.0 was out there. So as a result, as a new test, it really, in order to be fair to people, they had to see the kinds of questions, you know, they had to see what it was about, whether it really, you know, the questions were proper and the like, and they have to do that analysis with their own testing company. So rather than it's like a new product, it's really in a pilot phase. So the second year, they're saying, OK, you had a year to try it out. We've had a year to work out the bugs. Now we'll start to look at it for real. So that's really part of it. It isn't really an attempt to hide anything, because I think some people in the state would love to issue accountability ratings. But having said that, I think part of it is because you can't just do that with new stuff. You'd have to look at it.
[Roy Belson]: We always do. I just look at schedules. I mean, there's a lot of things you want to talk about. Tonight was a good example. But we'll get a meeting. It's not something, you know, we obviously have those meetings.
[Roy Belson]: I just want to say one thing. I've been talking to Senator Jalen, who's about to file a bill in the legislature, in the Senate, looking to modify the accountability system in a substantial way, where it goes, how it goes. But you can clearly tell that the debate is very strong these days about academic proficiency not being the only way you measure a school. And two polls were out, the Gallup poll and the Phi Delta Kappan poll, both of which sampled parents across the country, all of whom were saying there's more to school than testing. And the pushback is becoming very, very strong. The Massachusetts Board of Education tends to be very protesting. So we'll have to see where that plays out. But there's an awful lot of ferment out there right now about the implications of just simply evaluating schools only on test results. So I've seen portions of Senator Jalen's bill. I'll introduce it to you at some point in the near future when she's ready to release it. Because I think there's a lot of good material in there looking at how to look at schools in a more comprehensive way. We talk about social and emotional learning. We talk about career and technical education. We talk about health. All those things are important in a school. We're developing youth that have transitioned to adulthood. We're not just developing test takers. So a good school in a community like, you know, in Boston, where you've got 26 schools that someone decided was underperforming, there's a lot of things that go on in some of those demographies out there that are far more complex than just simply a test score. So how we look at our young people, how we look at schools and what we do, needs more scrutiny. And I think Senator Jalen and others are starting to raise that question in a very, very powerful way in the state.
[Roy Belson]: So let me give you an example of something that was an interesting one last year. Fascinating kind of thing. A student who came to this country, booked a test, but didn't take the English language arts test because it was his first year in the country. However, because he had a SASID number when he was in the first grade, he had been in the country for a short period of time, the state decided that he was, in fact, not a first year student. We had to petition and clean that out. Now, how would we know, coming from another district someplace else, that this wasn't his first year? That's an example of a discrepancy. Medicals, people that are out on a medical who somehow don't get coded out of the thing. All of a sudden, you have to go back and say, well, this kid's been in the hospital for the last six months. I mean, how can you count them? They couldn't possibly take the test in the setting they were in. So those are some of the things that happen. And you have to pay attention to those, because otherwise, you have 100 kids and five or six kids don't take the test for various reasons. All of a sudden, you're below a certain threshold. And that's not what you're going to pay attention to. And with subgroups, it's even less, because the subgroups are even smaller numbers. So if you have 25 kids, one kid could be four percentage points.
[Roy Belson]: OK, Beverly's going to do this.
[Roy Belson]: So we have a return visit from Emily, straight from Market Basket.
[Roy Belson]: Before you go down that road, our schools were built on a racial balance plan. Schools were built with choice as one of the options. And if we have to change that, we need to change the plan and get approval for it.
[Roy Belson]: No, you could choose elementary. See, one of the things is that people don't realize is when the schools were built, The essential part was, first of all, the Andrews and McGuinn were the first two schools that were built. So people, you know, it was a, let's say a progressive movement of youngsters. But you could have chosen certain schools after the other schools were built. So there are plenty of people that have chosen schools outside of their geographical area. It's happened all the time. But now people are getting settled. They're getting comfortable. And to some degree, things have sort of settled in. People sort of stay in their own geographic area for the most part, although there are some people that want to go to another school. One of the things that we've got to deal with is that we may want to look at redistricting to some degree, because the Columbus is somewhat under-enrolled compared to some of the others. And if we change a few lines, we'd get a few more people over there. Just got to look at those things. I mean, it's all part of it. Choice was part of the plan in getting 90 cents on the dollar.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, we get plenty of requests. Maybe we don't see it.
[Roy Belson]: We grant a lot of them. But you don't see them because you didn't make that request. But we grant a lot of requests. We take a look at class size first. We take a look at whether we think the trends are too much in one direction or the other. We look at the balance between different populations. But we have granted quite a bit. Diane, what would you say? Because Diane handles the elementaries.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I guess it's been less of a drive for people to do that, but over the years, I can assure you people came in frequently asking to go to one school or the other.
[Roy Belson]: Well, then you would have a situation where certain sections of the city would populate one school and some would populate the other school.
[Roy Belson]: Well, then no one gets a choice. This trade-off, so all of these systems, for the most part, it's worked. This is a year where we have one real aberration. If you look at the rest of the enrollment at the Andrews and the McGlynn, it's within a few students of each other.
[Roy Belson]: Not at this level. This is an aberration this particular year.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I think that there were a few situations where we were concerned about class size. And so there was some desire that maybe we should move people to one school or the other. In some cases, it could be transportation situations that were in there. But Diane, you may want to.
[Roy Belson]: Long time ago, long time ago.
[Roy Belson]: There was one redistricting that took place probably three or four years in and that's it.
[Roy Belson]: Let me give you a little bit on that too, just to think about it. When the schools were built, The two schools that sort of had a lock on the Brooks were the Dame and the Irving and Gleason. Those were the three. But there was a whole portion of people that went to the Dame. that we needed to take to the Columbus, because we would have had the Columbus even more underpopulated than it is today. So there was a need to make a division on that side of the river and move it towards the Columbus, or else we would have had an underpopulated school in South Medford and an overpopulated school in West Medford. So that was the sort of divide there. And of course, with busing transportation, we felt it was very doable. That was the thinking at the time.
[Roy Belson]: So I know that some people might disagree with this, but I'm going to say it anyway. This is that when one school draws a little bit more than the other school, The other school has to want to compete. The other school has to want to pick up the energy and to try and find ways to bring people, because they should take pride in their development and making some things happen instead of saying, oh, I don't know what was made. I think there's a certain amount of that. And I've said this to some of you as we've talked. The culture at one place is not as energetic as the culture at the other. And we've got to change that. And that's part of the reasons why we made some of the changes we made. Sending a message. And that's the way you do it. You have to do it. You know, when we talked about in the past, McGlynn was taking over the place and the Andrews was falling backwards after a number of years. And we sent a message and we changed some things. So it's not perfect, but it's an attempt to send a message and say, come on, you want to be the school of choice, you want to bring people to you, then you've got to step it up a little bit. And that happens, it happens in sports, it happens in the arts, it happens in academics. I don't believe in competition as the only way of doing it, but sometimes there's a little competition that's useful.
[Roy Belson]: It didn't have to be the same population, it had to be within ranges.
[Roy Belson]: It's a change. And because part of it is the growth of the Yale population has changed a lot. I mean, that was not as significant years ago. It's now significant. It's now emerged, and it will continue to emerge.
[Roy Belson]: It's a new challenge for us. But again, we work at these things. And every year there's going to be challenges. This is one of them. And we'll make it work. We'll get on it. We've got a lot of things moving. We've talked about a lot. We're certainly not being satisfied about it. We're saying, let's go make it happen. But we need everybody on board. It can't be, woe is me, they did something to me. They've got to step up too. Ms.
[Roy Belson]: Well, they were defaulted to McGlynn now because that was the school that was essentially under enrolled in the sixth grade.
[Roy Belson]: This is a report you asked for, and it's timely because I'll be at the City Council tomorrow night and there's at least three motions on the agenda to ask me these questions, okay? But I think you should be very pleased when you look at the details here, so I'm going to go through it a little bit because I think it's really a significant report. So it's designed to show school enrollment impact of new real estate development in Medford. This report looks at eight real estate complexes that contain 150 units or more. We didn't look at the baby ones here and there because that would be too small. The attached chart identifies each complex and provides information on the total number of enrolled students and their distributions across each of our schools. The overall initial enrollment in our schools is 4,257 students, which is 54 students higher than last year at this time. This number is going to grow moderately as we get to October, because that's the way things happen. The total number of students living in these eight complexes is 105. Two of the students are in outside placements. Overall, the enrollments from these eight complexes is 2.4% of our total school population. Given existing class sizes and space capacity, the enrollment from these developments has no significant effect. The average class size of our elementary schools is 18.3 students in the regular education classrooms. I provided a chart that details the grade level distribution, another chart that looks at each school, a third chart that shows enrollment distribution by complex in school, and a fourth chart that shows the enrollment percentage by school. Our elementary schools could enroll an additional 500 students and still be within our contractual limits for class size. We could enroll an additional 155 students and still maintain an average class size below 20 students, given normal distributions. Our middle schools were built for 1,200 students. We currently have 937. Overall, our middle school class size in the four major course subjects is around 20 students. So again, our class size is excellent, but we have plenty of capacity. People are saying there's no capacity anymore. The new developments are going to swamp the schools. Not true. The high school vocational program has room to grow. Space utilization could be adjusted if necessary to increase enrollment substantially. For example, moving the pre-K programs and offices would open up additional space in the future. If necessary, we can consider some redistricting to shift enrollment to the Columbus. The allocation of specialized spaces for small groups and services could be revisited to create more sections or more options as well. In conclusion, the data clearly indicates that the impact of major residential real estate development has not adversely impacted our schools. So we're going to take you to the first chart. You're looking at the eight big complexes. If you look at them and you see the numbers of families in the first column, So a family might have more than one kid, so that there would be less than the total number. So if you have 16 number students in 100 Rivers Edge Drive, you only have 11 families. Some families have more than one child. And so on and so forth. And some of these complexes have existed for some time. They're not brand new. They've been here for a while. So when you look at it, you're looking at 105 students impacting us at this point in time, and two of them are in outside placements, and the distribution's pretty good. So let me go to the next chart for a minute.
[Roy Belson]: No.
[Roy Belson]: OK, Lumiere. All right, so you go to the next chart, and you look at grade level class sizes. All right, kindergarten, there are 16 teachers district wide, and the average class size is 18.4. And grade one, 18.8. In grade 2, 18. In grade 3, 17.7. In grade 4, 19.3. In grade 5, 17.7. Those class sizes are private school class sizes. There are very few school districts in this area that have class sizes that good. You've done an excellent job supporting that. But anyone who tries to give you the impression that we're swamped and overcrowded, is misleading everyone. We're not.
[Roy Belson]: Is that near? They've been there forever.
[Roy Belson]: One of the things you need to think about about these things is that typically some young families might move in when they can afford, let's say, to live in a rental unit or a condo, as opposed to a full house at this point, given real estate prices. But when their families grow, they move out. They don't stay in these developments. They move out to houses or they move elsewhere. But we're going to have to see what that does because basically, you know, as housing prices in Medford go up, some young families are not going to be able to afford to come in here as a starter home.
[Roy Belson]: And the other thing you need to know, the other thing you need to know, look at the total distribution in the schools. Even if I didn't include a building, your class sizes are still low. Your numbers are still low, so that even if we added another building, it wouldn't have impacted it.
[Roy Belson]: From our Mustangs in Medford to your Mustangs in Texas, you have our support. We're with you. Go Mustangs!
[Roy Belson]: So, on the 6th of September, I believe, Attorney for Ms. Knowles went to court and asked, once again, same question, can we enroll in the Medford Public Schools?
[Roy Belson]: There's a piece of paper which I'll provide to the committee. Enroll to the public schools. It's a second thing. And it was denied again. I don't want to get into a question back and forth about what we can and can't do, because I've taken legal guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and I've taken legal guidance from our own council, Howard Greenspan. But more importantly, I was able to get consent to enable to speak to Greg Landry, who is the principal of the Atkinson School in North Andover. And he has indicated to us that the children are enrolled in North Andover Public Schools as they were in the past.
[Roy Belson]: Well, enrolled and attending, okay? They're attending the North Andover Public Schools and not out of school.
[Roy Belson]: We're not going to go back and forth. My answer is that they're enrolled in a North Andover public school.
[Roy Belson]: Look, the parents have to work out their arrangement. We are not going to work out the arrangement between the parents. They have to make the decision among themselves where they want the children. That's what the court has told them repeatedly. Work it out. If they work it out and Medford is the choice, then they will be enrolled, registered in students in the Medford Public Schools. But right now, the concern was, are they getting an education? They're in the North Andover Public Schools. And Principal Landry has confirmed that. And I'm comfortable that they're in the North Andover Public Schools when the parents work at them. By the way, this has been going on for a long time. This isn't something that only came about in the last month. This has been going on for an extended period of time. And so, you know, they've got to work it out. Maybe having them in the North Andover Public Schools will bring it to a head. But from our standpoint, we've consulted with the Department of Education. We've consulted with our legal counsel. We've gone over this matter multiple times. We've spoken to North Andover. They're in the North Andover public schools. If the parents want a different arrangement, work it out, go to the court together, and get it done. That's the way to move on the issue. And if it happens to be Medford, we'll welcome these kids with open arms, and we'll provide compensatory services.
[Roy Belson]: Didn't do anything.
[Roy Belson]: From our standpoint, the court said that Cheryl Knowles does not have the right to enroll the student in the Medford Public Schools. If we were to let the student into the Medford Public Schools, we would be aiding and abetting an individual who has been told not to enroll them in the public schools in Medford. Now, as far as I'm concerned, that's what we've done. We consulted with the state. If the state had told us you must enroll them, we would have done it. But the state actually asked us, I'm going to say this point blank, the state actually asked us to file a 51A. because the parents couldn't come to an agreement. We declined to do that.
[Roy Belson]: So we would have had an objection from the other side as well. Yes, but that's not yours. Right. So it's not our issue to argue with you one way. Get together, solve the issue. Just say yes, Mr. Belson. And whatever you solve the issue, the children will be enrolled.
[Roy Belson]: No, no. It's not me to say yes. It's for you to solve it with the court.
[Roy Belson]: Yes, you can. Yes, you can. Because the court wants you to work it out. If I look at this document, this is the last one that came through, look over the card. The court denied it again.
[Roy Belson]: Temporarily until the trial in March So can you see the I am because they see the imbalance for a minute. Let me just explain it this way The judge has a statement about not allowing them to enroll in men from the judge makes no statement about not allowing them to enroll in North and over The judge has maybe not made a clean decision that you would like, but he's clearly implied something at this point in time. I'm not gonna try and get in the middle of a domestic dispute on this situation, as long as the kids are in school. They're in school.
[Roy Belson]: So let me ask this, OK? Because we're all trying to solve this, but we have different viewpoints on how we look at it, OK? Lisa Greenberg is your attorney. She's filed the motion. If she thought that we didn't have a solid position, she'd be in our face. But she's not. You're coming here.
[Roy Belson]: But you know what? She's the legal representative for you. You know what I mean?
[Roy Belson]: I'm sorry?
[Roy Belson]: Well, no. Look, if she's got a position that she thinks she can sustain, then she should be here. But I called the Department of Education. And I sat down with them and I said, tell me what to do. They went over it and quite frankly, they sustained our position. So believe me, if I had a kid outside that wasn't enrolled, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would tell me to enroll that kid if it was my opportunity to do so. Believe me, they would not let me. We've been through this many times with Desi. If there's a kid out there that needs to be enrolled, Even if they're an undocumented immigrant, I'm going to put it that way, they would tell us to enroll them and not check anything else. So the fact that they have not taken a position on this thing gives me great concern.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I did that today because I got a note from Greg Landry, who's the principal at Atkinson, says they're enrolled.
[Roy Belson]: I spoke to Dessie today too.
[Roy Belson]: I've got to take some guidance from an impartial group out there, whether it's, it can't be you and it can't be the other person, Nicole Denning. It's got to be a decision made by a third party, and I'll be happy to do it. We would be more than happy to enroll the children if we had the go-ahead, but we don't.
[Roy Belson]: So let me just say one more thing. My own gut tells me the following. It's not scientific, but my own gut tells me the following. The reality is, is the court probably is saying, one child was in North Andover last year. Leave them there, because quite frankly, they've got some stability there. The other child, okay, so there's two together. And what we're facing right now, we're facing a situation where this party would like them to be enrolled in Medford, because then you go back to the court and say, guess what, they're in Medford. So we're gonna play one off against the other. The reality here is that if you told the court, my suggestion, you told the court that Medford is willing, if in fact, The court will make a decision, and you've got the same leverage you would have otherwise. We are willing to enroll these children if we get a go-ahead. That's all. We're not against it. We like children. We like enrollment.
[Roy Belson]: We're at a council, I tell you.
[Roy Belson]: So let me just say one more thing. And I don't know your status, but as far as I know, you're a significant other but not a custodial parent. Am I right?
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so as a result, I can't talk to you about the child technically.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, well, I don't have that. No one gave me that permission yet. I mean, so you know this this is a complicated little circle here. I mean, this is it's filled with all kinds of of things that we can and can't do. So if the court had said, you know, you can put them in part-time, but the court is probably saying I don't want to split the week up for these kids. Let them be in one place and not in two places. That's the problem with it. Right.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the committee, we're going to call upon our deputy superintendent to take the lead on this. It's a very significant occasion for Team Medford, and I'm going to let her do it because it's an important thing.
[Roy Belson]: So another important thing, and Diane is going to fill you in on a Giro.
[Roy Belson]: So Stop and shop is still working out the details. So tonight we'll put it aside and wait on the table, but I can assure you that There's gonna be a lot of competition between supermarkets and Mr. Skerry all those in favor.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call upon our Director of Curriculum, Bernadette Riccidelli, to keep you informed of how MCAS is progressing out of the DESE.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, it's embargoed. Part of the reason is because of discrepancy reports and other things like that, they want to make sure everything is right before it goes out there. Now, you may have noticed in the Globe today, if you've read the Globe at all, that there were some comments about 26 Boston schools were underperforming. Somebody leaked something out there, and I'm sure there's going to be some comment out there. It's very hard to know exactly how they're going to finally come down on things. But we know one thing is if your participation rate is good, there's no accountability rating this year outside of the high school.
[Roy Belson]: So if I can just answer that a little bit, I think the thing that you've got to remember, this is the first full year that MCAS 2.0 was out there. So as a result, as a new test, it really, in order to be fair to people, they had to see the kinds of questions, they had to see what it was about, whether it really the questions were proper and the like, and they have to do that analysis with their own testing company. So rather than, it's like a new product, it's really in a pilot phase. So the second year, they're saying, okay, you had a year to try it out. We've had a year to work out the bugs. Now we'll start to look at it for real. So that's really part of it. It isn't really an attempt to hide anything, because I think some people in the state would love to. issue accountability ratings. But having said that, I think part of it is because you can't just do that with new stuff. You have to look at it.
[Roy Belson]: We always do. Let's just look at schedules. I mean, there's a lot of things we want to talk about. Tonight was a good example. But we'll get a meeting. It's not something, you know, we obviously have those meetings.
[Roy Belson]: I just want to say one thing. I've been talking to Senator Jalen, who's about to file a bill in the legislature, in the Senate, looking to modify the accountability system in a substantial way. Where it goes, how it goes, but you can clearly tell that the debate is very strong these days about academic proficiency not being the only way you measure a school. And two polls were out, the Gallup poll and the Phi Delta Kappan poll, both of which sampled parents across the country, all of whom were saying there's more to school than testing. And the pushback is becoming very, very strong. The Massachusetts Board of Education tends to be very protesting. So we'll have to see where that plays out. But there's an awful lot of ferment out there right now about the implications of just simply evaluating schools only on test results. So I've seen portions of Senator Jalen's bill. I'll introduce it to you at some point in the near future when she's ready to release it, because I think there's a lot of good material in there looking at how to look at schools in a more comprehensive way. We talk about social and emotional learning. We talk about career and technical education. We talk about health. All those things are important in a school. We're developing youth that have transitioned to adulthood. We're not just developing test takers. So a good school in a community like in Boston where you've got 26 schools that someone decided was underperforming, there's a lot of things that go on in some of those demographies out there that are far more complex than just simply a test score. So how we look at our young people, how we look at schools and what we do needs more scrutiny. And I think Senator Jalen and others are starting to raise that question in a very, very powerful way in the state.
[Roy Belson]: So let me give you an example of something that was an interesting one last year. Fascinating kind of thing. A student who came to this country, booked a test, but didn't take the English language arts test because it was his first year in the country. However, because he had a SASID number when he was in the first grade, OK, he had been in the country for a short period of time. The state decided that he was, in fact, not a first year student. We had to petition and clean that out. Now, how would we know, coming from another district someplace else, that this wasn't his first year? That's an example of a discrepancy. Medicals, people that are out on a medical who somehow don't get coded out of the thing, all of a sudden you have to go back and say, well, this kid's been in the hospital for the last six months. I mean, how can you count them? They couldn't possibly take the test in the setting they were in. So those are some of the things that happen. And you have to pay attention to those, because otherwise, you have 100 kids and five or six kids don't take the test for various reasons. All of a sudden, you're below a certain threshold. And that's not what you're going to pay attention to. And with subgroups, it's even less, because the subgroups are even smaller numbers. So if you have 25 kids, one kid could be four percentage points.
[Roy Belson]: Dave Beverly's going to do this. I have Anthony with me tonight.
[Roy Belson]: So we have a return visit from Evely.
[Roy Belson]: Stop and shop.
[Roy Belson]: Before you go down that road, our schools were built on a racial balance plan. Schools were built with choice as one of the options. And if we have to change that, we need to change the plan and get approval for it.
[Roy Belson]: No, you could choose elementary. See, one of the things is that people don't realize is when the schools were built, The essential part was, first of all, the Andrews and McGuinn were the first two schools that were built. So people, you know, it was a, let's say, a progressive movement of youngsters. But you could have chosen certain schools after the other schools were built. So there are plenty of people that have chosen schools outside of their geographical area. It's happened all the time. But now people are getting settled. They're getting comfortable. And to some degree, things have sort of settled in. People sort of stay in their own geographic area for the most part, although there are some people that want to go to another school. One of the things that we've got to deal with is that we may want to look at redistricting to some degree, because the Columbus is somewhat under-enrolled compared to some of the others. And if we change a few lines, we'd get a few more people over there. Just got to look at those things. I mean, it's all part of it. Choice was part of the plan in getting 90 cents on the dollar.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, we get plenty of requests. Maybe we don't see it.
[Roy Belson]: We grant a lot of them. But you don't see them because you didn't make that request. But we grant a lot of requests. We take a look at class size first. We take a look at whether we think the trends are too much in one direction or the other. We look at the balance between different populations. But we have granted quite a bit. Diane, what would you say? Because Diane handles the elementaries.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I guess it's been less of a drive for people to do that, but over the years, I can assure you people came in frequently asking to go to one school or the other.
[Roy Belson]: Well, then you would have a situation where certain sections of the city would populate one school and some would populate the other school.
[Roy Belson]: Well, then no one gets a choice, you know what I mean? So, you know, this trade-off, so all of these systems, you know, for the most part it's worked. This is a year where we have one real aberration. If you look at the rest of the enrollment at the Andrews and the McGlinn, it's within a few students of each other.
[Roy Belson]: Not at this level. This is an aberration this particular year.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I think that there were a few situations where we were concerned about class size. And so there was some desire to maybe we should move people to one school or the other. Some cases, it could be transportation situations that were in there. But Diane, you may want to.
[Roy Belson]: Long time ago, long time ago.
[Roy Belson]: There was one redistricting that took place probably three or four years in and that's it.
[Roy Belson]: I'm sure it was just a miscommunication. So let me give you a little bit on that too, just to think about it. When the schools were built, The two schools that sort of had a lock on the Brooks were the Dame and the Hervey and Gleason. Those were the three, but there was a whole portion of people that went to the Dame. that we needed to take to the Columbus because we would have had the Columbus even more underpopulated than it is today. So there was a need to make a division on that side of the river and move it towards the Columbus or else we would have had an underpopulated school in South Medford and an overpopulated school in West Medford. So that was the sort of divide there. And of course, with busing transportation, we felt it was very doable. That was the thinking at the time.
[Roy Belson]: So I know that some people might disagree with this, but I'm going to say it anyway. This is that when one school draws a little bit more than the other school, the other school has to want to compete. The other school has to want to pick up the energy and to try and find ways to bring people, because they should take pride in their development and making some things happen instead of saying, oh, I don't know what was made. I think there's a certain amount of that. And I've said this to some of you as we've talked. The culture at one place is not as energetic as the culture at the other. And we've got to change that. And that's part of the reasons why we made some of the changes we made. Sending a message. And that's the way you do it. You have to do it. You know, when we talked about in the past, McGlynn was taking over the place and the Andrews was falling backwards after a number of years. And we sent a message and we changed some things. So it's not perfect, but it's an attempt to send a message and say, come on, you want to be The school of choice, you want to bring people to you, and you've got to step it up a little bit. And that happens, it happens in sports, it happens in the arts, it happens in academics. I don't believe in competition as the only way of doing it, but sometimes there's a little competition that's useful.
[Roy Belson]: Not federal.
[Roy Belson]: It didn't have to be the same population, it had to be within ranges.
[Roy Belson]: It's a change. And because part of it is the growth of the Yale population has changed a lot. I mean, that was not as significant years ago. It's now significant. It's now emerged, and it will continue to emerge. So that's a new challenge for us.
[Roy Belson]: It's a new challenge for us. But again, you know, we work at these things. And, you know, every year there's going to be challenges. This is one of them. And we'll make it work. We'll get on it. We've got a lot of things moving. We've talked about a lot. We're certainly not being satisfied about it. We're saying, let's go make it happen. But we need everybody on board. It can't be, woe is me, you know, they did something to me.
[Roy Belson]: Well, they would default it to the McGlynn now because that was the school that was essentially under-enrolled, the sixth grade, so.
[Roy Belson]: So this is a report you asked for and it's timely because I'll be at the City Council tomorrow night and there's at least three motions on the agenda. to ask me these questions, okay? But I think you should be very pleased when you look at the details here. So I'm going to go through it a little bit because I think it's really a significant report. So it's designed to show school enrollment impact of new real estate development in Medford. This report looks at eight real estate complexes that contain 150 units or more. We didn't look at the baby ones here and there because that would be too small. The attached chart identifies each complex and provides information on the total number of enrolled students and their distributions across each of our schools. The overall initial enrollment in our schools is 4,257 students, which is 54 students higher than last year at this time. This number is going to grow moderately as we get to October, because that's the way things happen. The total number of students living in these eight complexes is 105. Two of the students are in outside placements. Overall, the enrollments from these eight complexes is 2.4% of our total school population. Given existing class sizes and space capacity, the enrollment from these developments has no significant effect. The average class size of our elementary schools is 18.3 students in the regular education classrooms. I provided a chart that details the grade level distribution, another chart that looks at each school, a third chart that shows enrollment distribution by complex in school, and a fourth chart that shows the enrollment percentage by school. Our elementary schools could enroll an additional 500 students and still be within our contractual limits for class size. We could enroll an additional 155 students and still maintain an average class size below 20 students, given normal distributions. Our middle schools were built for 1,200 students. We currently have 937. Overall, our middle school class size in the four major course subjects is around 20 students. So again, our class size is excellent, but we have plenty of capacity. People are saying there's no capacity anymore. The new developments are going to swamp the schools. Not true. The high school vocational program has room to grow. Space utilization could be adjusted if necessary to increase enrollment substantially. For example, moving the pre-K programs and offices would open up additional space in the future. If necessary, we can consider some redistricting to shift enrollment to the Columbus. The allocation of specialized spaces for small groups and services could be revisited to create more sections or more options as well. In conclusion, the data clearly indicates that the impact of major residential real estate development has not adversely impacted our schools. So we're going to take you to the first chart. You're looking at the eight big complexes. If you look at them and you see the numbers of families in the first column, So a family might have more than one kid, so that there would be less than the total number. So if you have 16 number students in 100 Rivers Ed Drive, you only have 11 families. Some families have more than one child. And so on and so forth. And some of these complexes have existed for some time. They're not brand new. They've been here for a while. So when you look at it, you're looking at 105 students impacting us at this point in time, and two of them are outside placements, and the distribution's pretty good. So let me go to the next chart for a minute.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, Lumiere. All right, so you go to the next chart, and you look at grade level class sizes. All right, kindergarten, there are 16 teachers district wide, and the average class size is 18.4. And grade one, 18.8. In grade 2, 18. In grade 3, 17.7. In grade 4, 19.3. In grade 5, 17.7. Those class sizes are private school class sizes. There are very few school districts in this area that have class sizes that good. You've done an excellent job supporting that. But anyone who tries to give you the impression that we're swamped and overcrowded, is misleading everyone. We're not.
[Roy Belson]: Is that near? They've been there forever.
[Roy Belson]: One of the things you need to think about about these things is that typically some young families might move in when they can afford, let's say, to live in a rental unit or a condo, as opposed to a full house at this point, given real estate prices. But when their families grow, they move out. They don't stay in these developments. They move out to houses or they move elsewhere. But we're gonna have to see what that does because basically, as housing prices in Medford go up, some young families are not gonna be able to afford to come in here as a starter home.
[Roy Belson]: And the other thing you need to know, the other thing you need to know, look at the total distribution in the schools. Even if I didn't include a building, your class sizes are still low. Your numbers are still low, so that even if we added another building, it wouldn't have impacted it.
[Roy Belson]: From our Mustangs in Medford to your Mustangs in Texas, you have our support. We're with you. Go Mustangs!
[Roy Belson]: The library is going to open, the first couple of weeks is getting everything in order, but we'll probably have the people in place over the next week or so.
[Roy Belson]: So, we have been talking about a merger of the high school and the vocational school for multiple years. This is not a new topic. The fact that it's starting to happen obviously brings about change. And change is sometimes difficult for everyone to understand what it means. The vocational school has its own identity by virtue of the fact it's governed by Chapter 74. And youngsters will get occupational proficiency certificates and other aspects that are purely vocational. The opportunity for the high school students to explore programs at the vocational school was one of our goals. The opportunity for vocational students to take advanced courses at the high school was one of our goals. The opportunity to share faculty members was one of our goals, and we've talked about this extensively. But clearly, change is difficult, and it warrants maybe another meeting, a committee of the whole, to go into it in great depth, to talk about the things you're concerned about. But clearly, we did talk about merging, and we talked about some of the sharing of activities. Now, as far as class officers and things of that go, those are things that can be worked out. But in terms of sharing classes, in terms of sharing programs, having 240 youngsters explore CTE options is something that never could have been done before. Class rank. Pardon me?
[Roy Belson]: Class rank, those things are all things that would come together. Clearly, there's some misunderstandings or perhaps some serious questions. Now, let's have a committee of the whole. Let's go into it in great depth so that everyone understands. And if there's a modification that has to be made, we'll talk about making it. The other thing is reporting to the state. If we have two codes in reporting to the state, we're going to gum up our ability to report to the state in an efficient and effective way. So we've got to talk it through. We went down this road because we felt this would give our youngsters greater opportunity. But obviously, maybe we didn't explain it well enough, or maybe there needs to be more explanation. And maybe we need to hear from some students and others. But clearly, this was something that we've talked about extensively for multiple years. But let's have a committee to hold. That's probably the best way to do it.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the committee. So school year 2017 and 2018 officially began on Tuesday, August 29th, for students grades one to 12 and for kindergarten students on Wednesday, September 6th. And overall, it was a good opening. As usual, there were a few items that required adjustment. Administration, faculty, staff invested substantial time and expertise to get a positive result. This evening, you'll hear specific reports that document the opening, and additional reports will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead. As a school committee, you have been very supportive in supporting a number of the programs and budget lines that I'll enumerate right now, talking about some of the improvements that are now involved in the schools. So significant maintenance and construction around the district was accomplished. Various individual school projects will continue during the next few months. The new multimedia studio was completed. Bistro 49 is about a month away from operational completion. Additional parking has been added to the high school complex, replacing the skateboard park. And a number of capital fund projects will be advanced this fall. Class sizes are very good throughout the district, and you have a detailed chart in your materials. New members of our management team have been hired and have been made an excellent transition. Major positions include a Vocational Technical Principal Director, an ELL Director, a Brooks Assistant Principal, Director of Fine Arts, McGlynn Middle Assistant Principal, and Director of Technology have all assumed their roles quite seamlessly. We've hired 62 new personnel this year. We have a chart attached to this report to fill vacant slots and to enhance our programs. Our elementary science program has substantial new materials and we're actively piloting a new textbook series. Each school is receiving a minimum of 50 new Chromebooks with charging cards to enhance our technology utilization. We've expanded our library staff to support expanded hours at the high school and better access at the K-8 programs. The middle schools have more foreign language this year. The additional health teacher at the middle school will ensure that all students have access to the Michigan model. And a special grant from the Attorney General's funds will enhance our opiate prevention education initiative. A special grant from the Cummings Foundation will support expanded citizenship and community service education. A grant from the state treasurer will support a new financial literacy initiative entitled Credit for Life. A global scholars program will be expanded and we will participate in an international symposium. Our high school vocational school merger is moving forward. We think it benefits students grades nine to 12. We've just had this discussion, so I'll put that off until we have our committee in the hall. We have maintained a comprehensive curriculum that offers a full range of courses to students. Unlike many other school systems, art and music have been enhanced and not cut back. Once again, we have finished the year with a balanced budget, despite federal and state cutbacks. We're working collaboratively to increase inclusivity in all our programs. Our early childhood programs are among the best in the state. The family network is a wonderful resource to young families. We have excellent before and after school programs available. You'll receive some reports on that this evening. Each new year brings some challenges, and this year is no exception. But I'm confident that we'll meet our challenges and make progress in all areas of our school system. MCAS 2.0 will be in full force in 2018. This past year was a trial year, and we will be receiving authorization to release results sometime in October. A new test using some different formats certainly requires our attention. Federal and state finance is uncertain. Expanded attempts at privatization and reductions in key line items will require resourceful creativity to meet our needs. There are already some programs that have felt the cut from Washington. There are others that are being proposed and being a shift of funds. A growing number of EL students will require modified programs that are responsive to the needs of those learners. We did move the newcomers program from the Roberts over to the Brooks, but it did also affect us in the transportation line item. So we need to talk about how those things work. Expanded demands for technological capacity will require investment. We're going to file for additional funding to match the E-rate that we've filed in Washington, which will expand our capacity to put on technology. Spring 2018, we'll see a new coordinated program review of our district by DESE. It happens every six years. We'll be ready. I believe that Kathleen D'Aguilio and her staff are doing a great job putting that together. Applications for additional capital projects to improve our facilities will require substantial planning and follow through. On October 5th, we'll have a visit from SBA, School Building Authority, to go over the SOI that you approved and City Council approved us to submit, and we'll see where we stand with that as possible improvements to this facility. The review and adoption of several policies align with new laws and regulations. Every year there's new laws and regulations that come out, and every year we have to think about how we're going to deal with them. And every year there's some little wrinkle that comes up that requires an adjustment on our part. The potential transition of key personnel will require planning and recruitment. Every year there's some transition of key players, just like we talked about earlier in my message. And we need a plan for that so that we can go forward as smoothly as we are right now. Beyond the above concerns, it is important that we recognize that schools are much more than academic institutions. The recent Phi Delta cap and poll of the public's attitudes towards public schools made the following statement. Academic achievement isn't the only mission. Americans overwhelmingly support investments in career preparation and personal skills. Medford has consistently advocated for the whole child and youth transition to adulthood. We must continue on that path. Another key concern is media literacy. We must help our students to develop the media literacy necessary to counteract the hateful ideas, the rhetoric, and the behaviors that are emerging unchallenged in our society. The late Senator Patrick Moynihan, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, said, you are entitled to your own opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts. Opinion has become as true as facts today. The September edition of the Atlantic Monthly explained it this way. The internet and competing media outlets allows us to create communities that reinforce our preconceived beliefs with or without evidence. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said, the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference. Our most important curriculum will always be a curriculum of caring. As we begin a new school year, we must rededicate ourselves to truth, to love and human development, as well as academic proficiency. We cannot be indifferent. Our students and our community need us to stand up. We need to help each other meet the challenge. And there's no better time than the present. to embrace a curriculum of care, and I know we can do it. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Not this year. We talked about, and you have something in the back of your folder about an action plan going forward. It's not possible to make that change right now. So we'll work on that this year and hopefully by next year we'll smooth that out. If you notice the 7th and 8th grade, fairly close. The 6th grade is really remarkably different. It's like 47, 48 students. And so that's a whole discussion and we've done some work on that and we'll be happy to present on that going forward.
[Roy Belson]: I call upon our Deputy Superintendent, Beverly Nelson, to present this report.
[Roy Belson]: We'll call on Assistant Superintendent Diane Caldwell to present this report and to address the question raised by a member of the staff.
[Roy Belson]: So it's Trisha. It's important to understand that every time we move populations to different parts of the city, it impacts transportation. So that when we did the newcomers program movement from the Roberts to the Brooks, it cost us an extra bus. So it's tricky, we may have to look at redistricting as a better alternative. Quite frankly, as the mayor points out, I think when you see the numbers coming out of the new developments, it hasn't really impacted us much at all. Now, it may in the future, but right now it hasn't.
[Roy Belson]: Well, it's not so much a wait list. There's a 48, 49 people differential between the schools. And I think it was 14 on the wait list.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, 14. But if one goes, then the other 13 legitimately say, how come not me? So at this point in time, we really can't make any moves. Talked to a number of people. Some people accept no better than other people.
[Roy Belson]: So the reason for that was the fact that, remember, there are any number of youngsters exploring over the vocational school right now. There's over 240 youngsters exploring in grade nine. For the most flexible years, we're in grades 11 and 12. A week and B week tends to come in to play for several of the options. Not all, but several of the options. So it was an attempt to just simply consolidate numbers. But we can get a breakout for you.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. McLaughlin is here to give us a report of what has been done and what more is going to be done. As I indicated earlier, the SOI is being reviewed by SBA on October 5th. So a lot's going to happen. Here's an update as we stand right now.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. So let me answer some of that a little bit. As I told you, we have the SOI coming in on October 5th. If we're going to get state money, That's where we're going to do it with, because I want 56% on the dollar back if I can get it. So we'll look at that. That'll be part of that. If that's not possible, that becomes an object. There's a number of other projects that we would hope to get state money for if they approve it.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah. Yeah. So the restaurant, Obviously, it needs a little bit more work. It was an ambitious timetable. No one will ever accuse Heidi of being anything less than ambitious. And I think that we need a little bit more time to do it right, to finish off some things. Equipment has to be hooked up a certain way. And then there needs to be some training time for the people who are going to be using the materials so that we don't just simply say we open up today that we can put everything on. We suspect in early October that we'll be able to do something with it.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call on our Director of Finance and Administration, Christine Patterson, to deliver this report.
[Roy Belson]: So let me answer it this way. Certainly, we want youngsters to go to school. We're not against our young people coming to school. That's obvious that we don't want to bar kids from school. But we have, despite of what you've heard, and I'll refer to our attorney in a moment, we have a court order that has not been rescinded by the Essex court and Essex probate court. I'm just going to read the plain language of what it says. It was issued on May 18th, and I have nothing that contradicts it. I've asked repeatedly, if you've got something that contradicts it, I'll honor it. But I don't have anything. And I'm not going to be in contempt of court for myself or for the school committee. It says, at review of judgment of modification memorandum of decision dated March 30th, that's what they're referring to, 2017, the plaintiff's motion dated April 10th, 2017, the court enters the following order. Order. Plaintiff's request for an order to enroll the children in the Medford Public Schools is denied.
[Roy Belson]: Look, I can't argue with you. I can't argue with you.
[Roy Belson]: We have an attorney here who spoke to Lisa Greenberg, your attorney, today. So maybe Mr. Greenspan can come up and clarify what we're talking about.
[Roy Belson]: Well, if I can, if I can, let me try and go through the sequence that I'm faced in this situation. I understand everybody is sympathetic to children being in school, and so am I, even though it doesn't seem that way to the parents right now. But the reality is, is that on March 30th, there was a hearing. And then Lisa Greenberg, who represents Ms. Knowles, made a request to the court and you have it in your packet, as to where the children should attend school. And I'm going to read it. In denying the plaintiff's request to sole legal custody regarding education decisions, the court has made no decision nor given either party, either party, the right to enroll the children in school. So if either party does not have the right to enroll them in school, who does? And then you go on to the next letter, which says, by the way, it says this only can result in contempt to be filed by one of the parties against the other. And then the next document that we have denies their request for an order to enroll them in the Medford Public Schools. Right now, it's between them. Now why the court has not acted and intervened and made a decision, I don't know. It is my problem because I represent a city and I cannot be in contempt of court.
[Roy Belson]: That's your opinion. That's your opinion. I'm sorry I have a legal counsel. It's your opinion.
[Roy Belson]: Because there's nothing in their- Because there's no forward.
[Roy Belson]: Look, they don't have the same, if you read the thing, they don't say you can't enroll them in the North Andover public schools, it says the Medford public schools. It doesn't say they can't enroll them in the Medford public schools.
[Roy Belson]: I'm referring to my legal counsel. I'm not a lawyer, so I'll refer to my legal counsel. And so I'm going to take that as advice to me, not to place myself or the school committee in contempt. I am very.
[Roy Belson]: Look, I'm waiting for a decision. I called the court.
[Roy Belson]: I called the court and asked the people.
[Roy Belson]: I called the court. We asked the people to go over the records and interpret it for us. They told me that my interpretation was correct. I've asked my legal counsel to tell me what is my interpretation. He tells me I'm doing the right thing. Now, if you can get the court to act, or you can agree with your ex-partner on where the child is going to school, we will expedite that enrollment. And we will even give you compensatory services, because I think it would be in the best interest of the child. But I certainly can't, in this point, given what I know, act on it.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Greenspan, let me ask you one question. Is it acceptable protocol for us to petition a judge?
[Roy Belson]: I'm not 100% sure, but if we take jurisdiction of the children and approve a homeschooling plan, it's tantamount to doing the same thing. Obviously, and I'm just using my logic, which may or may not be 100% correct, I have to admit that. But I'm using my logic to say that what the judge wants to have happen is the parties to agree on something so there won't be an ongoing conflict between the parents, which may affect the child. And apparently that hasn't happened for whatever reason, and I'm not going to weigh in on that. Obviously, we're in a situation right now where we need a decision, and we don't have one.
[Roy Belson]: There's one other piece that I'll introduce. Ms. Knowles has filed a complaint with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. And I saw that today. I put a phone call into them asking them for some guidance. Maybe they can intercede with the court. I don't know. But I put a phone call into them asking them for guidance. You have another piece of information in your folder about when we talked about the B-1, B-2 visa situation. And finally the AG, and finally the DESE ruled on something and told us what they prefer, even though it was ambiguous. And I got a phone call from Rhoda Schneider, who is the general legal counsel from the state, saying thank you for asking that question. Because there are things, there are gray areas that we're caught in the middle of. And I'm sure it's going to get even grayer as we deal with DACA and other considerations in the weeks and months ahead. I would love to enroll the children if it's possible. I have no reason not to want to educate them. They're two young children that we want to help families. We have no reason not to want to. I don't know you. Do you have any animus toward you? But I do have paper in front of me that leads me to believe I'm not allowed to. And I would like it resolved as much as you would.
[Roy Belson]: We call on our assistant superintendent to make this report.
[Roy Belson]: I'll call upon our deputy superintendent to address this issue.
[Roy Belson]: We're going to call on our Director of Administration and Finance to explain this revision mandated by the state.
[Roy Belson]: So this report is a comprehensive report on how school brain software is implemented in the Medford School District during this 2016-2017 first full year. We converted from the I-pass system, which was the system we used for multiple years, to school brains. It was a major undertaking. And it's still reasonable to expect that some bumps will be in the road as you make that kind of conversion, especially since there's many more complex elements to school brains. And there's much more that the state expects us to keep track of than ever before. The interaction between a management software package and the myriad of longstanding specific policies and practices doesn't get untangled overnight. Overall, the school brain software system has been a major improvement. Based upon our experience during year one, we are making adjustments that will address the issues that emerged in year one. And there'll be certain policy decisions that we will have to make to avoid other concerns going forward, and I listed some for our consideration going forward. Should a weighted GPA system be continued in any format? A lot of places have discontinued it. Should special awards for achievement be based upon GPA-related ranking? Or are there other ways to make these determinations? How can we allow optimum access to student records and still provide optimum privacy and security? Because the more people that can use the records for good purpose also opens up the door for what they know about individuals. How can we promote advanced student learning that is not driven by GPA style ranking? There are other things, I referenced it in my opening remarks, that we want our young people to be able to do, and the GPA doesn't necessarily reflect that. And how can we systematically increase parental participation in the communication opportunities offered by school brains? Because it's not easy to get people to use a new system, which can be a little bit daunting at times. But nevertheless, that's what happens when it gets complex, and there are a lot of things you can do with it. So we're going to try to address many of these questions in the next few months as we seek to effectively assess student learning and properly value their achievements. Now, the report that's attached was generated primarily by Curtis Tootin. Curtis, are you in the room? Yeah. In conjunction with myself and other members of the administration to give you some in-depth understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and some of the issues associated with school brains. And there's a lot of data here. So I'm going to have Curtis go through some of it. And I don't want to dwell on every item tonight because I think it's too long and too much in depth. But I want you to get an idea of some of the strengths and some of the things we have to work on. And the headmaster is here also to give you some feedback as to these types of issues. So go ahead, Curtis.
[Roy Belson]: It's important to everyone understand We are in an age where there are so many data points that are now being collected, and so much information that has to be cross-validated between student information, teacher licensure, course selection, student discipline, across the board, and it's all getting reported in, and it's cross-validating. And as a result, the need to be precise has been exponentially created, so therefore, You know, there's a lot of learning to go on as people want more and more data. So it takes a period of time for everyone to get used to it and also to be diligent about it. You can't go into it and say, Oh, well, three weeks ago I should have made that change. You've got to do it when it happens. So it's a process in the long run. It'll work out in the short run. There'll be a few bumps in the road and there'll be a few situations where some people aren't as diligent or as good at doing it, but we'll continue to stay on it.
[Roy Belson]: So when we negotiated the last contract, this was one of the items that was specified in the contract. And the teachers obviously indicated that they didn't want to be putting stuff in every day and so on and so forth in different levels. For example, the elementary school didn't really apply as much, with much more broad based information. At the middle and high school, probably once a week. Every couple weeks that they would update that material, that was sort of the way they were thinking. And towards the end of the quarter again, there would be some of the drop off from that because they were concentrating on consolidating the grades. But I'll do some talking to some teachers and get a sense and get you another report because I think it's something that's going to grow. Because people will use so many different systems for so long, they're comfortable with those. And now they're switching to this. And we've also got to get parents to really use it because you can't motivate someone to use something if no one is looking at it. So we've got to find a way to bring them both together. And I think that's sort of where we're coming from. But overall, it's the right direction to head in, albeit it's not a perfect system.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. President, members of the council, the Medford School Committee approved an appropriated budget of $56,431,000. buttressed by revenue of $2,071,107 of generated revenue, grants and other sources of revenue as well. It's a 3.65 increase over last year. Overall, the budget increases a number of activities which are positive for the schools. We're going to increase our vocational program. We're bringing in revenue from the outside. We're now up to 20 programs as opposed to 11 a few years ago. The vocational school is really moving. There are a number of ADA improvements that will meet all compliance requirements. A grant from the Commonwealth, there was a half a million dollar grant from the Commonwealth as well. Technology has been increased. We've assigned probably 50 to 60 Chromebooks to each new school, each school rather, to increase their technology capability. We've increased our E-rate funding to support infrastructure improvements. We're increasing our nursing staff to improve health services as well. We have a grant from the Commonwealth on opiate education through our Michigan model. We're adding two additional ELL students, ELL teachers rather, that will help to meet the needs of youngsters who do not speak English as a first language. We're adding, our class size is really very good. There's no class in the elementary schools above 22. And in fact, they're all below 22. For those who are interested, we added a fifth, fourth grade at the Roberts through interest that people had. We... are adding additional money into the maintenance account so that every school will have additional dollars for that. There's $200,000 of additional maintenance money with each school getting a grant, direct grant of $20,000 in addition to general maintenance costs that we will carry through the central office that will allow them to attack certain issues that they feel are important to them. The middle schools and the high school will get additional dollars for student activity stipends. The special education program will need some additional money tuition and transportation, but that's covered. And we think that we were able to reduce enrollment at Minuteman, which saves hundreds of thousands of dollars and increase our additional revenue from that area. The social studies program will continue to textbook replacement in U.S. history. The math department has completed its purchase of the Envision program at the elementary level, and they will add additional textbooks to the high school math program. The science department is gonna receive $30,000 additional for science materials for the elementary school program while they pilot additional textbooks at that level. The foreign language department will acquire a new teacher from middle school to ensure that all students can take Spanish and Italian if they want. The fine arts program has a new director in Tony Sickney. As he assumes his role, we'll add 1.2 teachers to that program. The PE and health department will receive a new teacher. which will be transferred over from one of the programs to help with the Michigan model. The library media program continues to add programs and services. Every library in the schools will now be covered, either by paraprofessionals or professional libraries. We have a new director of technology, Molly Layden. And we will be adding additional dollars to our online learning programs that we have now added a program called Edumentum this year. which helps with credit recovery, helps junctures take additional courses which they couldn't possibly take in this schedule. So I think it's been a very good budget. I have to thank my staff, all the people that are working with us for the work that they do. I believe we are in good shape and we'll finish this year in the black strongly and we'll also go into next year with a solid budget. Thank you, Mr. Belson.
[Roy Belson]: Yes.
[Roy Belson]: And can you tell me what that vote was? 7-0.
[Roy Belson]: I appreciate what you're saying. You know, we have talked about this. We continuously review security issues. We do have security during the day and we think that we've enhanced that quite a bit. We added a Raptor system, as you know, to have a professional ID system of anyone entering the buildings during the school day. We do have a resource officer assigned to us at the high school. We have resource officers assigned to us throughout the city through the police department. which helps with that as well. The building is 550,000 square feet. And a single individual moving around, I don't believe, is a particularly effective tool. We have a lot of adult personnel there, custodians, cleaning crew, coaches, advisors, teachers, and others, all of whom have been equipped with communication devices from time to time. They can call 911 very quickly. However, I understand what you're asking. And in the spirit of trying to come to some sort of agreement, let me bring it to the attention of the school committee. And if the school committee believes that we should add a person who is in that particular assignment, then we'll bring that up. But I will actively bring it to their attention and we'll talk about that and give you a report. I think that's a reasonable compromise given the fact that we've gone back and forth on this for a few years.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. President?
[Roy Belson]: Congratulations, Joseph.
[Roy Belson]: Dear members of the school committee, ladies and gentlemen, as you look around, you see the incredible achievements of our young people. But also very important, two things that I want to highlight. One, the diversity of our student body and the achievements of this diversity. And I think that's one of the factors that makes Medford so great and a great place to grow up, because you get to grow up and experience a lot of different cultures and work together. And the second key thing is that all of these achievements come through collaboration, working together with your teachers, working with each other, working as a team. And that's the secret to success in almost anything. Very few people do anything alone by themselves without good help. And so congratulations to all of you, to your parents. They've collaborated with you. You've collaborated with them. You've collaborated with each other. And you make Medford very proud of the way you represent us, both as a diverse community and as a community that cares about its people. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: And so undoubtedly, this is reimbursement for product that he had to buy on behalf of that activity.
[Roy Belson]: That's undoubtedly to support the woodwind orchestra activities.
[Roy Belson]: In relation to that I was just wondering if we sold any of the pieces as well Saturday we actually everything was sold at auction and I believe that Free discount free, you know the auctioneer's price which is 10% that they brought in about $20,000. I
[Roy Belson]: We'll get a report on that.
[Roy Belson]: Happening this Saturday, so I need a little more time.
[Roy Belson]: Trying to, where is this again?
[Roy Belson]: I'll just have to look that up when I get back to the office.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: Sure, I'll have to look that up when I get back.
[Roy Belson]: Madam members of the committee, this is the committee of the whole that we held last Wednesday on the school councils. It's here. Rather than read it in totality, If anyone has any particular questions, there's anything in it, you can certainly respond to it, but I think it's self-explanatory and we'll just enter into the record with your approval.
[Roy Belson]: So I just would comment on that. The parents participated in the council development. The attendance at the presentation on Wednesday evening was dependent on the school itself. and several parents were there and were introduced. One school did not have anyone there specifically, except one member who's actually a member of the school committee. But other than that, each school did introduce people, and there are like seven members on a council, so it isn't like there's 50 people on a council.
[Roy Belson]: It's in the report. I would hope that the councils would actually consult with the parents more completely, but it's a seven-member council. So, you know, theoretically, the report reflects them. The high school and the voc have students on it, but the other especially parents and community members.
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: The appointment letters are now in process and probably will go out either this week or the beginning of next.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: We call upon our director of English Language Arts and Humanities, Dr. Nicole Chiesa. Dr. Chiesa.
[Roy Belson]: Call upon our deputy superintendent to present this report.
[Roy Belson]: So one of the discussions we've had recently is the concentration of students who are ELL in any one elementary school. And the newcomers program has historically been at the Roberts, but the numbers have become very substantial. And one of the discussions that we had was how can we spread them out, redistribute them a little bit more. In earlier discussions, we talked about splitting, let's say, grades 1 and 2 at one school and 3, 4, and 5 at another. And so this particular report tells you that next year it's our plan to send grades 1 and 2 to the Brooks School for two reasons. One, it will redistribute the newcomers program, not all ELL students, but the newcomers program. And also, it will create more of a balance between the two schools because the population at the Brooks is lower than the population at the Roberts. Put the two together, they'll come up with a similar population and the diversity level at the Brooks will increase substantially and that will be helpful as well. So that's our goal, that's what we're doing and we plan to move ahead unless there's an objection.
[Roy Belson]: I think it's very important for us to maybe make a statement at this point in time. We talked about this the other night at the middle schools. We can't make everybody happy all the time. There's going to be decisions that are going to be made that are going to require people to accept certain kinds of things for distribution purposes. Now this year we'll do it with the elementary, but as we go into next year we're going to have to take a very strong look at the middle school and redistribute students because otherwise one school will be very heavy with certain types of students who require certain services. Other schools will be less populated and have other challenges. So people ask for certain things. We do our best to accommodate them. From time to time, we have to make a decision, and not everybody's going to be happy with that decision, but that's the nature of trying to be fair to everybody. And sometimes in transition, there are a few people that feel like we didn't consider their particular situation, but we'll try to consider as many situations as we can.
[Roy Belson]: One of the things we'll do after tonight is we'll actually reach out to the families that will be affected by school transitions this week. and start to let them know what our plans are. And then we do have after school programs and other things like that that we can work out some arrangements for people who have particular needs that really are under stress. But we've got to be very careful that we don't just assume that everybody is going to get everything that they want because if we do that, we give ourselves an unbearable goal, an unattainable goal. So from time to time, you make a decision. You do it in the vast majority of people involved. You try to work on the edges with the people that may be affected adversely.
[Roy Belson]: Hopefully by third grade they're no longer a newcomer.
[Roy Belson]: So they can go back to their school of origin or their geographical school.
[Roy Belson]: Right. They would go back to their school of origin. So the goal is to get them out of the newcomers program as soon as possible. A couple years should do it. And that would hope that they wouldn't have to go to the Roberts. They could go back to the School of Archer.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor, just a couple of announcements.
[Roy Belson]: So on Wednesday evening last, you asked me for some dates, and I gave you the wrong dates a couple of days later.
[Roy Belson]: And I just wanted to say what I wanted to see was just how attentive you are to what I send out. And Kathy was the only one who picked it up, so sorry about that. The rest of you just weren't paying attention. No, I'm just kidding. So I've given you corrected dates. June 6 is the Curtis Tufts graduation, 1130 at the Irish American. 11, now 11 o'clock? Okay.
[Roy Belson]: It's now 11 o'clock.
[Roy Belson]: I was looking at, what is it?
[Roy Belson]: 11 o'clock. If you get there half an hour later, you'll be there in time for the food. Okay. The M Club banquet is on June 6th in the evening and graduation is on the 7th. Okay? A couple of other things, we have a meeting this Wednesday evening to interview ELL candidates. I have at least three candidates, good candidates for you to see, possibly a fourth by tomorrow. We'll make sure we check out a couple of references. And that's Wednesday starting at 7. We've reserved the 22nd and the 25th for additional meetings, possibly for community schools or for other situations, and also possibly to interview the candidates for the vocational director's principal's job. I'm still going through applications, talking to references. There's some things happening out there in that type of community, the vocational director's community, that may portend for us to postpone that and move it a little bit further out to get all the candidates that I want to have in the pool. But we'll see that. I'll know that better in the next week or so. In addition to that, I think that you should know that the Senate is coming out with its Ways and Means budget tomorrow. That gives us a better idea of what the Senate is proposing versus what the House is proposing and what we might be looking at for state funding and budgets. We're still looking at federal dollars as they get sifted around when reports from the federal government. So all those things have an impact on you, and I just want to make sure you're aware of it.
[Roy Belson]: Don't say that word.
[Roy Belson]: Members of the school committee, ladies and gentlemen. As you look around, you see the incredible achievements of our young people. But also very important, two things that I want to highlight. One, the diversity of our student body and the achievements of this diversity. And I think that's one of the factors that makes Medford so great and a great place to grow up, because you get to grow up and experience a lot of different cultures and work together. And the second key thing is that all of these achievements come through collaboration. working together with your teachers, working with each other, working as a team. And that's the secret to success in almost anything. Very few people do anything alone by themselves without good help. And so congratulations to all of you, to your parents. They've collaborated with you. You've collaborated with them. You've collaborated with each other. And you make Medford very proud of the way you represent us, both as a diverse community and as a community that cares about its people. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: And so undoubtedly, this is reimbursement for product that he had to buy on behalf of that activity.
[Roy Belson]: That's undoubtedly to support the woodwind orchestra activities.
[Roy Belson]: On Saturday, we actually, everything was sold at auction.
[Roy Belson]: And I believe that pre-discount, pre, you know, the auctioneer's price, which is 10%, that they brought in about $20,000. Great.
[Roy Belson]: We'll get a report on that.
[Roy Belson]: Happened on this Saturday, so we need a little more time.
[Roy Belson]: Trying to, where is this again?
[Roy Belson]: I'll just have to look that up when I get back to the office.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: I'll have to look that up when I get back.
[Roy Belson]: If anyone has any particular questions, if there's anything in it, you can certainly respond to it, but I think it's self-explanatory and we'll just enter into the record with your approval.
[Roy Belson]: So I just would comment on that. The parents participated in the council development, the attendance at the presentation on Wednesday evening was dependent on the school itself. And several parents were there and were introduced. One school did not have anyone there specifically, except one member who was actually a member of the school committee. But other than that, each school did introduce people. And there are like seven members on a council, so it isn't like there's 50 people on a council. I hear what you're saying and certainly will.
[Roy Belson]: Well, it's probably in the report. It's in the report. I would hope that the councils would actually consult with the parents more completely, but it's a seven-member council, so, you know, theoretically the report reflects them. The high school and the voc have students on it, but the other
[Roy Belson]: The appointment letters are now in process and probably will go out either this week or the beginning of next.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: We'll call upon our Director of English Language Arts and Humanities, Dr. Nicole Chiesa.
[Roy Belson]: Call upon our deputy superintendent to present this report.
[Roy Belson]: So one of the discussions we've had recently is the concentration of students who are ELL in any one elementary school. And the newcomers program has historically been at the Roberts, but the numbers have become very substantial. And one of the discussions that we had was how can we spread them out and redistribute them a little bit more. In earlier discussions, we talked about splitting, let's say, grades 1 and 2 at one school and 3, 4, and 5 at another. And so this particular report tells you that next year it's our plan to send grades 1 and 2 to the Brooks School for two reasons. One, it will redistribute the newcomers program, not all ELL students, but the newcomers program. And also, it will create more of a balance between the two schools, because the population at the Brooks is lower than the population at the Roberts. Put the two together, they'll come up with a similar population, and the diversity level at the Brooks will increase substantially, and that will be helpful as well. So that's our goal, that's what we're doing, and we plan to move ahead unless there's an objection.
[Roy Belson]: I think it's very important for us to maybe make a statement at this point in time. We talked about this the other night at the middle schools. We can't make everybody happy all the time. There's going to be decisions that are going to be made that are going to require people to accept certain kinds of things for distribution purposes. Now this year we'll do it with the elementary. But as we go into next year, we're going to have to take a very strong look at the middle school and redistribute students. Because otherwise, one school will be very heavy with certain types of students who require certain services. Other schools will be less populated and have other challenges. So people ask for certain things. We do our best to accommodate them. From time to time, we have to make a decision. And not everybody's going to be happy with that decision. the nature of trying to be fair to everybody. Um, and sometimes in transition, uh, there are a few people that feel like we didn't consider their particular situation, but we'll try to consider as many situations as we can.
[Roy Belson]: One of the things we'll do after tonight is we'll actually reach out to the families that will be affected by school transitions this week and start to let them know what our plans are. And then we do have after school programs and other things like that that we can work out some arrangements for people who have particular needs that really are under stress. We've got to be very careful that we don't just assume that everybody is going to get everything that they want, because if we do that, we give ourselves an unbearable goal, an unattainable goal. So from time to time, you make a decision, you do it in the vast majority of people involved, and you try to work on the edges with the people that may be affected adversely.
[Roy Belson]: In third grade, if they're, hopefully by third grade, they're no longer a newcomer.
[Roy Belson]: So they can go back to their school of origin or their geographical school.
[Roy Belson]: Right. They would go back to their school of origin. So the goal is to get them out of the newcomers program as soon as possible. A couple of years should do it. And that would hope that they wouldn't have to go to the Roberts. They could go back to school of origin.
[Roy Belson]: So on Wednesday evening last, you asked me for some dates, and I gave you the wrong dates a couple of days later.
[Roy Belson]: And what I wanted to see was just how, you know, attentive you are to what I send out. And Kathy was the only one who picked it up, so sorry about that. The rest of you just weren't paying attention. No, I'm just kidding. So I've given you corrected dates. June 6 is the Curtis Tufts graduation, 1130 at the Irish American. Now 11 o'clock? Okay.
[Roy Belson]: It's now 11 o'clock.
[Roy Belson]: If you get there half an hour later, you'll be there in time for the food. The M-Corp banquet is on June 6th in the evening, and graduation is on the 7th. A couple of other things, we have a meeting this Wednesday evening to interview ELL candidates. I have at least three candidates, good candidates for you to see, possibly a fourth by tomorrow. We'll make sure we check out a couple of references. And that's Wednesday starting at 7. We've reserved the 22nd and the 25th for additional meetings, possibly for community schools or for other situations, and also possibly to interview the candidates for the vocational director's principal's job. I'm still going through applications, talking to references. There's some things happening out there in that type of community, the vocational director's community, that may portend for us to postpone that and move it a little bit further out to get all the candidates that I want to have in the pool. But we'll see that and we'll know that better in the next week or so. In addition to that, I think that you should know that the senate is coming out with its ways and means budget tomorrow that gives us a better idea of what the senate is proposing versus what the house is proposing and what we might be looking at for state funding and budgets. We're still looking at federal dollars as they get sifted around in reports from the federal government. So all those things have an impact on you and I just want to make sure you're aware of it.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee, you have heard undoubtedly about the Connors Scholarship Program. It was created through the generosity of James and Thelma Connors. You've got the information in front of you. People of modest means or apparently of modest means until the very end when their investments became available to the city and through the work of Attorney John Granara, former Mayor Mike McGlynn, and Stephen Andrew. It was put together into a scholarship program. Amelia Jensen is here, our Director of Guidance, and she is reaching out to students to apply for this program. The details are here. rather than go through it, but it's obviously a very generous activity and we're pleased to have it.
[Roy Belson]: Making a return appearance is Amelia Jensen to tell you about the college acceptances to date. This is still preliminary, but we wanted to give you a sense of what was happening out there for the time being.
[Roy Belson]: So I think we all realize that the opiate issue is becoming very, very substantial. It has been very substantial. The Massachusetts amount of opiate exceeds the national average. So for opiate deaths and the like, and it affects marriages, it affects jobs, families, neighborhoods, and all kinds of things out there that are not good. So through the work of Tony and Rachel, we have another grant. And I'll let them explain it because I think it's a really good item for us right now.
[Roy Belson]: The word fun is not really a good way to begin the word funded.
[Roy Belson]: Well, there'll be several.
[Roy Belson]: The governor was doing- They're starting to emerge right now, because I think the biggest thing you have to understand is a lot of things coming out, but they're always underfunded. I mean, so there's a few dollars put to them, but then there's not enough to really carry them out. You'll see some of the budget report that we're going to talk about.
[Roy Belson]: It's a standard schedule.
[Roy Belson]: the expanded use of technology in the schools. And what you have is, I think, a very thorough report. It gives us some pathways to pursue and strengthen our capacities to use technology efficiently. It also enables us to access our tier two funding in support of upgrades. These reports, as I mentioned, are very technical and extensive. But they're provided to you so that you can take your time to go through them and perhaps develop a deeper understanding of the complexity that we'll take to integrate technology into our programs in the public schools. The recommendation provides several key steps that we can take without a burdensome cost. Some of these things are just doable. We just have to do them. And it still is important for us to recognize that there are heavy requirements of testing, state reporting, electronic data management. Communication requires we have finely tuned, robust, and reliable capacity to meet our obligations. And also, well, it's not part of this report, some staffing that has to be done so that we can maintain these systems the way we need to. This is not a one-time thing. We'll do it. It'll be with us for a while in terms of the infrastructure. There'll be many upgrades that'll always be required as more things are added and more people are trying to do things and more devices are played with, but this is a very, very good investment. So I recommend, first of all, that you would read the executive summaries because that gives you enough of a background to understand what's being involved. Additionally, you'll find some materials that talk about the category two E-rate funding estimates. And under this program, we can access $398,100 of federal funds with a $265,000, $400 match. We're currently soliciting bids and completing E-rate applications. We will seek capital funding to meet this infrastructure need in the weeks ahead. It's clear that other things need to be done in terms of devices and equipment, but that's not part of this particular activity. If we don't do it this year, I have a feeling some of this stuff may not be available to school systems or libraries next year because of some of the domestic cutbacks that are being considered in Washington. So I'd like to act on this now, and I'd like to let you know that we're working actively on this. Kirstine is working closely on the financial part and on the technical part as well with Steve Kelly of TechEdge. And I look forward to moving this forward. Happy to take any questions. And Kirstine's here as well.
[Roy Belson]: Well, we can do that if you want. Do we need to? We certainly want to move forward because we want to be able to file our applications and take advantage of bids that are out there. But if you want to come into the hall, we can schedule it. We are going to have a very busy schedule in the month of May and early June because of a number of things, including school council reports and the like. But happy to schedule it if this is what you want to do.
[Roy Belson]: what our plans are internally because we're still refining them somewhat because we still have to figure out how much money is available to us operationally. But we will plan to buy devices with the regular budget in addition to some of the other, you know, things we've typically done because in order to use the network, you have to have more devices. And probably a lot of Chromebooks. You'll see this in the school council reports. People are asking for these things. We need them for testing. We need them for reporting. There are a few other devices we will need. But the infrastructure is something that we can bond. And the infrastructure is something that we can get E-rate money for. And that's what we need to really go after right now. Because that's money that we wouldn't typically put in an operating budget. So yes, you'll see substantial dollars put to this. Plus, there's also some staff needs. And we're going to have to try and put that in place and work that around as well.
[Roy Belson]: That's the plan. That is not our budget. Christine, did you want to come up and comment on any of these things? Because it's financial stuff that she's working closely with.
[Roy Belson]: Well, let's go over this now, okay? The federal government, we put this report in, we put an E-rate you know, a funding request in every year, the general E-rate. This is Tier 2. Tier 1, we generally get $50,000 to $60,000. It's changed a little bit because of the change from telecommunications to other things. We generally, that's independent of this, okay? Tier 2 is a special infrastructure type funding that's designed to give us more robust capability. We'll put this in on May 11th, and then we've got to wait for the federal government to actually formally approve it. But if we don't put it in on May 11th, and we don't put this in, we won't be eligible to ask for the money later on. So the actual spending process will take place after we have more of a discussion on the details.
[Roy Belson]: You just want to get an authorization to move forward if you can because you know otherwise what you lose the opportunity to access it and I'm willing to bet, not willing to bet, but I think it's a pretty good bet that this funding will start to disappear with the next federal budget and I think if we don't you know act we won't have this opportunity.
[Roy Belson]: People using. It's use. Correct. Some places will be more technologically involved than other places.
[Roy Belson]: McGlynn is two schools in one, remember?
[Roy Belson]: Well, just the way it is. I mean, some places use technology.
[Roy Belson]: Again, we're talking about a snapshot in time. We're talking about an attempt to find out the capacity of the network to handle traffic. And, you know, it was done on a few days here and there. It can't be done every day because obviously we'd be paying, you know, a lot of money for a study that would happen every day. And it just happens this is what's coming through. So it gives us an idea of what Traffic would look like on maybe a normal day, but maybe it doesn't totally reflect everyday.
[Roy Belson]: So, John, where are you? Now appearing on our stage, John. You know, buildings and grounds obviously is a big area for us. And you have a lot of interest in this, and I just want to comment before John talks about his specifics. But as I told you in a prior meeting, that it's my intent to augment the building repair line by 200,000, which would then be distributed among the schools for the various projects that we've all been talking about. Because quite frankly, the budget that we have will get used up for general maintenance and it will be used up for things that go boom in the night. So this would give us some flexibility in doing some of the repairs. Now the major piece for the high school, we want to see where the SOI takes us. And there's some other aspects of the high school, which John will address. But the SOI is what we submitted to the MSBA and see where that goes. Because obviously, if we get money from them, that's going to be a lot bigger amount than we would be able to fund ourselves internally. So there's a lot going on, but I wanted to have a chance to take a look at some of the things moving through this area. And John, do you have your copy of your report? OK. So why don't you talk a little bit about what's in your report, and I'll be happy to augment it as we go. The $200,000 that you're adding to the budget this year, is that going to be annually from this point on? Well, I don't know. I mean, we have to sit down and have that discussion. I mean, I think that that particular line item should grow. Whether it should grow $200,000, $300,000, or $150,000 is something we can look at. It also depends to some degree on what else we can get funding for. So I think the concept is to put a few more dollars in this thing so we can address very specific topics that you have an interest in. uh... and we can do it with assurance rather than have to wait to see how many things go bum in the night uh... you know which we have to deal with emergency funding uh... like we did get a couple of pipes this year and the year before and so on and so forth so it would give us more flexibility but how much it really depends on you know the projects we identify and where we go with it Mr. McLaughlin Good evening Mayor Burke, Superintendent Dawson, committee
[Roy Belson]: Whatever it is, you'll get a chance to vote on it.
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So this is a good opportunity for me to wrap a few things together and also talk about some of the things that just came up. The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed its initial version of the FY 2018 state budget last Tuesday, April 25th. The House version will now go to the State Senate for their deliberations, ways and means, and then the floor. And we would expect the Senate version to emerge sometime in late May. Since there will be differences between the two legislative bodies, there will be a joint conference committee consisting of three members from each chamber. And they'll try to reconcile their differences and then go to the full body in each chamber to get an up or down vote. They can't make changes once it comes out of conference committee. And the changes, once it comes out from the full legislature, will go to the governor. The governor undoubtedly will veto some line items. The legislature historically will override most of his vetoes, give or take a few here and there. and the state budget should be completed sometime by the end of June. However, we have to start doing our budgets well in advance of that, so we start to look at what the House and the Senate will do, because typically there are pretty good guidelines as to what will happen. But we don't know. The Senate tends to be a little bit more financially generous than the House, although items vary from area to area. For the first time, the initial budget from the House exceeds $40 billion. It's actually less than what the Governor proposed, slightly, but it still exceeds $40 billion to support the various line items and any new programs and services. But most of the new money goes to mass health, pensions, and a modest increase in local aid.
[Roy Belson]: Very limited. Okay. We'll go into some of that in a way, but 40% of the budget typically or more right now is mass health. So it gives you an idea of, you know, it may be $40 billion, but so much of it is eaten up by certain entitlements that, uh, there isn't a lot of discretionary funding. So the main limitation on the budget is the availability of money, uh, to support the various line items. any new programs and services, just like we're talking about right now. How much money is going to be available to do all the things that you think should be done? Most of the new money, as I say, goes for certain items. During FY 2016, the state found the budget was initially short $455 million. And this year, revenue at the end of March is running $220 million below estimates. April receipt should be higher. April is usually a very good month. The beginning of the month was good, but until we get the final figures, we don't know. But typically, we should be able to close a good portion of that gap. But closing that gap doesn't give us any surplus, doesn't give any excess. It just gives us a gap close. And there's no guarantee that, you know, how much money will come in actually in June, in May and June. Originally, The projection for this year was a 3.1% growth factor at the state level. And through March, it's 1.7%. Gives you an idea. And that's nationally, too. A 2% growth is sort of like, you know, a hallmark. A study by the Federal Reserve explained that while Massachusetts unemployment was down, there was a significant drop in wages and hours worked. And that means that the overall personal income was lower. Spending was higher, most notably in the health sector. Additionally, a sales tax on merchandise was affected by increased online buying, for which there is no tax. Furthermore, it's impossible that the income tax rate will drop again because of the automatic trigger built into the state. The drop in the income tax cost the Commonwealth more of a billion dollars a year since that trigger was put in place. There appears to be no appetite for increased taxation, although there may be some proposal out of the Senate, as Senate President Rosenberg seems to put this forward a little bit, although tax proposals have to emanate from the House first. Lastly, we can expect some cutbacks from Washington on domestic spending, including various education items. So the following items are things to think about in the House budget. And again, they haven't printed the whole House budget, so I can't get every nickel and dime figured out 100%, but I've gone behind the numbers as much as I can. Chapter 70 is $30 per pupil in the House budget. Last year it was $55 per pupil. The governor is proposing $20 per pupil. That's approximately $145,000. Unrestricted municipal aid is up statewide by 40 million, but when it's distributed, it isn't that much. The special education circuit breaker was level funded in the House budget. It could be short somewhere between 10 and 15 million dollars for full funding. And as more students qualify, there's a greater demand on this account. We're projecting less funding in fiscal 2017 than we were in there in 2016. We've already given you some of those numbers in the last financial report. And there could be a further reduction in fiscal 2018, and that's for extraordinary special ed costs. So you have to pay attention to that. Charter school funding is level funded. We expect the statewide entitlement to be $60 million below need, maybe more, depending on how much expansion. Depending on the number of students who opt for charter schools, we could see an increase in our local cost, although I think we've leveled pretty well and we're bringing people back. But we also know that Washington is very heavy on pro-choice with Secretary DeVos, and we'll see what comes out of there for choice issues in support of charter schools. Homeless transportation is level funded, 50% of what we think entitlement would be, if that. No funding, new funding came back for kindergarten. We lost $143,000 last year and there's nothing in that line item this year. Out of district, non-resident transportation is cut. Could lose about $30,000 in that particular line item. And there's no new funding for technology that we've seen outside of what I presented this evening. We will be able to get some significant federal dollars as I explained. The Department of Public Health funding should be reasonably stable. That funds a nurse and some of the work that's done on health prevention. Early childhood funding through the grant account is expected to lose 30% of current level as priorities shift from programs to workforce development support. In other words, increasing the salaries of people in the non-profit sector and providing additional training for them because they're well underfunded. And it's certainly a worthy priority. But, you know, they didn't say we'll do both. They said we'll take the money from the programs and move it over there. So there's a little bit more there, but it's not clear. So we just got through talking a little bit about maintenance and things of that type. There's a finite pot of gold out there. And you just can't say we'll just do everything. We'll try to provide you with options across the board so you can select, and hopefully we'll continue to search out new sources of funding like we have with the vocational school and other things and opiate prevention to augment what we have. But the general distributions coming from the state place a tremendous burden on the locality. The cost of health care keeps going up, and we just don't know, you know, where it's coming. We don't know what Washington's going to do and what's going to happen to that situation yet. It goes back and forth. And there are a lot of other factors that have to come into play. So we also have to carry at least a 2.5% increase in salary negotiations, which isn't outrageous, but it's money. And then you also have step increases that people who are starting the young teachers move up the steps. That's on top of the 2.5. So there's a lot of factors. It would be easy for me to get up and say, sure, tell me whatever you want me to fix, tell me whatever you want me to do, go add this, add that. It's not that simple and you know it. You know, what it is is that we have to lay it all out and decide what's most important to us and move forward with that. I think there's a lot of great things going on in this community and a lot of great things going on in the school system. I should be very proud of the work you've done, very proud of the administration and City Hall supporting us. You know, there will be some limitations, and we'll have to make some tough choices, forced choices. So the budget process is beginning at the Statehouse. We'll keep watching the Senate. We'll go up and lobby, you know, for other things. We'll talk to people about things. We'll look for additional grants, look for additional revenue. We've recaptured some revenue through the Minuteman activity, the revenue coming in through the vocational school. But still, it's got to be spread out. Just wanted to give you a quick snapshot of the state budget so far. We'll keep you posted, and we'll keep talking budget as we go forward and try to set priorities.
[Roy Belson]: OK, that's the Minuteman bus. OK. So in another year from now, we won't have a bus going to Minuteman. We're going to try and get a smaller vehicle, which may cost less. But if I lose the reimbursement for non-resident last year, two years ago, it was almost $3 million. Then it went down to half of that. And this year in the house budget, it's $250,000 for that line item.
[Roy Belson]: This year, there's about 16 students. Next year, I would expect eight.
[Roy Belson]: So, you know, hey, listen, if you can't go one way, we'll must own the other way. How's that? OK? Very good. Thank you. You're welcome. Ms.
[Roy Belson]: No, it's definitely an issue. Just so you know, the Medicaid funding is generated by students who are eligible through disabilities and the like. The money comes back. Short Collaborative is our broker, if you will, it comes back through it, but it goes into the city treasury, and as the mayor points out, it adds to the total pie that's then available for redistribution to the schools, to the city, and other things. So it's factored into the overall who gets what kind of thing. There's some people that say they want it to come to them, but quite frankly, it's the same pot of gold, and we just simply work with it. But it could be $400,000, $500,000 that we could lose, and the state could lose that much more. because they're dependent on it as well, and that could drive the cost of health care right through the roof, which will also impact our employees, because they have to pay more for health insurance and the like. And of course, that would bring them to the bargaining table, because next year, while we're covered for next year, bargaining for the successor contracts will start all over again. And as they lose money in terms of, you know, the health care costs and things of that type, they're going to be looking for something to make it up in salary. All this stuff has triggers that, you know, have got to be thought about, planned. We've got to understand what it means. You know, when we commit something going forward, we've got to realize it might have ripple effect multiple years down the road. It's not just, you know, any one year. It's that year, maybe, but then there's more going on down the road. And as it stands now, we're, you know, we're using a lot of generated revenue to support our operations. At some point in time, that generated revenue will hit a wall. We can only make so much at any given time. So there's all kinds of issues, but Washington, you know, is a real black hole. You really don't know a lot of the programs. Title II is 150,000 go into salaries. That could disappear, you know, for class size reduction. Other programs like that for supplies, materials, bilingual, EO money could come down. And as you can see, our population is significantly growing in that area. I think the issue of, and I know it's unpopular, the millionaires' tax is out there someplace, whether that actually goes through in a year from now, certainly would be helpful to the revenue pie, but then again, if that money gets generated, who will get it? the issue of any money generated through the marijuana bill, sales taxes, other things like that, all up in the air. There's a whole group out there that want to cut the sales tax, you know, want to bring it back down again. So there's a lot of discussions that are going on right now, and, you know, we've got to balance it all. So, you know, I love it when people come up and say we need this and need that, and I really respect that, because they're advocating for what they want, and that you should. But then our job becomes how to balance it out, how to do as much as we can and fairly apportion it to the things that are important to us.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee, you have heard undoubtedly about the Connors Scholarship Program. It was created through the generosity of James and Thelma Connors. You've got the information in front of you. People of modest means or apparently of modest means until the very end when their investments became available to the city and through the work of Attorney John Granara, former Mayor Mike McGlynn, and Stephen Andrew. It was put together into a scholarship program. Amelia Jensen is here, our Director of Guidance, and she is reaching out to students to apply for this program. The details are here, and happy to answer any questions you have. rather than go through it, but it's obviously a very generous activity and we're pleased to have it.
[Roy Belson]: Making a return appearance is Amelia Jensen to tell you about the college acceptances to date. This is still preliminary, but we wanted to give you a sense of what was happening out there for the time being.
[Roy Belson]: So I think we all realize that the opiate issue is becoming very, very substantial. It has been very substantial. The Massachusetts amount of opiate exceeds the national aperture. So for opiate deaths and the like. And it affects marriages, it affects jobs, families, neighborhoods, and all kinds of things out there that are not good. So through the work of Tony and Rachel, we have another grant. And I'll let them explain it because I think it's a really good item for us right now.
[Roy Belson]: The word fun is not really a good way to begin the word funded.
[Roy Belson]: There will be several.
[Roy Belson]: They're starting to emerge right now. Because I think the biggest thing you have to understand is a lot of things coming out, but they're always underfunded. You know what I mean? So there's a few dollars put to them, but then there's not enough to really carry them out. You'll see some of the budget report that we're going to talk about.
[Roy Belson]: It's in front of you. It's a standard schedule.
[Roy Belson]: So this report we commissioned earlier this year to get us a robust look at our network and all the infrastructure that's necessary to support the expanded use of technology in the schools. And what you have is, I think, a very thorough report. It gives us some pathways to pursue and strengthen our capacities to use technology efficiently. It also enables us to access our tier two funding in support of upgrades. These reports, as I mentioned, are very technical and extensive. But they're provided to you so that you can take your time to go through them and perhaps develop a deeper understanding of the complexity it will take to integrate technology into our programs in the public schools. The recommendations provide several key steps that we can take without a burdensome cost. Some of these things are just doable. We just have to do them. And still, it's important for us to recognize that there are heavy requirements of testing, state reporting, electronic data management. Communication requires we have finely tuned, robust, and reliable capacity to meet our obligations. And also, well, it's not part of this report, some staffing that has to be done so that we can maintain these systems the way we need to. This is not a one-time thing. We'll do it. It'll be with us for a while in terms of the infrastructure, but there'll be many upgrades that will always be required as more things are added and more people are trying to do things and more devices are played with. But this is a very, very good investment. So I recommend, first of all, that you would read the executive summaries because that gives you enough of a background to understand what's being involved. Additionally, you'll find some materials that talk about the category two E-rate funding estimates. And under this program, we can access $398,100 of federal funds with a $265,000, $400 match. We're currently soliciting bids and completing E-rate applications. We will seek capital funding to meet this infrastructure need in the weeks ahead. It's clear that other things need to be done in terms of devices and equipment, but that's not part of this particular activity. If we don't do it this year, I have a feeling some of this stuff may not be available to school systems or libraries next year because of some of the domestic cutbacks that are being considered in Washington. So I'd like to act on this now. I'd like to let you know that we're working actively on this. Christine is working closely. uh, on the financial part and on the technical part as well with Steve Kelly of tech edge and, uh, look forward to moving this forward. Happy to take any questions and Christine's here as well.
[Roy Belson]: Well, we can do that if you want. Do we need to? We certainly, you know, want to move forward because, you know, we want to be able to file our applications and and take advantage of bids that are out there. But if you want to come into the hall, we can schedule it. We do are going to have a very busy schedule in the month of May and early June because of a number of things, including school council reports and the like, but happy to schedule it if this is what you want to do.
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: So what our plans are internally, of course, we're still refining them somewhat because we still have to figure out how much money is available to us operationally. But we will plan to buy devices with a regular budget in addition to some of the other things we've typically done, because in order to use the network, you have to have more devices. Probably a lot of Chromebooks. You'll see this in the school council reports. People are asking for these things. We need them for testing. We need them for reporting. There are a few other devices we will need. But the infrastructure is something that we can bond. And the infrastructure is something that we can get E-rate money for. And that's what we need to really go after right now, because that's money that we wouldn't typically put in an operating budget. So yes, you'll see substantial dollars put to this, plus there's also some staff needs. And we're going to have to try and put that in place and work that around as well.
[Roy Belson]: That's the plan. Christine, did you want to come up and comment on any of these things? Cause it's financial stuff that she's working closely with.
[Roy Belson]: Well, let's, let's go over this now. Okay. The federal government, we put this report in, we put an E-rate, you know, a funding request in every year, the general E-rate. This is tier two. Tier one, we generally get 50 to $60,000. It's changed a little bit because of the, change from telecommunications to other things. But generally, that's independent of this, okay? Tier 2 is a special infrastructure type funding that's designed to give us more robust capability. We'll put this in on May 11th, and then we've got to wait for the federal government to actually formally approve it, okay? But, you know, if we don't put it in on May 11th, and we don't put this in, we won't be eligible to ask for the money later on. So the actual spending process will take place after we have a more, more of a discussion on the details.
[Roy Belson]: You just want to get an authorization to move forward if you can, because otherwise you lose the opportunity to access it. And I'm willing to bet, not willing to bet, but I think it's a pretty good bet that this funding will start to disappear with the next federal budget. And I think if we don't act, we won't have this opportunity.
[Roy Belson]: People using. It's used. Some places will be more technologically involved than other places.
[Roy Belson]: McGlynn is two schools in one, remember?
[Roy Belson]: Well, just the way it is. I mean, some places use technology.
[Roy Belson]: Again, we're talking about a snapshot in time. We're talking about an attempt to find out the capacity of the network to handle traffic. And it was done on a few days here and there. It can't be done every day, because obviously we'd be paying a lot of money for a study that would happen every day. And it just happens this is what's coming through. So it gives us an idea of what traffic would look like on maybe a normal day, but maybe it doesn't totally reflect every day.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah. We can get some comment on that, and they'll follow me.
[Roy Belson]: So, John, where are you?
[Roy Belson]: You know, buildings and grounds obviously is a big area for us. And, um, you have a lot of interest in this and I just want to comment before John talks about his specifics. But, uh, as I told you in a prior meeting that it's my intent to augment the building repair of mine by 200,000, which would then be distributed among the schools for the various projects that we've all been talking about. Because quite frankly, the budget that we have will get used up for, general maintenance and it will be used up for things that, you know, go boom in the night. So this would give us some flexibility in doing some of the repairs. Now the major piece for the high school, we want to see where the SOI takes us, you know, and there's some other aspects of the high school which John will address, but the SOI is what we submitted to the MSBA and see where that goes because obviously if we get money from them, you know, that's going to be a a lot bigger amount than we would be able to fund ourselves internally. So there's a lot going on, but I wanted to have a chance to take a look at some of the things moving through this area. And John, you have your copy of your report? Okay. So why don't you talk a little bit about what's in your report and I'll be happy to augment it as we go. Mr. Benedetto.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I don't know. I mean, we have to sit down and have that discussion. I mean, you know, I think that, particular line item should grow, whether it should grow $200,000, $300,000, or $150,000 is something we can look at. It also depends to some degree on what else we can get funding for. So I think the concept is to put a few more dollars in this thing so we can address very specific topics that you have an interest in. And we can do it with assurance rather than have to wait to see how many things go bum in the night, which we have to deal with emergency funding. Like we did got a couple of pipes like this year and be here before and so on so forth So it would give us more flexibility, but how much that really depends on you know the projects we identify and where we go with it Mr. McLaughlin good evening mayor Burke superintendent Dawson committee so our district is 1.1 to 1.2 million square feet
[Roy Belson]: Whatever it is, you'll get a chance to vote on it.
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So this is a good opportunity for me to wrap a few things together and also talk about some of the things that just came up. The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed its initial version of the FY 2018 state budget last Tuesday, April 25th. The House version will now go to the State Senate for their deliberations, ways and means, and then the floor. And we would expect the Senate version to emerge sometime in late May. Since there will be differences between the two legislative bodies, there will be a joint conference committee consisting of three members from each chamber. And they'll try to reconcile their differences and then go to the full body in each chamber to get an up or down vote. They can't make changes once it comes out of conference committee. Then the changes, once it comes out from the full legislature, will go to the governor. The governor undoubtedly will veto some line items. The legislature historically will override most of his vetoes, give or take a few here and there. and the state budget should be completed sometime by the end of June. However, we have to start doing our budgets well in advance of that, so we start to look at what the House and the Senate will do, because typically there are pretty good guidelines as to what will happen. But we don't know. The Senate tends to be a little bit more financially generous than the House, although items vary from area to area. For the first time, the initial budget from the House exceeds $40 billion. It's actually less than what the governor proposed, slightly, but it still exceeds $40 billion to support the various line items and any new programs and services. But most of the new money goes to mass health, pensions, and a modest increase in local aid.
[Roy Belson]: Very limited. Okay. We'll go into some of that in a way, but 40% of the budget typically or more right now is mass health. So it gives you an idea of, you know, it may be $40 billion, but so much of it is eaten up by certain entitlements that, uh, there isn't a lot of discretionary funding. So the main limitation on the budget is the availability of money, uh, to support the various line items. any new programs and services, just like we're talking about right now. How much money is going to be available to do all the things that you think should be done? Most of the new money, as I say, goes for certain items. During FY 2016, the state found the budget was initially short $455 million. And this year, revenue, as the end of March, is running $220 million below estimates. April receipt should be higher. April is usually a very good month. The beginning of the month was good. But until we get the final figures, we don't know. But typically, we should be able to close a good portion of that gap. But closing that gap doesn't give us any surplus, doesn't give any excess. It just gives us a gap close. And there's no guarantee that how much money will come in, actually, in June, in May and June. Originally, the projection for this year was a 3.1% growth factor at the state level. And through March, it's 1.7%. Gives you an idea. And that's nationally, too. 2% growth is sort of like, you know, a hallmark. A study by the Federal Reserve explained that while Massachusetts unemployment was down, there was a significant drop in wages and hours worked. And that means that the overall personal income was lower. Spending was higher, most notably in the health sector. Additionally, a sales tax on merchandise was affected by increased online buying, for which there is no tax. Furthermore, it's impossible that the income tax rate will drop again because of the automatic trigger built into the state. The drop in the income tax cost the Commonwealth more of a billion dollars a year since that trigger was put in place. There appears to be no appetite for increased taxation Although there may be some proposal out of the Senate, as Senate President Rosenberg seems to put this forward a little bit. Although tax proposals have to emanate from the House first. Lastly, we can expect some cutbacks from Washington on domestic spending, including various education items. So the following items are things to think about in the house budget. And again, they haven't printed the whole house budget, so I can't get every nickel and dime figured out a hundred percent, but I've gone behind the numbers as much as I can. Chapter 70 is $30 per pupil in the house budget. Last year it was $55 per pupil. The governor's proposing $20 per pupil. That's approximately $145,000. Unrestricted municipal aid is up statewide by 40 million, but when it's distributed, it isn't that much. The special education circuit breaker was level funded in the house budget. It could be short somewhere between 10 and $15 million for full funding. And as more students qualify, there's a greater demand on this account. We're projecting less funding in fiscal 2017. We're in there in 2016. We've already given you some of those numbers in the last financial report. And there could be a further reduction in fiscal 2018. And that's for extraordinary special ed costs. So you have to pay attention to that. Charter school funding is level funded. We expect the statewide entitlement to be $60 million below need, maybe more, depending on how much expansion. Depending on the number of students who opt for charter schools, we could see an increase in our local cost, although I think we've leveled pretty well and we're bringing people back. But we also know that Washington is very heavy on pro-choice with Secretary DeVos, and we'll see what comes out of there for the choice issues in support of charter schools. Homeless transportation is level funded, 50% of what we think entitlement would be, if that. No funding, new funding came back for kindergarten. We lost $143,000 last year, and there's nothing in that line item this year. Out of district, non-resident transportation is cut. Could lose about $30,000 in that particular line item. And there's no new funding for technology that we've seen outside of what I presented this evening. We will be able to get some significant federal dollars, as I explained. The Department of Public Health funding should be reasonably stable. That funds a nurse and some of the work that's done on health prevention. Early childhood funding through the grant account is expected to lose 30% of current level as priorities shift from programs to workforce development support. In other words, increasing the salaries of people in the nonprofit sector and providing additional training for them because they're well underfunded. And it's certainly a worthy priority But they didn't say we'll do both. They said we'll take the money from the programs and move it over there. So there's a little bit more there, but it's not clear. So we just got through talking a little bit about maintenance and things of that type. There's a finite pot of gold out there. And you just can't say we'll just do everything. We'll try to provide you with options across the board so you can select. And hopefully, we'll continue to search out new sources of funding like we have with the vocational school and other things and opiate prevention to augment what we have. But the general distributions coming from the state place a tremendous burden on the locality. The cost of health care keeps going up. We just don't know, you know, where it's coming. We don't know what Washington's going to do and what's going to happen to that situation yet. It goes back and forth. And there are a lot of other factors that have to come into play. So we also have to carry at least a 2.5% increase in salary negotiations, which isn't outrageous, but it's money. And then you also have step increases that people who are starting, the young teachers move up the steps, that's on top of the 2.5. So there's a lot of factors. It would be easy for me to get up and say, sure, tell me whatever you want me to fix, tell me whatever you want me to do, go add this, add that. It's not that simple and you know it. You know, what it is is that we have to lay it all out and decide what's most important to us and move forward with that. I think there's a lot of great things going on in this community and go a lot of great things going on in the school system. Should be very proud of the work you've done. Very proud of the administration and city hall supporting us. However, you know, there will be some limitations and we'll have to make some tough choices, forced choices. So the budget process is beginning at the state house. We'll keep watching the Senate. We'll go up and lobby, you know, for other things. We'll talk to people about things. We'll look for additional grants, look for additional revenue. We've recaptured some revenue through the minute man activity, the revenue coming in through the vocational school, but still it's going to be spread out. So just wanted to give you a quick snapshot of the state budget so far. We'll keep you posted and we'll keep talking budget as we go forward and try to set priorities.
[Roy Belson]: OK, that's the Minuteman bus. OK. So in another year from now, we won't have a bus going to Minuteman. We're going to try and get a smaller vehicle, which may cost less. But if I lose the reimbursement for non-resident last year, two years ago, it was almost $3 million. Then it went down to half of that. And this year in the House budget, it's $250,000 for that line item.
[Roy Belson]: This year, there's about 16 students. Next year, I would expect eight.
[Roy Belson]: You could do it.
[Roy Belson]: So, you know, hey, listen, if you can't go one way, we'll must own the other way. How's that? OK? Very good. Thank you. You're welcome. What else?
[Roy Belson]: No, it's definitely an issue. Just so you know, the Medicaid funding is generated by students who are eligible through disabilities and the like. The money comes back. Short Collaborative is our broker, if you will, it comes back through it, but it goes into the city treasury. And as the mayor points out, it adds to the total pie that's then available for redistribution to the schools, to the city and other things. So it's factored into the overall who gets what kind of thing. You know, there's some people that say they wanted to come to them, but quite frankly, it's the same pot of gold we just simply work with. But it could be $400,000, $500,000 that we could lose. And the state could lose that much more because they're dependent on it as well. And that could drive the cost of health care right through the roof, which will also impact our employees as they have to pay more for health insurance and the like. And of course, that would bring them to the bargaining table, because next year, while we're covered for next year, bargaining for the successor contracts will start all over again. And as they lose money in terms of the health care costs and things of that type, they're going to be looking for something to make it up in salary. So all this stuff has triggers that are going to be thought about, planned. We've got to understand what it means. When we commence something going forward, we've got to realize it might have ripple effect multiple years down the road. It's not just, you know, any one year. It's that year, maybe, but then there's more going on down the road. And as it, as it stands now, we're, you know, we're using a lot of generated revenue to support our operations. Some point in time that generated revenue will hit a wall. We can only make so much at any given time. So there's all kinds of issues, but Washington, you know, is a, is a real black hole. You really don't know a lot of the programs. Title two is a, 150,000 go into salaries. That could disappear, you know, for class size reduction. Other programs like that for supplies, materials, bilingual, you know, money could come down. And as you can see, our population is significantly growing in that area. I think, you know, I think the issue of, and I know it's unpopular, the millionaire's tax is out there someplace, whether that actually goes through in a year from now certainly would be helpful. to the revenue pie, but then again, if that money gets generated, who will get it? The issue of any money generated through the marijuana bill, sales taxes, other things like that, all up in the air. There's a whole group out there that want to cut the sales tax. You don't want to bring it back down again. So there's a lot of discussions that are going on right now. You know, we've got to balance it all. So, you know, I love it when people come up and say, we need this and need that. And I, you know, and I really respect that because they're telling, they're advocating for what they want and that you should. But then our job becomes how to balance it out, how to, how to do as much as we can and fairly apportionate to the things that, you know, they're important to us.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. President, members of the council, good evening. I'm here tonight with Dr. Heidi Riccio, the principal director of the Medford Vocational Technical School. And she's going to go into some detail for you with regard to this particular capital skills program. The money was awarded by the governor recently. Contract was just signed the end of March. And there is going to be approximately $1.3 million of altogether between the state grant and in-kind contributions from various vendors and others of their money. But we need a $250,000 capital match to advance our culinary arts and hospitality program and our advanced manufacturing program. If you go up the technical school now, you'll see that the old print shop is now being deconstructed and being made into a first class hospitality and restaurant center. And you're also going to see the advance of the advanced manufacturing activity going on with robotics and engineering going on, things that were never really considered likely in a vocational technical school years ago. Dr. Riccio has done a terrific job putting all this together. We're very pleased that the governor saw his way to give us a half million dollars, and I'm going to let her go into details. You have some materials that we've given you previously, but also tonight she's added some supplementals that she can discuss with you so that you have an idea of what we're investing in. We think this is a terrific project. It's going to advance our activities technically. It's also going to help us partner with some very significant area individuals and corporations. And we think it's one of the best things we've ever done. So I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Riccio. Thank you, Mr. Belson.
[Roy Belson]: So before Heidi goes on a little bit, tonight she came down, she left school, left 200 members of the advisory committees, all 20, 10 per advisory committee up there, working on doing additional contributions and the like.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah. It's incredible up there. They're working up there, developing all kinds of ways to assist the school moving forward. It's incredible. It's absolutely incredible.
[Roy Belson]: No, we have a- No, meaning leave tonight. We have a bracelet on us.
[Roy Belson]: So what you have is you have a situation in which if a school district does not have a particular vocational program, a student from our community could opt to go to a regional vocational school which has the program. Now, the program that has absorbed most of our youngsters who have gone out of the district is Minuteman. And there's some to Essex Aggie and places like that for agricultural programs. But Minuteman has been the main thing. And there was as many as 50 youngsters out there a few years ago. And given their tuition rates and the like, with special ed assessments on top of it, we're pushing $1 million a year. Next year, we'll have, what, eight people out? We have eight people out, and the year after, there'll be zero. There were no applications that came in from Minuteman this year because we have programs that can't touch our young people because we have the programs in-house. In addition to that, with the expansion of what we're doing and working with Everett and some other communities that need a vocational program, we're actually going to be bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on tuition. So the turnaround in a short period of time could be close to $2 million. And that goes back to reinvesting in a school, because when you talk about technical education, you have to reinvest all the time. And you can't just simply say, well, the equipment is there, and it's going to be there for the next 50 years. It's not like bricks. It's got to be the state of the art. And we've got to be able to reinvest on a regular basis. And that's going to give us that capacity. It's going to give us that capacity to hire people who have a great deal of experience, rather than people who are starting out in careers. And that's going to change. the entire way we look at the future. So I think that sort of, I hope that answers your question. If you need more, I can tell you more.
[Roy Belson]: Well, the cost difference at eight students, probably a couple hundred thousand dollars, the most 150, you know, thousand dollars down from that in a year from now, that'll be gone altogether. The other thing that's probably very significant is that Minuteman is looking to rebuild its facility. They want to build a 628-pupil facility. They don't have 628 pupils to put in it. So as a result, the cost of that is going to be absorbed by the remaining towns. There were 16 communities that were in the Minuteman district. There are now nine, as seven communities opted to leave because they didn't want to be part of the capital plans. that Minuteman was going to assess. We're going to guess that some community is going to pay $40,000, $50,000 per pupil to go to Minuteman, because there's going to be a capital charge to go there. And we think it's not a very workable kind of thing. I think the state's going to have to intervene. But in the short term, we're out of that. We're gone. Because they were going to get the ability to assess a capital fee on top of the tuition fee, which could have been $10,000 on top of the tuition, which would have gone up to over $20,000. $35,000 per kid. Unrealistic. We got ahead of the curve. We saw it coming. That's why we were pushing back on the Minuteman issues a few years ago. And we're also saving transportation, because we won't be sending youngsters there. That's another $65,000 to $75,000 a year in transportation. So a lot of positives in that. And then, of course, the evening school programs that Dr. Riccio has started, bringing people in from the community to learn trades and other things like that. That's going to be another major thing. for not only revenue, but also to give our people a chance to gain the skills they need. You know, one of the discussions about jobs and creating jobs is giving people skill training, because you can't necessarily protect an industry which is no longer viable in this country by just simply saying, let's hope it comes back. You have to give people skill training so they can move on to the next industry. And another thing that she's done, which I think is particularly significant, she's clustered and created programs so that you're cross-trained. So if you're an HVAC in some of these other areas, you're learning multiple skills. So if one industry goes south, you've got capacity to move to other industries. And that's exciting. Not only is hospitality, you know, the restaurant, but it's the back of the house, it's the front of the house, it's all the maintenance of the house that goes with it. So it's a major, major industry that produces all kinds of jobs and allows people to move across the lines as they cross trains.
[Roy Belson]: You may want to tell them about the cooperative ed statistics.
[Roy Belson]: I mentioned the laborers, Lou Mandarini's shop has been incredible, training the youngsters in Hopkinton and developing things and guaranteeing jobs for them. As you know, the construction industry is booming right now, and they're being guaranteed some incredible opportunities right now. A couple of quick points on going outside, just to augment what Dr. Riccio said, is that we have to pay attention to Davis-Bacon Law, can't compete. with certain kinds of activities out there, because that's, it violates certain laws. We also have to be careful, because remember, a high school student can be 14, 15 years old, so certain power equipment that they use has to be regulated. There's all kinds of child labor laws and things like that that we have to pay attention to. So anytime we cooperate with someone or look for a job project, we have to all take all that in consideration. And anyone who wants to work with us has to get CORI checked and all kinds of other kinds of investigations to make sure that we're not sending somebody into a place where there's problems, whether they're alcohol, drugs, or, you know, safety issues and so on and so forth. So there's a lot of little things that you've got to pay attention to, but Heidi's on top of it and she's, she's been terrific. And Lisa has been terrific as has a whole group of them. They've really got a spirit of esprit de corps over there that's,
[Roy Belson]: It should also be noted too that next year, every ninth grader at the high school will explore shops at the vocational school. So we've set it up as one of their options. They will go through with that as an elective. It will take some time to see a shop in a rotation. We're working out the schedule right now. I'm not sure how many days or how many weeks you're going to put them in, but that's going to be part of their electives. They have a chance to see that and see it from, for example, when they take something like biotech or environmental science, it just crosses over. It just crosses over. There are kids who are going to go from the vocational tech MIT because of their ability to put it together.
[Roy Belson]: So I'm going to tell you one quick story. I went to the Roberts Junior High School. Never a quick story. Well, what can you do? I went to Roberts Junior High School. I'm going to read from a phone book next. And Ken Peck was the woodworking teacher. And I remember the name Ken Peck. But he was well before you. You're all too young. And Ken Peck was the woodworking teacher. And the goal was to make a game with a spinner on it, you know, a block of wood with different things on it. And I invented the first mini game. I could never get the block of wood to be square so the block could get smaller and smaller and smaller until the spinning just went beyond the wood. There was no wood left. It'd take off, right? Take it off. Al Johnson, who became the vocational director years ago, remember Al? Al became the vocational director. Kicked me out of sheet metal at the Roberts one year because he said, you'll ruin everything here. And I never got beyond the lazy brown Dog jumped all the way, the red fox jumped over the lazy brown dog and put me. So that wasn't my skill.
[Roy Belson]: Just one last comment, Mr. President, which is simply this, is that a couple weeks ago, I was here, and you voted to submit the SOI. That plays into this, too. There's going to be some incredible things moving out in the next little while. You're part of it. You've been part of it. The whole science labs. fields, other things that were done, all contributed. In the next period of time, you're going to see something that you probably couldn't have envisioned because of people like Dr. Riccio and others who are investing themselves, bringing real talent to the place, and with real vision, and with real, let's say, aggressive and assertive ways to get funding to augment what we get from the city. So thank you for your support because you've been there supporting it. We have to come to you for city money and we appreciate what you do to support us as well. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Minuteman, this year's rate was something like $17,500 plus $4,500 for special education. That rate will go up and the capital fee gets added. We project it's going to be at $30,000 in another couple of years. We're using a rate that is around $12,000 plus $4,500 or $4,000 for special needs, plus an administrative fee of about $1,500. So we're probably in the $15,000, $16,000 variety altogether. So it's definitely a good deal for our neighbors. At the same token, it provides us with substantial revenue. You understand the term marginal utility. When you've got so much space, it's already paid for. Everything else is extra. So, you know, we're not costing ourselves money by adding staff. We're just filling in where we could. get value with existing operations.
[Roy Belson]: Well, for a particular... Well, it depends on how many youngsters we have there, but, you know, with... Well, we have a hundred students, okay, in the building. When that actually is realized, we'll be seeing a hundred times, maybe a million and a half to two million. Hasn't started yet.
[Roy Belson]: I thought vocational students were already coming here from. They are, but there's, they are, but there's, I believe that's true. They are, but there's about 30 of those right now. There's a lot.
[Roy Belson]: Absolutely. Yes.
[Roy Belson]: There's an item for community participation, I believe.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee, uh, Tony Vento, our supervisor of health services is with us this evening for three different reports. This particular report is particularly significant since you may have seen some items in the newspaper today is latest today about opiate issues in Massachusetts. And, uh, Tony has prepared a report based on our initial screening on this pilot program. And I think it should be of strong interest to us with regard to how we're looking at, uh, screening our young people.
[Roy Belson]: Well, we don't have anything new. We certainly talked to DCR, but there's no new commitment from them at this point in time.
[Roy Belson]: No, just a quick thing on this one. Remember, this is a report you asked for. This is a follow-up report of a report that we previously gave you on the AED. So with specific names and specific discussions of where they're located. So it's a follow-up report to a previous report, but Tony is here to give you more detail.
[Roy Belson]: So, Tony, maybe you could explain the different sites that we think, you know, technically, I mean, a coach and a trainer could bring a unit with them to every field and every activity. They don't have to necessarily Because you see how portable they are.
[Roy Belson]: They could bring it with them. Right. I think what we're proposing going forward is that we have them actually on site at these places. So in case something happens and someone is not there with it. But since we have trainers and coaches going to every game, I'm not sure we're in a critical stage yet. But in the future, obviously we want to be in a situation where these things are automatically there. The downside to that is they have to be checked fairly frequently to make sure the battery's loaded. And that means people have to go to these places early to check them in advance. There's a lot of logistical work that's associated with that.
[Roy Belson]: How long is the actual battery charge good for, Tony?
[Roy Belson]: So in other words saying it's, you know, generally should be in good shape. But again, you know, we certainly wouldn't want to malfunction to be the outcome of anything.
[Roy Belson]: So one of the things that we, you know, obviously have to work with our partners, the people that we play sports with and so on and so on, and other school districts, is to have that conversation. If we go to their school, do they have things in place? If we're at other places, do they have things in place? Just like we're talking about the nurses on field trips and the like. We're going to be asking that question wherever we go. If there's something major going on, do you have facilities on site? So I don't know if you know this, but one of our former nurses used to get paid to go to the theater shows in Boston to sit in the audience just in case a nurse was necessary. The theaters didn't have their own medical staff, so they wanted someone there who was medically trained to intervene should a situation take place. I suspect we're going to have this conversation since the law not only affects Medford, but it affects every school district and every community across the commonwealth. It's going to be one of those discussions, do you have the right equipment? The same way with first aid kits, the same way with ambulance calls. We play a football game in a different field, we don't necessarily bring our ambulance, they have their ambulance in the field. So we have to obviously work out a lot of coordination.
[Roy Belson]: This report will be given in Italian.
[Roy Belson]: Years ago.
[Roy Belson]: So this is a report that you requested and it's listing. It's pretty obvious as to what's there. And, uh, We'll give you updates as they require.
[Roy Belson]: a couple of announcements.
[Roy Belson]: Did you want to say something else before we throw a couple of quick information pieces out there tomorrow night? I'm at the city council again, seeking matching funds for the culinary arts hospitality project. Um, you've got a breakout here. As you can see, we're putting in quite a bit of our own money and outside money as well as the state grant. Um, so there's 500,000 from the state is 813,000 in kind. And, um, we're asking the council and free cash for 250,000. So I'll be there tomorrow night. Um, and also, um, because next Monday is Passover, we inadvertently scheduled it for Monday night. We'd like to move it to the 24th. Uh, I scheduled, you know, just tentatively the 26th, but that may have some conflicts with the mayor and other things. So I'll get back to you for a meeting on, on the community schools. We'll get a date that works for all of you. And then we'll, looking to schedule a date. We'll check with the mayor's office and elsewhere, uh, for a community school and not community schools, a, uh, school council report night. Okay. So we have a committee of the whole on that. So just some of the dates that we're trying to juggle to make sure everybody can be in attendance. And I think we're good.
[Roy Belson]: The only thing I suggest is that those meetings tend to be very long. That's true. You might want a different meeting for that, just simply because those meetings are long as it is.
[Roy Belson]: Sometimes the same people, but that can go for a few hours. OK.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. Okay. We'd have to schedule as a regular meeting, but it's our special meeting that's put that way.
[Roy Belson]: You're talking about the PTO meeting being in council chambers? Yes.
[Roy Belson]: Loschuto.
[Roy Belson]: Roy Bellison, Superintendent of Schools, 2500 Mystic Valley Parkway, Medford, Massachusetts. Mr. President, members of the Council, thank you for hearing us this evening. The Medford School Committee recently approved a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, the purpose of which is to be very proactive and to find out, under the core program, that is funded by MSBA, what projects would be fundable for Medford High School, Medford Vocational Technical High School going forward? This particular SOI does not bind the city financially in any way. What it does is it enables the process to begin and to bring out a team from MSBA to sit with us to go over the various projects that may be possible and to determine what they would be considered eligible for possible funding going forward. Now, if in fact they identify projects that are eligible for going forward, we would then have to come back to you and talk to you about the possibility of doing a feasibility study, which would then possibly lead to design, and then later construction documents, which would then lead to an actual implementation. But at this point, all we're asking you for is approval to submit to the state an opportunity to meet with their team to review what we have at our schools and determine what is eligible for funding under their current funding structure. I think it's a very proactive thing. I think it's consistent with what I just heard about being part of a plan rather than simply asking for an item at a time. And I think that it's the kind of thing that we want to do to know what we can go forward with on our own or what we should go forward with on our own and what we clearly need support from the state for or could be eligible for support from the state. I think it's particularly significant since as we look at the future, inflation of construction costs certainly goes up. and the possibility of the reduction of reimbursement goes down as the city's wealth increases and our eligibility for a higher reimbursement rate might decrease. This is clearly something that would, if it goes forward, would be a two to three year activity. It wouldn't be something that would happen overnight, but it would be something that enables us to get into the discussion range with the MSBA. So with that, I just ask that the City Council approve what the school committee has already approved, allow us to submit a statement of interest to MSBA so that we can begin the process of exploring what might be helpful to us in Medford and what we can have the state share the cost of. Happy to take any questions.
[Roy Belson]: So there are two programs at MSBA that take place. One is called Accelerated Repair. That's not the program we're applying under. This is the core program for renovation and rebuilding and possible new construction. There are priorities. There are different seven priorities that the state lists that they would consider. We have selected four of them that we've brought in front of you. All the items listed may not be items we're interested in, but we put them down because if the state comes out, we'll talk about everything that's possible and see what their interest level is. So, for example, it's highly unlikely that we're interested in boilers because we just replaced the boilers, okay, at Medford High School. But we put it down because boilers lead to a discussion of heating systems. An important thing to talk about is an upgrade, if you will, of the fire alarm system. at Medford High School, it goes back to 1970. So it's clear that this is a good time to look at the fire alarm system. We know that the roof was replaced in 2001. We know that at some point in time, the roof is going to need a replacement. We think it's five, six years out. But if we got funding for it, it would be propitious to move forward with that. We know that the vocational school is moving into very high-tech areas. And anything that would allow us to improve our shops in ways that would enable us to offer state-of-the-art programs above and beyond what we're currently doing is an advantage. So anything that moves the show forward enables us to look at the things that would be useful going forward as something that we would like to explore. Another example would be the floor tiles. The floor tiles contain a certain amount of asbestos in them. Now, they're not dangerous because they're not friable, but you can't pick them up without an abatement, and an abatement costs a lot of money. So if we're going to have to change the flooring, if we're going to improve the flooring and things of that type, then we should have somebody else join with us and partner with us in the funding of it. So those are the kinds of discussions we would like to have. We certainly know that some things they'll tell us we're not high enough priority for because there are other places that are in greater need. But there are some things that might actually fly through and we'd like to find out what they are. And that will inform not only a funding proposal potentially going forward, which would then come before you again. But it also informs what we would then push for in local capital funding, which would be necessary to do. Technology is another major area, with testing now being done on computers, with reporting all being done on computers and data management and the like, it's critical that, you know, our technology be totally up to date and 100% that we continue to move forward with that area. That's an area that might be of interest to the state. We certainly would move forward with that. We've also applied or will apply under the e-rate program, the universal libraries program, and we think we're eligible for about $600,000 there on top of this. So these are things that we're looking at. We want to advance our possibilities. We want to put before you all the possibilities for outside funding that will complement local funding. And the only way we can find out is if we sit with the state in a formal process and review and explore what they would consider a priority for Medford. Thank you, Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Well, the SOI includes everything. The SOI just simply talks about everything possible. We would look at the entire building with MSBA and not leave anything out that they might consider eligible for funding. The school committee obviously wants to anticipate possible needs going forward, as I indicated, flooring, staircases, The fire alarm system, these are things, the roof, these are things that should be looked at because the building is going to be 50 years old in another couple of years. And we have a very solid building. It's not a building that needs to be replaced. You can't buy a CMU building anymore. with the kind of money out there. Somerville is, what, $250 million to replace a building? Minuteman is $155 million. Waltham's looking at a couple hundred million. We're not going to spend that kind of money. We have the solid structure, but we have to make sure the internal systems are going to be up to date so they can go for another 40, 50 years before someone has to consider whether this building has any further life. So that's sort of what we're looking at. I think the school committee wants to understand and hear what the state is willing to fund. And I think we have a very extensive list of just almost a laundry list of everything we would look at.
[Roy Belson]: It's on here. If you read through, you'll see the things that the school committee approved as things they would like the MSBA to look at.
[Roy Belson]: That it references. So under each of the four priorities to address, we list a whole series of things we'd like MSBA to look at with us.
[Roy Belson]: Those are one, the last two pages.
[Roy Belson]: March 16th. Yeah, well, my address is March 17th, mine's March 16th.
[Roy Belson]: Exactly. They would tell us, these are the things that we would consider funding with you. These are the things you're going to do yourself. Point of information, if I can.
[Roy Belson]: First we want to know who's going to join with us on what projects. And then the school committee, and then obviously you, because you have to bond with us, to determine which items will take precedence and priority. Because otherwise, you know, we have a plan that might avoid doing something that we consider more important and MSBA might not consider as a priority for them. But we have to begin to understand what they will fund so we can understand how many dollars we might have left to tackle other issues and go back and forth. Now it may be something they're willing to fund that we don't care to fund in the short term. We can keep it on the boards, but once they determine it's eligible, we can go back and apply for it. So the goal is to know what we can apply for so that we know which items have to be funded by ourselves and which items can be funded in partnership, and then to determine the prioritization and the timing of each of these projects.
[Roy Belson]: It really depends on what they determine eligibility. Somerville, when they're rebuilding the high school, I guess, is eligible for about $130 million. Okay? Now, we're not, I don't think we're in that category. We're looking at something much smaller than that. But clearly, whatever they determine we're eligible for, we'll put a price tag on it after we do some feasibility work. And then we can decide how much this community wants to invest at this particular point in time or going forward. But at least we know what our partners are willing to put up on the table so that we can give you an informed proposal for both local capital planning and partnered capital planning.
[Roy Belson]: So the school committee had several meetings on this topic. And it's our impression that while there are things to be done at every school, obviously you have to keep it up. The major issues will be going forward at the high school. High school is now the oldest major building in our possession. One of the things I told the school committee, so I feel comfortable sharing it here, is that in next year's budget, I will look to increase the amount of money put in for maintenance across the board so that we can do some of the things that people have raised independent of any capital planning and independent of any state-funded planning. We also have grants, as we've indicated before, that are also giving us money. For example, we got $100,000 or just under $100,000 in biosciences recently. We got a $500,000 grant in capital skills development from the state just the other day, a week ago Friday. And we've got some other grants out there they're looking for. There's about $600,000, $700,000 in technology funding that we are eligible for that we're putting together the proposed for. It's an entitlement as long as we meet certain requirements. So we're putting all of this together to come so that we can actually deal with issues with other people's money as much as possible, but certainly recognizing that not everything that we want to do will be eligible for funding by an outside agency.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So let me give you a couple of examples. Anyone who's been up to high school, by the way, with a lot of, and with your help, by the way, and I appreciate that, a lot of capital projects have been done, and I could enumerate them You know, at some point, if you're interested, the council has approved money for them, so I appreciate that. But let's take the locker rooms at the high school. You've been up to the locker rooms at the high school. You know they're old, and you know that they're not particularly what we want them to be. The girls' locker room, it is what it is. There's a lot of old things in there. There's a lot of old marble, old shower stalls. It's a lot of empty space, unutilized space. That needs to be redone. Because if it's redone, we'll recapture some space for other programming, and we can provide a state-of-the-art locker room for the young women to use it. The same thing is true with the men's locker room. We need to do that. It's just these are the things that are there. When you talk about a performing arts center, that may be a little aspirational, you know, in regard because, you know, we're talking about having a program that promotes the theater arts and promotes media and the like, but I don't know that we need to go to 1,000 seats right now. So that may be a little bit aspirational, but the people doing the thinking raised it and said, you know, let's put it down and let's see if there's some interest in doing more with that. I think those are the kinds of cafeteria right now. There's three cafeterias. It may be that we can reconfigure them, especially since right now, as you undoubtedly have heard, maybe read in the transcript recently, we're redoing the Cafe Electra into a brand new hospitality and restaurant suite with state money. And that's critical because that's going to be up on the first floor. That's going to be a restaurant for the public. That's going to tie into our partnerships with WIN, which is creating the casino up the street and developing job opportunities. That's going to tie into a whole pile of activities and revenue generating activities that will support other programs. And that will free up space where Cafe Elector is now. And we can do some other things with that. So this is a whole process of looking at how we can reconfigure space to our greatest advantage. Now the print shop, because they don't use the big presses anymore, can now go down to a smaller place. We don't have to give them the big cavern that they had because they don't use that anymore. That's not what printing is about anymore. So Dr. Riccio, for example, has created what we'll call clusters or academies. putting programs together, human service programs together, construction programs together, programs that deal with media and development together, so that they can interact with each other. So that a youngster, when they're trained, is cross-trained for more than one area. That creates great opportunities for our young people. Instead of being trained only in one area, you're trained in multiple areas. You may have noticed that we've virtually recaptured all the students from Minuteman. By next year, we'll have only eight students at Minuteman. We'll have saved a million dollars a year on that alone by putting these programs together. By bringing some students in from the outside, we're recapturing revenue, possibly projecting over two or three years a million dollars a year in new revenue coming into it. This is going to help us weather the storm, whether it's federal cutbacks, state failure to pay, or some of the local issues, the priorities that we have. So these are ways that I think we're moving forward, and I believe that Looking at our school at 50 years of age and looking for another 50 years from that building is a really good time to start and be proactive now. Plan, recognizing we've got to come back to you. You're not voting for money tonight. You're voting for planning tonight. You're voting to be proactive, to look and see what's possible. And that's what we were asking you to do. And I think it's a great opportunity. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: If we become eligible, we would then petition MSBA for the feasibility, a feasibility study for the specific projects that we determined were the priority that we wanted to go with them for, or with, and they would reimburse us At the same rate, they would reimburse the construction. So if the feasibility study was $500,000 and we're eligible for 50%, we'd get $250,000 back. We lay it out, but they reimburse us. I'm all set. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: It gets us in the game, and it allows us to consider our options, which I think is really important. Earlier this evening I heard you talking, you want to consider options, well you want to know who's going to pay for what. And if you've got somebody else who wants to pay for it, or will help you pay for it, you want to know that before you put your own money on the table.
[Roy Belson]: That's correct.
[Roy Belson]: Right.
[Roy Belson]: So I can't tell you that because basically we listed almost everything that we possibly could think of in the SOI. So it really depends on what the state determines would be eligible. I would say most of the things that we listed on that would be something we would discuss with them. There may be some things that they would say, that's your problem. You know, okay.
[Roy Belson]: They're all good questions. Thank you. Personally, I allowed the planning team at the high school to put down some of their aspirational things. Now, I don't personally think I need a 500-student cafeteria. Personally, I don't think that. But I wouldn't tell my people they can't ask for it and let somebody else tell them, we don't think we'd fund that, OK? So I don't think that's going to be something MSBA is going to be interested in, because I think they already know we have cafeterias. And they'd say, probably, why don't you just put a coat of paint on and do some other things? So I don't think that's an issue. Point of information.
[Roy Belson]: Again, as I said to you, the SOI is a planning document. It's to get you into an exploration process and to find out what the state is willing to pay for. So you put down everything to talk about, And you find out that they're going to discard a few things here and a few things there, and maybe several things, and say that's really not important enough to us. But we'll find out. The document that you had in front of you is really a document that was produced in September, or early on, based on what people thought at that particular time. Different things emerge. People want to talk about them. There are some ideas that the headmaster has, that the vocational director has, that, you know, we put it down so that we could explore them with the state. Not because we necessarily think that they're going to fund all these things. We want to get into an exploratory process to examine what is possible for partnership with state funding. And then we'll merge the documents. The key thing you have to remember is we have to come back to you for the money. And any amount that we're going to spend, you're going to prioritize along with the school committee. It's not going to be the superintendent who makes the final call. The superintendent might make a recommendation. But you're going to decide, and the mayor's going to decide, and the school committee's going to decide how much money you're willing to put on the table at any given point in time. But knowing what's eligible gives you a leg up on what's going on. And as far as the percentage goes, I know what other people are getting at this point in time. I know what the relative things are. The state's not going to commit to something before they see it. I know we fall in that basic line of where we would be eligible, because I know what the economics are between the different communities. It doesn't mean that it won't go down a little bit, because obviously the wealth of the community is increasing.
[Roy Belson]: I hear what you're saying, but I'm My experience tells me in meeting, because I've had these meetings before. As you know, we've had science labs. We've built new buildings and so on. My experience tells me that when we sit down with them, we'll focus in on the things that are high priority first. And then we'll look at whether any of these other things are possible. But they know the difference between a firearm system and a roof and a cafeteria. They know the difference. And they know where we would like to go first. This is an attempt to give everybody, every stakeholder, who was involved in the planning process of putting an SOI together, a chance to be heard, rather than say your idea is not worth being explored with the state. We're giving them a chance to be heard. But you know and I know that the state will zero in on firearms and roofs and heating systems long before they worry about the cafeteria.
[Roy Belson]: No, you sit down and you go over and they'll tell you what they would consider to be priorities, what they would consider to be something that they would consider to be of concern to them, what they would like to fund. I mean, after all, they're accountable to their funding agency and their board as well. So I think that they'd be more interested in a fire alarm system, a roof, heating systems, more so than some of the other things. But, you know, we're giving them all these things, and they might say, you know, we're doing something with this. Who knew a few years ago that they were going to be funding science labs? But we put it in front of them, and we got it. You know, you have to try all these things. You put it in front of them. You say, are you interested in this? Could you consider this to be a reasonable investment? Maybe someone's going to say, yes, you know, we've got an interest in this at this point in time. So we're moving forward with a planning process. That's all we're doing tonight, asking you to allow us to go forward proactively and find out what the state wants to prioritize in our community. And this is going to take probably two to three years to actually actualize. In the meantime, that will inform, you know, our other capital planning that may have to be locally funded. And we will form also our maintenance issues, which will be locally funded. So, and then grant applications we make. If someone were to say we can't get grants for this, you know, for example, we built the, we're building the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Center. That wasn't gonna be funded by MSBA. But we got a grant to do it. So we have to know where we have to go. We have to know what's possible under what set of funding and what's possible under other sets of funding. And then we can then lay it out. And of course, we're going to have to work with you and the school committee for any kind of local money that's going to be needed to move the project forward. This isn't you say yes tonight, and I go off and do whatever I want. This is you say yes tonight, we get the process going, and then we come back to you and sit down. And it should be a robust process, because the city wants to move forward on some good projects, not only in the schools, but in the city. And we look forward to that.
[Roy Belson]: No, because I don't know, you know, the extent to which any of these things would be funded.
[Roy Belson]: What is the actual cost of your SOI request? You know, I wouldn't want to, you know, give you a guess right now, because quite frankly, it depends on the extent to which you do them. You know, and any one of these things might be a partial thing, maybe some windows, maybe some doors, and maybe not all, maybe all doors. I don't think we, you know, we can do that right now. When we get back from a planning process, and we get to a financial phase, then we can do that. That's the most prudent way to do it, not to throw speculative numbers out there right now. And if people come and say, look, that's too much at any one time, then that'll be too much at any one time.
[Roy Belson]: I'd be prepared to come back to you to tell you what your options are and to allow you to decide what the finances of this city is willing to support in support of your public schools. That's all, just like anything else. We come to you with a budget. We come to you with other kinds of financial things. You can tell us how much more you want to put into it. But you know, for example, in five or six years, you're going to replace a roof at the high school. You are going to do it. The question is, who's going to pay for it? But if we are eligible to get somebody to share that with us, why not find out now? You know that there are some heating things that we want to do at the high school that we should do. If you don't do them in the next few years, you'll end up paying for it. So we should find out if we have a partner. And so on and so forth. We know that technology is moving at a rapid rate. And if we know that it's going to be expensive to increase all the technology that's going to be required of public schools, So if someone's willing to partner with us, great. You'll know that. That gives you those things. But you can decide that, you know, I'm not interested in a performing arts center, and I'm not interested in an expanded cafeteria, and I don't really care about some other things you're interested in. So even though someone's willing to partner with us, it's off the table for Medford because we have other things we want to do. My job is to give you options. My job is to give you an opportunity to look at it.
[Roy Belson]: Well, what I'm telling you is I'm telling you it'll take two to three years to get through the process to actually get construction going on something, any project that gets approved and the like. But we won't even get to design feasibility and design until we come back here and talk about what the state is interested in. And in the feasibility period, that's when you will make some decisions before we actually go forward with a final number. I mean, the reality is that some things will be done over five years, some things may be done over 10 years. The reality is to find out what we can get some funding for and what we can get support for.
[Roy Belson]: And we're at such an early stage. I know that. And quite frankly, look, you get hit with a lot of decisions that require you to make tough decisions on money. on policies, on zoning, on any number of issues. You can't hide from, not that you want to, from making tough decisions that make some people happy and some people less happy.
[Roy Belson]: I said I respected the right of the planning team to forward things that I consider to be, that they consider to be important to them, because I want to respect my administrative team and the teachers and others who participate. You're the educational leader of this community, Mr. Superintendent, and sometimes you have to make the tough decisions. And I like the participation of people. I don't have to make all the decisions myself. But the reality is that nothing is going to go forward financially unless you decide you can afford it. Nothing's going to go forward. We're trying to explore who wants to partner with us. And you know that the most important things will be systems that are important to the school. The operation of the building will get higher priority than some of the things that maybe are aspirational. You know that. So if you decide that certain things aren't something you want to fund, then you say, well, put that off for a couple of years. But certainly, you're going to face a roof. Certainly, you're going to face technology. Certainly, you're going to deal with other systems, heating systems and other things like that. And if we don't get in the game now, it'll be longer. before we get funding, and if we don't, and if the funding dries up because of the Commonwealth not being able to keep things moving, you see the green line, other things like that, we talk about these things, and it keeps getting pushed off, keeps getting pushed off. Let's get in the game, and then you can decide whether or not it's something you desire as a priority. That's what we need to look at. I think it's my job to put it in front of you. I hope it's your job to, or I hope it's your willingness to let me find out what's possible going forward.
[Roy Belson]: I would agree that restrooms are something that should be addressed, yes. How come they're not part of the SOI? Because they're part of the general building envelope. That's something that we can talk about. They're part of the plumbing. They're part of the heating system, believe it or not. It's all part of the same consideration. And just because something isn't written here doesn't mean we can't talk about it with the team that comes out from MSBA. If we think of other things, we can say, you know, by the way, we'd like you to look at this as well. This is to get them, to give them an idea of which communities are interested in seeking partnership with the state.
[Roy Belson]: We can talk stuff, yes. We can talk with them about it. Maybe they'll let us add, maybe they won't. But I'm sure they would consider some of the things that we would bring up.
[Roy Belson]: I guess I'm a stakeholder. That would be my addition. I certainly would bring that up in any kind of discussion, but I can tell you that I don't share your full assessment of our bathroom facilities. There may be a few that need some additional work, but there's a lot of them that work very well. They're in good shape and are being cleaned on a regular basis.
[Roy Belson]: So we can go back and forth on that.
[Roy Belson]: So for the record, I'm going to tell you the high school is a safe place. There's always more we can do to improve it. And some of the things we have here will add dimensions that we can't do by ourselves.
[Roy Belson]: I think that the school committee would meet to talk about that. And we could sit together, because I'm not going to speak solely for them. They have a right to determine what they would consider priorities within this list. And they're not going to meet for another two weeks. And so I think that that slows this down. This is due in a very short period of time into the state. And I think that we can always send you a priority list afterwards. But the things we would prioritize in our discussions with the state. But I think you should allow us to go forward and to get this going. I mean, it doesn't hurt. You're not committing anything in terms of money. You're just allowing us to submit an application to the state so that we can be heard with their team that evaluates issues. And they won't even get to us for a couple of months, I'm sure. They won't even get to us for a short period of time. But having said that, we have to be in. Because there are other communities going to submit as well. And if we're not in, we don't get any consideration. So I think I'll be happy to bring that up with the school committee to give you some sort of what they consider priorities within this list. But I don't think you should stop it tonight.
[Roy Belson]: I certainly have no problem with any of that. I think, you know, look, let's not kid ourselves. Any project to go forward needs a school committee, needs the mayor, needs the city council, and needs the state. So there's a lot of deliberation that's going to have to take place and a lot of prioritization that's going to take place. But if you're only asking me to go back to the school committee and sit down and ask them to tell you what's most important to them, happy to do that. I think that that's a good thing. But I don't think we should stop getting in on the into the state with this so we can continue to move and get them to come out to us sooner rather than later. Because everybody's going to be submitting. And if we're the last one in the door, maybe our review date doesn't happen until August, September, October, whatever the case may be.
[Roy Belson]: I respect your right to make those decisions, and, you know, I understand them. I mean, I'm not a rookie. I've been here a long time, and I've been in and out of these meetings many times, asking for funding and other forms of support. So I respect that. But it's important that you know your options, and that's all I'm asking you to know. Know your options.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Mr. President, just one quick thing to counsel, if I may. Just that we did an infrared study of the high school roof. We will repair those things that need to be repaired for about $25,000 this summer. OK, that's about all we need to do. The long-term renovation or repair or reconstruction of the roof is five to six years out. And, you know, if we were to take it to the end. So that's really where we're at. We had a couple of very difficult snow periods a few years ago where shoveling was required on the roof to avoid collapse and the like that may have done some damage in certain areas, and we need to repair those. But other than that, the roof's got another five, six years.
[Roy Belson]: Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. So Mr. President, if I could just respond. I mean, I feel I have to. The document you're referring to in September was a different document. That's the capital plan that came from the mayor through the school committee. The document you have in front of you was approved by the school committee on February 6th after a committee of the whole meeting that they had the week before on that. And you received it, what do you call it, tonight. because, what do you call it, you were busy dealing with other capital considerations, in particular the police station and other things like that, so they confused those two items. But the reality is that that's the two things. And the other point I guess I would make is that the state has a form. We filled out the form. You don't add to the form. We'll be happy to provide that priority list to them, but the form is the form. That's what you submit. You don't add things to an application that is not required. I think that would be not consistent with the way you make a submittal. But certainly, we respect the right that the council has asked, and we certainly will honor that, to come up with a priority list, provide it to you, and provide it to MSBA, as part of the discussions that take place. Thank you. Councilor Dello Russo.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: The MSBA opens up a window for statements of interest in January and then expects it to follow through by the April date. They actually pushed it out a little bit this year. Normally it's in March, but they open up the window for the SOIs in January.
[Roy Belson]: As amended, Mr. Belson, do you want to finish up with anything? I just want to finish a couple of quick statements, if I may, with your permission. First of all, some of the things that were quoted were quoted as the priorities of the state. When they say the building structurally unsound, that's not what we're saying. That's what the state is using as a category for things that you can put things under. When the building says that the renovation of schools such as roofs, that's what they're saying you can ask for. That's not what we're saying is our need. That's the first thing. As far as handicapped accessibility, we put in three elevators, ramps, we've made the Little Theater or the Karen Theater now handicapped accessible. The building is handicapped accessible. There are a lot of things, and with all due respect to, I understand there's a give and take here, but the reality is that a lot of improvements have been made to that high school and that technical school, and you have helped to pay for it over the years as a city council and as a school committee. The school committee had a right, when this thing came out, to deliberate and determine what it considered to be important and to talk about it. And they had a committee of the whole. And they then had a follow-up meeting where they voted it. You're getting it. And all we're asking is for you to allow us to submit it so we can then begin a process of finding out what's possible. And then we can have a more robust interactive process between council, school committee, mayor, administration, to determine what this city considers important, what this city wants to fund on its own, what this city wants to partner with, and what we're going to do in what time frame. And that's all we're looking for tonight.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor Burke, members of the committee. Nicole Chiesa, Dr. Nicole Chiesa is here. She's the head of the department which oversees the Ethics Bowl team and the Ethics Bowl team is here. They've been very successful. They won the Tufts, they won the regional, and now they have an opportunity to go to the nationals and compete with 23 other school systems across the country. And I wanted to give this report, and then we'll make arrangements possibly to send the team to Chapel Hill to come back with a trophy for Medford
[Roy Belson]: Members of the committee, Thomas Sutherland, the husband of Jean Barry Sutherland, would like to make a major donation to Columbus school area site, uh, in memory and in honor of, uh, former principal, Jean Barry Sutherland. Uh, the gift would be a bench and a plaque to be installed on the Columbus ground. So we recommend that you accept it. Mr. Sutherland is here, I believe. No, no, I don't think so. I don't see him.
[Roy Belson]: So as we get into this time of year, people ask the question frequently, When will school start? What will be the vacation periods and the like? And this is a draft that requires your approval. I'm gonna call on our deputy superintendent to go over the particulars and to tell you why we picked certain dates the way we did.
[Roy Belson]: So let me just answer that. By rule, with the Department of Ed, we have to make allowance for five days, but we actually have another seven days if we needed it. So we really have 12 days available to us, not counting if we were to reclaim a professional day. So remember, if the last day with five days is the 20th of June, you still got to the 30th of June if we actually needed it. So we've really built in quite a bit of protection.
[Roy Belson]: We can put a one-liner in the notice out there.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, we should do five. We built in probably 11 days.
[Roy Belson]: We can put a statement and should, you know, we require more days because of snow or other inclement weather or other reasons.
[Roy Belson]: So our deputy superintendent, our assistant superintendent have led the charge in putting this program together. It's done with a great deal of input from the teachers and others, and it's a lot of work involved. So, uh, congratulations to both of them putting together a very interesting day and let them tell you about it.
[Roy Belson]: So we begin the process now of looking at pre-budget reports. Tonight starts and we'll turn it over to our deputy superintendent to introduce this first report.
[Roy Belson]: So we had a meeting. God, I take the motion. Second.
[Roy Belson]: So we had a meeting today on a number of issues, including certain elements of technology. And this came up and the feeling was, is that the teachers are making, Very, very good progress in most instances using school brains to report out. Nothing is 100%, I'm sure. But I'll try to get a better, more definitive report for you.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I think any program can be moved. And really, principals have to weigh in as to whether they believe it would be effective for them or whether they want to do something else. So the Andrews uses things like Study Island and other things like that. So we want to give principals some degree of autonomy to make decisions that they believe are in the best interest. It could very well be that they adopt something from another school that they believe would work for them too. So we'll check into it. We'll get back. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: Let me check on it to make sure that I understand what really isn't working or what is slower than might be desired or you know, an upgrade or whatever the case may be, but we'll certainly give you a report back.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor, members of the school committee. You know, on February 22nd, 2017, the federal government, using an executive order from the president, rescinded guidance and determined that Title IX's prohibition on gender identity discrimination was null and void. The president took the position that the protection of transgender rights should be left to each state. Massachusetts law already protects the rights of transgender students in schools. Chapter 199 of the Acts of 2011 went into effect in July 2012. The Medford School Committee approved a local policy affirming the Massachusetts law on April 11, 2016. We had taken a previous position on the 13th in 2013, but we updated in 2016. In your packet, you have information from Mike Long, who is the legal counsel to the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. You have guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. You have your own policy, the Medford Public Schools Policy, that was adopted in 2016. You have some guidance from the MTA, the Largest Teachers Union, and you have a copy of the bills that were enacted. Clearly, in Medford, And clearly, throughout Massachusetts, transgender rights are protected. Sometimes federal laws supersede, but not in this instance. Because in this instance, the executive order said, let the states decide. In this instance, the state has decided, and we have an active plan in place And at this point, we have really no problems with what we've done and what we're doing in our schools. So I want to bring you up to date on that. I would like to, if I can, Mayor, also comment on the immigration rules, because I believe that's also tied to equal access to education, which is part of the same vein of thinking as the transgender rule. I've given you an advisory from Mara Healy, the Massachusetts Attorney General, on equal access to public education for all students, irrespective of immigration status. In Massachusetts, the Supreme Court of the United States recognized Brown versus Board of Education, and it is true today as it was back in 1953. The advisory that the Attorney General has provided you is very, very clear. There has been a case in Massachusetts, Filer v. Doe, in 1982, where the Supreme Court held that public elementary and secondary schools may not deny any child residing in the applicable jurisdiction access to public education, whether the child is present in the country legally or not. Filer made it clear that a child's immigration or citizenship status, or that his or her parents are guarding, is not relevant to the child's right to a public education. So, irrespective of any rulings that come down, Massachusetts law, states rights, made the decision that we will accept anyone who resides in our community. We will not ask them what their status is, visa or otherwise. We will not pursue anything other than the fact they are not living in the community. If they're not living in the community, it's a residence issue. But if they're living in the community, whether they're living with their parents or they're residing with some other responsible adult, we will provide them free and public access to our educational system. So I want to clarify that I am not allowed to ask what a person's visa status is. I'm not allowed to ask what their immigrant status is. I'm not allowed to ask for some of these things. And in fact, in some instances, there are people that are homeless, and I might have to accept that just simply based on homelessness. We just had a webinar today on homelessness that dealt with foster children. More guidance is coming out on that. So I want to make it clear that we're an equal opportunity school system, whether it's transgender or immigrant status. If a youngster resides in our community, they're entitled to free access to our public education system, and that's the way we will treat them. Happy to take any questions.
[Roy Belson]: An automated defibrillator, or an AED, is a medical device that will analyze heart rhythms and can deliver electric shocks to help a heart reestablish an effective rhythm during a sudden cardiac arrest. The American Red Cross recommends that AEDs be readily available and applied within four minutes of cardiac arrest. Now, under this law, We have to have trained people on staff. We do. We have nurses, we've trained our coaches, and we'll train even more people to use these items. Tonight, we will have a moment of silence from somebody who could have used one. Obviously, this is important. It's good to know that we're ahead of the curve. We have them in every school. We'll review them to see whether or not we should be adding. We have had good fortune working with our ambulance providers and others who have donated equipment to us. They get checked every day for battery effectiveness, and we have to keep that up because you never know when the equipment's there, but the battery doesn't operate, so you have to check this on a regular basis. And we have to continuously train people. So I want to make sure you're aware that we're in compliance with this law well in advance of its implementation. But there's obviously more work that we will do to make this a more efficient and effective system for utilization should it be necessary.
[Roy Belson]: It will be brought by coaches and trainers. We'll have them available on the fields.
[Roy Belson]: I think it's important to recognize that I don't want people who are afraid to use this thing to use it.
[Roy Belson]: I want people only who are comfortable using it to use it. There are some people who... Who are certified. Yeah, and certified. You know, there are some people who would be very uncomfortable taking this device off the wall and using it.
[Roy Belson]: Every building will have people, and we can provide you with a list of who's trying to use it.
[Roy Belson]: I just want to be careful that we have sufficient numbers, but that we don't put people in situations of doing things that we're uncomfortable doing. It's very different than an EpiPen. A lot of people can use an EpiPen very effectively.
[Roy Belson]: I understand what you're saying. I just want to make it clear that this isn't one of those things like CPR that everyone is going to be trained in. It's something that you really want to make sure that the four or five people in the building who are the go-to people are the people that are really comfortable using a device like this. This is a very sophisticated device.
[Roy Belson]: I don't know that, but I will check that. I don't know that, but I'm told by Tony Vento that they check them every day and that's their, one of their responsibilities. Now, Could it be that one day went by when they didn't entirely possible, but we will certainly reinforce that. But I want to make sure that, you know, the people that use this know what they're doing, but we'll provide that.
[Roy Belson]: Four minutes is the guideline from the point of which the heart stops. It's not for the person starting to feel chest pain or starting to feel dizzy or things of that type. So it's tricky. I mean, obviously, you know, we have a 500,000 square foot high school. You know what I mean? And things can happen anywhere. But obviously, you know, our goal is to get people to the scene as quickly as possible. Same thing with CPR. Same thing with any other. with EpiPens, anything that requires a medical intervention to get them there as quickly as possible. I'll go over it with Tony and with other people and see exactly if we can give you more specifics as to how they would respond.
[Roy Belson]: I'll sit with Tony, and let's go over a list of people who are more likely to be available and capable. And then we'll approach them and try to add to the list. But it's unlikely that we're going to be able to get every person in every corner, nor should we try, because I think inappropriate application is more dangerous than none at all.
[Roy Belson]: You asked for a report that broke it out by actual classes. You have that report in front of you. It was appended to the previous report. It shows you what each teacher has as of the same date that the previous report was provided. I'm happy to take any questions.
[Roy Belson]: If a youngster comes from a substantially separated class, they come with the teachers or the staff that's with them. So these numbers could, during the day... A number could increase mostly for gym or for some of the larger activities, but certainly not for classes that are substantially contained.
[Roy Belson]: Although occasionally a youngster may try, they may try to put a youngster in a class.
[Roy Belson]: The other thing you got to keep in mind is on any given day, you know, with not to say that we encourage this, but any given day, a hundred percent of the pupils aren't always in attendance. So if you have 20 youngsters in the class, you might have 18 on a given day, you know, on that day and then another day you might have all 20. So it just depends on who's there on any given day as well.
[Roy Belson]: So just so we have one understanding that we have to have all the time, I never send anything to the civil city council like this until you get it first. Right? So, It may be a little bit of a wait sometimes when they ask for something like this, but you always get it first before they get it.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. And then we send it through the council just so you understand the process.
[Roy Belson]: So this policy was in front of you earlier and we took it back to review it to make sure there were no situations that we were missing using current, you know, let's say legal opinions that were out there. We vetted it at this time. We believe that this is ready to go. So I recommend that you approve it.
[Roy Belson]: There will be. When a person gets in the States, they sign off on the
[Roy Belson]: If you look on the cover page, all users must sign off on the reasonable use policy each year.
[Roy Belson]: then we'll work on distribution.
[Roy Belson]: The unions to come in and work with us until they're ready. We can't, I can't, we should expect something very soon.
[Roy Belson]: So I'm just going to answer what I answered before until the hall straightens out the accounts. I'm not going to give you a report where commingled money is, it can't be, can't be separated out so I can actually give you an accurate report. They're working on it. We have major changes in the financial administration of the city and major change in the financial administration of the schools, and they're working on that right now. I would hope to have it soon, but as late as last week, I'm down there talking to the people in the city hall trying to get that broken out so we can give you an accurate report. The good news is that we're not in jeopardy of anything financial. The bad news is, what do you call it, I'm still trying to get this separated out so that you can see each account very cleanly as opposed to having four or five accounts somehow consolidated together which doesn't give you a real picture.
[Roy Belson]: Soon as it, as soon as I get the numbers, the way they should be given to me, I will be happy to give you the report and I hope it's soon.
[Roy Belson]: So I want to thank Anne-Marie Cugno and the Italian Consul General, Nicola De Santis, for Italian Day. It was a great event up at the high school. It was exciting, and the youngsters enjoyed sitting in the Ferrari and the Maserati and listening to La Traviata and maybe sampling some food from Italy to getting a sense of Italian culture. I think it was a great day. Dovetailed with the science fair, with a few other things going on. with Dr. Seuss. A lot going on in the public schools. You have a March handout from Lisa, which gives you some activities in March. It's very busy. You can't make everything, but the ones you can make, it's worth it. And there's a lot of good things going on in the schools. And in our next meeting, there'll be a number of other presentations to students who have achieved some exciting things. And we want to recognize them. in public and we will do that on our meeting on the 20th. A lot of good stuff going on. You did get a handout tonight from the actual presentation by the governor on Friday of the $495,000 grant for the culinary arts and the hospitality program. Expect another major announcement coming up this week, possibly later this week or early next. Another major grant which dovetails with our SOI uh, requests and other requests of, uh, for funding for capital planning. Uh, we'll be working on when we go to the council fairly soon and, uh, we'll get back to you and let you know what's going on.
[Roy Belson]: And you also have something on middle school mathematics night pathways to high school mathematics. important because a lot of people aren't sure of how the progression of courses take place. And I think that this is a good opportunity for people to become aware of that so that there's no misunderstanding of what a youngster can take for coursework.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor Burke, members of the committee. Nicole Chiesa, Dr. Nicole Chiesa is here. She's the head of the department, which oversees the Ethics Bowl team and the Ethics Bowl team is here. They've been very successful. They won the Tufts, they won the regional, and now they have an opportunity to go to the nationals and compete with 23 other school systems across the country. And I wanted to give this report, and then we'll make arrangements possibly to send the team to Chapel Hill to come back with a trophy from Medford.
[Roy Belson]: Members of the committee, Thomas Sutherland, the husband of Jean Barry Sutherland, would like to make a major donation to Columbus School area site in memory and in honor of former principal, Jean Barry Sutherland. Um, the gift would be a bench and a plaque to be installed on the Columbus ground. So we recommend that you accept it. Mr. Sutherland is here, I believe. Nope. Nope. I don't think so. I don't see him.
[Roy Belson]: So as we get into this time of year, people ask the question frequently, When will school start? When will be the vacation periods and the like? This is a draft that requires your approval. I'm gonna call on our deputy superintendent to go over the particulars and to tell you why we picked certain dates the way we did.
[Roy Belson]: So let me just answer that. By rule, with the Department of Ed, we have to make allowance for five days, but we actually have another seven days if we needed it. So we really have 12 days available to us, not counting if we were to reclaim a professional day. So remember, if the last day with five days is the 20th of June, you still got to the 30th of June if we actually needed it. So we've really built in quite a bit of protection.
[Roy Belson]: We can put a one-liner in the notice out there.
[Roy Belson]: We should do five. We built in probably 11 days.
[Roy Belson]: We can put a statement and should, you know, we require more days because of snow or other inclement weather or other reasons.
[Roy Belson]: So our deputy superintendent, our assistant superintendent have led the charge in putting this program together. It's done with a great deal of input from the teachers and others, and it's a lot of work involved. So congratulations to both of them putting together a very interesting day and let them tell you about it.
[Roy Belson]: So we begin the process now of looking at pre-budget reports. Tonight starts and we'll turn it over to our deputy superintendent to introduce this first report.
[Roy Belson]: So we had a meeting. God, I take the motion. Second.
[Roy Belson]: So we had a meeting today on a number of issues, including certain elements of technology. And this came up and the feeling was, is that the teachers are making, very, very good progress in most instances using school brains to report out. Nothing is 100%, I'm sure, but I'll try to get a better, more definitive report for you.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I think any program can be moved. And really, principals have to weigh in as to whether they believe it would be effective for them or whether they want to do something else. So the Andrews uses things like Study Island and other things like that. So we want to give principals some degree of autonomy to make decisions that they believe are in the best interest. It could very well be that they adopt something from another school that they believe would work for them, too. So we'll check into it. We'll get back. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: Let me check on it to make sure that I understand what really isn't working or what is slower than might be desired or, you know, an upgrade or whatever the case may be, but we'll certainly give you a report back.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor, members of the school committee. You know, on February 22nd, 2017, the federal government, using an executive order from the president, rescinded guidance and determined that Title IX's prohibition on gender identity discrimination was null and void. The president took the position that the protection of transgender rights should be left to each state. Massachusetts law already protects the rights of transgender students in schools. Chapter 199 of the Acts of 2011 went into effect in July 2012. The Medford School Committee approved a local policy affirming the Massachusetts law on April 11, 2016. We had taken a previous position on the 13th in 2013, but we updated in 2016. In your packet, you have information from Mike Long, who is the legal counsel to the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. You have guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. You have your own policy, the Medford Public Schools policy that was adopted in 2016. You have some guidance from the MTA, the Largest Teachers Union, and you have a copy of the bills that were enacted. Clearly, in Medford, And clearly, throughout Massachusetts, transgender rights are protected. Sometimes federal laws supersede, but not in this instance. Because in this instance, the executive order said, let the states decide. In this instance, the state has decided. And we have an active plan in place. And at this point, we have really no problems with what we've done. and what we're doing in our schools. So I want to bring you up to date on that. I would like to, if I can, Mayor, also comment on the immigration rules, because I believe that's also tied to equal access to education, which is part of the same vein of thinking as the transgender rule. I've given you an advisory from Mara Healy, the Massachusetts Attorney General, on equal access to public education for all students, irrespective of immigration status. In Massachusetts, the Supreme Court of the United States recognized Brown versus Board of Education, and it is true today as it was back in 1953. The advisory that the Attorney General has provided you is very, very clear. There has been a case in Massachusetts, Filer v. Doe, in 1982, where the Supreme Court held that public elementary and secondary schools may not deny any child residing in the applicable jurisdiction access to public education, whether the child is present in the country legally or not. Filer made it clear that a child's immigration or citizenship status, or that his or her parents Our guardian is not relevant to the child's right to a public education. So irrespective of any rulings that come down, Massachusetts law, states rights, made the decision that we will accept anyone who resides in our community. We will not ask them what their status is, visa or otherwise. We will not pursue anything other than the fact they are not living in the community. If they're not living in the community, it's a residence issue. But if they're living in the community, whether they're living with their parents or they're residing with some other responsible adult, we will provide them free and public access to our educational system. So I want to clarify that I am not allowed to ask what a person's visa status is. I'm not allowed to ask what their immigrant status is. I'm not allowed to ask for some of these things. And in fact, In some instances, there are people that are homeless, and I might have to accept that just simply based on homelessness. We just had a webinar today on homelessness that dealt with foster children. More guidance is coming out on that. So I want to make it clear that we're an equal opportunity school system, whether it's transgender or immigrant status. If a youngster resides in our community, they are entitled to free access to our public education system, and that's the way we will treat them. Happy to take any questions.
[Roy Belson]: So effective July 1, 2018, all schools must have automated external defibrillators on site. The good news is we have them in every one of our schools. An automated defibrillator, or an AED, is a medical device that will analyze heart rhythms and can deliver electric shocks to help a heart reestablish an effective rhythm during a sudden cardiac arrest. The American Red Cross recommends that AEDs be readily available and applied within four minutes of cardiac arrest. Now, under this law, We have to have trained people on staff. We do. We have nurses, we've trained our coaches, and we'll train even more people to use these items. Tonight, we will have a moment of silence from somebody who could have used one. Obviously, this is important. It's good to know that we're ahead of the curve. We have them in every school. We'll review them to see whether or not we should be adding. We have had good fortune working with our ambulance providers and others who have donated equipment to us. They get checked every day for battery effectiveness. And we have to keep that up because you never know when the equipment's there, but the battery doesn't operate. So you have to check this on a regular basis and we have to continuously train people. So I want to make sure you're aware that we're in compliance with this law well in advance of its implementation, but there's obviously more work that we will do. to make this a more efficient and effective, uh, system for utilization. Should it be necessary?
[Roy Belson]: It will be brought by coaches and trainers. We'll have them available on the fields.
[Roy Belson]: I think it's important to recognize that I don't want people who are afraid to use this thing to use it.
[Roy Belson]: I want people only who are comfortable using it to use it. There are some people who- Who are certified. Yeah, and certified. There are some people who would be very uncomfortable taking this device off the wall and using it.
[Roy Belson]: Every building will have people, and we can provide you with a list of who's trying to use it.
[Roy Belson]: I just want to be careful that we have sufficient numbers, but that we don't put people in situations of doing things they're uncomfortable doing. It's very different than an EpiPen. A lot of people can use an EpiPen very effectively.
[Roy Belson]: I understand what you're saying. I just want to make it clear that this isn't one of those things like CPR that everyone is going to be trained in. It's something that you really want to make sure that the four or five people in the building who are the go-to people are the people that are really comfortable using a device like this. This is a very sophisticated device.
[Roy Belson]: I don't know that, but I will check that. I don't know that, but I'm told by Tony Vento that they check them every day and that's their, one of their responsibilities. Now, Could it be that one day went by when they didn't entirely possible, but we will certainly reinforce that. But I want to make sure that, you know, the people that use this know what they're doing, but we'll provide that.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, again, four minutes is the guideline from the point of which the heart stops. It's not when a person's starting to feel chest pain, or starting to feel dizzy, or things of that type. So it's tricky. I mean, obviously, we have a 500,000 square foot high school. And things can happen anywhere. But obviously, our goal is to get people to the scene as quickly as possible. Same thing with CPR, same thing with any other, with EpiPens, anything that requires a medical intervention to get them there as quickly as possible. I'll go over it with Tony and with other people and see exactly if we can give you more specifics as to how they would respond.
[Roy Belson]: I'll sit with Tony, and let's go over a list of people who are more likely to be available and capable, and then we'll approach them and try to add to the list. It's unlikely that we're going to be able to get every person in every corner, nor should we try, because I think inappropriate application is more dangerous than none at all.
[Roy Belson]: You asked for a report that broke it out by actual classes. You have that report in front of you. It was appended to the previous report. It shows you what each teacher has as of the same date that the previous report was provided. Happy to take any questions.
[Roy Belson]: If a youngster comes from a substantially separated class, they come with the teachers or the staff that's with them. So these numbers could, during the day... The number could increase mostly for gym or for some of the larger activities, but certainly not for classes that are substantially contained.
[Roy Belson]: Occasionally a youngster may try. They may try to put a youngster in the class. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: The other thing you got to keep in mind is on a given day, you know, with not to say that we encourage this, but any given day, a hundred percent of the pupils aren't always in attendance. So if you have 20 youngsters in a class, you might have 18 on a given day, you know, on that day and then another day you might have all 20. So it just depends on who's there on any given day as well.
[Roy Belson]: So just so we have one understanding that we have to have all the time, I never send anything to the civil city council like this until you get it first. Right. So it may be a little bit of a weight sometimes when they ask for something like this, but you always get it first before they get it.
[Roy Belson]: And then we send it through the council just so you understand the process.
[Roy Belson]: So this, uh, policy was in front of you, uh, earlier and we went, took it back to review it to make sure there were no situations that we were missing using current, you know, let's say legal opinions that were out there. We vetted it at this time. We believe that this is ready to go. So I recommend that you approve it.
[Roy Belson]: There will be. When a person gets in state, they sign off on the, uh,
[Roy Belson]: If you look on the cover page, all users must sign off on the reasonable use policy each year.
[Roy Belson]: Once you're approving it, we will. then we work on distribution.
[Roy Belson]: The unions to come in and work with us until they're ready. We can't, I can't push it. We should expect something very soon.
[Roy Belson]: So I'm just going to answer what I answered before until the hall straightens out the accounts. I'm not going to give you a report where co-mingled money is. It can't be, can't be separated out. So I can actually give you an accurate report. They're working on it. We have major changes. The financial administration of the city and major change in the financial administration of the schools and they're working on that right now I would hope to have it soon But as late as last week, I'm down there talking to The people in the City Hall trying to get that broken out so we can give you an accurate report The good news is that we're not in jeopardy of anything financial The bad news is, what do you call it, I'm still trying to get this separated out so that you can see each account very cleanly as opposed to having four or five accounts somehow consolidated together, which doesn't give you a real picture. Right.
[Roy Belson]: Soon as it, as soon as I get the numbers, the way they should be given to me, I will be happy to give you the report and I hope it's soon.
[Roy Belson]: So I want to thank Anne-Marie Cugno and the Italian Consul General Nicola De Santis for Italian Day. It was a great event up at the high school. It was exciting and the youngsters enjoyed sitting in the Ferrari and the Maserati and listening to La Traviata and maybe sampling some food from Italy to getting a sense of Italian culture. I think it was a great day. Dovetailed with the science fair, with a few other things going on with Dr. Seuss. A lot going on in the public schools. You have a March handout from Lisa, which gives you some activities in March. It's very busy. You can't make everything, but the ones you can make, it's worth it. And there's a lot of good things going on in the schools. And at our next meeting, there'll be a number of other presentations to students who have achieved some exciting things. And we want to recognize them in public. And we will do that on our meeting on the 20th. A lot of good stuff going on. You did get a handout tonight from the actual presentation by the governor on Friday of the $495,000 grant for the culinary arts and the hospitality program. We expect another major announcement coming up this week, possibly later this week or early next. Another major grant which dovetails with our SOI requests and other requests for funding for capital planning. We'll be working on when we go to the council fairly soon and we'll get back to you and let you know what's going on.
[Roy Belson]: And you also have something on Middle School Mathematics Night, Pathways to High School Mathematics. Important because a lot of people aren't sure of how the progression of courses take place. And I think that this is a good opportunity for people to become aware of that so that there's no misunderstanding of what a youngster can take for coursework.
[Roy Belson]: Another piece to that is that by contract, teachers may decline to administer certain medications. So they don't have to accept that responsibility if they don't want to.
[Roy Belson]: Right.
[Roy Belson]: The only thing I would say is field trips differ in length and time. So if you had a person for an entire week, the cost would be much more extensive than if it were for two days. If the person had some severe issues, the cost of other things might be more substantial.
[Roy Belson]: You know, I mean, I just, I think that you do, there's going to be a recognition that you're paying for something. And quite frankly, if you don't have some kind of distributive cost sharing, you're going to have to start denying certain field trips, because you have 10, 15 field trips, and you're going to be paying $2,000 for every one of those. You're going to have a budget line item that you're going to have to fund, or you may have to fund.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, I take your guidance on, you know, as a group. You know, I personally don't think the third one is a bad one, but that's my opinion, because I think that, you know, the cost of a field trip, you never know when someone's going to need medical help. It could be anybody at any given time.
[Roy Belson]: That's a personal opinion, but certainly the committee can make that decision in all honor.
[Roy Belson]: Again, we can take guidance from you and you can tell us what you prefer. You know, I think that, you know, different field trips are going to cost different things anyway. The cost of Disney for the band is going to be one cost and the cost of Disney for the science trip is going to be another cost regardless. But, you know, again, it's your call and, you know, whatever wisdom you want to have us follow, we will.
[Roy Belson]: Another factor is that We generally don't know the enrollment of the trip until we get pretty close to the event, because youngsters may change their mind, may not make the commitment. And depending on when the trip is coming and when the cutoff date is, it may be a month before, a couple of months before, whatever it is, or it may be six months before. So we may not know who's on the trip until we actually put the final enrollment on it.
[Roy Belson]: It's a choice you make when you budget as to which things you'll fund. Right. That's a priority. When you fund certain student activities and not others, you've made a choice. So this is a choice you can make. It's in your court. I mean, we'll do whatever we're asked to do. We're just giving you the options that we think are the most practical. And Mrs. Vandekoot's raised another one, and, you know, we can add that to the mix of possible alternatives.
[Roy Belson]: So, you know, I'm just going to throw one more thing out, if I can, you know, which is, you know, insurance. You know, we had this discussion last year. You know, some people will take the insurance, and some people will not take the insurance. Individually, all of us have flown on an airplane, and sometimes we've taken insurance, and sometimes we've not taken insurance to cover the cost of a trip that might have to change because of circumstances. So as another example, there are variables built into all of these things. Some trips, you know, individuals will ask for other things that others don't need.
[Roy Belson]: We can do that.
[Roy Belson]: The A building area has had ongoing issues for a long period of time. And we went in there to diagnostically try to fix a few things, and we found that every time we fixed something, it got a little worse and a little bit worse. So we decided to go in there and really just do a good job and try to clean it up. So, you know, it isn't a big urgency thing, but it's an expense. It's the kind of thing we can fix. It requires things, I think, going forward. It should be part of the capital plan thinking as we go, but it's definitely an item that you know, taking a few dollars out of our repair budget this year.
[Roy Belson]: Well, it's repaired at this point in time, but you know, I think we may spring another leap. Who knows, as the winter season's coming, it's very hard to know, you know, whether that's going to happen, but we've repaired it to the point that we need to right now.
[Roy Belson]: No.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I'm not sure, you know, everything has an exact dollar amount yet because there's still some work going on, but I think we're in excess of $25,000 at this point in time. And that how much more we have to spend will depend on what actually takes place. What I said a few moments ago, I think is accurate, is that we're now doing an assessment to determine, you know, how much of this needs to go into a full capital plan. We think that a building is an area that probably is going to need a lot of attention because, I don't know if you know the piping structure, but you know the flooring is terrazzo tile? Okay. You've got to go into the terrazzo tile and go down under into the tunnel. That alone is an expense, and that alone is a major activity, and then go down and in. To replace that piping is almost like ripping up a straight Winthrop street, taking out the thing, and then putting a pipe in. So I think in the long run, going into the capital plan, we're going to want to replace those pipes, because I think they're going to keep happening from now on.
[Roy Belson]: I think that's the way we're going to look at it. I think we're making this as more of a capital look.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I think the capital plan will start to roll out in the next couple of months.
[Roy Belson]: There could be. We're in January. Okay. And on a given day, you could walk in and, you know, we could have another pipeline.
[Roy Belson]: We did last year, for example, you remember up in B building, in the second floor, there were several pipes that broke. Right. This is going to happen. I mean, this is part of, you know, the cold winter and also part of the structure of that building where some of the stuff is a little bit older. So part of our capital planning will be to look at these weak areas and try to strengthen them.
[Roy Belson]: I'll refer that to Mr. DeLaver and get a report.
[Roy Belson]: Which room is it, do you know?
[Roy Belson]: Well, so let me just answer it.
[Roy Belson]: Reconciliation at the City Hall has to take place. We don't have the full reconciliation yet. I'm not going to give you a report that I don't have a reconciliation yet. We think from our internal documents that we're fine. But until, what do you call it, the money is moved properly, you know, I can't give you a reconciliation against the city's chart of accounts. So, we'll do that, and if necessary, we'll provide you our report, you know, with a disclaimer at the end of it.
[Roy Belson]: I think going forward it will be easier simply because we've got a new operation down the hall and up here. Once that's cleaned up one time and set, then we can do that with more confidence going forward every quarter. Right now, you know, there's stuff that's still moving.
[Roy Belson]: When the auditors are done, I'll be happy to give you a date.
[Roy Belson]: As soon as the auditors are done, I'll be happy to give you a date.
[Roy Belson]: So there are still some people who do not go online and give us checks. I mean, they walk in the door and they want to go swimming, and they give us a check or something like that. But for the most part, most people are using the online system. But there are some, as far as vendors go, they're using an online system with us. But the reality is that some people still walk in the door and hand us a check.
[Roy Belson]: Primarily, that's the middle school bus in the afternoon. No, the two or three days that you've asked for. Right.
[Roy Belson]: you anticipate a cost, you put that amount in there to say that that money is pretty much committed. And as you pay it down, you liquidate the amount that's been paid out so that the encumbrance decreases. But sometimes the liquidation is slower than the actual expenditure.
[Roy Belson]: I'm sorry. item out of order.
[Roy Belson]: So there are a couple of things we've just got to keep in mind. First of all, we have to stay compliant with the fact the federal government will give us a certain amount of money per student on free and reduced. If we ask our paid students to pay less, federal government's comeback is that we are subsidizing students who are not eligible for a free or reduced meal. So we have to at least meet that in order to stay in compliance, because otherwise the government's saying, well, we're paying you for students who can afford to pay for it. That's one piece. The second piece that we've got to keep in mind is that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has got a new administration in Washington. Recent signals are they're looking to make cuts in agencies like USDA. If they're making cuts in USDA, that could reduce the subsidies coming back to states, could reduce the commodities and the like, and we could get through the back door for less availabilities to us. So we've got to keep that in mind too. And three, we are in the process, we've had some discussions about negotiating with our cafeteria workers and what we've planned for them. modest as it is, will impact this as well. And if we don't plan for that, we will drive our program off the, you know, off the balance sheet. So there's several things going on and you know, no one likes to see price increases, but on the other hand, we're trying to be realistic.
[Roy Belson]: 30, 36, 36 times five is 180 days. Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: I mean, we're not against you taking action tonight. We think it's real. But if you need more time to think about it.
[Roy Belson]: We can certainly do it. I mean, you know, I think it's, it's always informative to learn about all the things going on, but from a financial standpoint, this report was developed in conjunction with them.
[Roy Belson]: I'm just learning about nutrition and learning about what's going on. Sure. We can always send it. It's been a long time.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent calling upon our assistant superintendent to deliver this report.
[Roy Belson]: Cost analysis. We'll put that as part of the budget.
[Roy Belson]: It could be some efficiencies.
[Roy Belson]: Just to give you a little quick update on this because the governor will be speaking tomorrow night And there will be releases of the state budget His proposed budget and then the process will begin and so just to keep you informed as to what goes on because this is a What happens at the state level obviously impacts us. So the governor is going to be speaking tomorrow night. Somewhere in the next little while, you will get some more details on that presentation. But on January 13th, the Senate, the House, and the governor agreed on a revenue distribution, which is 3.9%, or approximately $1.02 billion more into next year from taxation and other revenues from the state. This is what we call a consensus budget guideline to help them produce budgets in each chamber. The thing you have to understand is that you can project 3.9% increase. Last year they projected 4.3. But to get to that number, they probably have to increase the revenue by even more. And we'll guess that to about 5.5%. something along that kind of line, because there are tax cuts. There are other things that are one-time revenues that we used that won't be used again. So even though they project that, they're now going to have to resolve what they've lost from revenue from the previous year or what they will lose with programs that maybe need more money. So in our budget, for example, as salaries go up, you know, that factors into the increase in what we need to come up with. It's not just revenue. So there are at least six major factors you need to pay attention to going through. One is how much money the FY 2017 budget was dependent upon as temporary and one-time revenues that won't be available in fiscal 2018. How much temporary money did they use? Two, what accounts were underfunded in 2017? Things that they short-funded and they have to provide a supplemental to. And they may need more money in 2018. What is the actual cost of providing current service levels in fiscal 18? Not more, current service levels. What will be the actual growth in revenues for fiscal 2018? Will there be new sources of sustainable revenue, not just one-time revenue? You know, for example, And if marijuana or other things like that were out there, there's money coming in, there's gambling issues, there's things like that that may generate hotel revenues, meal tax. As things come in, we have to watch all of that stuff to see exactly what goes into the state coffers. What new initiatives, projects will be approved? They want to do something they've never done before. All of a sudden, that's a new program that has to be funded. Or maybe it won't be funded, and it'll be sent down to us to fund, placing new demands on the budget. What previously funded items will be dropped or diminished? What will be the impact of a new administration in Washington? What states will gain or lose resource or policy changes? Medicaid, Medicare. the way it's funded, the way it's done, health care. All these things are going to have to be phased in. The governor's already talking about making some serious changes in health care, you were probably there, which could alter it. The GIC numbers are coming to us now, and they're looking for more deductibles and other factors, premium increases that will affect teachers and possibly affect, and other employees, and possibly affect what we have to budget for our percentage. So all those things have to come into from a state budget, so we're looking at this stuff now. It'll be at the center of our concerns, but any adverse state effect on the municipal budget as well, things that affect the municipal side of the budget, has an impact on us. The mayor's got one whole budget to look at. We want what we want, he's gonna look at the whole city. And that could be something that impacts us as well. Chapter 70 allocations. The governor was talking about $95 million. He thinks that's new money. That, to us, is no new money. That's like $20. Last year, we got $55. And it's well below what the foundation-level budget review committees were proposing. So that's not doing us much good unless it gets better on the foundation level. We are a hold-harmless district. Because of where we are, we're going to get a certain amount of money that we got last year, plus minimum aid, which could be anywhere from $20 to $55. That's the way it works. There may be some other pockets, but, for example, last year, you know, you were concerned about the kindergarten money not coming in. Other things that may not come in, other budgets that could get sliced, we have to pay attention to. The sped circuit breaker is now being discussed. There's a legislative briefing on February 2nd or 3rd. I forget which date it is exactly right now that I'll attend. I'm part of that coalition. We typically get 75% above the threshold of four times foundation. But four times foundation goes up every year, so that means our eligibility gets shortchanged a little bit. If they don't give us 75%, That affects what we can put into the pie for special needs, extraordinary tuitions. So all those things are, you know, part of our calculus. Charter school reimbursements have been underfunded for a number of years now. They didn't increase last year. There won't be any major increase in the number of charter schools, but there will be some more charter schools because the state board is going to be discussing them in the next couple of weeks at their board meeting. And the more you have, The more pupils that you have statewide, the more the distribution takes place. And if you only have the same pot of money, it gets spread out. So we'll have to see where that takes that. We brought youngsters back to Medford last year, and we paid more. So it's a tricky formula. It's got to be what? Out-of-district transportation costs for non-resident students to Minutemen. The reimbursement level came down again this year. Hopefully it'll be sustained, but if that gets knocked out of the budget, it could be $20,000, $30,000 out of our pocket. Homeless funding has always been underfunded. The various grant programs, including early childhood, kindergarten, academic support, vocational education, and substance abuse prevention, the new opiate bill, it's not funded as far as I can see. I don't know who's funding that, but we all have responsibilities on it. And will there be any new mandated programs that emerge from legislative deliberations? So this is a snapshot of some of the challenges ahead. I want you to be aware of it. We don't know, you know, all the facts right now, but this is the stuff that we'll process every week, every day. I get newsletters and materials, speak to people. It's the kind of stuff I have to do on a regular basis to see what's likely to happen or not likely to happen. superintendents, teachers, unions, all kinds of people will be in there lobbying to keep money at a certain level or to get more money. But they'll all be clashing with each other. And the hard question is, is that what can happen that's new if the revenue growth is only at a certain level and one time revenues are either not available. We always hear about the rainy day fund. No one likes to dip into that unless they absolutely have to. Um, we don't know what capital gains will do for, you know, revenue into the city, I mean into state rather, all that's there. And we also don't know what Washington will change in the next year and what it might affect. Although I think they're on a one year delay, it doesn't seem much change in some things through this year, but the year after it could have some impact on us. So there's a lot of factors for us to pay attention to, but I want to get you in the water and start you talking about it as we move forward.
[Roy Belson]: And there are other funds, too. Now, we've talked about it. There are funds that come from special sources, bond bills and the like. So, for example, in our vocational, you've seen money come to us from certain grants. Some of those things are independent of this budget. Some of the things will be dependent on this budget. So... Very good. Thank you for the report.
[Roy Belson]: Aye.
[Roy Belson]: All those in favor? Aye.
[Roy Belson]: Aye.
[Roy Belson]: The committee of the whole meeting is Wednesday evening. Unfortunately, on the notice, we put Tuesday the 25th. It's Wednesday. Wednesday.
[Roy Belson]: Wednesday.
[Roy Belson]: Aye.
[Roy Belson]: One more announcement.
[Roy Belson]: OK, so on Sunday, the 27th, there's community conversations in the afternoon in front of Caron Theater, right? The 29th. 29th.
[Roy Belson]: Yes, Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon. I'll get the dates. 29th on Sunday afternoon, so it's from 2 to 4. So it's an important activity. I also want to tell you that we'll put on the web, the students created a beautiful video on Martin Luther King Day. And I want to put that up there so you can look for that. It's a great tribute to them and their work and the way they express themselves.
[Roy Belson]: Well, the estimates, you know, vary. It depends on what we decide should be the surface on those playgrounds, because we may not want to go with the same surface. You may want something different, something that maybe is a newer product than what we put in place 15, 16 years ago. And we need to get a better estimate on that. So. While this may be an interesting opportunity, we're also looking at the community preservation grant for other issues as well. Going forward, generally for us in the second round, and I was going to give you some materials on that at a subsequent meeting, because the second round will be coming up as well, and to look at a larger picture. But I think if we, since it's March 2nd, I think we put it on the table tonight. I'll come back with more specifics. and try to give you an idea of whether this is feasible under the Community Preservation Grant or whether it needs to go through some other process. I think that's probably the best way to go. Obviously, we're glad to get any funding we can get, appreciate your efforts. But to do this right, this is not a $5,000 or $10,000 expenditure. This could be $75,000, $100,000, or more. So this is not something that's going to be easily acquired from any one source.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Wanted on the next agenda. It has to happen in between now and the next thing. So she has a March 2nd deadline to submit. Right.
[Roy Belson]: So Mayor and members of the committee, earlier in the minutes you heard that we approved retaining Massachusetts Association of School Committees to be our agent to advance the search. This afternoon, the Mayor and I met with Glenn Kuchar, the Executive Director of MASC, and went over all the different functions and activities that they can assist us with. And it's quite substantial. And as you know, because we pay dues, You know, we're not incurring an additional charge, which we might if we contracted with someone else. In the interim, we've put a pretty aggressive schedule together. As the mayor indicated, we'll clean it up tonight and get something out to you over the next day or so. But the first schedule was obviously the search committee, and the mayor's put something like that out. But in the interim, just to give you some information with regard to this particular activity, Glenn Kuchar indicated to us that he could distribute our brochure, he could distribute our applications, he could take in the applications as they came in, turn them around very quickly, give us a tiering as to who's eligible or not just simply by licensure and a few things like that, get it over to the search committee generally within a day, believe it or not, and create the circumstances in which this would go forward. He would also work on creating focus groups and other aspects of this search, site visits, and other things that you may or may not want to do. But clearly, this will take us into high gear with the idea being that a decision would be made sometime at the beginning of April. And this is the path we're on. The report I'm giving you right now gives you an idea that he'll get it out to a wide audience to help us screen the applicants to make sure the people are eligible. The search committee will get every applicant, whether they consider them eligible or not, in hard copy as well as electronically. The survey developed by the school committee, I want to talk to Mr. Rousseau about that. He will assist in getting that out and pulling those results together along with the focus groups. Again, pulling it together so that it takes the burden off any one member to do that or the administrations to keep it clean. He'll assist in the preparation of interviews, you know, questions for you to help you develop questions and appropriate information so you can group them properly. I went through a process of how they do that. And then, of course, following up with contract negotiations with the successful candidate or the candidate that you select. So there's a lot here. Clearly having an agent on board moves it forward, takes the burden off us to do it, and it keeps us on track to have a decision by April, hopefully. Now, the one thing we've got to understand is that when materials come in, it's confidential at this point in time. Just because you get something doesn't mean you go talking about who applied, because people are entitled to a certain amount of privacy. Once it reaches the final stage, privacy's off. And then people can see it. There'll be public interviews. There'll be all the kinds of things that will give the community total transparency as to the process. It's very extensive, and I think that, uh, based on the discussions we had today and based on what you will learn in the next few days, that, uh, you'll see this is a very, very wide open search. It's intended to bring in candidates around. Uh, he's in Lexington tonight. I think Lexington's about to make a decision tonight on its selection. And a few other communities that will be moving forward. And I think we'll be excited to see pools of candidates come into our program. So with that, I think that gives you an update on MASC's involvement. Quickly came to the table with us today. Remember, we only did it last week. And quickly came to the table today to work out some details.
[Roy Belson]: Just if we will, we have to go over a couple of things because it's on your account and we need to move it over. A couple of technical things that we're going to have to do.
[Roy Belson]: I think the multitude of activities that you'll see will indicate this is going to be a very public process.
[Roy Belson]: Well, there'll be some cost for materials that we have to pass out and things like that. But I don't we're not talking about search consultants.
[Roy Belson]: So that's no that's for full search done by them totally by them. We've already put some things together Oh, so it's done quite a bit. So it's different We'll get it. We'll get a number but the number is not what okay would have been for a full search if they did it from scratch Okay, I just want to be clear
[Roy Belson]: So I'm telling you tonight that Rita DeCarlo, done an outstanding job for us in foreign language, has announced her retirement. It's an important area for us. She spent over 30 years. And I'm telling you that I want to begin the search at this point in time for her replacement. And we will do it the usual way we do it, where we have some candidates come in, we screen them down, and then we give you a chance through to look at the top three candidates that come to you and you'll give us feedback and then we make an appointment. I'd like to get going with that.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has launched an initiative which will celebrate Massachusetts and Massachusetts' achievements as leading the nation. Massachusetts, you know, leads the nation in typical test scores and other kinds of indicators. Also, if you look at the PISA results, the international results, if Massachusetts counts itself as a nation, which we do in the rankings, we're always very close to the top, if not on top. So, Massachusetts has decided through the department to celebrate that, and they've begun a project to provide a statewide platform for public schools in Massachusetts to celebrate their great achievements. We've already begun to pull together highlights and other things that are particular to us that go beyond testing, that highlight the kinds of educational programs that we're running, that we believe make Massachusetts not only tops in those categories of testing, but actually makes Massachusetts, in places like Medford, you know, renowned for doing some programs, whether it's Global Scholars, CCSR, or other things that you have heard about over the years. I want to make you aware of it because we're going to start to ramp up very soon, and we hope that you'll all participate. And you can see some of the things that are going to go on statewide at the Statehouse and other activities, which will give us an opportunity to highlight our school systems. We'll also use our various media. To talk about the things that are going well in our community and neighboring communities are the things we collaborate with so that's just an Informational piece for you right now to let you know and welcome any ideas that you may have Thank you
[Roy Belson]: They've actually got some interviews going on, I believe, at the end of this week. They'll be interviewing, they've narrowed it down to three finalists, a person who's a deputy commissioner in the state of New York, a person who's a deputy commissioner in the state of Texas, and the current superintendent of the Lawrence Public Schools have been designated as the three finalists. The board will interview them and potentially even next week will make a decision and make their recommendation to the Secretary of Education, Mr. Pizer. We'll have an affirmation or a veto at his discretion. Hopefully we'll have someone in place very soon in that role when that person will actually take office I don't know probably depends on their current contracts and their current obligations But I assume that in the interim Jeff Wilson will continue to be the acting commissioner until that person can actually assume the role so we expect that to happen fairly soon and I'll get you posted as soon as I know
[Roy Belson]: They've named three finalists. I mean, you know, so if I want to speculate, you know, I might have thoughts, but I mean, it'd be inappropriate.
[Roy Belson]: So as our community becomes culturally and religiously diverse, more so than it has been, although, you know, it's quite a change. In 1982, 4% of our school population were persons of color. Today, it's close to 38% in an idea of what's taken place over time. But as we become more culturally diverse and religiously diverse, it's incumbent upon us to actively ensure that our students, employees, citizens are treated with respect and dignity and that they celebrate their personal cultures and religious observances. So adopting appropriate, inclusive holidays, observances, protocols does not violate the establishment clause of the Constitution. There's a difference between establishing religion and just allowing people to celebrate. It's a distinct difference. Rather, it protects it by recognizing the rich diversity of people's experiences. Massachusetts laws prohibit discrimination in all its forms. The best way to ensure that discrimination does not occur is to educate our students and community through positive learning and experience. We must always seek to move forward, to go beyond toleration to understanding. and enlightened understanding for both our diverse and common human heritage. The topic is far too involved to have a broad discussion this evening, but we need to invest more time through focus groups and additional sessions. In the interim, I've provided you with some materials in preparation for a more robust discussion. And we certainly will include people, and I've listed holidays and other things that deal with inclusive practices that have been put out by various agencies that are known for their expertise in this area. Obviously, you know, this is not only a local thing, it's a national thing, it's a statewide thing. And for us to be in the forefront of it is very important. A lot of good things happening in our community already. But the price of doing the right thing is eternal vigilance. You have to be diligent with it. You can't let it slip. And we have a lot of things going on. And different things will occur, and there'll be some people that perhaps don't understand it. But it's our job to make sure that everyone feels protected, feels safe, and that we don't have any situation where a person feels isolated because of the policies and practices of our school system.
[Roy Belson]: Well, what we do is, I'll probably recognize the fact that if a person's out for those holidays and documents it, there's an excuse.
[Roy Belson]: So every year we go through various stages of why we close school and why we keep open. And some people understand it and some people agree and some people don't agree. I found the last little while the people who are more aggressively emailing me are generally students. High school students in particular. High school students, generally around. 8 o'clock in the morning before a storm, I'm getting things being told that their life is being put in peril and we're endangering them and their families. And I write back to them as courteously as I possibly can. For the most part, people do understand it. But I want to take a little bit of opportunity in between storms, if you will, to go over a couple things. So if people are listening, and we'll put it on our website again, they'll get an idea as to how we make these decisions. We want to keep open if we can. There are many youngsters out there who have no one supervising them if we close the schools. There are many youngsters out there who have no one feeding them if we close the schools. On the other hand, if conditions warranted, having youngsters out in the cold and driving snow, possibly with vehicles sliding on the road, Has to be balanced with our decision to open the schools Parents always have the opportunity to make a decision and if they document that they kept the youngster home Because of you know the weather and we have a reason to believe that the weather was that way we will provide an excused absence If, in fact, a youngster comes to us late on a day when conditions are such, rather than delay the whole day, which could mess up a number of things for a number of people, we won't mark them tardy to the extent that there's a reasonable arrival. Now, if they come in two minutes before the closing, we might think that that's not reasonable. But if they're an hour or so late, that's not a bad problem for us to recognize that as part of travel conditions. So we're entering the winter season, we're in the winter season, and from year to year, we may have more or less closings because of weather, or cold, or any other number of reasons, or for some reason that there's a building problem, or a safety problem that's different. We will use our media to inform people. We use all the television media. We use our own media to put things out. We use robocalls. We do everything we possibly can to let people know as soon as possible. Now, this last storm had to wait till almost 6 o'clock in the morning to take a good hard look to see what would come in. Now, I knew in this area we weren't going to get much snow. But a little to the west and a little to the north and the southeast, they got snow and they got bad conditions. So that was a tough one because we weren't sure what actually would happen, how it would track. The one before, people ask me, why didn't you call off school on that Tuesday when it was cold? If I had called off school on that Tuesday when it was cold, we would have been out Thursday and Friday anyway. We would have had one day of school that week because Monday was a holiday. So sometimes you just have to balance it a little bit and think about what's going to happen. You also have to think about the fact that teachers and others come from distance, and if they have young people of their own that have to stay home with, they may not come in. Or if they have the travel arrangements coming from the north or the south, it may not work for them to be in and on time. It may not be a productive day. So these are all kinds of considerations if you have to pay attention to where the DPW and the contractors can clear out lots. whether we think that the buses can actually make it up and go the various routes, whether the bus stops and the sidewalks have had an opportunity to be cleared to the greatest extent possible, although it's never perfect. It's very rarely perfect. So there's a lot of considerations that we have to look at. I do talk to area colleagues as we come into this kind of season, and we take a look and see what's happening, and we try to make decisions that way. It's very important for people to understand that schools provide safety, it provides warmth, it provides nutrition to many youngsters. And we don't take school closings lightly. But if you think that safety is an issue, if you think that we can't clear the lots, we don't think we're going to have a productive day, we will call it. And I will try to call it as early as possible, often the night before. But some days it's not, we don't know until 5 o'clock in the morning, just the way it is.
[Roy Belson]: I would just tell you that there are people who, not what you're telling me, we should talk about long term, but there are people who rush to do what they call blizzard packs. I find that unproductive. We pay our teachers to teach 180 days of school. It's not a trade-off to give kids some homework. They're supposed to do homework anyway. And you know, the reality is that we want our teachers in front of students and they don't want to trade days. Now, if we get hit like the storm of 1978, we're out a whole week or ten days or something like that. We could probably have a plan in place to send materials out, especially with today's electronics. But I think we should be very careful that we start trading days for short-term days off. But I hear what you're saying. If it's long-term, maybe we should consider it through a meeting.
[Roy Belson]: We sent you out on that particular day. The high school was not badly attended that day. It was over 80% of the people that were there. That's pretty good since normal attendance is in the low 90s. Plus teachers, there weren't that many people. There were people out, but there weren't that many people out comparatively to what could have been out. As far as the cold goes, part of the issue was the fact that it came on so suddenly. Certain areas of the building were still trying to adjust. But we can work on the heating system. We can work on different aspects of it. A lot of people were in school, and for the 80% plus of the people that were in school, I think it was good to have them there, as opposed to shut it down and then everyone's out. We'd end up making it up, and I think it was a day to have, especially that week. Because remember, again, if we called off school that day, we were in school potentially Wednesday. That was a whole week would have been gone. So at least we got a couple days in. I hear what you're saying. We'll certainly work on that, and John and I will check.
[Roy Belson]: We'll certainly have the principals review that as a practice so that they understand that check the room out. Put them in the warmest place as possible.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the school committee, we had an extensive discussion in the committee of the whole. And again, just to briefly summarize it, The organizations that exist to support our schools are all good people. They're working hard. They give up a lot of their time. They generate a lot of support for our schools. We're very grateful and thankful. However, in order to optimize it, in order to make it more efficient and more effective overall across the city, and in order to tie it together with our own work, it's important for us to adopt some guidelines, adopt some training protocols, so that we can help these organizations do that much better. and to dovetail much better with us. So I've put together for you some recommendations to adopt oversight guidelines for PTOs, PTGs, and other 501c3 internal organizations. And I say internal organizations because I'm not talking about if a major corporation's 501c3 gives us money, I'm not going to ask them to audit their books. But I'm talking about groups that technically work with us or use our name. Michael Bloomberg gives us some money, I'm not going to ask him for his financials this week. I guess you probably wouldn't send it to me anyway. But I mean, but having said that, you know, our Cummings Foundation, things like that, they give us money and, you know, I'm appreciative that they do. But I'm talking about the internal groups that are clearly ours. And so I've listed eight items and I would ask that you approve them. I can read them off or you can accept them as they're written. Let me know what you're.
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: Up to you. I can read them. One, all PTG, PTOs, and other internal 501c3 organizations affiliated with the Medford Public Schools must be registered with the superintendent's office annually. All registrations must be renewed by September 1st of each year. A registration is simply a process of recognizing that an organization exists. If they're out in the street, that there's a number they can have, and if a person who's a member of the community wants to donate, they know this is a valid organization. And they, we also know that they exist, and they're using our name, and raising money using our name. To all registered organizations. Ms.
[Roy Belson]: MPS one, two, three, four, whatever it is. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: Which is a very simple thing, but I want to know they exist. Who they are. You'll see it as it comes down. Well, it'll come down, you'll see it, okay, you'll see the things that you'll be on the form. Who the officers are, you know, you know, and so and so forth, where they're banking, and the likes of this.
[Roy Belson]: All registered organizations must submit bylaws, names of officers and board members, annual fundraising and expenditure plans, and a year-end financial statement. Obviously, we want to know that every organization has some rules. We want to know that they have a plan, that it's not just something. Now, if they want to modify it, they can let us know they want to modify it. I'm not running around trying to second guess every move, but they should have a plan. And another reason for that is the fact that, you know, if everyone hits the same bank and everyone hits the same business over and over again, We're working on our community pretty hard. And also, when the school department goes to them for various things, they might say, well, you already gave. So it's important for us to know who is being asked for money, who is being repeatedly asked for money, who is being repeatedly asked for services, and whether or not it interferes with something that might be a larger project that the school department might be able to do for the greater benefit of all.
[Roy Belson]: You can modify it. You can make changes. It's a projection. It's like our budget. We project certain things and changes happen during the year. It's just that nature. You can just send in a note and say we did something different or we added something. Maybe it doesn't have to be that tight. Let me keep going and then we can hit it all, okay? There's some of these things that sort of intersect with each other. Three, bylaws must clearly identify how a person becomes eligible for membership. and how a person becomes a voting member. Distinct difference. I mean, a person comes to a meeting, you know, they may be a member, but if they've been to one meeting in three years, do they have the right to make decisions for a group of people that have been, you know, working on it for an extended period of time? That's a decision people can make. Bylaws must identify what is a voting quorum. Some of them, three people in the room could be a voting quorum. Is that a voting quorum? Do you have to have so many members of the executive board to be a voting quorum? Do you have to have so many members of the established membership to make a major decision? Bylaws must provide detailed information how, when elections for officers and board members will be implemented. When is it going to happen? What is the process? What is the distribution of information so that people know that an election is coming? Expenditures or funds must be done in coordination with the principal to ensure that supported programs, activities, and materials are consistent with the school's program and do not distract from the main mission of the school. Can't have an organization decide to buy a new curriculum that is counter indicative to the ones the school system has adopted. We can't have people planning trips that get in the way of testing or planning trips that come just as the testing season's about to begin or planning trips that are not tied to the curriculum in an important way. Maybe once in a while, but not all the time. Remember, we only have 180 days of school. We want to make sure all of them are used properly. The public schools, through the superintendents, will offer training to each entity. We want to make sure they all know what forms they have to fill out, if they're raising funds, if they're a non-profit. We want them to understand regulations and ordinances, what they can do. If you pay somebody money, and you pay them a certain amount of money, guess what? You've got to give them a form, or technically you're paying them under the table. That's not acceptable. If you're giving people money as reimbursement, reimbursement for what? What's your, what are you requiring? I mean, tonight you asked, you know, about slips and things like that. It's all heavily documented when it comes through the school system. Are we documenting these things? Give us an idea of those things. And if a person doesn't participate and doesn't become these things, then we maybe decertify them and say, look, we're not going to register you. You're not going to be an allowable organization because we can't track what you're doing. And then an annual report should be made to the school committee about all the organizations that exist. And the general thing, it may not be every expenditure they have, but it certainly should give you an idea of what started the year, what ended the year, and the main activities and the like that they had, and if they had an election, did they change officers, if there were special circumstances, was it reported. And I think if we do something like that, we'll have helped these organizations be that much better. And we'll help ourselves as we try to coordinate their activities with our initiatives as well. So I guess the floor is open for discussion.
[Roy Belson]: I think we're looking at people who don't have experience. Obviously, if a person's been doing it and doing it successfully, you don't have to go to things. We don't have our teachers take courses that they've already passed and know. Sometimes there's a refresher. Sometimes there's new rules. Sometimes there's new forms, you know, that need to be filed. Sometimes there's changes. That may work. As far as the governance structure goes in elections, If there's no one running, you just simply certify it through the principal's office that we only have so many people. But you've gotta let people know because, I mean, one of the complaints that we heard, rightly or wrongly, I'm not taking sides on this thing, was that people didn't know how you become an officer, how you participate. And theoretically, under the school council, you're supposed to have that election every year. It's required by the statute. Now, I know it doesn't always happen 100%, but it should. You know what I mean? Or at least there should be some declaration that the only people that applied for these offices or want to do it are a handful of people, but after a reasonable attempt. I think we've got to do that, or else people say, well, I'm not involved. I don't get involved. They don't consult me. I mean, what's part of the discussion? Are people consulted? Do they have a chance to participate? I mean, one of the issues I think you raised during the campaign was community engagement. Well, does the PTO engage the community that it represents? I don't know. I think there's a balance there. I don't think we have to make it into a very rigorous process, but I do think there should be some notification that there are officers available, there are board positions available. Would you like to participate? Just a thought.
[Roy Belson]: Subcommittee, let's you know, let's let's understand what these subcommittees are supposed to do. Support services deals primarily with services that support the educational program. This is more rules of this is more of the rules of the operation. You know, I'm just, you know, I'm just trying to clarify it for you because I mean, if you want to keep some integrity to your subcommittee assignments, you can do what you want.
[Roy Belson]: Why don't we get it from the minutes and then we'll move it over.
[Roy Belson]: I believe we made the adjustments you asked for the amounts of thresholds in the area, so I'd ask that you approve it.
[Roy Belson]: So we want to make it less bureaucratic. I mean, let's keep it simple. Let's keep it simple. Obviously, if there's a situation that requires an additional cost, we'll bring it back to you. But if there's no such cost, let's not make people come back and forth five times. I mean, the goal of this was to be inclusive and to provide appropriate care. If it turns out that we have a situation, we'll bring it back.
[Roy Belson]: Well, we'll move through it. I mean, there are some people that, you know, resist anything. Look, earlier this evening, you were telling me that I'm making things too bureaucratic for the PTO. Right. I'm telling you, you're making things too bureaucratic for the teachers and everything like that.
[Roy Belson]: I think obviously the nurse has indicated it's okay until she sees something specific. If something comes up, we'll come bring it back.
[Roy Belson]: Joseph Neveda, who is the husband of Angela Neveda, our retired secretary.
[Roy Belson]: Mae'n rhaid i'r aelodau o'r cyfarwyddwr ddweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Benedetto. Mr. Benedetto. Mr. Benedetto.
[Roy Belson]: I don't see Haley here. Is Haley here?
[Roy Belson]: Okay. Come on up, Haley.
[Roy Belson]: Byddyn nhw'n dod yn ôl yn ein cyfarfodydd nesaf, ymwneud â mynd ym mis Februari, yn hytrach na... Oh, byddai'n dda iawn. Yn y ffordd, mae Audrey yn paratoi hynny, felly rydyn ni'n
[Roy Belson]: Gallwch chi ddangos pa rydyn ni'n siarad amdanyn nhw ar hyn o bryd? Rwy'n ceisio gwneud yn siŵr fy mod i'n deall y cwestiwn.
[Roy Belson]: Yn y cyfrifiad cyntaf? Rydw i'n gweld hwnnw pan roeddwn i'n
[Roy Belson]: Well, again, you know, one of the things that we face, and we faced this a couple of times, is that we can't deny a person the right to go, and they may have needs. So as a result, it's important to have the possibility that we would have a nurse on there. But for the school system to assume that cost altogether, undercuts our ability to fund, let's say, sponsor these trips. So by spreading it out, everybody shares a little bit of that responsibility.
[Roy Belson]: Dwi'n meddwl, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim ond, dim on Dyna un o'r sylwadau pam mae'n rhaid ei ddatblygu. Mae'r dewis yw y bydd y system ysgol yn ei ddatblygu neu y byddwn ni'n ei ddatblygu ar gyfer y cost o'r trwythoedd. Dyna'r unig ddwy dewis y mae gennych. Mae'n rhaid i chi gael hynny fel realiaeth. Y cwestiwn yw, beth sy'n pwysleisio? Yw'n ei ddatblygu ymhlith yr holl bobl? Yw'n cost arbenigedig? Neu yw'n y system ysgol sy'n ei ddatblygu bob tro y bydd y trwythoedd?
[Roy Belson]: No.
[Roy Belson]: We've got some estimates on them that have changed since the last time, so I'll pursue that with people as to find out what the status is.
[Roy Belson]: Yes, I'll give you a report.
[Roy Belson]: Rydyn ni'n gobeithio cyflwyno'r adroddiad cyfan ar gyfer yr ystafell nesaf, Mr. Prif Weinidog.
[Roy Belson]: Yn ystod y tri, arweinyddiaeth i ddefnyddio grant ar gyfer y gwasanaeth ar-leinwyr Tufts. Yn ystod y tri, arweinyddiaeth i ddefnyddio grant ar gyfer y gwasanaeth ar-leinwyr Tufts. Yn ystod y tri, arweinyddiaeth i ddefnyddio grant ar-leinwyr Tufts. Yn ystod y tri, arweinyddiaeth i ddefnyddio grant ar-leinwyr Tufts.
[Roy Belson]: Mae'r arweinydd yma. Mae'r arweinydd a'r prifysgol ysgol ymdrechion yma. Heddiw, byddwn i'n rhoi'r cyfrifiad ychydig, ac yna byddai'n rhaid i ni gyflwyno'n fwy cyffredinol ystod y cyfarfodydd i'w ymddeallu'n ychydig mwyaf ychydig, ond unig i fynd ymlaen fel y byddwch chi'n cael cyfrifiad ychydig ac y byddwch chi'n gallu gofyn unrhyw gwestiynau cyflymau y gallwch chi gael o'r ddwy unigol, felly byddwn i'n rhaid i chi fynd ymlaen. ac rydyn ni'n gallu mynd ymlaen. Fel rydych chi'n gwybod, rydyn ni'n ymwneud â'r ysgolion i gysylltu'n fwy cyhoeddus gyda'r ysgolion, ac mae wedi bod yn bwysig iawn i'r Ymgeiswyr Ysgolol, oherwydd rydych chi wedi gwneud hynny'n dda iawn y byddwch eisiau gweld y ysgolion sy'n gweithio'n gysylltiedig â'r ysgolion. Byddai'r ysgolion hyn yn ymwneud â'r ysgolion hwnnw i gynyddu'r rhaglen yn y fath cyfathrebuol ac i roi cyfleoedd i'r ysgolion Rydyn ni wedi gwella'r rhaglen fel y bydd yna lawer o gyfrannu ar draws y ysgolion. Ar hyn o bryd, mae'r ysgolion ystod a'r dyfodol wedi'u gysylltu'n llwyr. Mae rhai ysgolion ystod a'r dyfodol wedi'u gysylltu hefyd. Gall ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ysgolion ys byddwch yn ymwneud â'i wneud, ac yna byddwn yn gallu cynllunio cymdeithas i ddod ymlaen. Mae'n bwysig, os ydyn ni'n mynd i'w wneud hynny, y byddwn yn ymwneud â'i ddod ymlaen, oherwydd mae'n bwysig y byddwn yn arwain ar y cynllun sy'n mynd i mewn i'r nesaf.
[Roy Belson]: Yn amlwg, o'r amser i'r amser, bydd y Llywodraeth yn cynyddu rhywbeth, ond rydyn ni wedi ymgynghori llawer gyda nhw, ac rwy'n credu y bydd, ar hyn o bryd, mae'r broblemau rydyn ni'n cael ymlaen gyda chi, yn newid y codi LYA, dydyn ni ddim yn mynd ymlaen i'r fath honno.
[Roy Belson]: Pwy ydych chi'n hoffi'r cyntaf?
[Roy Belson]: Dwi'n meddwl ei fod yn bwysig i'w gweld. Dyma dwy enghraifft o'r ysgol ymgyrchol a'r ysgol ymgyrchol sy'n gweithio'n gilydd. Nid oedd biotech wedi'i ystyried ar y ysgol ymgyrchol. Nid oedd gwybodaeth amgylcheddol wedi'i ystyried fel ysgol ymgyrchol, oherwydd roedd ysgol ymgyrchol. Dyma un o'r ddatblygiadau sydd wedi digwydd, a dyma un o'r canlyniadau. Dyma lle mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw gallu cymryd rhan i'r ysgol, oherwydd mae'n gwerthfawr ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol
[Roy Belson]: I look at the relationships, the earlier you saw a gift to the Robotics Club, Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu.
[Roy Belson]: Felly mae gennym ein cyfarwyddwr asyliadol wedi'i ddysgu gan ein dyrwodol sain.
[Roy Belson]: Felly, fel argyfwng, bydd ein cyfrifiad nesaf yn cymryd rywfaint o'r ffyrdd sydd wedi'i ymddangos i InVision, ac yna, cyn hynny, i Journeys, bydd e'n datblygu ar gyfer wybodaeth. Dyna'n ein cyfrifiad nesaf. Dyna'r hyn rydyn ni'n siarad o'r cyfrifi
[Roy Belson]: Felly, mae Rocco wedi'u gynhyrchu ar gael yn y dyfodol, ac fel dweudwyd i mi ychydig blynyddoedd yn ôl, mae'r cyfrifoldeb o'r cyfrifoldeb nawr y mae Envision wedi'i gael ar gyfer, ac mae Journeys wedi'i gael ar gyfer, nawr yn mynd i'r wyddoniaeth. Felly, bydd Rocco'n cael'r cyrff cyntaf i'r arian sydd wedi bod yn ymwneud â'r mathematika.
[Roy Belson]: Felly, rydw i'n teimlo nad yw eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod eich bod sy'n gallu cael ei ddefnyddio yn y blynyddoedd nesaf, ac mewn cynllun chwarae i'w ymweld â'r standardau, rwy'n credu y byddwch chi'n gweld llawer o ddeunydd yn mynd yno, ond bydd y deunydd sy'n cael ei ddewis yn pethau rydyn ni'n gwybod bydd yn ymgynghori gyda'r standardau a'r un o'r ddau neu'r tri rhaglenau y byddwn ni'n ymgynghori. Er enghraifft, os byddwch chi'n edrych ar ymgynghori termograffol, byddwch chi'n edrych ar ymgynghori ymlaen a'r hwnnw ar y mater. Gallw a dydyn nhw ddim yn mynd i fod yn ymgyrchol i unrhyw rhaglen. Ac y gallwch wneud y pethau hynny. Gallwch gael rhaglenau byrwyr a dydyn nhw ddim yn mynd i ymgyrchol i unrhyw rhaglen. Ond dydych chi ddim yn cael y rhaglen unig pan fydd y bobl yn ymwneud â'i ymchwilio, ond byddwch chi'n cael y cyfle i gael adnoddau addas ar y lefel ysbytyol o seiliedig ar ein cyfrifiadau byd nesaf.
[Roy Belson]: Well, it is where, you know, if Rocco knows that we are going to allocate, which he will know, we're going to allocate those funds, he will start identifying those items with teachers and letting us know so that we begin the purchasing process going into the summer and possibly running some workshops.
[Roy Belson]: Bydd y gysylltiad ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mhryd septembre 2017, ym mh
[Roy Belson]: Mae pob ysgrifennydd yn ei efaluadau ei hun, ac maen nhw'n sefydlu goaleau ddysgu ac maen nhw'n sefydlu goaleau unigol. Ac rydych chi'n gwybod, yn amlwg, rydych chi'n ceisio ymdrechu iddyn nhw i fynd ar goaleau sy'n mynd i ymdrechu eu cymdeithas i helpu'r myfyrwyr yn eu ysgol, ond, rydych chi'n gwybod, mae yna llawer o wahanol mannau i ysgrifennydd ysgol ysgol i fod yn ymwneud â nhw, llawer ohonyn nhw yw, lawer ohonyn nhw y mae ysgolau hynny wedi'u ar gyfer myfyrwyr sydd ganddyn nhw ddiddorau eraill. Mae'r ardalau o gynhyrchau'r wybodaethau o'r dysgwyr ynglyn â'r rhai y byddan nhw'n penderfynu mwy o amser, ond yn siŵr, rhywbeth ychydig o bwysig yw'r ffaith ein bod ni'n cael ychydig mwy o sylwadau ar gyfer y dysgwyr. Mae yna lawer o bethau y mae'r dysgwyr ar gael i fod yn dda. Mae fy mhrofiad yw bod y dysgwyr yn dda iawn
[Roy Belson]: ym mhob ysgol ym mhob ysgol, ar lefel gradau. Weithiau yw'r fath. Yn gyffredinol, ym mhob un o'r grwpiau hyn, mae yna bobl sydd gyda gwybodaeth mewn ardalau gwahanol. Felly, mae'n bwysig ein bod ni'n ymddangos y byddant yn rannu gyda'r un arall ac y byddant yn gweithio gyda'n gilydd. Rydym wedi'i wneud ymlaen, ond rhaid i ni, efallai, ymddangos hwnnw ychydig, y bobl sy'n ymddangos ychydig, ym mhob ysgol ysgol ym mhob ysgol ym mhob ysgol
[Roy Belson]: So, as you know, we have to test our non-native language speakers, our ELL students, every year under a system, you know, called the WIDA testing. And our director of ELL is here to go over that with you. It's now underway. It's going well. But we want to bring you up to date in case you hear these terms and you want to know what's going on with regard to access testing a sut mae'n gweithio o ran ysgolion. Felly, mae Leslie Trotter yma. Ysgolion. Felly, rydyn ni'n ystod y testau.
[Roy Belson]: Y cyfrifiad i'w cyfrifiadu'n sefydlu ar y ffyrdd. Y cyfrifiad i'w cyfrifiadu'n se Un o'r ymdrechion mwyaf bwysig y mae'n rhaid i ni'n lansio yn y district hon yw'r newid o'n sefydliad gweithredol technoleg. Er mwyn cael ymwneud ag ymdrechion a'r grantau sy'n ymwneud â'r gwasanaethau a'r gwasanaethau sy'n ymwneud â'r grantau, mae'n rhaid i ni gynllunio'n sefydliad o'n sefydliad gweithredol cyfnodol, sy'n ymwneud â'n ymwneud â'n ymwneud â'n ymwneud â'n ymwneud â'n ymwneud â'n ymwneud â'n ymwneud â ar gyfer $400,000 o ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r Llywodraeth, sy'n rhaid i ni ymgyrchu'r 40% ar gyfer hyn. Byddai'r ffyrdd hwn yn ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ffyrdd ymgyrchu'r ff Mae'n bwysig y byddwn ni'n gweithio nawr o amrywiaethau gwahanol, y datblygiad o'r cyfrifiadau, y cyfrifiadau y byddwn ni'n gweithio nawr o amrywiaethau gwahanol, y cyfrifiadau y byddwn ni'n gweithio nawr o amrywiaethau gwahanol, y cyfrifiadau y byddwn ni'n gweithio nawr o amrywiaethau gwahanol, y cyfrifiadau y byddwn ni'n gweithio nawr o amrywiaethau gwahanol, y cyfrifiadau y byddwn ni'n gweithio nawr o amrywiaethau gwahanol, y cyfrifiadau y byddwn ni'n gweithio nawr o amrywiaethau gwahanol, y cyfrifiad Yn ymdrechion, mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw gael cefnogaeth ar gyfer sefydliad gweithredu a'r cyfrifiadau, ac mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw gael cefnogaeth ar gyfer sefydliad gweithredu a'r cyfrifiadau, ac mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw gael cefnogaeth ar gyfer sefydliad gweithredu a'r cyfrifiadau, ac mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw gael cefnogaeth ar gyfer sefydliad gweithredu a'r cyfrifiadau, ac mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw gael cefnogaeth ar gyfer sefydliad gweithredu a'r cyfrifiadau, ac mae'n rhaid iddyn nh Mae'r ymgeisydd yn rhaid i ni ddarparu ymwybyddiaeth ychwanegol ac ymgysylltiad ymddygiadol sy'n llwyr o ddifrifolion ymwneud y byddwn ni'n ymwneud ymlaen. Mae pob un yn gael sylwadau gwahanol o beth sy'n cael ei wneud. Mae ein rhaglenau a'n gwasanaethau yn mynd yn ymwneud ymlaen yn ymwneud ag ymgysylltiad robust ac ymgynghoriadwy i'r internet ac ymgysylltiad i'r intranet. Rydyn ni wedi ysgrifennu TechEdge o Cambridge i gyflwyno'r ymchwil ac i'n gyflwyno ni gyda cefnogaeth arbennig. Mae TechEdge yn ein cynghorwyr E-Rate ar hyn o bryd. Mae hefyd yn y cynghorwyr E-Rate yn y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig Information Technology, rather, Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, in over 20 Massachusetts school districts. And they serve as the technical consultants to the DESE Office of Digital Learning, the Digital Connections Partnership Grant, which is another grant we'll go after, which is an important grant. And they're the consultants. So anyway, you know what's in here. If you agree with me, we need to go forward. We want to get this done so we can apply and move it forward.
[Roy Belson]: We'll be approving TechEdge, approximately that kind of money. We don't think it'll exceed that. We think it may be less than that. And it'll be paid for by funds that we acquire.
[Roy Belson]: O'r ffyrdd rydyn ni'n cymryd ar hyn o bryd. Rydyn ni'n cymryd $60,000.
[Roy Belson]: Nid, rydyn ni'n cynllunio ar hynny. Mae ganddyn nhw drafnidiaeth leol i ddarparu'r gwasanaeth hwn, felly gallwn ymwneud â hynny ac yn gweithio gyda phobl sydd ganddyn nhw gwybodaeth.
[Roy Belson]: Mae'n rhaid i mi feddwl y bydd y Cynulliad y Deyrnas Unedig yn cefnogi technoleg yn y ysgolau. Nid ydw i'n credu y byddai nhw'n llai na'n cefnogi rhywbeth sy'n rhoi ychydig o $400,000 i ni, yn ymwneud â ni i gael ariannau arall, ac i gael ein myfyrwyr i gael y mwyaf o wybodaeth. Dyma fy mhrofiad. Mae'n rhaid i ni gweithredu fel mae ein ysgol hir a'r ysgol dynol yn ei wneud gyda
[Roy Belson]: Mae'n ymdrech ar hyn. Dyma'n unig'r dechrau.
[Roy Belson]: Wel, bydd y prosiect yn gweithio gyda'r adnoddwyr. Byddwn yn ymwneud â'r adnoddwyr yn gweithio gyda'r adnoddwyr. Byddwn yn ymwneud â'r adnoddwyr yn gweithio gyda'r adnoddwyr. a'r cymdeithaswyr cymdeithasol yn yr ardal technoleg, yn ogystal â'r arweinwyr y Deyrnas Unedig sy'n gwybod beth y maen nhw'n ei eisiau i'w ardalau unigol. Felly, byddant yn cael ymweld â nhw, ac bydd yr holl ddynion yn dod â'u cymorth mewn adroddiad. Felly, bydd y adroddiad hwn yn ymdrechu, nid dim ond yr hyn y mae'r gweithredwyr mewn gwirionedd yn ei wneud, ond hefyd yr hyn y mae'r bobl yn credu eu bod yn ei eisiau.
[Roy Belson]: Felly, byddwn ni'n mynd i ymgyrchu Alicia Palmer, sy'n gweithio mewn ardal ein hysbysebau dynol gyda'r Gweinidog a Chyfrifiadurwyr i fynd ymlaen y rôl honno. Mae Alicia yn dda iawn i'r cyfrifiadurwyr. Mae yn ddiddorol iawn ac yn gallu gwneud y math hwn o waith, ac dyna lle byddwn ni'n mynd i fynd gyda'r ymgyrchu hon. Ac rydyn ni'n credu Mae llawer yn ymwneud â hyn. Rydyn ni'n dechrau cael rhai gofynion dros ein bwrdd, ac maen nhw'n rhaid iddynt ymateb yn fawr cyflym, ac mae'n rhaid i ni gael y capacitaeth i wneud hynny. Nid yw unrhyw dyn yn gwneud pethau, mae'r unigol yn cydweithio â phobl eraill. Felly, os yw rhai pethau'n cael eu cyhoeddi o'r departament, mae'r unigol yn rhaid i'w gael ar y departament i gael y wybodaeth, cydweithio â'i, cydweithio â'i, cydweithio â'i ac ychwanegu'n ffyrdd cyffredinol.
[Roy Belson]: It won't affect our budget that much. I mean, we're talking about approximately $5,000 of annual outlay to do this, plus any costs associated with the production of materials. But we can charge individuals making the request, and we will recoup a substantial portion of that cost over time, because as individuals request items, byddwn yn ymwneud â'i ymlaen. Os bydd unigol yn ymwneud ag ychydig o ddocumentau, dyna un peth. Ond os bydd unigol yn ymwneud ag unrhyw gwaith, byddwn yn ymwneud â'i ymlaen ar y cyfrin sy'n cael ei ymwneud â'i bywyd, ac hefyd ar y gwaith papurol a'r produccion sy'n cael ei ymwneud â'i bywyd.
[Roy Belson]: Mae'n ysgolion, oherwydd nid yw'r uned yn rhan o'r uned, ac nid yw'n rhaid iddyn nhw fod ymwneud ag uned. Dyna pam rydyn ni'n dal ymlaen i'n swyddog, er mwyn i Christina a fi allu gwylio'r sylwadau'n dda iawn. Yn amlwg, byddai'r uned sy'n cael ymwneud y byddai angen gwybod beth sy'n gallu cael ei gofyn, beth sy'n gallu cael ei gofyn, A byddwn hefyd yn darparu ymgeisyddiaeth. Byddwn hefyd yn gweithio mewn rhaglenau ymgeisyddiaeth, er mwyn sicrhau bod pawb mewn gwirionedd ar y top. Dyma un o'r pethau lle bydd yna argyfwngau os nad ydyn ni'n ei wneud. Felly mae'n rhaid i ni gael pethau'n sefydliadau'n iawn, ac mae'n rhaid i ni gael ymgeisyddiaeth ac archif ar bopeth rydyn ni'n ymateb at.
[Roy Belson]: Y dyddiau yw'n wahanol. Nid yw dim ond y temperatura, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n ymdrech, nid yw'n y mae cyfleoedd i'r myfyrwyr gael ymddygiad o ymgyrchwyr, i ffynnu'r ymddygiad o ymddygiad, i ffynnu'r ymddygiad o ymddygiad, i ffynnu'r ymddygiad o ymddygiad, i ffynnu'r ymddygiad o ymddygiad, i ffynnu'r ymddygiad o ymddygiad, i ffynnu'r ymddygiad o ymddygiad, i ffynnu'r ymddygiad o ymddygiad, i ffynnu'r ymddygiad o ymddygiad, i ffynnu'r ymddygiad o ymddygiad, i ffynnu Nid oes ystafell gwleidyddol i gadw myfyrwyr mewn ystafell, neu i'w alluogi i fynd allan i ffwrdd i'r ysgolion. Fel argyfwng, mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw wneud y penderfyniad yn seiliedig ar sefyllfaoedd leol. Rydyn ni'n gobeithio ein penderfyniadau i wneud penderfyniadau am ddiogelwch ein myfyrwyr mewn nifer o weithiau. Rhaid i ni gobeithio iddyn nhw i wneud y penderfyniad hwn. Rydyn ni'n rhoi ymdrechion iddyn nhw. Ond mae'n rhaid iddyn nhw gael yr ysgrifenniad hwnnw. Nid ydych chi'n eisiau ei wneud o'r ystafell. Nid yw'r ystafellau'n unig'n ddigonol i wneud penderfyniadau'n rhannwys, ymddygiadau'n rhannwys, ymddygiadau'n rhannwys, ymddygiadau'n rhannwys, ymddygiadau'n rhannwys, ymddygiadau'n rhannwys, ymddygiadau'n rhannwys, ymddygiadau'n rhannwys, ymddygiadau'n rhannwys, ymddygiadau'n rhannwys, Yn amlwg, mae cymorth y myfyrwyr yn bwysig iawn. Yn amlwg, mae cymorth y myfyrwyr yn bwysig iawn. Mae cymorth y myfyrwyr yn bwysig iawn. Rydyn ni'n gobeithio i'r rhaglenwyr ymgeisio ymgeiswyr, gan gynnwys golygau a golygau. Rydyn ni hefyd yn gallu cyrraedd cyfrif o'n ei un ar gyfer rhai ychydig o blant sydd ddim yn ei gael, sydd ddim yn dod i'w gysylltu. Ac mae hynny weithiau'n realiaeth. Rydyn ni'n gallu newid ymgeiswyr, i ryw fath, ar gyfer rhan fawr o'r diwrnod, os yw'n bosib. Efallai ychydig yn hir yn y diwrnod, yn hytrach na'n gyfrif. Mae'n anodd, oherwydd mae llawer o ffactorau eraill sy'n digwydd. Rydyn ni' ychwanegwch ymlaen ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, ychwanegwch ymlaen, Yn y dyfodol, rwy'n ymdrechu'n fawr i ymdrechu'r ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ysgrifennu'n ys Ms.
[Roy Belson]: We will once we're through tonight. Okay. I wanted to present it to you, get feedback that you have, but we'll send this out.
[Roy Belson]: Well, every building has its own culture, but I will now make it imperative upon the teacher to consult with the principal.
[Roy Belson]: Byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch chi'n gwybod, rwy'n gobeithio y byddwch Yn ddiweddaraf, rydw i'n gobeithio y byddwn yn ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwneud ag ysgolion sy'n ymwne efallai y bydd y rhai o'r ysgolion gyda'r arbennigion eraill ar y ffordd y gallai'r sylwadau'n cael eu penderfynu. Mae'n rhaid i'r pethau hyn i gael eu meddwl amdanyn nhw. Felly rydyn ni'n credu y bydd ein sylwadau'n gwneud penderfyniadau. Rydyn ni'n rhaid iddyn nhw'n rhoi ymdrechion, ond rydyn ni'n gweithio arnyn nhw, ysgrifennu arnyn nhw a ysgrifennu arnyn nhw i weld beth mae'r ffordd wedi'i wneud. y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan, ac y bydd y claswyr yn mynd allan,
[Roy Belson]: Rwy'n meddwl bod pobl yn cael sylwadau gwahanol, ac rwy'n deall hynny. Mae rhai o'r bobl yn fwysigach na'r rest o'r bobl. Mae rhai o'r bobl sy'n scyllio ar y bas argymhell, ac mae rhai o'r bobl sy'n byw nid ymlaen. Ond mae'r realiaeth yw ein bod yn rhaid i ni gael unrhyw gydraddoldeb mewn ysgol, ac mae'n rhaid i ni ysgrifennu'r hawliau o'r ysgrifennwyr i wneud ymddygiad, ac yna byddwn yn ymweld â hyn. Byddwn yn ymweld â hyn. Yn ymweld â'r ysgrifenn
[Roy Belson]: Gwybodaeth ffinansynol. Felly, byddwn i'n gofyn i'n dyrweithwyr ffinansynol, Christine, sy'n gweithio'n fawr iawn ac yn gwneud gwaith gwych i'r gwybodaeth ffinansynol.
[Roy Belson]: Byddwn ni'n cael trafodaeth o trafodaethau gweithwyr cafetariaid yn dod i mewn i'r sesiwn gweithredol.
[Roy Belson]: A gallwn ni ddod, byddwn ni'n dod i'r adroddiad I think you're talking about the revolving fund?
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, it's our distinct privilege and honor this evening to have with us Medford resident Professor Emeritus at Suffolk University, Edward Clark, who is the husband of the late Director of our English Department, Leah R. Kaleri-Clark. did an outstanding job during her time as the leader of that department and as an inspiration to our faculty and to our teachers and to our students. Professor Clark is here this evening with his attorney, Paul Kelly. And they are going to make a presentation and ask the committee to accept a gift in honor and memory of Leah in the amount of $25,000 to serve as a scholarship. So I'd like at this time to call upon Attorney Kelly and Professor Clark to join us at the rostrum here to make any statements they would like to make. While they're coming up, I'd indicate that under the direction of our Director of Humanities, Dr. Nicole Chiesa, we have set up some criteria. You have it in front of you. I won't read it at this time. But she is also here. And we welcome any questions that you may have.
[Roy Belson]: I just want to also comment that I had the pleasure of working with Leah for many years and, um, He was a very, very outstanding educator and a good kind person who really cared about our young people. But I also want to make note that attorney Kelly this evening is with us. He is the husband of the superintendent of the Arlington public schools and the former chairperson of the Winchester public schools. So it's a pleasure to have you here and give our best to Kathy because she's a terrific educator too. Thank you very much.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, I call upon our assistant superintendent to join us and explain this gift.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, a return performance by our assistant superintendent, because it's Columbus School Night and we're going to discover a lot of things. And so she'll present this report.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, this was an outstanding activity, and I'm going to call upon our Curriculum Director, Dr. Bernadette Riccadeli, to brief you on the exciting day that our young people had at the Science Museum, along with Dr. Piazza.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, it's interesting and perhaps ironic that tonight Jean became the first principal of the New Columbus School. And tonight we celebrated achievements of the Columbus School. So I think that something comes together mystically in our world. As Jean opened that school and she was the queen of her castle as she would announce in the morning, every morning over the loudspeaker. It was exciting.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, the CASET program, the Centro Attivo Scholastico program, which presents- Italian. Italian, which presents funds for us to keep our elementary language program going and to also support the development of the Italian culture within our schools, so central to the fact that there's such a strong Italian heritage in our community as well. I had the opportunity to attend a meeting yesterday, and several of our elementary teachers were recognized, and Anne Marie was there. And the ever energetic Jaconda Mata, who heads the organization, presented us with a check for $50,000 to help support that program. So I recommend that we accept it and make it work for us as we go forward.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen! For the performance of the National Anthem under the direction of Ms.
[Roy Belson]: for the outstanding sports season you've had this fall. We appreciate all your efforts and we appreciate all of you working in to represent our community in a positive and productive way. And also to all the people that participated, the folks, our advisors, who are doing a great job keeping our high school a terrific place to go to school. To all of the 129 meaning I've been through it all in the second almost continuous schoolboy football rivalry in the country. But go Mustangs! Gallop through the tornado, gallop through the... Congress tornado, not the golf tornado. And let's go Mustangs! Every year, the Beth Tepesco Alumni Association presents a series of awards to recognize certain members of their community for their service to the students of Beth Tepesco. This is the 2016 Young Alumni Tumor Award Ceremony. It is being recognized for its dedication as a teacher, coach, advisor, assistant principal, and overall academic supporter. Please join me in recognizing the 2001 alum, Medvedov, Mr. President.
[Roy Belson]: Everybody's attention, we'll get started and I appreciate everyone being here on this very important occasion where we have an opportunity to blend our vocational school with our community access television. and produce one terrific studio and one terrific program on behalf of our young people and on behalf of the entire community. I'm Roy Belson, I'm the superintendent of schools and welcome to the Medford Public Schools, welcome to the Medford Vocational Technical High School, welcome to Medford High School. Glad to have you here, thank you for being here. Before we begin, let me take an opportunity to introduce some of our elected officials who will be with us through this thing and who have been supportive as we move forward with this particular project. The members of the school committee include Robin Emmons Carey Jr., Paulette Vandekloot, Mia Mustone, and Kathy Kreatz, who are all here today. So let's welcome the school committee. Representing the Medford City Council, Councilor Richard Caraviello. The main person in the state legislature, the assistant majority leader, Paul Donato. And we're thrilled to have with us a number of people who have come out to help us promote this program, representing Channel 4, Lisa Hughes. And from Nesson, Courtney Cox. We also have with us the headmaster of the high school, Dr. John Perella. Director of the Vocational Technical High School and Principal of the Vocational Technical High School, Dr. Heidi Riccio. Director of Finance and Operations, who's done a great job keeping track of all the finances moving on this project, Kirsteen Patterson. Our Deputy Superintendent of Schools, Beverly Nelson. I should probably introduce everybody in the room. The architect is Scott Payette. Somebody from Integrated, I haven't seen anyone from Integrated yet. No? Okay, I guess.
[Roy Belson]: Ah, okay. My favorite disc jockey, Hank Morse from WRR. Hank, this whole program is going to make great music. All right, well, look, this is a great opportunity that has been developed by a lot of wonderful people working for the schools and working for the community under the mayor's direction, who's made a terrific commitment to making sure that Medford not only has a fine vocational program, but also has an outstanding community access program. I want to thank the mayor for her efforts in making sure this happens as we work through all the different changes and things that have to happen to ensure that we have the right studio, the studio that's going to last us for a number of years, in a studio that's going to help our young people grow and develop. So I want to thank the mayor. So anyway, today I think it's really important for all of us to recognize the importance of communication. Obviously we live in a world where a lot of things get put out there, some of them not so true, some of them partly true, some of them who knows if they're true. And the reality is, is that, you know, our young people need to be able to understand communication. They need to understand what is real, what isn't real, how it should be presented, and ways to attract people so they can be informed. The community needs a voice. We live in an age where we need a community conversation under the mayor's leadership and the leadership of many members of her staff. We're going to begin a whole project of community conversations that help the community talk about the issues that sometimes plague other communities and could plague our community in ways that would be destructive and divisive and not constructive in a way that would help us grow and move forward as a 21st century school system and community. So it's very important that this project to actually happen and actually happen in a way that is going to promote the best of what is Medford and the best of what is our area. It's our hope that as the construction goes forward during the spring that we will also produce community programming and school and government programming as we work from temporary stations like this room and other places with the help of our key people like Chrissy Frazier, who's Miss Chrissy over there. Chrissy is okay. Our two teachers. Great for media technology, Richie Trotta. Alison Goldsberry, all the people that have worked in the department. And the Department of Information Officer, Lisa Evangelista. We've got so many good people working and helping us at this point in time. The Procurement Office, Shahb Khan and her people, real helpful with something and others. We've got Lisa Nunley, our new Director of Finance and Administration for the city, who's going to make sure the school department has all the money they need. And all the people from the office who are helpful to us, and all the people on our advisory committees who have stepped up and provided good guidance and information on the best way to do things. So we're thrilled to have this opportunity to be part of this groundbreaking. So without further ado, it's my great pleasure to introduce you to the Mayor of the City of Medford, the Honorable Stephanie M. Burke.
[Roy Belson]: It's now my great pleasure to introduce you with the driving force behind a lot of things that happen in our vocational school and in our community right now. The energetic, very productive and very, very successful director and principal of a vocational school, Dr. Heidi Riccio.
[Roy Belson]: I have to say... That's your evaluation. Oh, there you go.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Thank you ladies. Obviously we're really excited about our young people and what they can do. You just have to look around the school to see all the terrific things they're doing. It makes you very proud and makes you feel very good about our teachers and about our students and their parents and how they commit themselves to their education. So at this time, I'd like to invite some of our media guests up to, if they'd like to say a few words, Lisa. Lisa Hughes.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you very much. As you all know, Lisa was the MC at the Crystal Campbell Dedications and did a terrific job. We appreciate the way she brought that program forward on behalf of the entire community.
[Roy Belson]: They won't send you a tax bill. And let's call Courtney Cox if she'd like to come up from Nessun.
[Roy Belson]: Now meant for its favorite radio voice, Hank Morse.
[Roy Belson]: So before we move to the site for the ribbon cutting and a tour of the upcoming facility, I also want to have a little shout out to our reporter from the Medford Transcript, Alex, who has just been recruited by Theo Epstein to be the public relations director of the Chicago Cubs. Well, something like that. It's in Chicago. He'll be leaving us at the end of the week, and I'll have to work over another report and see if we can get some good stories. I think we should make our way to the area where we're going to have the ribbon cutting. No, one more thing. Oh, we're going to do a picture. Don't move. Just watch your step. Watch your step. We're going to go in. Watch your step.
[Roy Belson]: So I spoke to the music department. There are currently 76 wind instruments that have been rented at this time. Most of them at the elementary level, there are about 66, another 10 at the middle school level. Most of the instruments beyond the middle school are either owned by the individuals or, well, they are owned by the individuals. By that time, they've paid for them if they've worked them up all the way up. So we currently have about 76 instruments that are rented in the school system, mostly at the elementary level.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor, if I can, the third word is issuance. It's not borrow, loan. It's issued. Issued from the school department, whether it's issued on a lease purchase or issued as a pure rental.
[Roy Belson]: But they're contracted by the school department to do that. Right. So as a result, the school department is issuing it through the private company. on behalf of the school department.
[Roy Belson]: If I think I'm correct, I spoke to Mr. Casey, who unfortunately can't be here because he's not feeling well at this point, but he told me that for Medford students, they are issuing it at about $100 for a wind instrument. for the year, which is well below market. So they issue to another school district. I think he says he rents to about 127 different school districts. It's $25 a month. In Medford, it's $100 for the year. So it's a very sharp discount for a Medford student, Jack, as a graduate of the high school. And we obviously feel some obligation.
[Roy Belson]: The last cost I saw for a typical wind instrument, trumpet, a clarinet, something of that type, and please correct me if I'm wrong, was approximately $125 for the process. I would say that that's the neighborhood, but it is not necessarily the street. A larger instrument, for example, a typical kid wouldn't buy a tuba. I mean, you know, that's something we would do and then we would have to be responsible for that.
[Roy Belson]: No, but that's what he told me. I asked him what the cost would be. And he said, that's what it would be.
[Roy Belson]: I didn't say he could sterilize. I asked him what he thought the cost was since he did, you know, I thought he would know.
[Roy Belson]: I'm wrong. He's way off.
[Roy Belson]: I don't remember that, but if it's, if it's less, it's less. It's much less.
[Roy Belson]: So, let's clarify a few things. The statute says that when the school department issues something for a student to use or borrow, to use or borrow, not own, to use or borrow, then we have to notify parents of this option. Now, it's incumbent upon us to give them The pros, maybe some cons if there are, as to why they would or wouldn't do this, the pricing, and to tell them how it works and how to access it. Now, as far as the school department doing it, if we set up a system where people can bring their instruments to us so we can give them to the appropriate company, that's easily done. It's not difficult to do. So I don't have a problem doing that. The issue is really more of setting up a system, providing appropriate flyer, which I'll provide to you. We do have one issue, and maybe an attorney can enlighten us on this one. is to whether or not there's more than one company, because obviously we have bid laws. Is there one more than one company at this time?
[Roy Belson]: So in other words, saying if we put something out, this might be a sole source. And if it's a sole source, we put that out there. But if another source were to show up, we would have to, over time, explain that to people that they have that option as well. But in the interim, it's not a difficult thing to do. It's just that we want to provide appropriate notification Nothing wrong with providing appropriate notification. And people can make up their own mind. And if they believe that this is in their best interest, then fine. If they don't believe it's in their best interest, then that's a choice they can make. So that's what we're involved with. The statute is not a difficult one to accept. It's really a question of how we have people access it.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, and Reverend, I think it's really important, given the climate that sometimes pervades our world, that we reemphasize not only to ourselves as adults, but to the students that this is important to us. And when the adults make a motion of this type, you're sending a message to the young people who perhaps have not thought it through as much. And it's important for us to be able to say this is something that the adults have taken an active stand on. So that's another reason for doing it in a public body and especially in a school system where we have the care and responsibility of educating our young people about how to get along. And we've talked a lot about social and emotional health. We've talked a lot about some of the issues. And I have to tell you, the academic issues will take care of themselves over the years. The ones that won't are the social and emotional and the personal interactions of young people if we don't step up as role models and if we don't step up as voices to help them find voice as they grow up. So to help them with their transition to adulthood, it's critical that we take visible stance on human issues, human rights, and human fairness.
[Roy Belson]: I think we do.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, Rocco Sierra is unable to be with us this evening. He's not feeling well, but we have a terrific substitute, our deputy superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: I guess so. She wants to speak. Oh, just one comment. So just want to remind you that on the 14th, you've all been invited to the science museum. If you haven't got the thing on the, uh, the global scholars program, And that's going to intersect with the Bloomberg gift to the Science Museum on science innovation and innovation around the world, how our middle school students are talking to students from around the world on scientific issues like the digital environment, water, and things of that type. So you're invited to participate and to watch. And that's on the 14th. And we'll reemphasize that to you. But it's another aspect of how science gets integrated into a lot of other activities as well.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, making a second appearance.
[Roy Belson]: Um, a couple of weeks ago we gave you a draft of a reasonable use policy with regard to technology. Um, we pulled it off the table because there was some information that came to us from the ACLU and some other people that we wanted to, uh, review to ensure that we didn't miss anything and that we had a properly looked at legally. Um, We can control how devices are used in the school. We can't control what people do on their own privately as long as it doesn't affect or harass other students or result in bullying. But certainly the curriculum can talk about these things and the communication and the hostility. And also the community conversations issue really speaks to this, about people saying things, whether it's about sex or it's about hate or other forms of inappropriate conversation. It will all come to play through the curriculum, but I think at the same token, a reasonable use policy when we reemerge it, possibly as early as next meeting. I just want to make sure that it's right. We've vetted it with enough legal, and maybe the first of the year if we want to take a little bit more time. We'll speak to the issue of use of devices in schools and suggestions as to what young people should not be doing with their devices.
[Roy Belson]: Well, there shouldn't be any use of that device for that purpose during the school day in the school setting. But it does happen. But that in of itself would be a violation of the reasonable use policy. So that should be forbidden for use during the day of anything like that. So if it happens outside, you know, it's kind of hard to police that unless it results in some form of bullying or inappropriate harassment that might exist.
[Roy Belson]: No, but you have to be real about it. I mean, we don't control what people do on the street outside of us except if we are told that it affects how one student interacts with another. As far as the education side, we can bring that up through the curriculum.
[Roy Belson]: If it were happening. If it were happening. Correct. If it were happening.
[Roy Belson]: I think we can, you know, introduce the term sexting, you know, because that would be a common application of communication issues. I don't think it's a problem of doing that. I just think the education side is one side and the technical side is the other side. So, you know, it comes together. It's not like we're ignoring one or the other.
[Roy Belson]: But Rachel, I think the assumption here is that there was nothing going on at the middle school in health. I think maybe you should talk a little bit what we are doing in the middle school because I think there's somehow that you see an elementary piece and a high school piece, but we haven't talked about the middle school piece.
[Roy Belson]: I think one of the things that we've got to understand is a common thread that runs through everything. How do young people make good decisions about anything, whether it's alcohol, sex, behavior towards others, race, things of that type. The whole constant of all these curricula deals with the issue of good decision making. How you are responsible to yourself and others as you move through, regardless of the content. So I think that's really the common thread. And maybe we just simply have to weave in some additional content is really what you're asking. So that we can give people at least an introduction to that since it seems to be a concern that may be emergent.
[Roy Belson]: Deputy superintendent will comment on that if you need additional information.
[Roy Belson]: Why don't we announce the date because I think it's important that parents know so they can plan.
[Roy Belson]: Let me tell you why.
[Roy Belson]: I picked a Monday because I want the continuity of the week. I don't want to have it on the Wednesday. You come to school for two days and then you have day off and then you go another two days. I think it breaks up the week. It's incumbent upon the faculty. It's incumbent upon students not to use this as an excuse to extend the weekend. And we need to make that clear to them. But I think it's important that we not lose four days consecutively, and just simply have two days, break it up in the middle of the week, and then it really doesn't help us in terms of keeping momentum going in classes.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, there's a lot going on in the evaluation process at the state level. And it's going back and forth between the Teachers Association, the MASC, the MASS, the Commissioner's Office and the like. And we want to keep you informed because it's a hot topic right now and I want you to understand, you know, where it's going. Uh, there was a proposed change that the commissioner brought to the attention of the destiny board. Uh, this past week, uh, commissioner Chester introduced a change that because of the feedback he was getting from the field, no one was really happy with the way there was, it was set up previously that would there be a student impact rating that was independent of the, um, with a regular rating. So we came up with an approach that would embed it in standard two. Um, so it would be part of the standard two rating. The teacher's association, as you can see from what's been attached, is adamantly opposed to it. The MASS and the MASC believe it's workable. Uh, the board has sent it out for public comment. Over the next couple of months, there'll be public comment, and we'll see what actually takes place. But it's an important element of public policy, because obviously, there's got to be some form of teacher evaluation going on. And the question is, is that is student learning a legitimate element of determining how effective a teacher is in the classroom? Now, it shouldn't be so plastic that The teacher who works with the most challenged of students is expected to have the same results as the teachers working with the gifted and talented student who self-motivates and teaches themselves in some ways. Albeit, good teachers inspire anybody at any level. But having said that, the debate is very sharp right now. And it reflects a great deal of back and forth. And I'm not sure exactly how it's going to end up. I will tell you that it is tying us up in terms of dealing with the Teachers Association, in terms of coming up with new ideas as to how to properly evaluate. It does create a back and forth between the associations in the Commonwealth, and it clearly is a topic that we're going to hear more and more about. So I want to keep you informed, I want you to know what people are saying, what happened at the board, what happened with the memo you have from the Teachers Association, both from the MTA and the AFT, although it's on the MTA stationery, as to what their objections are. And we'll continue to talk about this because the way we evaluate teachers, the way we set goals for performance is very important to us, and how we measure that is also very important and it will affect personnel decisions going forward. So, happy to take any questions you may have, but I think the rest of it is self-explanatory.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call upon our Director of Finance and Administration, Christine Patterson is doing a great job and stepping in so quickly and Good evening madam mayor members of the committee.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Of course, one of the things, I'll just say this as a commentary on what's going on, we don't know what the federal policy is going to be going into next year with regard to USDA reimbursements to the state and to us. The supply of commodities and things of that type, it could change at this particular point in time. So there's some uncertainty on that level. We've got to deal also with the fact that, you know, the price of food in local markets, we have, you know, some issues with regard to that. We'll go up farm to school and things like that. We want farm fresh. We want certain kinds of food. So we have to be careful about that. But so far the food service program is doing fine. But, you know, we'll monitor that. And our goal would be not to raise prices unless we absolutely have to. And we try to give you as much advance notice as we can. But I appreciate what you're saying.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. We will be. But I will point out to you that more and more of our students are becoming eligible for free and reduced. There's two schools that received equipment. They had to have at least 50% of the student body eligible in order to even apply for the grant. And the others aren't too far behind. There's only one school that's really kind of, you know, doesn't have that economic. But most of the others are starting to head towards that 50% threshold. It's simply the nature of the demographic in the community, so we are conscious of that very much.
[Roy Belson]: To the extent that they want to. Some kids will never tell you because they don't want to. Some families won't, but more and more we're paying attention to that because obviously it affects us. Part of the reason that prices had to be raised, just so we can remind ourselves of this, was the fact that the USDA insisted that we charge at least as much as they were reimbursing. They weren't going to reimburse us more money than we were charging ourselves. So that was an important thing to bring it up, so we had to actually bring it up. But the point's well taken, and we'll follow up, and we'll try to do the best we can in giving a word out there.
[Roy Belson]: So in our last meeting, you asked me to draft a letter from you to our legislative delegation. I have done so. And you, you know, had a chance to hopefully to look it over so that we can send it in. But I want to bring you up to date on a couple more things that have since emerged. Uh, but that law I did attach. an advisory from the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, legal counsel, which went into a great deal of depth about some of the legal challenges in implementing this law. I also had the opportunity today to meet with the state treasurer as part of the Economic Empowerment Task Force, which I serve, about the implementation, because the implementation comes under her jurisdiction, at least at this point in time. As you may know, there's no money that's been allocated in the current budget for it and the current collections have gone down this month. So it's hard to know where that new money is coming and there's no consensus to borrow from the rainy day fund from either the governor or the speaker of the house or the state treasurer. So it's unlikely that this will be off and running very soon. Um, because they, they need money to set up the apparatus to do the, the kinds of things that are necessary. Still, we should be on record. In addition, we should also note that there are some interesting federal laws that are going to intersect with this right now. There is the Drug-Free Schools Act. There's the Communities Act. There's also, you know, a discussion of states' rights versus federal supremacy clause. Under the federal supremacy clause, federal laws take precedent over state laws, unless they're covered by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, which reserves rights to the state that are not enumerated for the federal government. But depending on the court, it really depends on what the judges want to rule at any one time, because it's gone both ways. So it's entirely possible that the incoming Attorney General, who has been very strong in his advocacy against marijuana, recreational or medical, in his home state, and in the Senate may actually take a more aggressive stance than the current Attorney General of the United States, Loretta Lynch. So there's a lot going on as to how this stuff is going to play out in the national and the local scene in the upcoming months. Another thing, too, that maybe people don't fully realize is that because it's a federal crime, money's collected for this revenue from marijuana can't be deposited in a federal bank because it's a criminal act.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, all kinds of, but you know, there's going to be, it's going to be very interesting to see how they play with that because with a new, if you will, sheriff in town at the White House, it could very well be a very difficult thing that goes forward. So in the interim, it doesn't hurt for us to be on record with the letter that I've drafted for you or any amendments you want to make to it. Uh, but I think that it's going to be a little while before we start to see this, uh, take place and where it goes.
[Roy Belson]: The superintendent would like to mention just a couple of quick, quick things, you know, again, tomorrow at 1230 is groundbreaking at the community access channel. It's going to be hosted in part by the mayor, by Lisa Hughes from channel four of Courtney Cox from Nesson. and a number of other people from the media coming to see us in action. And it'll be a good opportunity to see how this thing is progressing. A lot of good work is going on. Christina has been working real hard with city officials to ensure that the construction goes forward and that the necessary modifications are made so that things go forward. But tomorrow's an opportunity to see things from the actual site and to get some reports at that opportunity. I've given you two articles. from Time Magazine, which was referenced by Paulette a short time ago. They're worth reading because I think what's important is that we stay up on what's being said out there so we can have the dialogues necessary to guide the future directions of our resources and our curriculum. It should be noted that the President-Elect has named an incoming U.S. Secretary of Education, Elizabeth Betsy DeVos of Michigan. She's an active supporter of school choice, charters, and vouchers. She also has announced that she's against the Common Core. We'll see where that happens, what that means. Again, back to the Supremacy Clause versus states' rights. All those kinds of things have to be worked out. But it's going to be very interesting to see, especially coming off the most recent initiative petition in the Commonwealth as to what kinds of incentives will be made to the communities, the states, to expand choice. and the like. The Massachusetts Constitution forbids certain types of activities. Again, you know, it's hard to know how it will all intersect, but it bears watching. So those are just a few items to bring to your attention, and hopefully you can participate. And again, on the 14th, if you intend to go, let us know so we can arrange for parking and the other things for you at the Science Museum.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, this project has been going on for a number of years. And this year, once again, the Governor's Office, through its Project 351, is sponsoring student ambassadors from our middle schools to attend a project activity on Martin Luther King Day and then do a year of community service. I'm going to call on our two principals, Paul DeLaver and Jake Edwards, if he's here, to introduce these students and talk a little bit about the program.
[Roy Belson]: So, Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we have representatives from the company that runs the trip, and our deputy superintendent is prepared to answer any questions you may have. Remember last year we had a trip to Ecuador, and we then had a trip to Washington, and we had some, you know, things we had to do, but we've worked on making sure that these things are in place, so let them present, and then you can ask any questions you might have.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we'll call upon our Director of Humanities, Dr. Kieser, and our Director of Curriculum, Bernadette Riccadeli, to tell us about Veterans Day.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Members of the committee. The advance of technology requires that we improve our policy with regard to use of technology. The current policy is attached to the cover page, it's called the acceptable use policy, but it's much thinner than the one that we have developed since that time. However, tonight we have Mr. Trotter and Mr. Arena with us who work on our technology. Alan is the network administrator, Richard is the Director of Media and Technology. But we'd like to table it tonight because some additional information has come to our attention from the ACLU and some other groups. We want to match up the information to make sure that we've covered all the bases and make sure that there's nothing that we've missed. We want to be careful that different groups have different issues. There are some other things that are moving forward, but we do want to address this as an issue. So, what you have in front of you, look it over and give us any feedback you have, and we will continue to research some of the latest stuff that's come out only this past week. and determine whether or not we've missed anything that we think should be included or something that should be worded differently. Mr. Trotter and Mr. Arena are here if you have any preliminary questions, otherwise we recommend we lay it on the table.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, the conference was great, but our deputy superintendent is going to issue this report to you. There's a lot of attachments, and you'll find at the back there's also a financial accounting that was asked for at a previous meeting.
[Roy Belson]: Well, one of the things that, you know, was in here that you should notice is the fact that we've identified through tier 2 of the E-rate about 700,000, it could be as much as 800,000 that we can access. And we'll start applying for that after the first year when the window opens. And that's a match. That's 60 percent of the cost of what we pay. So we do our capital plan We can hope to get as much as $800,000 against the capital plan for technology enhancements, which will be well worth the thing. And then there's a couple of other technology items in here that also are fundable. So that was probably the biggest financial takeaway. Another thing was to look at roofing. I think I mentioned it here a little bit, because obviously we're looking at roofing going down the future. And some of the roofing applications now are very, very good and they're less expensive than some of the previous roofing and they can be done much more quickly. So becoming familiar with that is a real important thing. There are some legal things that are coming up that are really questionable that we need to get in front of. You know that we just had an election and that with that election, ESSA is going to be looked at by a new administration, how it's going to be implemented, how it's going to be changed. Some of those things were talked about in great length. There were things that are still unknown. You know, we just can't know, but people are speculating on them. So I think there's a lot of takeaways from this that you just can't do when you're not talking to people face to face. When you're talking to somebody over the telephone, the conversations, they're good, but they're not great. When you're talking to somebody face to face over a cup of coffee, you can get an awful lot of information, especially if they're working on this on a regular basis.
[Roy Belson]: I think we're making good progress. I think, you know, a couple of tweaks here and there, but I think we've broken through the initial gridlock of trying to get some of that stuff to happen. And I think you start to see things take fuller shape in the next little while.
[Roy Belson]: Elementary was going to be a little bit later because they're in a different position right now. They don't get report cards the same way the. The others do, but will roll that out fairly soon. I think Diane can answer that specifically.
[Roy Belson]: My pleasure.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, as you know, the Marijuana question passed the ballot in this past November by about 54% of the voters who actually voted. And one of the big questions, obviously, is there isn't enough regulatory guidance. When you look at some of these ballot questions, they're very blunt instruments. They can only ask for one thing up or down. And they don't really spell out all the things that are inside that need to happen in order to make it work well. The Speaker of the House, Senate President and the Governor have all expressed their concerns, the Attorney General, about the lack of regulatory assistance that they have going forward. But they can't do much between now and January because they're in an informal session, and all you need is one legislator to object, and the matter can't be discussed. and obviously there are people that don't want to talk about it right now. So, I expect that in January, the legislature will take this up in earnest, and the governor will follow quickly, and there'll be a lot of support for regulatory help. Currently, it's under the state treasurer, Deborah Goldberg, for implementation, but it's unfunded. She has no funds for it, nor does she have any appointees to her commission, and this is scheduled to go into effect December 15th. So there's obviously some concerns about that. So there's a lot of different concerns that we have. I mean, obviously the medical marijuana piece is better regulated and that's already in place. But the recreational marijuana issues are not regulated at this point. So what basically I'm saying, it's imperative that school committees, school officials urge the legislature and the governor to take the necessary action to prevent the misuse of this substance. You know, we talk about opiates, we talk about all these things. Well, I look at marijuana as a gateway drug. Especially when young people can get access to it. Now, the minimum age is 21, but if a 21-year-old has it, I'm not sure that he or she is going to keep it from their friend who is 16 or 17. And I have a feeling that, you know, there were issues associated with that. So, here are some of the things that I would want to write to our legislators on behalf of the committee, and there may be others that we can add to it. The first is to provide a local opt-in provision. Right now it's opt-out. And in order to do it, you have to schedule a referendum vote that could be a year later. But I want to make them put it opt-in, which means you have to, as a community, decide to actually accept the rule for your community. That's one. It would mirror the Colorado law, which is currently in place, and we think that's a good piece to have. Seventy percent of the communities in Marijuana ban their local areas for distributing it, so that's just an idea. The second thing is substantially increase the tax rate. Right now it's 3.75. At that rate, while it might generate some money, it won't generate enough money for enforcement. It won't generate enough money for control. It won't generate enough money for data collection, for the kinds of things that have to go forward in order for us to modify and improve the law as we go forward. So, we think that the legislature should increase that tax, maybe even double it, in order to ensure that there's sufficient funds to regulate recreational marijuana. We think they should eliminate the home-grown provision. The provision as it currently stands will not adequately be enforced. Who's to know who's going to go in whose home to get warrants to go in people's homes to see if they've only got six plants, or how they're using it, or whether they're putting it in brownies, or whether they're putting in these kinds of things and distributing it in ways that cannot be easily detected. The other piece on this is that the way the marijuana is grown today, The intensity of it is much stronger than it was years ago. And we don't know if it's going to be spiced or spliced, if you will, with other substances in certain venues that may be at home. We can't control it. So we think the homegrown piece needs to be looked at in order for us to protect underage students and underage people, or anyone in particular. We think they need to strengthen the control commission to better understand the impact and to effectively regulate the industry. The commission should have a staff that collects data to inform future modifications that may be necessary to protect public safety. If you don't have data out there as to what's happening, whether there's connection between recreational marijuana use and other drug use, you don't know what's going on. You don't know if you're helping or hurting what's happening. So, the initiative petition process, like I say, can be a valuable part of the democratic system. However, it's a very blunt instrument and it needs to be refined. We obviously will respect the will of the people as we do with all initiative petitions, and the legislature very rarely overturns the will of the people. But there's no reason why they can't modify it and refine it, and I think the interest is there on the part of the leadership. So, what I'd like to do is draft a letter to our legislators on behalf of the committee and the school department administration with these suggestions, and hope that they will take action as swiftly as possible at the turn of the of the year when the legislature goes back into formal session.
[Roy Belson]: I can bring that to you.
[Roy Belson]: So, the state just released the disciplinary statistics from 2015-2016. Medford is well below the numbers for the state on average. I've given you some of the reports that I was able to download offline. We need to do a little bit more analysis, but we're well below. I gave you some categories that would give you some ideas about different areas, whether it be substance abuse, marijuana, physical theft or assault or anything of that type. for you to look over. We'll do a bigger report going forward but I wanted you to have something to look at. I think some of our initiatives in terms of providing additional programs for youngsters rather than sending them home have worked and will continue to work and we need to strengthen them going forward. But I think those things are positive steps for us and I think it shows in the results and we'll continue to show in the results going forward.
[Roy Belson]: Well, High Needs is a conglomerate group. It could be economically disadvantaged, it could be special needs, it could be ELL. It's a grouping that sort of is an omnibus for all the different groups that have been identified as disaggregated groups. And we try to I understand that, but sometimes it's hard to know who's in the group because you don't know who they've included in the group. But I think it's pretty much the youngsters who fall into groups like special needs, EOL, economically disadvantaged, and some other groups that might be lesser known.
[Roy Belson]: Sure, we will do that. And as you know, we've talked about this as adding programs, these opportunities for change and things like that. There are alternative insides which keep kids from being, let's say, sent home and given some additional help or counseling. That's what we're pushing towards. That's what we're going to try to keep doing. Budget's permitting, obviously, and I think that that's reflected in our numbers.
[Roy Belson]: That's why the emphasis on social emotional learning. Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: It was the opportunities for change program.
[Roy Belson]: Probably halfway through the year, let's give it a half a year to really
[Roy Belson]: – Sure.
[Roy Belson]: We will break it down further. This came out just at the end of the week, and we just sort of wanted to get it out because it was being announced. But at the same token, we have more time to break it down now.
[Roy Belson]: I received a number of phone calls from a number of you and others with regard to the election results that took place on November 8th. And school systems around the Commonwealth and around the country received multiple inquiries from parents and citizens regarding classroom discussions about the recent national election results. and concerns were raised about some teachers or staff who might introduce their personal opinions and feelings into what might be considered a very charged current topic leading to possible conflict. As we know, elections are a fundamental element of democracy. The process of elections and the substantive issues are a legitimate part of citizenship education. We can't eliminate either process or substance from our schools and our classrooms. Naturally, discussions must be age-appropriate and devoid of any hostility for expressions of opinion. There can be no discussions that are racist and discriminatory towards any group. and adult personnel must ensure that inappropriate comments are not introduced or perpetuated. So on Wednesday morning, November 9th, I sent out an email to principals, which is listed here, and I wanted to read it so the public did not see it, they understand this, because you've asked me sometimes, do people know this? And we try to put it out, but obviously not everybody reads everything that we have. So I wrote, colleagues, last evening citizens elected a new president of our country. I recognize this election was extremely contentious and polarizing. Undoubtedly, there were many strong feelings among faculty, staff, and students. It's extremely important that we do not engage in divisive discussions that can inflame feelings and behaviors. As educators, we must strive to help our students understand that we have a democratic process and that we need to go forward in a constructive way to support our country and our own people. There's no room for hate messaging. Our students must learn that in this country we accept the constitutional process that transfers power after a legitimate election. This does not mean there can be no discussion of the election. Any discussion must be respectful and constructive. Thank you for your attention to this guidance, and I signed it. Our principals were expected to instruct their faculty and staff of the above expectation, and I have not received any information from principles that inappropriate discussions have taken place in our classrooms at this time. So we'll continue to emphasize this. We'll continue to allow people to discuss the electoral process. They want to discuss the electoral college. They want to discuss Popular votes, they want to discuss states, they want to look at reasons why people vote, that's one thing. But there's no room in the schools, in the classroom for adult personnel to encourage students to be hostile about any result or in the light we have, we have to get on with business. So that's the message that's out there and we'll continue to monitor what takes place over the next while.
[Roy Belson]: You know, it's going to be June 7th.
[Roy Belson]: By the way, we do this in part this early, and I'll tell you why we do it. Not only to help people plan, but once we lock into a date, if it snows, we still can get the days in, you know, even if the They're on 12 days between graduation and the last day for seniors. So we walk in with the state in case we have extra snow days and the like. That's why we do it so quickly.
[Roy Belson]: Do we have old business, but it wasn't listed?
[Roy Belson]: There's two items there. One is the crossing guards, and the other is how it's been. It's not listed for us. It didn't get printed for us.
[Roy Belson]: Representative Donato emailed me back today saying his meeting is scheduled for next for the first week in December with DCR. So he's going to do it. By the way, on this particular thing, my handwriting undoubtedly. That's okay.
[Roy Belson]: That's okay.
[Roy Belson]: That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay.
[Roy Belson]: That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay.
[Roy Belson]: That's okay. That's okay.
[Roy Belson]: That's okay. That's okay.
[Roy Belson]: That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay.
[Roy Belson]: That's okay. That's okay. That's okay.
[Roy Belson]: That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you for your consideration.
[Roy Belson]: I do have a copy of it, you know, that you requested this and it takes a while for us to get answers from Ethics, but here it is.
[Roy Belson]: So by our rules, people who have extended use of our facilities can negotiate some of the rates. That's by our rules. And so we take about $60,000 a year from them. for about five sessions of, you know, maybe 20 courses that are run during the year. So that's pretty consistent with what, you know, our revenue would be. And, you know, we obviously update it over time as they use facilities. If they use more facilities, we'll charge them more. If they use less, we'll obviously modify it down. So we consider that, you know, consistent.
[Roy Belson]: In fact, at this point in time, I don't think there's anyone in our faculty or administration that's actually teaching a course right now. So I mean, it happens sporadically, but if it happens, it could happen.
[Roy Belson]: No, same thing. The only contact that we do with them is through our offices to set up the contract for use. And then after that, If they want someone, and the person has to be selected by them, by the way. We don't have any, let's say, ability to influence who they select. So I don't tell them who can teach. Who can't teach.
[Roy Belson]: Just a couple of quick things. I want to pass this out to each of you. This is a, something that I, let me pass it down, something that I acquired yesterday when I was in Newport. It's a good timing kind of thing because what it is is a letter from George Washington to the first Jewish synagogue in America in Newport, Rhode Island, but there's also references to Washington speaking to other congregations of other denominations in 1890, 1790 rather. Washington at the time was asked whether or not there would be any discrimination in America against religion. And if you read the letter from Washington, which is perhaps one of the most famous letters of all time, and I wanted to share it with you because I've got copies, he basically said that in this country, you're going to get the actual wording, that there would be no, you know, toleration of bigotry, and there would be no allowance for discrimination. And it's a very useful kind of thing because it predates the signing of the Bill of Rights by one year. In 18, not 18, I keep saying 18, 1791, New Jersey, on the same date as yesterday, the 19th of November, was the first state to sign the Bill of Rights. And as we go through a period where we sometimes hear people saying things, you know, about hatred and other issues that we talked about tonight, it goes right back to George Washington, who says basically, for happily the government of the United States will give no bigotry, will give bigotry no sanction, and to persecution no assistance. requires that only they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving all the occasions of their effectual support." So he's basically saying, no bigotry, no discrimination. And I think it's absolutely totally appropriate at this time as we see some of the hateful activity that sometimes has found its way into our country in recent times. So I just thought you might enjoy it. It's also some listings of other congregations that he spoke to. It's quite impressive that this place survived as long as it is in its original form, pretty much original form, going through several periods where it was not allowed to exist by different groups, by the British and by others. So just something that you might have and could use. in your work.
[Roy Belson]: Another thing that I just want to mention is in your folder. Susan Altman, who did the mural at the Roberts, also did a mural for the Family Network recently. Gorgeous, beautiful. When you get a chance, go take a look at it.
[Roy Belson]: The kids did the mural.
[Roy Belson]: She guided the mural, and it was really terrific. I saw it the other day, and really, it shows a transformation of, you know, How things work, how families work and transform themselves, how communities transform themselves. It's quite something to be seen and it will be displayed in the family network in this hole in the wall that they had. So it's a hole in the wall project. Plus, you just received... And if I could, on Ms.
[Roy Belson]: And you also know that tomorrow the Curtis Tufts It's lunch. Starting at 11.30 for hors d'oeuvres and 12 o'clock for their annual dinner or luncheon, if you will. And so, you're all invited. The pep rally is on Wednesday. I think it starts at 11 o'clock. Okay? And, of course, on Thursday, we'll, of course, beat Malden. Of course, why wouldn't we?
[Roy Belson]: At Malden.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, we have some other papers, yeah.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, this project has been going on for a number of years. And this year, once again, the governor's office and through its project 351 is sponsoring student ambassadors from our middle schools to attend a project activity on Martin Luther King Day and then do a year of community service. I'm going to call on our two principals, Paul DeLaver and Jake Edwards, if he's here, to introduce these students and talk a little bit about the program.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we have representatives from the company that runs the trip and our deputy superintendent is prepared to answer any questions you may have. Remember last year we had a trip to Ecuador and we then had a trip to Washington and we had some things we have to do, but we've worked on making sure that these things are in place. So let them present and then you can ask any questions you might have.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we'll call upon our Director of Humanities, Dr. Piazza, and the Director of Curriculum, Bernadette Riccardoli, to tell us about Veterans Day.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, thank you.
[Roy Belson]: I don't remember members of the committee. Um, the advance of technology requires that we improve our policy with regard to use of technology. Uh, the current policy is attached to the cover page. It's called the acceptable use. policy, but it's much thinner than the one that we have developed since that time. However, tonight we have Mr. Trotter and Mr. Arena with us who work on our technology. Alan is the network administrator. Richard is the director of media and technology. But we'd like to table it tonight because some additional information has come to our attention from the ACLU and some other groups. We want to match up the information to make sure that we've covered all the bases and make sure that there's nothing that we've missed. We want to be careful that different groups have different issues. There are some other things that are moving forward, but we do want to address this as an issue. So what you have in front of you, look it over and give us any feedback you have. And we will continue to research some of the latest stuff that's come out only this past week and determine whether or not we've missed anything that we think should be included or something that should be worded differently. Mr. Trotter and Mr. Arena are here if you have any preliminary questions. Otherwise, I recommend we lay it on the table.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent, Madam Mayor, members of the committee, um, conference was great, but our deputy superintendent is going to issue this report to you. There's a lot of attachments and you'll find at the back. There's also a financial accounting that was asked for the previous meeting.
[Roy Belson]: Well, one of the things that, you know, was in here that you should notice is the fact that we've identified through tier two of the E-rate about 700,000, it could be as much as 800,000 that we can access. And we'll start applying for that after the first year when the window opens. And that's a match. That's 60% of the cost of what we pay. So we do our capital plan, we can hope to get as much as $800,000 against the capital plan for technology enhancements, which will be well worth the thing. And then there's a couple of other technology items in here that also are fundable. So that was a, probably the biggest financial takeaway. Another thing was to look at roofing. I think I mentioned it in here a little bit, uh, because obviously we were looking at roofing going down, down the future. And some of the roofing applications now are, very, very good and they're less expensive than some of the previous roofing and they can be done much more quickly. So becoming familiar with that is a real important thing. Um, there are some legal things that are coming up that are really questionable that we need to get in front of. Uh, you know that we just had an election and that with that election, ESSA is, you know, is going to be looked at by a new administration, how it's going to be implemented, how it's going to be changed. Uh, some of those things were talked about in great length. Uh, there are things that are still unknown. Uh, you know, we, we just can't know, but people are speculating on them. So I think there's a lot of takeaways from this that you just can't do when you're not talking to people face to face. When you're talking to somebody over the telephone, the conversations, they're good, but they're not great. When you're talking to somebody face to face over a cup of coffee, you can get an awful lot of information, especially if they're working on this, uh, on a regular basis.
[Roy Belson]: I think we're making good progress. I think, you know, a couple of tweaks here and there, but I think we've broken through the initial gridlock of trying to get some of that stuff to happen. And I think you start to see things take fuller shape in the next little while.
[Roy Belson]: elementary elementary, you know, it was going to be a little bit later because they're in a different position right now. They don't get report cards the same way the, uh, the others do, but, uh, we'll roll that out, uh, fairly soon. I think Diane can answer that specifically.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee. Um, as you know, the, Marijuana question passed the ballot in this past November by about 54% of the voters who actually voted. And one of the big questions, obviously, is there isn't enough regulatory guidance. When you look at some of these ballot questions, they're very blunt instruments. They can only ask for one thing up or down. And they don't really spell out all the things that are inside that need to happen in order to make it work well. The Speaker of the House, the Senate President, and the Governor have all expressed their concerns, the Attorney General. about the lack of regulatory assistance that they have going forward. But they can't do much between now and January because they're in an informal session and all you need is one legislator to object and the matter can't be discussed. And obviously there are people that don't want to talk about it right now. So I expect that in January, uh, the legislature will take this up in earnest and the governor will fall quickly and there'll be a lot of support for regulatory, uh, help. Uh, currently it's under the state treasurer, Deborah Goldberg for implementation, but it's unfunded. She has no funds for it in order. She have any appointees to her commission and this is scheduled to go in effect December 15th. So There's obviously some concerns about that. So there's a lot of different concerns that we have. I mean, obviously, the medical marijuana piece is better regulated, and that's already in place. But the recreational marijuana issues are not regulated at this point. So what basically I'm saying, it's imperative that school committees, school officials urge the legislature and the governor to take the necessary action to prevent the misuse of this substance. You know, we talk about opiates, we talk about all these things. Well, I look at marijuana as a gateway drug, especially when young people can get access to it. Now, the minimum age is 21, but if a 21-year-old has it, I'm not sure that he or she is going to keep it from their friend who is 16 or 17. And I have a feeling that You know, there were issues associated with that. So here are some of the things that I would want to write to our legislators on behalf of the committee. And there may be others that we can add to it. And the first is to provide a local opt-in provision. Right now, it's opt-out. And in order to do it, you have to schedule a referendum vote that could be a year later. But I want to make them put it opt-in, which means you have to, as a community, decide to actually accept the rule for your community. That's one. It would mirror the Colorado law, which is currently in place, and we think that's a good piece to have. 70% of the communities in Marijuana ban their local areas for distributing it, so that's just an idea. The second thing is substantially increase the tax rate. Right now it's 3.75. At that rate, while it might generate some money, it won't generate enough money for enforcement. It won't generate enough money for control. It won't generate enough money for data collection, for the kinds of things that have to go forward in order for us to modify and improve the law as we go forward. So we think that the legislature should increase that tax, maybe even double it, in order to ensure that there's sufficient funds to regulate recreational marijuana. We think they should eliminate the homegrown provision. The provision as it currently stands will not adequately be enforced. Who's to know who's going to go in whose home, and to get warrants to go in people's homes to see if they've only got six plants, or how they're using it, or whether they're putting it in brownies, or whether they're putting in these kinds of things and distributing it in ways that cannot be easily detected. The other piece on this is that the way the marijuana is grown today, The intensity of it is much stronger than it was years ago. And we don't know if it's going to be spiced or spliced, if you will, with other substances in certain venues that may be at home. We can't control it. So we think the homegrown piece needs to be looked at in order for us to protect underage students and underage people. or anyone in particular. We think they need to strengthen the Control Commission to better understand the impact and to effectively regulate the industry. The Commission should have a staff that collects data to inform future modifications that may be necessary to protect public safety. If you don't have data out there as to what's happening, whether there's connection between recreational marijuana use and other drug use, you don't know what's going on. You don't know if you're helping or hurting what's happening. So the initiative petition process, like I say, can be a valuable part of the democratic system. However, it's a very blunt instrument, and it needs to be refined. We obviously will respect the will of the people, as we do with all initiative petitions. And the legislature very rarely overturns the will of the people. But there's no reason why they can't modify it and refine it. And I think the interest is there on the part of the leadership. So what I'd like to do is draft a letter to our legislators on behalf of the committee and the school department administration with these suggestions and hope that they will take action as swiftly as possible at the turn of the year when the legislature goes back into formal session.
[Roy Belson]: I can bring that to you.
[Roy Belson]: So the state just released the disciplinary statistics from 2015-2016. Medford is well below the numbers for the state on average. I've given you some of the reports that I was able to download offline. We need to do a little bit more analysis, but we're well below. I gave you some categories that would give you some ideas about different areas, whether it be substance abuse, marijuana, physical theft or assault or anything of that type for you to look over. We'll do a bigger report going forward, but I wanted you to have something to look at. I think some of our initiatives in terms of providing additional programs for youngsters, rather than sending them home, have worked. And we'll continue to work, and we need to strengthen them going forward. But I think those things are positive steps for us, and I think it shows in the results, and we'll continue to show in the results going forward.
[Roy Belson]: Well, high needs as a, as a conglomerate group, it could be economically disadvantaged. It could be special needs could be ELL. Uh, it's, it's a grouping that sort of as an omnibus for all the different groups that are identified as disaggregated groups. And, uh, we try to, uh, you know, understand that. But sometimes it's hard to know who's in the group because you don't know who they've included in the group. But I think it's pretty much the youngsters who fall into groups like special needs, EOL, economically disadvantaged and some other groups that might be lesser known.
[Roy Belson]: We will do that. And as you know, we've talked about this as adding programs, these, you know, opportunities for opportunities for change and things like that. There are alternative insights which keep kids from being, let's say sent home and given some additional help or counseling. So that's what we're pushing towards. That's what we're going to try to keep doing. Uh, budgets permitting obviously. And, uh, I think that that, reflected in our numbers.
[Roy Belson]: You know probably halfway through the year Let's give it a half a year to really
[Roy Belson]: Sure.
[Roy Belson]: We will break it down further. This came out just at the end of the week, and we just sort of wanted to get it out because it was being announced. But at the same token, we have more time to break it down now.
[Roy Belson]: So I received a number of phone calls from a number of you and others with regard to the election results that took place on November 8th. And school systems around the Commonwealth and around the country received multiple inquiries from parents and citizens regarding classroom discussions about the recent national election results. And concerns were raised about some teachers or staff who might introduce their personal opinions and feelings into what might be considered a very charged current topic leading to possible conflict. As we know, elections are a fundamental element of democracy. The process of elections and the substantive issues are a legitimate part of citizenship education. We can't eliminate either process or substance from our schools and our classrooms. And naturally, discussions must be age appropriate and devoid of any hostility for expressions of opinion. There can be no discussions that are racist and discriminatory towards any group. And adult personnel must ensure that inappropriate comments are not introduced or perpetuated. So on Wednesday morning, November 9th, I sent out an email to principals, which is listed here, and I wanted to read it so if the public did not see it, they understand, because you've asked me sometimes. Do people know this? I mean, we try to put it out, but obviously not everybody reads everything that we have. So I wrote, colleagues, last evening, citizens elected a new president of our country. I recognize this election was extremely contentious and polarizing. Undoubtedly, there are many strong feelings among faculty, staff, and students. It's extremely important that we do not engage in divisive discussions that can inflame feelings and behaviors. As educators, we must strive to help our students understand that we have a democratic process and that we need to go forward in a constructive way to support our country and our people. There's no room for hate messaging. Our students must learn that in this country, we accept the constitutional process that transfers power after a legitimate election. This does not mean there can be no discussion of the election. Any discussion must be respectful and constructive. Thank you for your attention to this guidance, and I signed it. Our principals were expected to instruct their faculty and staff of the above expectation. And I've not received any information from principals that inappropriate discussions have taken place in our classrooms at this time. So we'll continue to emphasize this. We'll continue to allow people to discuss the electoral process. They want to discuss the electoral college. They want to discuss popular votes. They want to discuss states. They want to look at reasons why people vote. That's one thing. But there's no room in the schools, in the classroom for adult personnel to encourage students to be hostile about any result or in the light we have, we have to get on with business. So that's the message that's out there and we'll continue to monitor what takes place over the next while.
[Roy Belson]: June 7th at the Gancher.
[Roy Belson]: By the way, we do this in part this early, and I'll tell you why we do it. Not only to help people plan, but once we walk into a day, if it snows, we still can get the days in, you know, even if the even if the there aren't 12 days between graduation and the last day for seniors. So we walk in with the state in case we have extra snow days and the like. That's why we do it so quickly.
[Roy Belson]: Do we have old business, but it wasn't listed?
[Roy Belson]: There's two items there. One is the crossing guards, and the other is how it's paid. It's not listed for us.
[Roy Belson]: Representative Donato emailed me back today saying his meeting is scheduled for next for the first week in December with DCR. So he's going to do it. By the way, on this particular thing, my handwriting undoubtedly, uh, We'll get Donahue to speak up for us as well.
[Roy Belson]: So you have a copy of it, you know, that you requested this and it takes a while for us to get answers from ethics, but there was a question about a potential conflict of interest in regards to American International College, AIC.
[Roy Belson]: So by our rules, people who have extended use of our facilities can negotiate some of the rates, that's by our rules. And so we take about $60,000 a year from them for about five sessions of maybe 20 courses that are run during the year. So that's pretty consistent with what our revenue would be. And we obviously update it over time as they use facilities. If they use more facilities, we'll charge them more. If they use less, we'll obviously modify it down. So we consider that consistent.
[Roy Belson]: In fact, at this point in time, I don't think there's anyone in our faculty or administration that's actually teaching a course right now. So I mean, it happens sporadically, but if it happens, it could happen.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, same thing. The only contact that we do with them is through our offices to set up the contract for use. And then after that, If they want someone or the person has to be selected by them, by the way, we don't have any, any, let's say ability to influence who they select. You know, so I don't tell them who to tell you who can teach.
[Roy Belson]: Just a couple of quick things. Um, I want to pass this out to each of you. Um, this is a, um, something that I want to pass it down. Something that I acquired yesterday when I was in Newport. Um, It's a good timing kind of thing, because what it is is a letter from George Washington to the first Jewish synagogue in America in Newport, Rhode Island. But there's also references to Washington speaking to other congregations of other denominations in 1890, 1790, rather. It's particularly appropriate because Washington at the time was asked whether or not there would be any discrimination in America against religion. And if you read the letter from Washington, which is perhaps one of the most famous letters of all time, and I wanted to share it with you because I've got copies, he basically said that in this country, he's going to get the actual wording that there would be no toleration of bigotry and there would be no allowance for discrimination. And it's a very useful kind of thing because it predates the signing of the Bill of Rights by one year. In 1791, New Jersey, on the same date as yesterday, the 19th of November, was the first state to sign the Bill of Rights. And as we go through a period where we sometimes hear people saying things about hatred and other issues that we talked about tonight, it goes right back to George Washington, who says basically, For happily, the government of the United States will give bigotry no sanction, and to persecution no assistance. It requires that only they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving all the occasions of their effectual support." So he's basically saying, no bigotry, no discrimination. And I think it's absolutely totally appropriate at this time as we see some of the hateful activity that sometimes has found its way into our country in recent times. So I just thought you might enjoy it. It's also some listings of other congregations that he spoke to. It's quite impressive that this place survived as long as it is in its original form, pretty much original form, going through several periods where it was not allowed to exist by different groups, by the British and by others. So just something that you might have and could use in your work.
[Roy Belson]: Another thing that I just want to mention is in your folder. Susan Altman, who did the mural at the Roberts, also did a mural for the Family Network recently. Gorgeous, beautiful. When you get a chance, go take a look at it.
[Roy Belson]: The kids did the mural.
[Roy Belson]: She guided the mural. And it was really terrific. I saw it the other day. And really, it shows a transformation of, you know, of how things work, how families work and transform themselves, how communities transform themselves. It's quite, quite something to be seen. And it'll be displayed in the family network, uh, in this hole in the wall that they had. So it's the hole in the wall project. So I think you, um, should see a plus you've just received.
[Roy Belson]: And you also know that tomorrow, the Curtis Tufts is lunching, starting at 11.30 for hors d'oeuvres and 12 o'clock for their annual dinner or luncheon, if you will. OK. You're all invited. The pep rally is on Wednesday. I think it starts at 11 o'clock, OK? And of course, on Thursday, we'll, of course, beat Malden. Of course, why wouldn't we?
[Roy Belson]: At Malden.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, we have some other papers. Yeah, that's right.
[Roy Belson]: So I find it more effective sometimes to talk directly to the people because you can cover the subject, the letter is a paragraph or two. And one of the things that did take place in the last week or so, which I think is encouraging, yw'r ffaith bod y cyfrifiad o'r wlad wedi mynd i fyny. Ac oherwydd mae'r cyfrifiad wedi mynd i fyny, rwy'n siŵr bod llawer o'r awdurdodau yma yn dweud, na allwn i'n baratoi unrhyw arian oherwydd rwy'n mynd i'n cael ychydig. Nid ydw i'n cael cyfrifiad o unrhyw un. Felly, os bydd cyfrifiad yn dal i fod yn solid ar y wlad, os gallwn ei weld arall, rwy'n sylweddoli y byddai rhywbeth fel DCR yn dweud, na, ok, rwy'n gallu cyfrifiad yma. Ond mae llawer o'r awdurdodau yma sy'n bwysig Ac yr hyn sy'n digwydd yw eu bod yn sefyllfa lle byddan nhw'n ysgrifennu am arian. Felly, wrth i'r sefyllfa ffisgol sefydlu, mae'r Llywodraeth wedi'i ddod yn ôl yn ei gofyn i ddechrau'r cutau 9C. Mae'r Llywodraeth wedi'i gofyn iddyn nhw ddod yn ôl ar y gofyn hwnnw. Mae'r cyllidebion ar gyfer y mlynedd hwnnw'n llawer mwy gryf. Mewn gwirionedd, maen nhw'n cyrraedd eu targedau ar hyn o bryd, maen nhw'n ychydig o ddollaraethau, ond maen nhw'n gobeithio anhygoel
[Roy Belson]: Roedden nhw'n ymwneud â'r ffordd ymhreisio, felly dyna'r rhan o'r cyfrifiad. Felly, gobeithio, rydyn ni'n ei gael ar y cyfnod da. Rydyn ni'n dweud, edrychwch, rydych chi'n bwysig. Dyma rhywbeth sy'n anodd.
[Roy Belson]: Fel rydych chi'n gwybod, rydyn ni wedi cael ychydig o dransiadau, felly mae Christine wedi bod ym mhob amser. Mae nifer o bobl newydd yng Nghymru ac mae nifer o bobl newydd mewn rôl arall. Felly, mae'n rhaid i ni gael yr holl beth hwnnw'n gilydd, ond byddwch chi'n cael un yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr, yn siŵr. Mae hwn yn ceisio cael ei ffyrdd ar y ffyrdd gyda llawer o farchnau eraill.
[Roy Belson]: Yr hyn sy'n digwydd, pan byddwn ni'n gweld... Byddwn i'n dweud ychydig o amser ym mis Decembr, byddwn ni
[Roy Belson]: Aelodau a gweithwyr y Cymru, sefydliad yr ysgolion wedi'i gilydd ar 26 Oktobr. Roedd 88 o wahanol ysgolion a sefydliadau wedi'u hyrwyddo. Roedd y lle'n cael ei gilydd. Mae llawer o bobl wedi cymryd rhan, mae llawer o waith yn mynd i mewn. Mae hyn wedi digwydd dros llawer o blynyddoedd, ac mae'n bwysig iawn y bydd y bobl ifanc yn cael dechrau da i ddod o hyd i gwybod beth yw eu penderfyniadau, ac i siarad â'r wahanol gyfranogwyr am aelodau ffyniadol. y gallan nhw wneud er mwyn ymdrech ymlaen. Roedd hefyd gynhadledd gan Jan Hollenbeck a Siawad Haim ynghylch myfyrwyr arbenigol sy'n hoffi mynd i'r ymdrech ynghylch addysg a chynllun gysylltiadau a sut i gysylltu â'r rhai hefyd. Alasbeth Fitzpatrick o'r Deyrnas Gwleidyddol rwyf wedi gwneud ychydig ar trafnidiaeth i'r ysgol, ac mae yna llawer o bethau eraill sy'n mynd i'r ysgol, yna dim ond yr ystafellau. Ac rwy'n credu mai dyma un o'r ystafellau mwy cyflogedig rydyn ni'n ymdrechu, oherwydd mae y bobl yn ymdrechu wir iawn, maen nhw'n dysgu wir iawn, ac maen nhw'n dod ymlaen gyda gwybodaeth gwych o'r hyn sy'n rhaid iddyn nhw wneud i'w paratoi ar ysgol. Ysgol dydyn ni ddim yn barod. Felly rhaid i chi wneud y penderfyniadau da, y pethau sy' Mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud, mae'n dweud.
[Roy Belson]: Rwy'n gwybod bod yna bobl arall na'n myfyrwyr ein hunain sy'n dod.
[Roy Belson]: So we gave a previous report on this and I just want to get you the follow-up. Tony Vento was here. She did a great job getting this in place. You have the report in front of you so you don't have to go in great detail, but it was successful in getting most of the students and most of the people who were identified. I think there were only three people that did not. Tony, come on up. ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny, ychydig o hynny
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, we're going to call upon our Director or Principal of the Vocational School to update us on this report.
[Roy Belson]: Dydyn ni ddim yn gofyn i unrhyw un ysgrifennu.
[Roy Belson]: Ar ddechrau ysgol dydd, os eisiau iddyn nhw dynnu'r gofyn a gwneud rhywbeth, mae'n iawn. Ond dydyn ni ddim yn meddwl... Nid yw unrhyw beth yn fformal ar gyfer ni.
[Roy Belson]: So I find it more effective sometimes to talk directly to the people because you can cover the subject. The letter is a paragraph or two. And one of the things that did take place in the last week or so, which I think is encouraging, is the fact that the revenue from the state has gone up. And because the revenue has gone up, I'm sure a lot of the agencies were sitting there saying, I can't spend any money because I'm going to get cut.
[Roy Belson]: I can't hire anybody. So if revenue continues to be solid at the state, if we can see another bump, I suspect that maybe something like DCR might say, well, OK, I can take this chance. But a lot of these agencies are concerned that, you know, they hire, and then all of a sudden, or they've been told not to hire. And what happens is that they are in a situation where they're going to then scramble for money. So as the fiscal situation stabilizes, the governor has pulled back in his request to start 9C cuts. The legislature asked him to hold back on that request. The revenue projections for this month were a lot stronger. In fact, they're meeting their targets right now. They're a few dollars under, but they should expect another rush in this next little while. So that's all encouraging, because that's in the background of why an agency will hire or not hire.
[Roy Belson]: They were in a freeze pattern. So that's probably part of the answer. So hopefully, we hit it at the right time. We say, look, you're stable. This is something that's necessary.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Chairperson, Madam Mayor, members of the committee, maiden appearance tonight of our new Director of Finance Administration, Christine Patterson.
[Roy Belson]: This is a monthly report. As you know, we've had a lot of transitions. So, uh, Christine is, been on board for a short period of time, and there's new people at City Hall, and there's new people in other roles. So the key thing for us is to get all that stuff together, but you'll have one certainly very soon. They're just putting it together.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: They're working on that now, but she's trying to get her feet on the ground with some of the other pieces.
[Roy Belson]: Right.
[Roy Belson]: Everything sort of rolls over.
[Roy Belson]: I would say sometime in December we'll start to see this stuff. And then we'll do it regularly.
[Roy Belson]: So I'll call upon our deputy superintendent to provide this report.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, the college fair was held on October 26. There were 88 different colleges and institutions represented. The place was packed. A lot of people participated. A lot of work goes into it. This has been going on for many, many years, and it's really critical that our young people get a good start to find out what their options are, to talk to the different representatives about financial aid, what they can do. to move forward. There was also a presentation by Jan Hollenbeck and Charlotte Hyam with regard to special needs students who would like to go to higher education and accommodation plans and how to access those as well. Alice Beth Fitzpatrick from the Voc Guidance Department. I did a piece on transition to college. And there's a lot of other pieces that go into it besides just simply the booths. And I think it's one of the most successful nights we run because people really participate, they really learn a lot, and they come away with a better sense of what they have to do to prepare for college. College is not cheap. So you've got to make the right decisions, things that are going to work for you, and you've got to plan well ahead. So I think this is a great night. It was another good example of people at work, and Amelia and her staff did a great job.
[Roy Belson]: I know there are people other than our own students who come.
[Roy Belson]: So thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So we gave a previous report on this, and I just want to get you the follow up. Tony Vento was here. She did a great job getting this in place. You have the report in front of you, so you don't have to go in great detail. But it was successful in getting most of the students and most of the people who were identified. I think there were only three people that did not. Tony, come on up.
[Roy Belson]: Something of that small number.
[Roy Belson]: And there may be some follow ups on that as well. But we had a good forum with parents in the auditorium. It wasn't hugely attended, probably 25 people, but people asked a lot of good questions and a lot of good answers came up.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor, we're going to call upon our Director or Principal of the Vocational School to update us on this report.
[Roy Belson]: No, we don't do that. I mean, if people want to take a little quiet time and meditate, they can, you know, but we don't We don't ask anyone to pray. We don't make this specific.
[Roy Belson]: Beginning of the school day, if a youngster wants to put his head down and do something, that's fine. I mean, you know, but I don't think, there's nothing formal from us.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, without taking any positions in the upcoming election, Medford is certainly right out front. We've just elected two females to the top jobs. We're ahead of the curve.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee and ladies and gentlemen, Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents each year recognizes outstanding students in each community for which there is a superintendent who is a member of mass. Now, These awards are not given lightly, they're given to individuals who have not only accomplished academic excellence, but have done other terrific things in their school environments. So this evening we have two presentations, one to a member of Medford High School, and one to a member of the Medford Vocational Technical High School, both seniors and both outstanding individuals. So at this time, it's my great pleasure to read you about the first one, and then we'll bring that person up, and then we'll do the second, and do the same. The first individual is a member of the class of 2017 at Medford High School. He is a consistent honor roll student with a GPA of 4.07. Zachary is interested in environmental studies and plans to apply to several small colleges for environmental programs. At Medford High School, he is the captain of the swim team, a former member of the crew team, as well as a member of the Roots and Shoots Club, which works for environmental change in the school and community. He is a member of the Mustang of the Fells Club, which promotes outdoor education. He participated in the Brainstart Entrepreneurship Program last year at MHS, and is a past Triple Crown award winner for outstanding academic and civic achievements at Medford High School. Zachary is a runner who participated in the Medford Jingle Bells run fundraiser and last year ran the Burlington Marathon. In addition to his sports and clubs, Zachary works at the Medford High School pool as a lifeguard. Ladies and gentlemen, it's my distinct pleasure to call up for your recognition, Zachary Mafia. Zachary Rice. Congratulations, Zach. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Our next award winner is from the Medford Vocational Technical High School. This individual is a senior in the Construction Craft Laborers and is ranked number two in the senior class. A hard worker and always eager to learn, she has spent the last three years learning many skills in the construction and carpentry field. Last year she was a medal winner in masonry at the Regional Skills USA competition. She spent the summer working with a general contractor and recently was hired at Cleveland Fence Company in Stoneham, Massachusetts, where she will work in a cooperative education job. Her teachers report that during his time at MHS, he had been a consistent and committed student and a great asset to the Construction Craft Laborers Program. Long-term goal is to become a general contractor. Immediate goals are to join and work for construction or carpentry union while pursuing a degree in construction management. It's our pleasure to introduce Valerie Sajud. Valerie?
[Roy Belson]: Okay. So we'll make sure that it's presented and that individual is duly recognized.
[Roy Belson]: This report was basically a follow-up on things that we didn't cover in the first time. We did give you a report You report here, you've got this last piece here which does that.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you can see this in this in these charts. That's where that's right.
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: We can do that. We're working on that now.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: What the state has done is they've created a high-needs category. And in that category, an individual might fit in more than one activity. A youngster might be a person who doesn't speak English as a first language, might be special needs, and might also be economically disadvantaged. So one person might be in three categories, multiple categories. So you could find that, you know, Different scores, different activities are skewed by the fact that an individual repeats themselves in multiple categories. So we have to break those out periodically as we go just to see exactly what's the dominant category that's driving a particular result. So high needs is sort of an accumulation or cumulative amount of all the students who fall into any one of those categories as opposed to one. So 50% would be too high.
[Roy Belson]: I want to look at the latest because basically the other thing that took place is Title I, which normally defined economically disadvantaged, the rule was changed. And because it was changed, the numbers came way down and it affected communities across the state. So I don't want to speculate at this point in time, but we certainly are going to break it out.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, disproportionality or what they call prima facie denial in some instances. There is a tendency in school districts across and almost any institution if a youngster is not doing well. som kan spekulerar om om det är en ungdom som har en lärnings- eller språkbaserad ungdom, om det är en temporär distraktion som ungdom har, eller om det är en familjedysfunktion, eller om det är andra saker som händer i deras liv. Så det är väldigt svårt att veta om identifikationen är 100%. Men vi må klart betala mycket att sikta på att ungdom som inte pratar engelsk som den första språken, som som som som som som som som som som som
[Roy Belson]: Well, the gap is between the youngsters who don't necessarily fall into these subgroup categories and those youngsters who do. Det är viktigt att nåta, och det kom ut i vårt sista samarbete, att Medfords uppnivån i dessa subgrupper var eller ökade statens mängder i varje av dessa kategorier. Så vad det verkligen betyder, det är om staten använder ett instrument som propertiskt analyserar den tillräcklige utvecklingen av dessa ungdomar. Är det rejält att ge ungdomar en test i engelsk? in their first year in this country not speaking English. And then trying to determine whether this youngster knows enough. I think that the assessment system really deserves a work over because it's inappropriate to ask youngsters to do things for which they are not particularly good at it at this point in their life because of their genesis, where they are at that point in time. So a youngster who might be progressing at a nice level for his or her situation might take an extra year or two to get to that level. What's wrong with that? The goal is to get to the achievement level as much as possible, and if it takes a little longer, fine. Some people learn faster, some people learn slower. Some people are more skilled in a mathematical area, some people are more skilled in a language area. And so we need to have a better assessment system than the vanilla that we're getting right now and that's going to be a topic of discussion among superintendents, school committee members, and others as we approach our meetings coming forward. ESSA, and we'll have that discussion tonight as part of it, makes some changes in NCLB, but not enough.
[Roy Belson]: So let me make a suggestion. There's a lot of material here. It can't be discussed in the robust way it needs to be discussed in a forum like this because, you know, there's too much involved. Schedule a committee of the whole meeting. Let's get to it. We'll get in the background and then we can decide which items can be done in what sequence and where. But if we do try to do it here, we'll be back and forth for a long period of time and it's not really going to do it. So, let's schedule a committee of the whole meeting, let's look at some dates and I'll get back to you with some possible dates and we can do that.
[Roy Belson]: Well, it's happening in one school, but remember, we're asking our faculty and people to do an awful lot right now. They're taking school brains, they're doing a million different workshops, They've also got to teach their classes. I want to make sure that we sit down and we actually roll things out in a very very digestible way and we get everybody on board. Otherwise we're just running a program and it won't work, it won't stick. So let's have a meeting, let's go over it, let's decide how we can roll things out intelligently. Let's see which things can be integrated with other initiatives that are already going on. I think we're in a better place if we do that.
[Roy Belson]: Principals have a certain amount of autonomy to do things that respond to what they see in their buildings. But when someone does something and it works, we're naturally interested in it. But what works in one building may not work in another. We just need to talk about it. That's all.
[Roy Belson]: Again, principals have a certain amount of autonomy. We don't micromanage everything that happens every day in the buildings. We let people do some of the things that they think are appropriate. You know, and when it becomes something that the whole district is interested in, then maybe we bring it here. We could be talking about every program. Not every school had a mock election. Not every school had another thing going on. Schools have their own identities. We want them to have their own identities. But let's take a look at this as a gestalt and a committee of the whole, and I think you might have a better way to decide which things should move forward.
[Roy Belson]: I think you've got a lot going on right now. You've got another meeting, you're going to be touring Capitol Hill. Let's do it in a reasonable time frame. I'll get back to you with dates. Let's make sure that we can prepare for it properly. We meet with CPAC, we meet with others. Let's get an agenda that's sequenced, that's coherent, and then we can move forward in a positive kind of way. To just simply get it in just to get it in is not, I don't think, productive.
[Roy Belson]: Certainly, certainly.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we're going to call on our assistant superintendent, Diane Caldwell, to talk about this report.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you, Madam Mayor and members of the committee. Tony Vento is with us this evening, and we'll just go through some of it. If you have any specific questions, Tony is here to answer. I provide you with documents that have been produced and gone out to parents. From the outset, we've worked closely with MassDPH, with the Medford Board of Health. We appreciate all their help. They've done a great job right on the spot, helping us right away, making sure we did things the way we needed to, as well as our own medical team under Tony's direction here at the schools. On Wednesday, October 26th, there will be a TB testing of individuals who have been identified as being in close contact with the individual who was diagnosed with TB. There were 194 MHS students who were identified, 5 middle school students, and 14 adult personnel. On the 20th, in the Cowan Theater, we will have a public information night available to everyone from 7 o'clock on, to answer any questions that anyone might have. Individuals may choose to have the test conducted by their own physician, and then we would ask them to provide us with the information that would indicate that it was done. If there is a finding, then there would be some follow-up antibiotic activity. If there is no finding, it would be a second round of testing during the winter period to see if something emerged subsequent to. Since the original case was diagnosed, there have been no further identifications, and the DPH procedure has been followed precisely to ensure due diligence. We have letters here, but I'm happy to take any questions or have the questions referred to Tony, so that if you have any gaps in your understanding of what's taken place, we can answer them this evening. And then again, on the 20th, we encourage anyone who really has some questions. I have not received a lot of phone calls. I did originally receive the handful. I know Tony received a handful, but once they were done, it was pretty quiet, and most people were satisfied with the information they received. But Tony is here and you might want to direct questions to him.
[Roy Belson]: No, there's no payment. If they go to health insurance, which they should have, that would cover it. That's one of those things that's covered by health insurance. And if they come through us, there's no charge whatsoever.
[Roy Belson]: So as you know, No Child Left Behind has been replaced by Every Student Succeeds Act. And that legislation begins in 2016-2017 as a transition year, with full implementation in 2017-2018. Now, there are several key elements of the Act. I want to give you enough of it so you understand it, but not so much that you, you know, get overwhelmed by it because there's an awful lot of pieces and we'll have to break it down piece at a time in order for it to really be understood. ESSA comprises nine title grants which provide funding to districts and states. Currently, there are about five or six. I'm not sure how we count them these days because they keep putting them together. Title IV grant represents a new funding source, which is an allocation grant for districts in the area of student support services, something that would speak to some of the discussion we had a little bit earlier. Districts and states are required to conform to the requirements of ESSA, so that No Child Left Behind is now giving way to ESSA and districts and states now must adopt ESSA rules. ESSA encourages state agencies to think differently about how best to support low-performing schools as the school improvement grants are no longer available. So they're asking the department Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to talk to us about how we could best benefit from their help. That should be a very robust discussion, especially in our conference and so on and so forth going forward. ESSA minimizes Title I prescriptive school and district accountability requirements. No Child Left Behind had very, very specific things under Title I. ESSA wiped some of it away, but it adds some things that are interesting too. Equitable access is perhaps one of the biggest areas. What is equitable access? Does it mean every school gets the same thing? Does it mean it's based on proportion of low income? Is it based on proportion of high needs? What is it? Equitable doesn't automatically mean things. What if you have a teacher in a school who makes $80,000 a year and a teacher makes $60,000 a year? Is it different or is it the same thing as long as there's a teacher there who's experienced and can do the job? Those things are yet to be fleshed out. And it's problematic because naturally we hire teachers at different stages of their career. And a lot of it's based on, you know, how many years they've been with us and what their degrees are. That doesn't necessarily mean they're better or worse at what they will do. There's a shift in focus on the Title II program from highly qualified to reporting on student learning experience. Instead of determining just the teachers are highly qualified, the question will be, what have the students learned? They have to give us some rubrics to determine that going forward. It focuses mostly on quality access to education, access to quality education. DESE is going to continue to collect certain data, but it doesn't mean it's going to have a particular impact on what we do or don't do. Inexperienced teachers will be expected to do different things, but we haven't got guidelines yet. Total funding for this year has been about the same, a little bit different, with a larger shift in Title IV student support money. The federal government has readjusted funding levels and our state will receive less money. The state receives less money, our district receives less money. In most cases, not always. Desi does not have the FY18 budget, and they're likely not to know for quite a while as to how much money will or won't be there. Of course, you know, with an election year, Congress, who knows what Congress will appropriate and what they won't appropriate until the election actually takes place and we determine who chairs which committees and who's in the White House. It maintains a lot of the requirements under the 1965 Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the original one. There's some innovative assessment encouragement that will be there. The definition of supplement versus supplant has changed. That's another little thing we've got to get a good handle on. What does it mean to add to something versus to shift the burden from the locality to the feds? Something that comes up all the time. We're hopeful that we'll get clarity on this sooner rather than later so we can plan. The problem with some of these things is we don't find out until well after we've gone through a budget and say, well, guess what, this is the new rule. Hopefully we'll find out more as this early part of the year progresses. There's some new accountability requirements under ESSA. I've talked about that when we had the discussion on the test scores. Some of the key points in the new system might include maintaining the annual testing requirement, retaining 95% assessment participation requirement, making sure people participate, differentiation between schools depending on what they're supposed to be doing, long-term goals from the state to measure interim progress of all students in subgroups, New Accountability Indicators, and they're dumping the CPI. Do you know what the CPI is? The Cumulative Performance Index? That has been the staple of NCLB. And then it got changed to the Growth Interest, SGP, then it got changed to a couple of other things that were going on. So the more they keep changing the rules, the tougher it is for us to follow as to what's going to be the way they're going to make determinations. I provided a PowerPoint for you. We should go over it at some point. But we'll be studying it. I'll be looking for more information in the upcoming weeks at the conference. We'll be sharing with our colleagues as to what they think and what's going on, so that we can come back and give you real specifics. And we'll be talking to our people who are involved in the federal education agencies to find out where they see the trends are going. But this is the first rush of information. It is different. It isn't totally different, but it's different, and we need to pay attention to it so we can take maximum advantage of it, optimum advantage of it, while at the same time not losing out on any possibilities that would be helpful to us. Happy to take any questions you have.
[Roy Belson]: So we have that, and our graduation rate, by the way, went up this year. The data you had in front of you from the last presentation was previous year. Part of that is a function of how people view what is success. So if a youngster is missing one course in June and makes it up over the summer, they're not part of the four-year graduation rate. That's exactly what I'm saying. That's the whole point of it. So we can provide that information to you. The trick will be getting the state and the feds to recognize that as legitimate, especially for youngsters who are challenged.
[Roy Belson]: What we do is we get colleagues on school committees, colleagues in my office, principals around the state, to make that point on a regular basis. And that's something that should come up in November when we're down with colleagues. Because that's the kind of thing that really needs to be understood. There shouldn't be a rush to succeed. There should be a steady, intelligent path to succeed. Especially for youngsters who don't speak English as a first language. Especially for youngsters who are working with cognitive and procedural difficulties. I mean, it's unfair. It's just truly unfair and it makes them look like they're not doing what they need to do or school systems aren't doing. In fact, it would be a shame not to give a youngster more time if they needed it. This is the kind of stuff that needs to get out there and I agree with you. This is something that should be front and center in our discussions. I think the old thinking was always, well, you know, you put off these kids a little bit longer and keep managing the data to avoid youngsters being reported out. It's not a question of managing data. It's a question of providing effective education. It's a question of recognizing the differences between different types of learners and supporting them. You know, the average college completion rate, I said that the other night, is six years. Six years. Most kids take time to complete college. And it's not that a percentage of youngsters should take more time in high school to complete. Not because they can't do it, but because they need to pace themselves differently so they can learn and take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of them. So I agree with you very much.
[Roy Belson]: I think it's something that the whole state would benefit from.
[Roy Belson]: So, the reason this is on your agenda is every year I get asked around this time, how do we decide when school closes and what can we do about it? Now, the main message is this. You should start planning now as a parent about a situation that might occur and who will help to cover your youngsters if you have to go to work, who's going to stay at home, what neighbors can work with you, What situations can occur? Can you talk to your employers, maybe coming in a little bit later on certain days to get things under control? You can't wait till the day it happens. You've got to start thinking about it. And oftentimes, we don't get a final call until later because we don't know if the storm is going to hit. You know, meteorologists do their job, but they can't be sure. Sometimes the storm veers off at the last second, and sometimes it veers in at the last second. And we need to be careful. And sometimes the storm doesn't seem like it's coming to us at the beginning of school, but it's going to hit at 10 o'clock in the morning and getting young people home is its own problem. The other thing that we have to deal with is the fact that some youngsters have no one at home on a regular basis. And getting them to school means they might need a hot meal, they have some supervision. There's some other things going on that we want to provide. On the other hand, if you really feel uptight, you really feel like maybe your child shouldn't be out, it's your option to keep them home. Missing a day is not going to change the world as long as you're diligent about following up on the work. We've got to understand these things. Now it takes a lot to figure this out. We talk to the DPW, we talk to the police department, we talk to the fire department, we talk to our own custodial crews, we talk to the contractors who plow our schools, we talk to neighbors. What are they doing? How are they doing it? And some places are more challenging than others. If you live in the narrow streets of Everett and Malden, it's a lot tougher to plow those streets than it is maybe in Medford. It's a lot tougher to do certain things and they have to make decisions a little bit earlier because they can't get their crews out as fast as our crews get out. We want to provide. intelligent days. We also have to think about the days if teachers can't get there. So school is open and the faculty can't make it in because they no longer all live in Medford or one community over. People live in wider areas. So to have a day where the faculty is missing doesn't give us a quality education day. We started earlier this year, so that should help. In terms of days, but you never know. We've had years where there's been no school days. We've had years when a couple of years ago there were seven or eight school days. And last year there were three. So it's hard to know. And one year we shut down schools when the buildings were too cold. And it wasn't a question of snow, it just was too cold. So there's a lot of reasons. And we try to be up front. There's always somebody who tells me we shouldn't have done it, and there's somebody who always tells me we should have done it. I mean, I guarantee you. And of course, the funniest things are the calls from the kids. Hello, this is a parent. I don't think kids should be going to school today. Hello, I had to shovel all day yesterday. I need at least one day to play in this stuff. I mean, it's really funny what the kids will call up and say and do. You know? You understand? But that's what it is. Okay? So a little bit of planning right now would be helpful.
[Roy Belson]: It's one thing we should also mention is our young people, we've tried to encourage them, especially the older children, to help out with neighbors who may be elderly or infirmed, because obviously sidewalks and things of that type need to be shoveled so that youngsters don't have to walk in streets. We don't have situations where it's unsafe when a little kid is behind a huge snowbank. So those are things we need to talk a little bit about to the community about how they can help us make sure that if there's an accumulation of snow, it doesn't block the visibility for youngsters near buses or in their cars.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, the one thing I want to stress with this particular motion, while the motion itself is good, the adequacy word is very important. Because if they only put a certain amount of money, and even if it's more money, and it gets distributed in ways that Medford doesn't get any money, it doesn't help us. It's important that they increase the foundation budget, but it's also important that they understand that adequacy means that every community has to receive more than it's currently receiving now, not just those communities that fall below foundation. So that's critical, you know, that we stress when we talk at the conference about adequacy being funding everyone because everyone can use the money. You know, there's that John Greenleaf Whittier quote that I love so much, but I modify it. John Greenleaf Whittier said, of all the sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest of these are what might have been. I changed that. Of all the sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest of these are subject to appropriation. Because when they don't appropriate enough money, the language doesn't mean anything. They've got to understand that communities like Medford may be wealthier than certain other communities, Not as wealthy as others, but we need money. You can't have a Foundation Budget Review Committee that wipes out additional funding to 150 communities, which is what the Foundation Budget Review Committee distribution would have done, including Medford. We should vote yes, but we should vote for adequacy. We should push adequacy in our discussion.
[Roy Belson]: I mean, basically, we should be saying that all communities should receive an increase that is consistent with the demands and the mandates that the state has put in place. The state has increased the number of mandates to communities, as you know. Unfunded mandates is almost a way of life at the state house. We cannot continue to allow that to happen because we continue to use our own money for things. And then as a result, Eventually, we have to cut other things that we don't want to cut, or you can't go where you want to go. So remember this year when we talked budget, I told you that we got $55 per pupil minimum aid, new money in the Chapter 70, which is more than a 25 of the year before. But the net net was we lost $200,000. That's not a win. What that is is a partial win. It's a balancing act. We need to make sure that if they're going to increase the foundation budget, that it adequately reflects the needs of all communities. That's the message to the MASC Resolutions Committee and to the state.
[Roy Belson]: And we received all the scheduled receipts and first quarter payments from Commonwealth? Uh-huh. Okay. I'd be curious to see what October's receipts look like. September look better? But not great.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I think we should put that into our language.
[Roy Belson]: That adequacy, that we should stress adequacy and a full distribution to all communities under Chapter 70, not just some.
[Roy Belson]: No, amending it, adding another, adding an emphasis point.
[Roy Belson]: And I think it's important to note that if you expect the legislature to enact something, If you have 150 cities and towns that aren't going to benefit, it's unlikely they're going to enact it. So the likelihood of it being enacted has a greater chance if every community is a winner.
[Roy Belson]: About 330 right now. 330 spread amongst.
[Roy Belson]: A few years ago, we did a study along with MASS. We found that we could fund those youngsters by putting them in classrooms at this point in time, back then, at about a third of the cost. So, when people say that there is no loss of revenue They don't do the numbers like we do the numbers. There may be some communities that don't have space. There may be some situations that don't exist, that don't work 100%. But in this community, it will work.
[Roy Belson]: All right, so on the School Brains activity, as you know, we've switched from iPass to School Brains. It's a much more comprehensive and much more, let's say, modernized version of school software that would keep track of students, staff, and other records and the like. But there was a rollout period. And the primary activity initially was, one, to transfer information from iPass to School Brains. There's still some data that has to be cleaned. It's a very arduous process because some of the material is in different formats from one to the other and has to be individually looked at to be sure of accuracy as people come and go. And it's not static. What's true today may not be true tomorrow as people come and leave. Secondly, there needs to be training on this and there is training going on. There is a train-the-trainer activity at the schools, where we're empowering certain teachers and administrators to become lead people. And on the school professional development day, we're having an all-school activity that will deal with that as well. Our primary activity initially is to roll out the attendance and grade reporting activities, because that's what's essential for us to do what has to be done, and also the materials that are associated with state reporting. We will then work on the parent portal. The high school and the vocational school will be ready at the end of the first quarter, around November 17th, to open up the parent portal for students at those schools. We think the middle schools probably have a good shot to be opened by the first of the year, and the elementary schools are working on their standards report cards, and we'll get a better handle on that once that's been cleaned up, and we know exactly when they can be able to comment on that. But it's making progress, we want to do it right, There is something called a System Interoperational Framework, SIF, that is important to coordinate with the state, because if you will, garbage in, garbage out, and once you get that kind of thing happening, it becomes impossible. And just simply by inverting the first name and the last name in some reports can create all kinds of errors. Very careful as we convert. In the long run, it will be distinctly to our advantage that it may take a little bit longer, but our goal remains the same, to increase our interactivity with parents and to provide people with full information and to be able to create reports that will help us all better understand what's going on. So that's that particular activity. In some places, it'll be a little bit slower than others, but we're working on it, and we're certainly not stopping what we need to do. On the school bus, okay?
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, I don't want to be I'm foolish enough to say something that I can't deliver on. One of the things that we want to be careful about is we make a promise and we can't keep it, we're worse off. I told you that the high school will be ready at the end of the first quarter. We think the middle school will be ready by the first of the year, if not sooner. We elementary schools will roll out a little bit differently because they have different informational reporting things than the standards report cards and the other two frameworks. So we need to be a little bit careful. Let's just put it this way. We are diligently proceeding of a better idea after the training is done in November. Again, to see what teachers' minds are, what they feel comfortable with, and we can work our way through. But I understand that people are anxious. On the other hand, I certainly don't want to make promises I can't keep because that only creates more problems.
[Roy Belson]: The MBTA bus passes, the MBTA changed the rules. The MBTA gave what they called an M-pass and an S-pass. The M-pass is a pass that allows you to bypass for 30 days, for a month. And it's $30. And that gives you unlimited riding privileges. The S-Pass was a pass that you could put $10 on and you could use up to $10 for a time and then get another pass, get it renewed. The difficulty is that the S-Pass was being abused widely and the MBTA pulled it in. And they said school systems and communities are now responsible if the wrong people use it. And what we had people losing it, people letting their cousins and their relatives use it, and there was all kinds of problems associated with that. So, we recognize that it's something that we want to be available to people, but we want to do it in a measured way. So, I've given you a report tonight to show that we've checked it out, we're following it, we're going to do it a limited amount of the time, especially for those people who clearly have a need. to have it, but at the same token, we want to be very careful that we don't have abuse and we don't have lost passes and things like that because then we'll get charged for it. And that's not going to happen. It's not just a Medford issue, it's across the state, across the, let's say, the MBTA area. So this is an MBTA-driven activity and we want to control it. Plus the fact, too, it's a lot of man hours, person hours, if you will, to control these passes. People come in, I've lost my pass, can I have another one? It's a lot of work associated with it. So we need to create a certain sense that this is something you need to protect and you need to use it wisely. And if someone doesn't use it appropriately, they won't get it again.
[Roy Belson]: All right, well, what I told you before, basically, we did a lot of training last year. We had to negotiate a contract. We did negotiate the contract. Then we had to work in training. Teachers were uncomfortable using some of these things and took time to get them going. We did run training last year. They didn't consider it to be sufficient enough and they wanted to do more. In the summer, people were away. You can only do so much. You can only do what the people that want to come in and want to work on it. There are other things that are going on. So, it's happening. The goal was to do it right and to have it be a long-term value to us. I don't want to rush it and create a situation where we promise you things and then we can't do it. And as far as a little inconvenience in the front end, I understand that, but better to have that little inconvenience in the front end. You can certainly communicate with your teachers by email, you can certainly call up the school, you certainly can visit to get any information. We're certainly still sending out progress reports. That's not something we've stopped doing, but the electronic system is going to take a little bit longer. The high school will happen very shortly. Middle school I think will follow pretty quickly. And then the elementary schools will have to figure out what's the best way to do that going forward. I don't think anyone is trying to slow it down. I just think it takes time to do it right. And if we rush it and we do something, we're gonna probably find we'll have more headaches down the road than we really bargained for. Garbage in, garbage out. We don't want that to happen. So I appreciate it. Hopefully people understand that we're doing everything we can to get it going. In a short period of time, it'll happen.
[Roy Belson]: Joanne Mortel is the person on the point of this particular bus pass. She's in the accounts payable office of the schools. You can look it up from the business offices to the phone number I have in front of me right now. He's the person issuing them and paying attention to their monitoring. It's a lot of work and I appreciate all the work that Joanne has done to keep things in place.
[Roy Belson]: That's been moved. It's been moved up to the Science Lab and with appropriate arrangements so that the youngsters can come and go freely.
[Roy Belson]: I just might also announce, if I can, Madam Mayor, that tomorrow at noontime, the Medford High School Band will be playing at the Science Museum for a special announcement from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
[Roy Belson]: And Medford resident, who I believe will be making a major presentation to the Science Museum.
[Roy Belson]: So we met with Mrs. Rodriguez this morning. We went over all these things. We've prepared some materials for you. I'm going to call upon our Special Needs Director and our Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education to speak to the issues. There is a lot going on. There's a lot going on of response. Occasionally, in a given classroom, there's going to be some disruption. Mae'r blynyddoedd yn dechrau, mae rhai o'r blant yn ymdrech ar eu hunain, ac yna rydyn ni'n ymateb i hynny. Pan ddod o'r wybodaeth i ni, mae'r ysgol hwnnw wedi cael ei ymweld â'r ysgolion hwnnw mewn nifer o weithiau, gan both Diane ac Cathy, ac mae rhai planau ar gael. Felly, dydw i ddim yn credu ei fod yn anodd. Dydw i'n credu y bydd y Roberts yn cael rhai broblemau o'r poblogaeth, ond nid y bydd yr ysgolion eraill. Os ydych chi ar y Columbus, mae gennych y rhaglen dysgu therapeutig. Yn ysgolion eraill, y Roberts. Yn rhai blynyddoedd, mae'r Maglynyddoedd wedi cael mwy o bobl na'r Roberts. Mae'r bywydau'n mynd ymlaen drwy'r geografiaeth, i ryw ffyrdd. Ond, wrth ddweud hynny, rhaid i mi gofyn i Diane a Cathy i ddod ymlaen a siarad ychydig ychydig am y syniadau y mae Mrs. Rodrigues wedi'u hyrwyddo, ac rwy'n eisiau gwneud hynny'n dda iawn. Rydyn ni'n bwysig iawn pan fydd pethau'n digwydd. Dydyn ni ddim yn bwysig. Dyna ddim ymwneud ag yr hyn sy'n digwydd. Ond deallwch iddyn nhw siarad
[Roy Belson]: Felly, os ydw i'n gallu ymdrechu ar hynny i ddau munud. Mae'r sefyllfa sy'n digwydd, mae pobl yn ymdrechu ar hynny. Deallwch ni ddim ysgolio hynny i gael mwy o bobl sy'n teimlo y bydd yna rhywbeth tragic sy'n digwydd. Nid yw. Ychydig o flynyddoedd, Yn y lle oedd Columbus yn cael y rhaglen dysgu therapeutig. Mae rhai o'r bobl wedi'i ysgrifennu i'r rhaglen gweithredu gweithredol. Ac roedd rhai o'r ysgrifennwyr yn cael problemau serios, ac roeddent yn gwneud ffwrdd, ac roedd rhai o'r bobl yn dweud, ydych chi'n gwybod, beth fyddwn ni'n mynd i'r bobl hynny? Rydyn ni'n ymddiried arno, rydyn ni'n gweithio arno. Rydyn ni'n ymweld â pharentau. Rydyn ni'n ymweld â phobl. Rydyn ni'n gwneud yr hyn rydyn ni'n rhaid ei wneud ar y blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd Felly, byddwn ni'n siarad â phobl amdanyn nhw, byddwn ni'n siarad â phobl amdanyn nhw, ond rydyn ni'n gwrthfeydlu gyda Mrs. Rodrigu, wrth iddyn nhw'n dod i'r microcanon, rydyn ni'n gwrthfeydlu gyda nhw heddiw, rydyn ni'n siarad gyda nhw heddiw, byddwn ni'n siarad gyda phobl eraill, ond rydyn ni'n ei wneud'n ymarferol, rydyn ni'n ei wneud'n ymyrryd yn y ffordd hwnnw, yn hytrach na'n ceisio'i ychydigio.
[Roy Belson]: Dydw i eisiau gwneud hynny'n dda iawn.
[Roy Belson]: Mae'r system ysgol yn ddiddorol iawn, ond rydyn ni hefyd, dim ond ychydig... Iodd eich bod chi ddim yn gobeithio'r hyn sy'n bwysig iawn mewn bywyd.
[Roy Belson]: Trwy'r bywydau y byddwch chi'n gwylio'r lywodraethau pwysig hwnnw.
[Roy Belson]: Rydyn ni wedi ceisio'n fawr iawn. Un arall, os ydych chi ddim yn meddwl, rydw i'n mynd i ddod allan.
[Roy Belson]: Mae nifer o gofynnau wedi'u gwneud. Dyma ddim gofyn newydd, ac mae arweinydd Donato wedi mynd ymlaen gyda DCR, ond os byddwn ni'n gofyn mwy o gofynwyr, efallai y byddwn ni'n cael ychydig mwy o steam ar hynny, ond mae wedi bod yn anodd, oherwydd dyma ddim gofyn newydd. Rydyn ni wedi'u gwneud y gofyn hwn. Pan ddechreuodd St. Francis, dywedodd DCR nad oedd angen. ac rydyn ni'n meddwl ei fod yn anodd, ac mae'n rhaid i ni ddweud ymlaen. Ond dyna oedd rhan o'r cyfarfodydd yn y diwrnod diwethaf. Diolch.
[Roy Belson]: So one of the things you need to remember is that In this report, the way it's set up, the distribution of undistributed due to contract negotiations was moved after the fact so that when that gets moved, they're not over the top. They just simply reflect that contract negotiations took place and that those contributions went over there. So that's just the way it is. That's the way we report it so you see it in totality in the raw score rather than move the money around and then you just balance it out. So we'll just show it to you the way it is. But in a non-negotiated year, in a year where we're not negotiating a contract, those numbers have already been worked in. So you won't see that this year, but you might see it in another negotiated year. Okay? Set the report in place on file, Madam Chairman.
[Roy Belson]: So that would be more appropriate for the current fiscal year, as opposed to the one just passed because that year is over. Right. Now we're looking at, now we'll look at this year's report to date and make a recommendation.
[Roy Belson]: So why don't we take that under advisement and see how we can do it, okay? And we'll get right back to you.
[Roy Belson]: So that's my only- You actually taught her how to read this stuff? Pat.
[Roy Belson]: Christine, don't make that mistake again.
[Roy Belson]: So we're going to call on our deputy superintendent to deliver this report.
[Roy Belson]: So you might want to know that Boston Latin is level two. It gives you an idea. It isn't an academic issue.
[Roy Belson]: It's a participation issue. And we see it in Andover High School and a lot of other places that you would consider to be immune to this. They're not. This is a whole discussion that has to happen. You may remember when AYP, annual adequate yearly progress, was the benchmark. And everyone was going to be proficient by 2014. At some point around 2012, 80% of the schools couldn't make it. So they had to scratch it. Because it was an unrealistic target. As long as you're going to set up some of these, these parameters that don't work for certain youngsters, you're going to have difficulty making it on the participation level or on the, you know, achievement level as well. But this is what we're facing. So there'll be some discussions at the state level about this. The new federal act ESSA gives the states more flexibility. Let's see what they do with it. Let's see how, what kind of discussion they have on that level. Because obviously, if they don't have a discussion, you're going to see the same phenomenon as you saw with AYP. There's going to be more and more districts that drop down. And that's not going to fly.
[Roy Belson]: There's a discussion between the House and the Senate. They're both, have different viewpoints on the bilingual or ELL laws. The Senate would like to change what the UNS amendment did. The House is still moving around on it a little bit, and they haven't been able to reach any kind of consensus. So there's a lot of ferment around this stuff right now. The other thing I think that becomes obvious to us is that these tests, you know, last year they try to use something called the equity percentile to try to find some sort of crossover between MCAS and park. We think it was a very full attempt to try and compare two very different tests and notice the state isn't going to do it this year. Right? Obviously somebody came to the same conclusion, even though, you know, last year we said to them, we don't think this works. And, um, I think they came to the conclusion that since they couldn't really compare all the districts and we think to some degree that impacted our scores last year and impacted our rating last year. That's just our thinking about it, but I can't prove it. So, so be it.
[Roy Belson]: Yep, because we'll have to find out.
[Roy Belson]: just up to you to decide who you want to be the delegate on the, on the alternate to the conference. At this point in time, we put it off from last meeting. So we're on tonight.
[Roy Belson]: So we gave you a report on the cost. They're actually spelled out for you. And, you know, if someone wanted to only go for one or two days, MASC indicated that we could talk to them about it, depending on what their numbers look like. and their costs.
[Roy Belson]: No, hotels would be different. This is a registration cost. Hotels or whatever they are. Generally about $100 a night.
[Roy Belson]: Van der Kloot.
[Roy Belson]: So we met with Mrs. Rodriguez this morning. We went over all these things. We've prepared some materials for you. I'm going to call upon our Special Needs Director and our Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education to speak to the issues. There is a lot going on. There's a lot going on of response. Occasionally, in a given classroom, there's going to be some disruption. Mae'r blynyddoedd yn dechrau, mae rhai o'r blant yn ymdrechu ar eu hunain, ac yna rydym yn ymdrechu ar hynny. Pan fydd y wybodaeth i ni, mae'r ysgol wedi'i ymweld â nhw mewn nifer o weithiau, gan boeth Diane ac Cathy, ac mae rhai planau ar gael. Felly, dydw i ddim yn credu ei fod yn anodd. Dydw i'n credu y bydd y Roberts yn cael rhai broblemau o bobl, ond nid y bydd yr ysgolau eraill. Os ydych chi ar y Columbus, mae gennych y rhaglen dysgu therapeutig. Yn yr ysgolau eraill, mae gennych rhaglenau eraill sydd yno. Yn rhai blyny y Roberts. Yn rhai blynyddoedd, mae'r McGlynn yn cael mwy o bobl ynglyn â'r Roberts. Mae'r bywydau'n newid o ran geografiaeth i rai ffyrdd. Ond, wrth ddweud hynny, rhaid i mi gofyn i Diane a Cathy i ddod ymlaen a siarad ychydig ychydig am y syniadau y mae Mrs. Rodrigues wedi'u hyrwyddo, ac rwy'n eisiau gwneud hynny'n dda iawn. Rydyn ni'n bwysig iawn pan fydd pethau'n digwydd. Dydyn ni ddim yn ddiddorol. Dyna ddim ymwneud ag yr hyn sy'n digwydd. Ond gadewch iddyn nhw siarad.
[Roy Belson]: Yn y weekend, rydyn ni wedi clywed ddau neu ddau ffyrdd o'r stori, ac rydyn ni'n hoffi gweld un ychydig o'r ymgynghoriad i'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai o'r rhai y lle oedd Columbus yn cael y rhaglen dysgu therapeutig. Mae rhai o'r bobl yn ymwneud â'r rhaglen ymddygiadol, ac roedd rhai o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o'r ychydig o ar y blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd o'r blynyddoedd, y ddau myfyrwyr sy ddim yn y radar, sy ddim yn myfyrwyr IEP. Felly gadewch i ni ddod allan, byddwn ni'n gwneud y bwysigrwydd, byddwn ni'n edrych ar y gysylltiadau o'r ymgeiswyr ac yn gwneud rywfaint o argymhellion. Gadewch i ni'n eu gallu, gadewch i ni'n eu gallu, gadewch i ni'n eu gallu, gadewch i ni'n eu gallu, gadewch i ni'n eu gallu, gadewch i ni'n ei gallu, gadewch i ni'n ei gallu, gadewch i ni'n ei gallu, Felly, byddwn ni'n siarad â phobl amdanyn nhw, byddwn ni'n siarad â phobl amdanyn nhw, ond rydyn ni'n gwrthfeydd gyda Mrs. Rodrigu, pan oedd yn dod i'r microchip, rydyn ni'n gwrthfeydd gyda ni heddiw, rydyn ni'n siarad gyda ni heddiw, byddwn ni'n siarad gyda phobl eraill, ond rydyn ni'n ei wneud'n syrgellol, rydyn ni'n ei wneud, rydych chi'n gwybod, yn y ffordd hynny'n ymwneud â ceisio'i ddatblygu.
[Roy Belson]: So that she doesn't forget what's really important in life.
[Roy Belson]: While you're watching those pitiful lions fight.
[Roy Belson]: Rydyn ni wedi ceisio. Rydyn ni wedi ceisio. Rydyn ni wedi ceisio. Rydyn ni wedi ceisio. Rydyn ni wedi ceisio.
[Roy Belson]: Mae'n anodd iawn oherwydd nid yw'r cyfraniad newydd. Mae'n anodd iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn iawn
[Roy Belson]: Mae'n rhaid i ni ddweud hwnnw. Mae'n dweud hwnnw. Mae'n dweud hwnnw.
[Roy Belson]: Tony Vento, our supervisor of health services, is here. We brought this to your attention last year when we got involved with the opiate intervention activities. And Tony is going to bring you up to date on SBIRT, which is the acronym for this long title, and let you know what we're doing and how it's going at this point in time.
[Roy Belson]: Mae pob ysgol yn cael gwahaniaeth wahanol. Byddwch chi'n gobeithio mwy o ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghylch yr ysgolion ynghyl Ac yw'r golau'r ysgolwyr. Mae'r golau'r ysgolwyr wedi'u gwerthu. Felly, rwy'n credu y byddwch chi, gan roi perfformiadau, rydyn ni'n rhoi rôl anhygoel iddyn nhw i chwarae, oherwydd nid y maen nhw'n gwneud hynny. Mae'n gwneud hynny mewn gwirionedd drwy'r swyddfa. Yn ymgynghoriad ag iddyn nhw. Nid y maen nhw'n cael cyfathrebu total ar hynny. Felly, rwy'n credu y byddwch chi'n gweld o ni'n dod ymlaen ar ôl hyn, yw'r golau'r ysgolwyr sylfaenol ac yna byddwch chi'n ddod o'r ffordd mwy realistig.
[Roy Belson]: Rydyn ni wedi newid y rhan fwyaf o'r iaith hwnnw hefyd, ac eto, gweithio gyda Kathleena Dagler, rydyn ni wedi ceisio siarad mwy am gefnogaethau positif, gweithredu, cefnogaeth,
[Roy Belson]: Roedd ymgynghoriad ddiwylliannol gyda'r cymunedau Minuteman, 16 o'r cymunedau sy'n ymgynghori ar 20 Septembre. roedd 10% o'r poblogaeth yn y 16 o'r cymunedau hwnnw i ddod allan i lywodraeth. Roedd rhai o'r cymunedau arall yn cael 2% ac roedd rhai o'r cymunedau'n ychwanegu. Roedd 16 o'r cymunedau yn ychwanegu. Mae'n dod i 10 nawr, ar ddiwedd yr ysgol hwnnw, ac mae'n edrych fel y bydd Belmont yn ychwanegu, felly byddwn yn ychwanegu i ddod i 9. Dyma'r sylwad o beth sy'n digwydd, ond byddant yn cael eu seilio Ond byddan nhw'n ei gynnal ar gyfer nifer dydw i ddim yn credu y byddan nhw'n mynd i'w gyflawni. Y un peth rydw i eisiau cyfrannu i'ch sylwadau yw ein bod ni'n ychydigio'r poblogaeth, ac rwy'n credu y byddwn ni'n cael unrhyw un yno yn ystod dwy flynyddoedd. Ond, y byddwn ni'n cael unrhyw un yno, un o'r cyfrifiadau o'r newydd rydyn ni'n ei gofyn ar gyfer ffeithiolaeth cyfrifiadol, yr ydym ni'n meddwl ei fod yn ymgynghoriad ddiweddar, ac byddwn ni'n ymgynghorio gyda'r Ond mae'r comisiynydd wedi'i ddod allan ac mae'n rhoi sylwad i chi sut mae cymunedau sy'n ymwneud â hyn. Mae 34 allan o'r cymunedau districtol, y rhan fwyaf ohonyn nhw fyddan nhw'n ymwneud â'r cyfrin hwnnw. Rydyn ni'n meddwl y byddent wedi'u ystafellu'r gwerthoedd gwirioneddol. Rydyn ni'n meddwl y byddent yn gallu gwertho'r lle fel Ellington Newington o $30,000-$40,000 ar gyfer y myfyrwyr. Yn mynd ymlaen, rwy'n credu ei fod yn ddiddorol, ond dyna beth yw. Rydyn ni'n medd ac rwy'n gobeithio i chi gwybod y byddwn, gyda'r cymunedau eraill sy'n ymwneud â'r disgyblaeth, yn cymryd ymdrech drwy weithredaeth leol cymdeithasol, ac yna, os byddai'n anodd, drwy'r ystafellau, er mwyn amlwg unrhyw gweithredaeth pwysig y byddai'n gallu dod yn ôl i'r ystafell ar un o bryd y byddai Nid ydyn ni'n meddwl bod hynny'n dda. Nid ydyn ni'n meddwl bod hynny'n dda. Nid ydyn ni'n meddwl bod hynny'n dda. Nid ydyn ni'n meddwl bod hynny'n dda. Nid ydyn ni'n meddwl bod hynny'n dda. Nid ydyn ni'n meddwl bod hynny'n dda. Nid ydyn ni'n meddwl bod hynny'n dda. Nid ydyn ni'n meddwl bod hynny'n dda. Nid ydyn ni'n meddwl bod hynny'n dda. Nid ydyn ni'n meddwl bod hynny'n dda. Gallwn ni edrych ar hynny, ond dydw i ddim yn meddwl bod hynny'n syniad da. Yna unrhyw gwestiynau?
[Roy Belson]: Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i ddysgu, yn sefydlu ar ffyrdd. Mae'r adroddiad wedi' Pat Bailey.
[Roy Belson]: Felly, un o'r pethau y mae'n rhaid i chi'n cofio yw y bydd, yn y adroddiad hwn, y ffordd y mae'n cael ei sefydlu, mae'r adroddiad o'r amgylchedd ar gyfer trafnidiaethau cyfrifiadol wedi'u newid ar ôl y ffaith. Felly, pan fydd hynny'n cael ei newid, nid ydyn nhw'n ymwybodol. Maen nhw'n unig yn defnyddio'r ffa ac mae'r cyfrifau hynny wedi mynd ymlaen yno. Dyna'r ffordd y mae'n ymwneud â hyn. Dyna'r ffordd y mae'n ymwneud â hyn. Dyna'r ffordd y mae'n ymwneud â hyn. Dyna'r ffordd y mae'n ymwneud â hyn. Dyna'r ffordd y mae'n ymwneud â hyn. Dyna'r ffordd y mae'n ymwneud â hyn. Dyna'r ffordd y mae'n ymwneud â hyn. Dyna'r ffordd y mae'n ymwneud â hyn. Dyna'r ffordd y mae'n ymwneud â hy. Dyna'r ffordd y mae'n ymwneud â hy. Dyna'r
[Roy Belson]: So that would be more appropriate for the current fiscal year as opposed to the one that we just passed, because that year's over. Now we're looking at this year's report to date and if you want to make a recommendation
[Roy Belson]: So why don't we take that under advisement and see how we can do it, okay? Okay, and we'll get right back to you.
[Roy Belson]: – Ydych chi'n mynd i ddysgu sut i ddysgu'r pethau hyn?
[Roy Belson]: – Christine, neidwch chi'n gwneud'r gwirion hwnnw.
[Roy Belson]: Yn fawr i bawb? Yn fawr i bawb? Yn fawr i bawb? Yn fawr i bawb? Yn fawr i bawb?
[Roy Belson]: Felly, ac rydyn ni'n ei weld yn ysgol ysgol ymdrechion, ac llawer o leoedd eraill y byddwch chi'n ymwneud ag ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysgol ysg Unwaith y byddwch chi'n sefydlu rhai o'r ystafellau hyn sy ddim yn gweithio ar gyfer aelodau'n unig, byddwch chi'n teimlo'n anodd i'w wneud ar lefel cyfathrebu, neu ar lefel cyfathrebu hefyd. Ond dyma'r hyn rydyn ni'n ymdrechu. Felly bydd yna ddisgwylion ar lefel y Llywodraeth ar hyn o bryd. Mae'r newydd dynol, ESSA, mae'r Llywodraeth yn rhoi mwy o gysylltiad. Gadewch i ni weld beth y maen nhw'n ei wneud. Gadewch i ni weld pa ffordd o ddisgwyliad maen nhw'n cael ar y Yn amlwg, os nad ydyn nhw'n cael dysgwyr, byddwch chi'n gweld yr un ffenomenon rydych chi'n gweld gyda'r AYP. Bydd mwy a mwy o ddistrygiadau yn dod allan. Ac nid yw hynny'n mynd i'r ffyrdd.
[Roy Belson]: Mae'r ddau mae gwirioneddau gwahanol ar y dyluniadau bilingwyl neu ELL. Bydd y Senedd eisiau newid yr hyn sydd wedi'i wneud yn amgylchedd yr amgylchedd UNS. Mae'r ysgol yn dal i ffwrdd ymlaen ymlaen, ac nid ydyn nhw'n gallu cyflawni unrhyw ffyrdd o'r cyllideb. Felly mae llawer o ffyrmyn ynghylch y pethau hyn ar hyn o bryd. Y peth arall, rwy'n credu, sy'n mynd yn amlwg i ni, yw bod y testau hyn Yn y blynyddoedd hwnnw, rydyn nhw'n ceisio defnyddio rhywbeth sy'n cael ei ysgrifennu'n enw'r equi-percentile i ceisio ddod o rywfaint o'r cysylltiad rhwng MCAS a Parc. Rydyn ni'n meddwl mai dyma'n ymdrech iawn iawn i ceisio cymryd dwy ddifrif ffyrdd gwahanol, ac rydyn ni'n sylweddoli bod y Llywodraeth hwnnw ddim yn mynd i'w wneud yma ym mis hwnnw. Yn y blynyddoedd hwnnw, rydyn ni'n sylweddoli bod rhywun wedi dod i'r un cyfathrebu, hyd yn oherwydd, I think they came to the conclusion that since they couldn't really compare all the districts, and we think to some degree that impacted our scores last year and impacted our rating last year. That's just our thinking about it, but I can't prove it, so be it.
[Roy Belson]: Yr holl myfyrwyr sy'n ymwneud â'r ysgol.
[Roy Belson]: Oherwydd byddwn yn rhaid i ni ddod allan.
[Roy Belson]: Mae'n rhaid i chi ddecydu beth y byddwch chi eisiau i fod yn y delegant ar y cyfrifiad ar hyn o bryd. Rydyn ni wedi'i ddod allan o'r cyfarfodydd diwethaf, felly rydyn ni'n ymwneud â hyn yma. Madam Chair, rwy'n nominatio Mrs. Van der Kloot i fod yn y cyfrifiad.
[Roy Belson]: Yn gyntaf, rwy'n hapus i ddweud y byddwn i'n hapus i bobl fy nghymryd yn gallu mynd yno i'r cyfrifiad. Mae hynny'n ddangos pwysig a'n ddangos bwysig iawn o'r confrens hwn. Mae'n rhoi rhan i ni ar y sgwrs, sy'n dda iawn i'n sylwadau i'n cael eu clywed.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the School Committee, you have the paper in front of you. I'm going to call upon our Deputy Superintendent to make the introductions of Team Medford, who have been incredibly generous to us, not only this year, but throughout the years, providing school supplies to our teachers and our students.
[Roy Belson]: And I'm here members of the committee. We did give you a preliminary report on August 29th and update that this evening and go over a few things that maybe you didn't get at that time. So we've had eight days of school. for the last two weeks, and the kindergartners had four days of school, and we've had a pretty good overall opening. Student enrollment is still emerging, as our parent center continues to receive daily activity, enrollees coming from many places. And as of Friday, September 9th, our overall enrollment is, at this point in time, 37 students less than last year at this time. The current numbers are as follows. Elementary, 1,882. Less, about two than last year. The middle school, 943, an increase of 51. And the high school vocational school, 1365, a reduction of 86. Now, last year's eighth grade class was much lower than the previous class. That explains some of it, but, you know, at this particular point in time, I think it's probably on percentage about the same going to the high school. Det är förväntat att de här utbildningsnivåerna förändras i september. Det kommer studenter att registrera sig, och några studenter kommer att flytta. Det här är typiskt. Dessutom måste distributionen mellan högskolan och vocational school fortfarande refineras. Det är för att vi samarbetar och gör saker samtidigt, så det är mer än 101 studenter i 9. klasse to the vocational school and exploratory, even though the vocational ninth grade is only about 52 students. So you get the idea that there's another 50 plus students, or there are around 50 students coming from the high school in the ninth grade exploring programs, and there's other youngsters in the other grades exploring programs as well. And there are students coming from the vocational school taking courses at the high school. So as we merge, some of these lines will blur a little bit, but we need to break it out for reporting purposes. Class sizes across the district are good and well within contractual limits. I've provided a chart to you that Diane's office has produced with Michelle Bissell working at it, talking to all the principals every day to make sure that we get actual headcounts. Diane actually went down and did some headcounts today to be sure that the number registered and the numbers actually in attendance are reconciled. And the secondary school looks pretty good also, but we'll wait a few more days until we see how classes are redistributed as people change courses and make some adjustments as to what they're taking. This year, we made four administrative appointments that filled vacancies covered by two resignations, one retirement, and one promotion. And we reduced one administrative position in the special education budget during budget time. There were 32 new teachers hired to fill gaps caused by resignations, retirements, leaves of absence, and non-rehires. And there were multiple shifts of teachers to different positions to better address enrollment and program needs based on individual building preferences. Additionally, we hired a few new positions based on our budget deliberations, including one middle school librarian, one math coach, one middle school adjustment Councilor, behavior specialist and three full-time kindergarten aides from previously part-time aides at the Robins. We were also able to cover both clerical reductions with internal transfers. There were multiple changes among paraprofessionals and we're working on a full listing that's still evolving a little bit and we'll provide that to you as soon as we feel comfortable that it's solid. School security plans are in place at all schools and principals have been conducting practice drills In the first couple of days of school, I visited the schools and walked over to some of them, and everyone was evacuating. So I thought maybe school wasn't going to happen, but they were actually practicing. And there was no disruption to school operations caused by the September 8, 2016 primary election at five of our school sites. We will be closed for the November election, since that's a much heavier election, being a presidential election, and the turnout should be close to 80% versus the 15% or so som kommer till primär. Transportation routes are going through the typical initial adjustments to reflect actual ridership and route timing. Pat is working very hard with the company. They're doing a good job, again, in making adjustments, trying to make sure that the buses are properly, let's say, filled but not overfilled, and making some adjustments based on changes in individual student situations. Initial reports indicate that there's increased ridership around the district, and that we've used the Transfinder system, which we used this year to help smooth out some of these routes. We also want to thank the Eastern Bus in Tatiana Hall, who coordinates with Pat on the bus routes for their close work with us. School supplies, as you just heard, and other budget education materials have been ordered and much is in place. a few more distributions to take place. We're grateful to Team Medford and other groups for their generous support. At our next meeting, we'll recognize other groups who have provided for our students as well. We have some nice substantial donations to augment what we have. We are implementing our revised supply list plan that reduces individual supply list requests of parents. In fact, this evening when we were down in the McGlynn, I talked to representatives of the PTO down there and they asked how they could Provide supplies without hitting parents up. And we talked about a methodology for doing that in a more generalized way so that parents, individual parents, don't feel obligated or coerced to providing supplies. And there are many parents out there that can't afford it. They have multiple children and we want to be fair. We have a new substitute software system, which we call ASOP. It's working well. We have more substitutes available to us than ever before. I think there were like 60 on the list, Pat. Previously this time we might have 20, 30 at the most. And so this is going to be an important year for providing full coverage to our schools. We are transmitting, transitioning rather, from our previous student information system, which is I-PASS, to our new system, which is called School Brains. It will take some time to work out all the particulars. Technology glitches are part of what we have to deal with. And we have a meeting on Wednesday to work out some of the information transfer that we don't think went quite as smoothly as we would have liked it to go. But we don't think it's going to, let's say, create any kind of problems down the road. And as teachers learn to use it, we feel it will reach its optimum utilization. We completed FY 2016 with a balanced budget. Final transactions are being implemented now. A report will be forthcoming when all records are reconciled with City Hall. We're entering fiscal 17 in good shape. We have to keep an eye on possible state aid reductions in our cost overruns for programs, services, and facilities. The state is seeing lower revenues, and who knows, it might trigger 9C cuts. It's always out there looming sometime in the late fall. Vi har fortfunding som kan tillåts från olika grupper. Det är inte klart om legislaturen kommer att förbereda nytta förfunding. Vi måste också se på alla typer av aktioner i Washington som fortgår i den här tiden. I de kommande veckor kommer vi att samarbeta om våra mål och vi fortsätter som vi har progresserat i året. Ni har några plattformar. Ni kan se dem. Det är plattformen för utbildning i distrikten. There's a chart broken out by actual grades. There's a chart broken out just by school and grade. And there's the elementary class chart that breaks out by teachers and the actual grade levels at each school. So, it looks pretty good. Happy to take any questions you might have.
[Roy Belson]: As of Friday. And some of today's, we just, we made some adjustments.
[Roy Belson]: Let me answer it, because I know what you're asking. Those classrooms are for integration of special needs youngsters, and that might happen in a gymnasium, that might happen in an art class, It may happen in some other, let's say, elective type class, but not in the regular classroom.
[Roy Belson]: I don't see that at this point in time. Generally, the classes down there, if they've got inclusion, they're part of the original count.
[Roy Belson]: Same thing.
[Roy Belson]: När de samlas, kommer andra lärarna med? Ja, de kommer med. Även med full-time-aids, i kindergården, tror jag att det är fortfarande högt.
[Roy Belson]: So I feel obligated to say this. We're spoiled in Medford. We are spoiled in Medford. You should see the class sizes around the Commonwealth. We are spoiled in Medford. We are so used to having low class sizes. that any time it peaks a little bit higher, it becomes a major issue in some people's minds. These are very good class sizes for public school. And if you look around the Commonwealth, you won't find better. So I know we'd like to have less, but an additional teacher with benefits and everything is gonna cost you in a classroom, cost you another $100,000 for one or two students. I think that we can adjust the actual instruction I can ask the principal to carefully review from time to time whether the 24-21 makes a lot of sense. If it really becomes an issue, maybe we can talk about an aid. But I don't think we should be in the business of just simply adding teachers and adding classrooms when we're at this level. It's easy to make the argument, but I can tell you that our class sizes are among the best in the Commonwealth, much better than our neighbors.
[Roy Belson]: Well, remember, some of these are a function of youngsters who do have a need to be in certain schools because of certain, let's say, programs that are at that school, as opposed to others. But, you know, clearly they're close enough, you know, for us to do it, and it's certainly well within the class size limits. In each grade level, 25 students in a class would be 200 students. If you had 25 students in a class, you'd have 200 students in that grade level. Så du har åtta klasser i varje skola, som är delade i det numret, och det visar dig hur stor klassen är. Dessutom har du några specifikeringsproblem, som kan ta den numren ännu mindre. De klasserna är väldigt bra.
[Roy Belson]: that, you know, every time someone says, well, it's a little too high, that we start saying, okay, add a teacher. That takes away from other things.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, Members of the Committee, our Deputy Superintendent will bring you up to date on the Administrative Meetings and also our Teacher Induction Program.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, our Director of Science, Rocco Sierra, is here to brief you on that. I'm just going to show you the booklet that contains the standards that everyone's supposed to learn. So we'll make sure you get a copy so you can study them on your own in your own leisure. Meanwhile, Rocco will tell you all about it.
[Roy Belson]: Så om du minns från våra budgetdeliberationer, vi kommer att bli klar med att betala för InVision i det här året, och sen det pengar kommer att flytta över till Science at the elementary level.
[Roy Belson]: Vi vill se på nästa året om vi kan lägga pengar in i curriculum science elementary. envision which will be over.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, our assistant superintendent will tell us about before school.
[Roy Belson]: Yes.
[Roy Belson]: And of course, we need to keep it for situations where there may be a shortfall, someone doesn't, or can't pay at some point in time, there may be some scholarships that are generated because of low income.
[Roy Belson]: Whatever's left over is figured into our overall revenue plan, because obviously we have to offset our budget with revenue, as you know.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, after our deliberations and interviews on August 29th, you gave me your input and this evening it's my pleasure to recommend to you that the Director of Finance and Administrative position be awarded to Kirsteen Patterson, who is currently in Southern Middlesex Vocational Tech, and she's here this evening, and you have the documents in front of you, and that I'd ask for a formal vote nominating and electing Kirsteen to the position for two-year contract at the rate that's stipulated.
[Roy Belson]: I remember the committee every year we select a delegate and alternative alternate to the M.A.S.C. conference in Hyannis and it's important that we do that so we can submit it to M.A.S.C. and let them know and also to let you know that if you expect to attend I would like to register you as soon as possible so we can get the optimum rates for the conference and we can move forward. It's an important activity. There's so much going on right now. There's so many changes. There's a new federal law. You need to be involved. I can tell you a lot of things, but you need to have an opportunity to interact with your colleagues in those settings and see what other people are talking about. and get an idea of what's really happening in the Commonwealth and the federal government as we move forward with public education. This year is particularly significant. A couple of things in front of us that could alter the nature of what we do, especially ESSA, charter schools, other things that could happen. It's important that you interact with your colleagues. So I would ask that you nominate a delegate and an alternate, and at the same token, Give me information as to whether you intend to attend, so I can make appropriate arrangements on your behalf.
[Roy Belson]: I don't believe it's on this particular, but I'll certainly provide it to you.
[Roy Belson]: Sure.
[Roy Belson]: Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. This evening you've received a packet from our public information office. There are many terrific activities going on in our city over the next couple of weeks. I urge you to pay attention to them because I know you want to participate. I appreciate that Lisa has put all this together for you. And to let you know that there's many events and that, you know, our people will be participating. Community Day, it's Tufts Community Day. The 25th is... Crystal Campbell unveiling is September 25th. Crystal Campbell unveiling, former Medford High School student who was lost in the Marathon bombing. So there's a lot going on. And I also want to point out to you that varsity teams are undefeated right now. And anybody who thinks that the Patriots win or the Red Sox win yesterday was important on the weekend. The Mustangs winning on Friday night was the most important win of the weekend. We came back and beat Revere 30 to 28. Great win for our guys. And we're off to a great start. We're looking for number two next Friday at Belmont.
[Roy Belson]: So we'll look forward to it. And also, the boys' soccer team traveled to Ludlow. And Ludlow is a perennial state. They've won 17 state soccer championships for boys. And Medford has been in the state championship game three times. And each time we lost a lot of them. Well, I played in the first one and we got beat the worst. So I'll take I'll take the heat for that. But the reality is is this time for the last two times we played them, we've tied them one to one. The next time we play them, we're going to win. So just so you know what's going on.
[Roy Belson]: All right.
[Roy Belson]: We may come out to vote a contract.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, you have a report in front of you. It's a preliminary report. As you know, school opens tomorrow for grades 1 through 12. Kindergarten will come in next week on September 7th, on Wednesday. In preparation for the opening of school, administrators have been meeting all last week and all throughout the summer, hiring and reviewing necessary policies, protocols, and programs. We've also participated in meetings with our new teachers, staff, contractors to ensure they're off to a great start. Enrollment in the school is increasing. We'll reserve judgment on the need for maybe additional faculty or staff until we see who actually shows up in the first week or so of school. And we'll calculate actual attendance at that time, which is typical practice for us. Transportation routes are posted online. We used Transfinder this year, our first time using that. As usual, adjustments are made during the first month to reflect actual ridership. And we're working to consolidate at least one bus and possibly downsize one bus to a smaller vehicle heading to Minuteman. Security plans are in place. All schools have updated their plans and scheduled drills to practice the various response measures. I've attached a copy of a recent article which I sent you previously, but in case you didn't see it, on the bomb scares in Medford Public Schools and was in the American School Board's journal featuring Medford. A preliminary report on our summer maintenance and repair work has been included. Mr. McLaughlin is here. A lot was done, a lot more will be done. Tonight we'll discuss capital planning, which is another dimension of our building repairs and long-term improvement of our facilities. Additional work was completed in our buildings with the help of the vocational school faculty and staff. And we're awarding a new contract to cleaning service sometime this week. We've interviewed multiple vendors. We've narrowed it down to four individuals, four individual groups, and we should have a decision probably by tomorrow or no later than Thursday. We're working on a new initiative that would have students, especially in the high school and the middle schools, adopt specific sections of their buildings for upkeep and improvement. Almost like what you see in the islands around the city where you adopt an island and the like. We'll have you some details on this initiative at a subsequent meeting. After school and before school programs are ready to go. Demand for these programs and services continues to grow. We're working hard to ensure that we have enough staff. It's a little challenging as people come and go in this after school staff at the outset. And sometimes people become available if they feel they don't have another type of job for themselves at this point in time. Supplies materials are on hand for the opening. New techs have been ordered and will be in place this month. Team Medford, Hallmark Health, and they'll be with us on the meeting at the 12th, along with Armstrong Ambulance and Staples, presented over $27,000 worth of additional school supplies to us this past week. Our athletic teams have been practicing and will be ready for their openings in September. A fall schedule is included in your materials. The marching band practices virtually every day. and they'll be very active in our games and other community events this year. I've enclosed some additional articles that have been in the transcript and on our blog that highlight Medford school programs and in particular I put my first article into the transcript this week entitled standing up together for our Medford public schools and cover a lot of the things that went on and will go on in the public schools. We've had several meetings with the transcript in an attempt to try and develop a new relationship that will be positive for the transcript and for the public schools. So we'll follow up with a report on the actual opening of our schools at a regularly scheduled meeting on September 12, 2016. Again, if we go to the next page, you'll see the typed copy of what was actually in the transcript on August 25th, listing many of the programs. One of the interesting parts of this first part was that, you know, obviously I'm calling for parents to stay engaged with us and for us to work with them and to encourage their involvement and giving them ways that they can participate in your meetings and in conjunction with the school system. We spoke to the faculty about a similar thing this week and we think that we're making that a serious priority going forward. I'm not going to read through this thing. I know you've had opportunities to go through these things yourself and if you have any questions I'll be happy to comment on any of it.
[Roy Belson]: It's hard to know whether the buses are going to get there on time in the first week because in the first week a lot of people are still figuring it out. Some people arrive at the stops a little bit late. We think we schedule them to get there on time. But, you know, Pat may have another view.
[Roy Belson]: So the next part of the report has some materials on what was done in maintenance. John McLaughlin is here. I won't try to read through it all because you have it in front of you, but if you have a specific question, John is here. I can answer some and John can answer anything else that you might have. So if you have any questions about what was done in buildings and grounds, more is going to be done. We're still working at things, but for the most part, we're very functional going into the school year.
[Roy Belson]: So the rest of the packet on the opening is just some articles that we thought appeared recently. We thought you might like to just have another copy of them or look at them if you haven't seen them. And again, new teacher orientation was held. We put out some information about school brains, the new parent communication system that goes with our data management operations. We had training today. on that with the teachers. The athletic schedule is here, the meeting schedule is here, and the school calendar is here again. So, happy to take any questions you have.
[Roy Belson]: I'm sure it is and we'll correct it. Okay? Unless you want to come on the 16th and we'll be happy to hold a meeting for you.
[Roy Belson]: Because what you have is you have people coming and you have people going who don't tell us. So
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, you'll get a class size chart in our first meeting in September. That'll give us enough time to really see whether people are going to be with us or go or what it really looks like. But it looks like we've got it under control. People can come and go. So we'll see.
[Roy Belson]: Again, when they actually show, we've got pretty good enrollments right now, but let's see what actually shows. We are a little stressed on after school staff. It seems like as people get jobs, they leave that program. So there's some turnover there, but everyone's working hard to make sure that that's done.
[Roy Belson]: Absolutely.
[Roy Belson]: So what we did was we certainly talked to our principals and also to Ed Finn, the city clerk, about the location of each polling station. Now at each polling station, there is a Medford police officer who will be assigned. So they will be there, and the entrance to and from will be reserved strictly for the people polling. Students will not go through those entrances or exits, and the people will not be allowed into the buildings in any other way, unless they're coming there for a student as well as election, and then they have to sign in.
[Roy Belson]: Each polling area will have its own entrance.
[Roy Belson]: The police officer will be there.
[Roy Belson]: All day.
[Roy Belson]: Yes, they rotate. They're not there all the time, but they rotate.
[Roy Belson]: And I did speak to a few parents who called, and you know, someone might keep their youngster home for that day. I understand some people are more concerned than others about that, but If we start breaking up the beginning of school, we lose all momentum this first couple weeks of school because of Labor Day and other things that come up.
[Roy Belson]: I'm wondering whether or not if we wouldn't do something like a backpack express. Sometimes robo calls kind of get people uptight. Yep. And if we send them a letter from the school saying how it's going to be set up, that might be an easier way for them to see it.
[Roy Belson]: Okay?
[Roy Belson]: Yes.
[Roy Belson]: Absolutely.
[Roy Belson]: Absolutely. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: I'm sure we can set that up.
[Roy Belson]: These are some additional pieces of paper.
[Roy Belson]: So as you know, the mayor has been working hard with her staff to create a capital plan for the city. And the school system was asked to create our own capital plan based on our best estimates and judgment as to what we needed. Naturally, the mayor wants each of you to have the opportunity to review what's in this document so that you can either add, subtract, or modify what's here as she continues with her plan to present something that's a system-wide plan to the city and the city council would obviously have to approve any kind of bonding. As we do capital plans, there are four basic functions and we prioritize based on that basis. Health and safety. If there was a health and safety issue, we'd want to address that as early as possible. A functional need for the operation of the schools, something that would keep us from operating the school. The third would be something of educational value, and the last would be a cosmetic improvement. Albeit, sometimes things are all of the above, or two or more of the above, but we try to at least deal with health and safety and functional needs first to the extent possible. Each project should be reviewed with an eye towards an alternative source of funding. I've just passed out some information about something coming through MSBA on technology and DESE. I've spoke to MSBA again today and DESE to get some latest information. We expect that an RFP will come out of DESE and MSBA in the next few weeks, and then we'll be able to respond more formally to any kind of technology investment that's involved. have to be scheduled in ways that reduce or eliminate disruption. When we did the science labs, you can see obviously we had to move a lot of people around. When we do anything that affects classroom space, we try to do it in a way that eliminates disruption or at least reduces it and doesn't impact operations to the greatest extent possible. have to be scheduled to reflect emergent or anticipated legal and as well as educational requirements. Some things we have to do legally, for example, this year at the beginning we put in another ramp into the Caron Theater to meet the handicap requirements. Other things like that would be necessary to consider. Proposed project solicitance report based upon our best current cost estimates. They've been rounded out. I didn't try to get to $210.26. You know, it's $200,000, it's $200,000, and it could be $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, more or less, one way or another. There may be a preference for combining certain projects in any given year that could produce a preferred economy. And the first step is obviously for you to review it. Now, we broke it out by school, and we broke it out in five years. So if you look at The schools, you'll see that there's year one projections, year two projections, year three projections, year four and year five projections. There is also a piece for technology as the last item, and it's broken up into instructional technology and network technology, as well as district-wide and equipment needs. So we try to break it out in categories that were easy to understand and to give us a sense of how we would distribute. Again, as the mayor points out, This is a preliminary list. It's intended to get the conversation going to keep you involved. Well, at the same token, it's still aspirational at this point, and a lot depends on what other needs exist in the city and what other things can be done through alternative source of funding. I want to begin by thanking Pat for putting the technical side of this all together and working very hard with other school officials with John and others to identify what we thought we needed, sat down and went over it. I want to thank the city's Procurement Officer Schaub for her work in trading ideas with us. We have an individual sheet for each project or each area, so you can look at that as well. And I think having said all of that, Madam Mayor, I think we're ready to take any feedback, and I would suggest we go school by school, go down the list, and if you see something that you think isn't there, And let us know, and if you see something that you don't think deserves attention, let us know. And if you think we're not spending enough of the mayor's money, then let us know. And we're happy to spend money, we like to spend money.
[Roy Belson]: Again, if I can, you know, the playgrounds are functional. They may not be beautiful because of the, you know, the rips in it. We can patch them and make them functional. There are some things that we need to do because the building air quality or safety factors would be far more significant. So, but that's why this is a discussion. This is where you would feed in and say, you know, I think that's more of an issue than you thought it was an issue. But having said that, we try to spread it out so that as the mayor points out, As she goes over what her needs are citywide, that there's some distribution across a time frame that's believable financially. But again, it's all interchangeable. So that's why we're here talking.
[Roy Belson]: So, you know, we get site council reports. We look at those. John McLaughlin is obviously involved in every school with buildings and repairs and things of that type. Pat and I have seen any number of requests over a period of time. We've also been conscious of things we have to do. So for example, the vocational school, we know when we did a compliance audit that we know we have to change the door handles on doors to stay compliant because of their handicapped accessibility. So we tried to take all the pieces of information that came from multiple sources We met with principals at the end of the school year, we've talked to them since. So we get input from virtually everybody. But again, I'm sure different people would have different priorities because obviously, if it's theirs, it's a higher priority than if it's someone else's.
[Roy Belson]: All right.
[Roy Belson]: Well, signage is probably more of an operating budget item, you know, unless it were major pieces of signage. But, you know, in general science, we do that through operating budgets.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, we'll sit down with Dr. Perella and find out what he has in mind.
[Roy Belson]: So we were semi-finalists and we didn't become finalists. I can't believe the poor judgment on the part of the Jobs Foundation, but nevertheless, you know, the idea is still there and the enthusiasm in the school is still there, but the funding that we had hoped for that particular source is not there for us right now. But there may be some other source of funding that we can look at and But that funding is not there.
[Roy Belson]: We can certainly add the library as an item. The question is, you know, what do we want to, what do we project for that? And that's something we'd have to do a little bit of homework on. This is a big place. Depends what we want to do. Furniture would be involved. Certainly rugs, ceilings, lighting. It's a major expense. So I would estimate just off the top, we're talking at least a million dollars.
[Roy Belson]: So again you know this is the beginning of a capital plan and there's a lot of things on here we probably haven't fully discussed but internally we're aware of things that should be done from our standpoint so the idea with modular units is that space at the high school is becoming premium and more and more programs are being developed at the vocational school and other activities. So as a result, the thought was if we can recapture the skateboard park, we may want to build on what is the skateboard park now for a certain number of programs. And that would be a very interesting way for us to expand our programming while at the same time using space that right now is badly used in my opinion.
[Roy Belson]: So let me try and say it this way, because I think this is probably the best way to, because we're going to go through this question over and over again. There are probably a lot of things that you haven't, as a committee, envisioned because you don't live it every day. And there are other things you would know about, or think about, or hear about that we haven't thought too hard about. Like, you know, you just mentioned the library, we thought maybe, you know. So there's going to be some back and forth. This is not a final document, but this is a preliminary planning document to get your input, to see what kinds of concerns either you have for inclusion or deletion so that we can move forward. And then as we move forward, then we would clearly detail each of our items. Going forward also, remember, once year one goes or year two goes, it may be that year three, four, and five change dramatically after year one and two because of other considerations. So this is a plan. A plan is subject to change, is subject to modification all the way through. It's just an attempt to try and lay out what we see and what might be possible and challenge us to think about what could be to our advantage.
[Roy Belson]: When this high school was built, there were over 25 schools in the school district. And while they were smaller, they housed any number of things. Also, there was the Forest Street complex which has the office of the superintendent and a number of other programs as well. As we consolidated down those programs, you know, I mean those spaces get pushed into other areas, that's one. Secondly, special education has grown exponentially. ELL has grown exponentially. Other mandated programs that we have put in place that didn't previously exist have grown exponentially. Our vocational school has expanded exponentially in terms of programs so we're doing more with the space we have and we have less total space than we had years ago so clearly you know it's not the same ballgame that it was when this building housed, I don't think we ever got to 4,000, but about 3,600, 3,700. I think we exaggerated a little because it sounded really good, you know, back then. But I think the reality was is that, and also back then, there was open campus, if you remember, and not everybody had a room every day. So if you were, you know, didn't have a class, you might have been in the cafeteria, you weren't in the classroom. There are a lot of factors that would mitigate against these things, and plus the fact, too, that there's specialized areas now, occupational therapy, vision testing, things of that type that we didn't have back then.
[Roy Belson]: I think one of the things you need to do is assume the early iterations of some, let's say, modular classrooms maybe look like trailers. We've had some that looked a little bit like a trailer. There were more wooden structures at the Davenport, at the Fulton, and places like that at different times in history. But today's modular classrooms, you wouldn't know the difference just from the outside. What they can do today is prefab housing, prefab buildings. It's amazing. They slap them up, and they put them together very nicely, and they're durable. and they've got steel and they've got other things in them that are more expensive, to be sure. But they can easily be put up and they do create legitimate space. So the day of the trailer-like modular classroom has gone away.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor, if we could maybe take a few second breaks so we could prepare for the next activity and we get the first candidate in. In your packets you have a job description, you have some sample questions, you have some questions you can ask, and you have the resumes of each of the finalists in this position. As I indicated to you in a cover letter, There were well over 20 individuals who applied for this position, some of whom did not have appropriate credentials. They liked the job. And there were some other people who had credentials, but reference checks and other things had us eliminated from Chrome. And there were some people who actually declined after they thought about it for various reasons or took a position elsewhere. But I think this evening we have three very fine individuals. And the process for those of you who have not done it before, the veterans who have done it before as we've had interviews of this type, is that we ask our candidate to give us a little bit of information about themselves, to tell us a little bit of why they think they should be our Director of Finance and Administration. We then go around the room and give each of you a chance to ask one or two questions, and then maybe a second round. And then we'll allow our candidate to give us a little summation, perhaps answer something that wasn't asked or perhaps clarify something that was asked. So this evening, then afterwards, we'll have an opportunity to discuss other particulars after all the candidates have been interviewed.
[Roy Belson]: So anyway, our first candidate this evening is Christine Patterson. Christine is currently at vocational school, the South Middlesex Vocational School. She's been there for approximately seven years, previously at Blackstone Vocational. So I'm going to ask Christine to come up and say hello to everybody and we'll introduce yourself and we can then begin the process. So Kirsten, you're here and obviously I'm glad you're here. Tell us a little bit about yourself, what you've done and why you believe you'd be a great candidate to be Medford's new Director of Administration and Finance.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so we're going to go around the room and we'll take questions and we'll start off with our senior members, Paula Van de Kooten.
[Roy Belson]: No, let's keep it moving. Robin Evans Carey Jr.
[Roy Belson]: The Vice Chairperson of the School Committee, Erin DiBenedetto.
[Roy Belson]: Ann Marie Cuno.
[Roy Belson]: We have much time.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so Madam Mayor.
[Roy Belson]: Ann Marie Cugno, second round.
[Roy Belson]: So we'll go back to me and myself.
[Roy Belson]: I know you're good, but you have a question. I don't. All right. Kathy, how about you?
[Roy Belson]: Erin DiBenedetto.
[Roy Belson]: So we've reached that point in the evening where you get a chance to sum it all up. Tell us something that maybe you want us to know that we didn't ask. And maybe just give that final pitch as to why you need to be the Director of Finance and Administration for the Medford Public Schools.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, I'm pleased to present to you Michelle Shepard, CBA, who is currently in Pitchburgh as a City Assistant Treasurer, Elector, City of Pitchburgh. Michelle is licensed in the field as a School Business Administrator. Michelle, the way this works is that we give you an opportunity to tell us a little bit about yourself, we have your resume, and why you think you should be our new Director of Finance and Administration. We'll then go around the room to committee members and they'll ask you a question or two. And at the end of it all, you get to fill in the blanks, maybe tell us a little bit of something that we didn't ask, or sum up some key point that you want us to take home. So without further ado, why don't you tell us a little bit about who you are, and why you're interested, and why you think you're going to be a great find for Medford.
[Roy Belson]: So why don't we begin by starting with Erin DiBenedetto.
[Roy Belson]: So why don't we go to Robert M. Iscari Jr.
[Roy Belson]: So let's go to Paulette Vandecourt.
[Roy Belson]: OK, so now we'll go to Kathy Kretsch.
[Roy Belson]: Anne Marie?
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so any other questions anyone has right now? Okay, so Michelle, tell us a little bit, something we didn't ask you or give us some reinforcement about something that you want us to know. Give us that extra boost as to why you should be our person.
[Roy Belson]: So Diane Johnson is with us. Diane is currently the director of, chief financial officer of the Arlington Financial Schools. And let me introduce you to the people around the table. Paulette Van der Kloot, Henry Cugno, Robert Emmett Skerry Jr., Erin DiBenedetto. Mayor Stephanie Burke, Diane Caldwell, Assistant Superintendent, Kathy Kreatz, Mia Mostone, and what's her name? Beverly Nelson, Deputy Superintendent, and Pat Bielefe. I do that.
[Roy Belson]: What do you expect?
[Roy Belson]: All right, so anyway, Diane, thank you for being patient with us tonight. We went a little bit longer than we thought initially, but that's what happens in public meetings. Tell us a little bit about yourself, about your background, your qualifications, and why you believe you would be a great person for this job here in medicine.
[Roy Belson]: So we're going to begin by going around the room. I'm going to start with Mia Mostow. You've been writing questions all night.
[Roy Belson]: More? No? All right. So we'll go to Ann Marie Cugno.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so we're gonna go now to Erin.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Kathy Gretsch.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Are there other questions anyone would like to ask?
[Roy Belson]: So we've reached that point of the evening. Let's sum it all up with another question. We've reached that point of the evening, Diane, where you get to tell us something we haven't asked you that you want us to know, or to sum it all up and tell us why you're the best person for this job.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent, welcome tonight. Thank you, Mr. President, members of the council. It was before you last week, and I went over the budget in detail with you. You did ask for some additional information. I believe it was forwarded to you over the weekend, if not sooner. And I'm not sure what specifically you want to talk about, but if there's something specific, I'd be happy to talk.
[Roy Belson]: So as Director of Finance and Administration pointed out, the proposed budget was $54,333,000. It's an increase over FY 2016 of $1.4 the overall projected appropriated budget represents a 2.6 increase from last year, and the budget is buttressed by 2.1 of generated revenue. When the generated revenue is included, the actual projected budgetary expense will be 56,443,392, or a 3.2% increase over FY 2016. Also, as we've indicated, various aid allocations and grants from federal, state, non-profit groups, corporate sources, and the like are factored in. We are concerned that the state budget is under some duress right now, because there are funds that come to the school directly from the state, and it's hard to know what the conference committee is going to do. There are some funds that could be vulnerable, especially since the governor has indicated that the projected shortfall going forward is greater than was originally anticipated, by about $200,000 more than was previously anticipated. We provide sufficient resources to enable us to meet the requirements of state and federal mandates that are in place. Undoubtedly, there are a number of contingencies that happen every year that we have to make adjustments for. Fiscal 2016 saw the successful negotiations of virtually every contract in the school department. There is one contract out there, but we believe that will close sometime over the next two weeks. That's with the Carpenters. There are only three members of that particular group. But all the funding that we need is accounted for in that budget proposal and budget that was approved by the Medford School Committee on June 20th. We're working with the mayor, as you know, and you've asked for some of these things on capital planning. You asked for a listing. I gave you a listing. I also gave you a short-term listing of things that we thought might happen sooner or would like to happen sooner. Obviously, it has to be factored into the total cities approach. to capital planning, and we look forward to working with the mayor. We've talked about a number of things. Overall enrollments in the schools remain pretty stable. Class sizes are very, very good. The actual distributions by school will vary somewhat as people come and go during the summer months. The vocational enrollment is definitively up, and there are a number of new offerings that we think are terrific offerings, and our young people are flocking to them. Minute Man allocation has been sharply reduced over the last several years. Three years ago it was a million dollars. It's now down to about 400, and it will be less than that going forward. We do anticipate some increase in ELL students, students who don't speak English as a first language. We have some retirements. I've indicated that some of that will come and go. And when we gave you the budget, it was 16 known retirements. There may be a couple more that come in over the summer because people are talking to us, but I can't tell you who they are at this point because they haven't made up their mind. There were approximately 11 faculty members when we gave you this budget originally who were not going to be rehired. I think we made some decisions to rehire at least two of those that were previously on the list to not be rehired. There may be a couple more that we bring back. Sometimes we put people on a list like that as to give us more time. The state law requires that when we have a non-professional status teacher, we have to notify them by June 15th if we believe that we may not rehire them. That's not true for other kinds of positions, but it is true for teachers. So we sometimes put some extra people on that list just to be sure that we've covered the bases. Elementary supplies have increased. All supplies across the district have increased. I think I did tell you that Envision was in its last year of payment. It's about $82,000. And after that, we'll be able to take that amount and use it in other areas. We did tell you a little bit about our desire not to ask parents to provide substantial amounts of supplies and materials that the school department believes we provide quite a bit. and that we should be able to cover their needs without asking parents to do much more than a handful of things that they would use at home for the youngster coming home, paper, pencils, pens, rulers, things of that type that might be necessary. The science budget included 10,000 funding for additional elementary science kits. The Journey's English language program has already been paid for. The ELL budget has 6,000 more in it. There's also additional $2,000 for translation services. And we've added 1.5 positions to that area to accommodate the incoming people. The special ed department will add an adjustment Councilor to that level. There will be 16 adjustment psychologists and four behavioral specialists going forward. But we've added a fifth behaviorist as part of the discussions with the school committee in their last hearing. And it's also included in what I've sent to you. We've eliminated one administrative position, the clinical coordinator's position. We've added a librarian to the middle school, so each school will have access to a full-time librarian. Not full-time, but they'll share a librarian plus some para help. We've added a math coach to the elementary schools. We've added three full-time kindergarten aides to the Roberts Elementary. And I believe that's the limit on that. The vocational school will be adding four teachers to support expanded programs, engineering, robotics, business technology, multimedia program, computer, and business. Hospitality program is envisioned. It may happen with some additional dollars that come from the outside. The vocational budget is $10,000 more for instructional supplies, an additional $23,000 to support needed equipment. And they also get $65,000 of Perkins federal funds that we think will be good. They'll also, as I indicate, save some money in the tuition to Minuteman. The English department has added $2,000 for textbooks and also e-readers. It will also help to support a program that helps youngsters in transition. The mathematics department will be adopting a new high school textbook program with an annual payment of $36,000 each for three years. Additional math upgrades will follow over the next two years as the Envision payment is done this year. The department will also be doing some work with school computer science programs and share some teaching time. The science department has $10,000 increase to fund the elementary engineering program. I indicated that before. The social studies department maintains a strong textbook account of $20,000. That will help them with their advanced placement European textbooks and with other books that are part of their overall program, including a global scholars program. They did add 14 classroom sets of new eighth grade US history textbooks this past year. The foreign language department has an increase of $11,200 to support the acquisition of new Spanish textbooks and to support the Latin program that has been reinstituted. The physical education department, health education, will receive 9,000 more in place of classroom supplies and equipment system wide. That came from a decrease in the need to fund the Michigan model, which has already been purchased. That's the health education model that we use in conjunction with our substance abuse prevention program. The Fine Arts Department will stay consistent when 9,600 was added to support programs. We did talk about the band program. We're working on a paper that we will bring to you to sell off some old musical instruments and deposit that in a gift account that will require your approval. so that we can then reinvest that in the music department going forward. The library and media instructional technology has been increased by $14,900. It's on top of last year's $70,000 increase, which we put in the budget for instructional supplies to ensure that our technology is properly able to go forward. There are several grants that fund these things as well. We have some money in Block 03 for technology infrastructure. The Health Services Department provides a nursing service to our schools and contributes greatly to our efforts to support social emotional issues and substance abuse prevention. The staff also assists with SPED medical issues that are part of IEPs and 504 plans. The small increase in the budget to cover contractual professional development and summer coverage. I told you that the Department of Public Health gave us a $15,000 grant to coordinate with outside agencies. It's an innovative grant. Not many in the Commonwealth at this point in time. Hopefully, we can do something really good with it. The Department of Public Health also pays for at least the majority of at least one other nursing physician. The guidance department added an additional Councilor to staff last year, but they're getting $800 more to help them with their supplies, materials, and professional development. We will continue to pay for the PSAT program, which enables youngsters to take that version of the SAT at the early stages, because many kids can't afford that. The middle school budget will see an increase in student activities lines by 2,000 per school. We will be filling the assistant principal position at the Andrews, which was vacated by the retirement of Miriam Morata. We will be filling the assistant principal position at the Brooks, which was initiated by the leaving of Kevin Andrews as a principal and the promotion of Suzanne Galussi to the position of principal. We've increased funding to sustain a third late bus at the middle schools. Parents and others like that, they feel that kids need more time to stay after school. Medford High School will see a $12,500 increase in non-salary lines to accurately reflect actual expenditures. The high school student activities block will increase by 10,000. There's a lot of activities going in by the high school. You see it all the time. The kids are always coming up with new things. They're really doing a great job. The athletic department salary account reflects the actual cost of coaches. and the trainer's full salary. Each year we weigh information, the cost of contracted services, officials, bosses, things of that that sometimes drive the cost up. We're also moving, as we've told you, into the Northeast Conference, effective this spring, so that the GBL will merge in. The details will flow out in the next little while. We talked about a user's fee, but we kind of decided at the last minute we weren't going to do that. We would eat that and try to find other ways to raise money. Security budget reflects the increase in personnel covering our buildings. The Raptor technology system is picked up in our technology budget. We've paid for most of it now, which is supplies and materials. At this point, we also have some money for camera repairs, but the bulk of camera upgrades will be in capital. Our operation and maintenance budget reflects a salary increase for custodial and maintenance staffs. We go out to bid for the cleaning service, projecting a 10% increase. Our heating and utilities are expected to remain pretty much the same. We're adding about $50,000 to the supply budget. You asked for a breakout, we provided that to you in the weekend distribution to you. And I indicated major capital repairs would be coming through a different source. Regular large vehicle pupil transportation is $120,000 higher than last year. We're in the second year of a contract. We think we can reduce some of that. We hope to be able to reduce some of that by using a smaller bus to take youngsters to Minuteman 1 and also to possibly use our new Transfinder route development system possibly to even consolidate and maybe even drop off a bus. We want to be careful before I say that because obviously I don't want the time to increase for youngsters and travel. Vocational transportation fund of Block 17 may see some reimbursement from the state. I'm wary about that. It's 1.7 million statewide for non-resident transportation. That's probably a very ripe area to be cut in the state budget and conference committee. We hope it doesn't. Special education transportation is up 50,000 from last year, reflecting the cost of small vehicles. And homeless transportation is also up 50,000. This was identified as an unfunded mandate originally, But the state has not funded it at the level that it truly needs. And there are more and more homeless families that we serve every year. I've talked to you about the public information officer. I believe it's a valuable add to us. I think that the position is well worth what we put into it. And I believe that we've already seen some significant payback. So we believe we've provided for many of the priorities identified by our professionals in the school committee. We all realize no budget provides for everything, and no budget does everything that everyone wants. A lot of things are aspirational. And I want to thank my staff and the people that work with me for putting this together, because I believe they've done yeoman's work in making sure that the school budget is a good document. And the school committee, I believe, put a lot of time in. They've had several pre-budget hearings, as you know what we're talking about. They met right through the year, talking with department heads, getting their feedback. And then they met in June. twice to go over their priorities and to make final decisions. So, Mr. President, I think that gives you a little bit to start with, and I'll be happy to take any questions.
[Roy Belson]: I appreciate it.
[Roy Belson]: I know nothing about it. If it's been done through the city's administration, I'll take the money obviously. But the school committee does not know about it as far as I know.
[Roy Belson]: Can I ask just a point of clarification? Listen, I wasn't part of the budget discussion. As far as I know, it's $54,333,000. That's the budget. That's the budget the school committee approved.
[Roy Belson]: The budget line that the school committee approved has not changed since the school committee approved it on the 20th. It's $54,333,000. So if something has been added to it, I have not seen anything added to that. And Ann is telling me that at this point in time, that's the number in front of you. That's the number in front of you. That's what the school committee approved. That's what I know we have. And I know of no addition outside of the three kindergarten aides to the Roberts. And I indicated in the letter that I sent to you in response to your query that that increase within the lines It would be taken from certain lines, it would be $23,775. That's the cost of that particular item, but it's not adding or changing the bottom line.
[Roy Belson]: Anything else?
[Roy Belson]: Mr. President, members of the council, I understand that Councilor Marks has legitimate concerns about security. and the like, but I want to offer a few thoughts, and hopefully, you know, maybe it'll help us understand each other, okay? Well, let's see what happens. Let's see what happens. You know, during the day, we have intensive security. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than most school systems. We have, and we, and you know, some of the events that happened this year obviously ramped up some of the things that we did, because people felt a need to do that. when the majority of youngsters are there in the school, and they're in concentrated areas, and they need that kind of coverage. So we have a lot going on. We have cameras. We have monitors. We have guards. We have resource officers. We have door locks in the systems. You know, we have ID systems now. We meet with CBJ every week to determine what's happening in the streets, so when it comes in Monday morning, we know what's going on, what happened over the weekend, We have constant contact with the police. We have constant contact with the DA's office, the courts. There's a lot going on that people don't see. We belong to NMLEC, which is a regional group that brings things in. But council raises the issue of what happens around 3.30 when things are over for the main part of the day. Maybe, just maybe, it would be nice to have all kinds of people there, but you've got to ask a couple questions. How functionally effective would it be? Not just cosmetic, how functionally effective would it be? I'm standing here right now, and there are probably a few people in this room who don't like me. I don't know if that's true, but I have the feeling that there's some people who don't really like me. My back is to the wall. There's no police officer guarding this council. There's no police officer at churches and synagogues. There's no police officer at the restaurants we go to, in the parks where the Little Leagues play. Point of information, Mr. President. Well, I don't know. I'm trying to give a point of information.
[Roy Belson]: No, I'm trying to give you an answer. I'm trying to point out to you.
[Roy Belson]: Not in the afternoon, not thousands in the building. You know, the parks where the kids play their sports. I don't see all kinds of people there. Obviously, it would be nice to have all kinds of people around who are doing that officially. But you talk about all the things that we want in these budgets. You talk about all the things that we would like to do and all the repairs we'd like to make. And I personally think that putting people in these roles is not giving us functional value. I think we can get the same return from people who are crime watchers, if you will, people who can pick up their phone or use their cell and call 911 if necessary. I don't think you need that kind of coverage. So we've talked about it. I'm listening to you. I hear you. Maybe there's something we can think about, but I don't think it's the kind of thing that we could do with fidelity around the schools in the afternoons. And I don't think that it's different than what we expect from our little leagues, from our youth programs, soccer programs. They're all over the city. Random acts of violence happen anywhere. So to think that the schools are more likely to have them in the afternoon than the parks where the kids play, or the churches where people go to, or the restaurants where people eat. I don't think that's real. And so, it's an exchange. But, you know, I'll think about it. Maybe there's some things we can do. But I don't think it's a just refusal to consider the issue. I think it's well thought through at this point in time. But maybe you don't agree with me. That's what I think is really the issue. We just don't agree on the subject.
[Roy Belson]: So I'm standing here. Is anyone protecting you right now? Is anyone protecting me? Is anyone protecting the citizens of this community right now standing here? Anyone could walk in and say anything. Anyone could walk in and do something. You know, we recognize we live in a society which has some violence to it. We recognize we live in a society where there's a lot of random acts of terror and activity. But you can't cover everything. You can't cover everything realistically. And putting a couple of people in the place is not going to be a functional value to us. We can get the same return. Let me finish the point.
[Roy Belson]: We disagree on the functional value of that type of person in the situation. But if you want to continue the discussion, maybe the school committee can take it up. We can have a discussion, but it's going to require some money. It's going to require, what do you call it, an understanding of what they do and how they do it, and whether or not it's really going to give us value or whether or not it's cosmetic. So I'm just raising that for you. I don't think that in the best of all worlds, we wouldn't have everything we wanted. You've raised several things that we want. I want a lot of things that I couldn't put in this budget. There are people that ask me for things that I couldn't give them. okay, in this budget, or any budget. I've been doing it for a few years, and I recognize that there are times when you just can't do something. I don't think that we are neglectful in this situation. I do believe that when we cover the school day, we're doing what we need to do. But, okay, look, it's a discussion. And I appreciate the fact you care, but I also hope you appreciate the fact that we've thought about it. I haven't just dismissed it out of hand. I've thought about it, but I don't think it gives us functional value. Okay? Mr. President, if I could.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. President.
[Roy Belson]: I just want to comment on something that keeps coming up. You know, I've sat here and listened to everyone talk about the lack of communication, the lack of information, the lack of stuff that's going out to the public. I want to tell you, that public information officer has put an awful lot of stuff on the street. There's an awful lot of information in this community about the schools. More information than you've ever had before, and people are telling me that. And you know what? We can disagree on that, too. But the reality is, is that you talk about public information, they're getting it from the schools. They're getting it from the schools. You'll see the budget soon as you approve it. It'll go right up. just like it has every year. And if you want to change that, you just simply vote to have people put their proposed budgets up. That's all. But you never did that. All you did was ask, what do you call it, to put the money up.
[Roy Belson]: And our members of the committee will call on our Deputy Superintendent to tell us about the Administrative Work Week, which will take place beginning on Wednesday of this week. Good evening.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, as you know, for a period of time now, the GBL has diminished in its size as various members opted to go with different leagues in the area. That meant Medford, Somerville, Malden, and Everett had become the remaining members of the GBL. Scheduling and creating athletic opportunities for young people within the GBL becomes progressively difficult. We have to find teams outside of our area, and every year it's a different situation. It also deprives our youngsters of competing against other students in other communities that could take on sports that maybe the GBL members choose not to participate in at a particular time. So our athletic director is here. We are looking to merge with the NEC, the Northeast Conference. Many of the schools in the Northeast Conference once belonged to us, like Revere, and Peabody, and places like that. So we're looking to go to that at this point in time and see if we can't make sure that we have a robust league for our students to play in over the next several years. It wouldn't start till the spring. So we have the fall to get used to it. It doesn't affect the Medford-Malden football game. Simultaneously, I just want to mention while we're talking about this is that Jack Dempsey, our softball coach, was named the Boston Globe Coach of the Year. Congratulations, Jack. And several of our players, senior Ashley Eisner, girls softball, named the Boston Globe's, and Boston knows all scholastic girls softball team, girls softball, girls tennis team, and lacrosse, boys lacrosse are GBL champions. Those are some highlights from the sports side of things, and if you have any questions, Ms. Maloney and I can try to answer them for you.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, obviously, anytime we make a move of this type and change our affiliations, we would like your endorsement. So I'm not sure that it does, because you basically allow us to play any team and, you know, in the area, as long as they're governed by the MIAA and the like. But it certainly would be a good idea if you did.
[Roy Belson]: This is the option. This is the option. We've been trying for an extended period of time to form a league. Um, but very few, the middle six league would only take us and not Malden and Everett and then Cambridge bolted to. another week and Waltham bolted to another week. So before you know it, we were down teams instead of having a robust.
[Roy Belson]: I know that was just, you know, dissipated.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we have provided to you a fee structure for community schools as you have requested. You have previously approved the rules and regs for the rentals of facilities. There are some additional items here that were made to accommodate youth groups and also some community groups that might not have the resources necessary to access our facilities on a regular basis. And we've tried to take into account the things that have been provided to us. Pat Velie is here to talk about this particular issue. And Mr. Maloney is also here as the director of community schools. So I'm going to have Pat take you through the changes that we've made so that you can go over them. And we can decide if we're going to go forward with this particular schedule.
[Roy Belson]: I'm sorry?
[Roy Belson]: It's the budget that comes next, that comes after this.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, recently there's been some discussion about a succession plan, whether we would have one. And so in response to your request, we've put one together for you. It comes in the two types of scenarios. The first scenario is that if there was an untimely or unexpected vacancy created by either illness or some other dastardly act, and the superintendent is unable to perform his duties for whatever reason, then the deputy superintendent would become the interim superintendent. The school committee would begin a search process for a permanent replacement. The deputy would serve until either the superintendent returned or a new leader was selected. The current school system administration is an experienced team that can handle transition and maintain operations for an extended period of time. I'll just go over. We have a deputy superintendent, an assistant superintendent, director of finance and administration, a director of pupil services, director of buildings and grounds, as well as principals, assistant principals, department directors in place. And each would be able to carry out their essential functions. So I think that should there be an unexpected situation occur and that things happen to people and things go on, whether it be illness or something else, I think we have a very experienced team in place that could step up and run the school district for a period of time. And if the committee reached a point where they felt that they had to do something a little bit more permanent, then the next thing would kick in. If there was an announced vacancy, for example, the superintendent decided to retire, the committee decided not to rehire the superintendent or whatever the case may be, the Medford School Committee could retain the Massachusetts Association of School Committees as one example to conduct a search or a similar organization. I'll give you a little bit. A search by an organization costs generally somewhere between $10,000 and $12,000. That's a typical search for MASC. If you went to what Lexington did, it cost them $35,000. They hired a national firm, and they found three people from Massachusetts after they did their national search. I think, you know, obviously MASC can, you know, can do a very good job. They do a lot of them around the country, and we can give you examples of it. So I think that's probably a preferred option. It's the least expensive for an experienced organization that does it around the state and has many, many contacts. A comprehensive search process normally takes four to five months. It isn't a full year process. Now, naturally, if you're not happy with the candidates, it could take a little bit longer. But generally, if things go according to normal plan, it's four to five months to complete. The time frame may vary depending on geographical location of your search. Now, if you want to bring people in from California or Montana or Hawaii, it may take a little longer to interview them. If you're interested in bringing people from Massachusetts, New England area, or things like that, New York, Connecticut, you certainly could do this in that time frame. Of course, a number of community focus groups that you would want to hold. Some people want to hold focus groups in different sections of the city. Some people want to do it by school. Some people want to do it by topic, special ed, ELL. You can decide whatever approach you'd want to use. And we can give you guidelines on how to do that if you chose to do that. The typical search process, five phases, and they're as follows. Phase one is a leadership profile development. It takes about a month. You would sit and talk about, you know, what you expected in a leader. And you would create, for the organization running the search for you, the kinds of information they would need to put up brochures and do advertisements and be part of the screening process, which would be, coming on a little bit later. Phase two would be candidate recruitment. Once that's decided, brochures would go out, advertisements would go out, and candidates would be recruited. And then phase three would be candidate screening, also about a month's worth of time. Then phase four, community evaluation of candidate finalists, because they would be narrowed down to three, four, five people. And you could do that generally in less than a month. You may want to take a little longer, but three weeks is generally a normal search. And then phase five, the appointment and contract negotiation. Give yourself a little bit of time to meet the person that you might want to hire, and then spend some time talking to that person about terms and conditions of their contract and what your expectations are. And from time to time, an individual and a candidate decides at the last minute they don't want to be there, or the terms and conditions, so you might have to go back to candidate two, three, four, whatever you choose to do. I've given you the MASC detailed guidelines for each phase and the kinds of things they would ask. I can give you more, but I felt tonight this was a good enough start to get going. Uh, the recent Brookline search took four, it took four months and I attached that for you. Brookline, uh, much more expansive than some places. Uh, the selection of an interim superintendent from Malden is scheduled for three months and change. Uh, they're currently doing it. They started in May and they hope to have somebody aboard by July one. The fall river selection took a little better than three months, and that's a bigger community. But I can give you other examples of, you know, search times, but I wanted to give you a few that you could look at. I've attached some information, some brochure-like information, and some other things that people have put out. Again, we can do more if you felt that was necessary. The process for community involvement can take many forms. You can have a community survey online. You can have a hard copy survey. You can have community forums like we've had in the past, or you can have categorical focus groups where you bring in, you know, different groups from a school or grade level, areas of interest, talk to the faculty, staff members. You can mix and match these as you see fit. And as you review this at some point in time, you may want to give me guidance so that we can refine it and develop it into the next stage of readiness for you to go forward. And then you want to determine who's going to be on the screening teams internally, whether you're going to have the full committee and other people, or you're just going to use the full committee. So those are some of the things. Or you can combine any of the above. A formal application form, I attached an example of that for your review. You can change it. You can ask different questions. That's up to you, but I think that's typical of what you would ask and what you would look for. And then, of course, the selection of a group such as MASC can greatly facilitate what goes on to enhance the possibilities of finding a good fit for Medford. And lastly, there'd be a transition process between the outgoing leadership and the incoming superintendent. And every effort would be made by my administration to assist in that process to ensure that the individual had the benefit of knowing where things were and what our perspectives were based on our own experience. So the above report and attached information help allay any concerns that a succession plan is in place and a process can happen in a reasonable timeframe. Happy to take any questions you might have. Ms.
[Roy Belson]: So if I can make a suggestion. Uh, just simply this is that you've got some outlines here, so go down it and see whether you, what kind of, what kind of combinations you like, and then we'll call a committee of the whole or some point and you can decide, you know, if this happens, we want this type of focus group. We'd like a survey online. We'd like this, we'd like that. So you put it together. So you flesh out the document based on what you would like to see and we'll give you guidance on that. That's not a difficult thing to do, but remember this was the outline so that you can get started and then you can, flesh it out a little bit and say what I want. You know, what do you want? And it will be different in different communities. Some communities will emphasize one thing, and some communities will want to emphasize something else. So we can get started. I'm sure Glenn Kocher or Jim Harney or some of the other people that work for MASC would be happy to come out. I think they're your best bargain, to be honest with you. They do enough of them around the Commonwealth, so they've got lots of experience and lots of contacts and get along with MASS pretty well. And you don't have to pay the fees for some national firm that, you know, we'll find somebody, uh, two communities over, you know.
[Roy Belson]: This is a standard procedure. So as we do this virtually every year, because we don't meet as frequently if we meet at all during the summer, I send out all kinds of information to you at different points in the summer. But from June 21st, 2016, Through our first meeting in September of 2016, I'm requesting the school committee grant authority to the superintendent and the school committee secretary for the following. One, that the authority shall be granted to the secretary of the school committee to approve bills and payrolls through July and August, and that the school committee be kept informed of the bills and payrolls approved. Two, that the administration be given permission to open bids in order to proceed on repair and maintenance work and other essential procurements. Notice to the school committee will be provided. Three, that the superintendent be authorized to conduct the normal and necessary business of the school district throughout the summer. And four, that the superintendent keep the school committee apprised of any special situations or circumstances during the summer months or that are projected to occur at the opening of schools in September.
[Roy Belson]: We were going to schedule one earlier because with the opening of school, we had talked about that once before.
[Roy Belson]: So I think we obviously can stay in touch. And if you see something and you want to call a meeting, you just need three members to call the meeting. Well, three would three would allow for a meeting.
[Roy Belson]: You know, I wouldn't schedule a date yet. Everybody's going to make summer plans. You know, why don't we, if you agree that you want a summer meeting, we can agree to that and we'll get back to you and check everyone's vacation plans. But from past experience, you set a date and everyone is, in different places. OK. So if you want a summer meeting, that's fine. But let me caucus everyone around and find out when people are available, and then we can get a date that we know people are going to be here.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Madam Mayor, just a couple of comments, if I may. I don't know if people fully realize this, but a statistic rolled by my desk this past weekend. And it's kind of interesting. About 49, 50 people were killed in the Orlando shooting. Since that time, there have been 207 homicides by gun violence in this country since that time. But they're isolated situations. And there's situations in which, you know, they're not getting the same coverage. Orlando is truly tragic, but so isn't the ongoing gun violence that exists in our country. And a lot of it is based on mental health issues that people have, or just domestic disturbances, or drug deals, or other things like that that go on in society. But it often goes unnoticed. On an average day, based on the number of gun homicides in this country, 27 people die every day, on average, by guns. 27 people. It's horrific. Until we start dealing with mental health, until we start dealing with the availability of guns and things like that to individuals, we are not going to abate the situation. Terrorism is an issue and certainly to be dealt with. But there are other domestic and, let's say, personal issues that are every bit as tragic every day in our various communities. The other comment is most people who've been around for a long time knew Bob Sarabian. Bob was just a terrific guy. I grew up on Governor's Ave in Medford. Bob lived on Hutchins Road, and the Sarabian brothers operated Carpathic Area for many, many years. George was the oldest. Bob was the second oldest, and Ron is still alive and still an active businessman. Bob was a very giving man. He worked very closely with John Hand. I don't know if you remember the name John Hand. John Hand was the executive vice president of the Medford Cooperative Bank. And they were in arts festivals and all kinds of things that benefited the community. So Bob was a real contributor and someone that, you know, sometimes when a person hasn't been in the public light for a long time, new people in the community don't remember that individual because they weren't around when they were very active. So I thought it was important to at least tell you that Bob Sarabian was quite a player in this community and the Sarabian family as well.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, pursuant to my consultations with the Brooks faculty and staff and the leadership of the Brooks parent groups, as well as my consultation with you last meeting, I'm very pleased and privileged to announce that Suzanne Galussi, who is with us this evening, is the new principal of the Brooks Elementary School. Suzanne got her bachelor's degree from Framingham State, and then her master's in education from Wesley University. She has 14 excellent years of teaching experience in the elementary schools in Medford, and four very successful years as assistant principal of the Brooks School, and her appointment will be effective July 1, 2016. During the upcoming administrative week, we'll meet with Ms. Galussi and other members of the administration to determine how we will select her assistant principal so that Brooks has that in place for the opening of school. Suzanne, the show's yours.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you, Madam Mayor and members of the committee. At our meeting on the 15th, several items were identified by the committee as being important based on their conversations with members of the administration, faculty, and public with regard to the budget that was presented to you. So I'd like to address each of those items. you have the information in front of you and give you a little bit more information and answer any questions you have before we actually open the floor and take public comment. The math coach at the elementary level will be added and funded under Title I. Title I normally has done literacy work in recent years, but we were able to free up some dollars from that. We have a retirement in that field, and we're able to take some of the money from a higher end salary. and also mix that with some reserve monies that come from Title I over the years that we carry over. And of course, the actual salary will be based upon the teacher's contract. The coach might come from the inside, and then a replacement salary might go for that position the person would be taking. The emphasis would be primarily given to the Roberts, Columbus, And some at the McGlynn, at this point, we don't believe the Brooks is in much need of this particular position as the other schools that I've mentioned. Secondly, a middle school librarian will be added to Block 029. The salary will be based upon the teacher's contract, Bachelors 1, 48, 863. The position will be shared between two schools. The position will eliminate one point five para position at 11 six nine Oh, which was a library aid. The differential will be $37,173 and will be funded through combined savings generated by leaves of absences granted in the vocational and science department. Since our meeting, some people have opted for leaves of absence and we're able to recover money again from the higher salary to the lowest salary to give us the money to fund this position. Number three, A behavior specialist for the Columbus School was added by promoting a current paraprofessional in the SPED budget, who has recently earned the credentials to fulfill this role. This is a non-unit position. The salary would be $40,000. This is a behaviorist position. It's similar to a BCBA. It's not certified, but Kathy can explain that. We do have one already on board, and they serve the same function. They work closely with the BCBAs, and I think that will help a great deal. The current parasalary is $21,639, so therefore, the projected savings from the mid-year retirement of a senior SPED teacher that was identified to us, the senior SPED teacher will be replaced at a lower salary consistent with the teacher's contract. This is a new retirement that came in subsequent to our meeting on Wednesday. Four, three part-time kindergarten aides will be full-time at the Roberts. Each will move from their current salary of $7,925 to $15,850. This total increase will be $23,775. Funding for this position will be taken from the revenue projections, which is listed in the budget book. I showed you where there was a revenue surplus that we put in. And assignments will be based upon the contract provisions of the paraprofessional contract. The kindergarten money at the legislature is still up in the air. It's suspect. The House would like it, and the Senate is not agreeing right now. I don't know what's happening to the conference committee. Pardon me? Everybody call your senator. Call. We would hope they would at least extend it for another year, because when they make a decision at the tail end of a year, you don't have time to make the adjustments that you would if you knew it at the beginning of the year, that you're moving forward. That's $150,000 in that grant. that goes south, we'd have to find $150,000. I think I can do it with other things that happen and other revenue projections, but it's not the kind of thing that you want to do because that takes away other flexibilities for things that come up during the year. But this addresses the school that everyone felt was the most in need of this. Uh, the other three principals asked for other things and this would fulfill at least what the Roberts had asked for is as it's high priority. Number five, the teacher specialist position at the McGlynn will be absorbed by existing personnel at that school. Principal Guarino reviewed the situation after the meeting and made the decision with me. She has an attached letter. While the possibility exists for an internal shift of personnel, the principal opted to use existing faculty. I would have sent somebody over there, but she wanted to use her own faculty. Number six, clerical assignments will be reviewed during the administrative week and decisions will be made regarding the realignment of personnel And naturally, we'll cover the most key positions. There are two clerical positions which we did not fill based on retirements of individuals. Pat and I and others will be looking at how we can move some people around in order to give coverage to those positions. And we'll go from there. Another piece that I handed you this evening was a piece with regard to the older musical instruments as surplus. We checked with the city again. Chapter 30B sets out procedures to ensure that we obtain good value when we dispose of supplies. So we have to go through a procurement process, but we will begin that procurement process if you agree that we can do that based on our discussions last week. And we will use that money in the music department, fine arts department, primarily for the band, but if there's some other use that the committee discerns is of higher priority, we'll certainly look at that as well. So these are the changes. I would ask that you agree with me or that you give me a substitute that you think someone should consider so that we can move forward with the public hearing.
[Roy Belson]: I think we can... Because it was... Let's get the gift account set up and then we can come back and give you an idea.
[Roy Belson]: So a behaviorist has got similar kinds of skill sets, but they're not as advanced in these things. But this individual is going to be taking that test fairly soon. But Kathy Medaglio is here, and she can comment on the individual who we've identified within the SPED budget.
[Roy Belson]: So it was a clinical supervisor in special education. Did you say that?
[Roy Belson]: You know, I don't know. I'll find out. Mr. Trotta knows, so he would be your supervisor.
[Roy Belson]: So let me try and answer that this way. Anytime I make a cut from something that I've got, most of the time, not always, there are a couple of things that I probably can reevaluate and say that wasn't a great move. But most of the time, it means that there's going to be something that's lost. But in this instance, the challenge to us is to take a look at the full fleet of clerical assistants and to reposition some people. And it's probably highly likely that within the area of special education, Kathy's smiling out there, that, you know, there'll be some adjustment in that area and move away from something else. But every area, every area has got to be scrutinized. And from time to time, we see that maybe certain jobs can be consolidated, certain things can be shared, and we do that. If we can't do that, we'll never ever be able to balance a budget. It'll always be add, add, add, and add later. So we have to look at that. So the challenge is to us not to ignore the good work that's done by the clerical staff, but to reposition it in such a way so that we can do the work with maybe a few less people from time to time or find that if we have to add a person, when we go back over during the summer, we'll come back and tell you we added a person and we'll find the money for it. So, but this is the beginning of a budget. This is a process. And just as I came back this evening with these adjustments, I may come back with some more and say, we can do some more things. Or I might have to come back and say, you know, there's something that's happening to us at the state, the federal level, and we may have to pull back on something that we wanted to do. But that's the nature of budgeting. That's the nature of process. And, uh, but I hear you. It's, it's no animus towards any particular type of position or any person. It's really just simply a function of trying to find what the balances are.
[Roy Belson]: So I answered you in my opening remarks in my budget delivery that I felt it was a strong hire. I felt that the individual brought a lot to the table. 28 years of experience in the community. Significant knowledge of the networks of where people are. The amount of coverage that we have received in the last several months is unreal. The amount of activity on the blog and on the webpage is huge. And that we've got 29 less kids going to charter schools right now. We've got significantly more youngsters coming back from other areas. And we've got a larger kindergarten enrollment. And I think a lot of it has to do with people knowing something about our school system. The other night, I happened to listen to the city council. Why I did that, I have no idea. But I was listening to the city council. And while I was listening to the city council, I heard them talk about the lack of communication about things. They didn't know about this. And they didn't know about that. Well, the school department tells people about a lot of things going on. And maybe not everybody pays attention. But we have got a real strong public information process underway. And I want to keep it that way. And I think it's in your best interest. So it's your decision to make. That's my recommendation. I wouldn't cut it. And I don't think it's overpaid, because I think if you take a teacher today, for 10 months, they make, a senior teacher with 11 years experience makes almost $90,000 with a master's degree. So I don't think it's an unreasonable salary. I gave you this slip a short time ago about what people paid. If you bought a house in 1964, it was $13,000. If you bought a car, it was $3,500. Your starting salary for a teacher $6,000, starting salary for any job is $6,000 in 64. Things are different today. You want to be competitive. You've got to have good people in place. The knowledge this individual brings to the community, the knowledge, the work ethic the person brings to the community is invaluable and has my strong support. It's your decision.
[Roy Belson]: They're going to share that one.
[Roy Belson]: Well, there's one assistant position that will be dropped down. But they'll have a full-time librarian and a part-time assistant, I mean, in each place. So they can have a full-time librarian for both schools and also an assistant will go between the buildings when the other librarian is gone.
[Roy Belson]: The librarian will work both buildings, but the assistant will also work both buildings.
[Roy Belson]: I know I'm not- Principal's given multiple options, and we could have adjusted a teaching schedule to do that. She chose not to do that.
[Roy Belson]: We added it at the half point of the year.
[Roy Belson]: So it varies with regard to the type of class. A regular education class, it's in the contract with the Teachers Association. It's pretty high. So it's, you know, I'm not sure off the top of my head, but it's in the high 20s. OK. And then, you know, it would be because remember, this idea of really small class size, relatively new. OK. There were years when, you know, class sizes were 28, 29, 30, and so on and so forth. Our class sizes are a lot lower than what people were used to. So when these contracts were written, they were written with upper 20s as being the example for regular classes. Now in special ed, it depends on the type of class. If a special ed youngster is in a classroom that's self-contained, it's one to eight. If it goes beyond that, there would be another pair required. If it's less than that, it may just simply be on the severity of the type of classroom it is.
[Roy Belson]: It's by regulation.
[Roy Belson]: OK.
[Roy Belson]: Yep.
[Roy Belson]: We receive money from the Department of Public Health. It's a school health services grant that we have had for many years. This pays for part of the salary of one nurse. It doesn't pay the total salary. It pays a portion of that salary. So a portion of the salary is in the grant section, and a portion is in the health services section.
[Roy Belson]: Right. We bill to both accounts, and we keep a record so that it can be audited.
[Roy Belson]: The individual is Molly Layden. The individual has been and continues to be the person who gets the grant for the National Science Foundation for $1.2 million. And some of her salary is offset by the grant. So once again, we take some grant money to pay a portion of the individual's salary. We list it in the grant section. We also list her in the regular budget. And her salary was approved through the negotiations with the Administrators Association in the last round of negotiations that we did.
[Roy Belson]: So tri-tech is the organization that is a, let's say an offspring of Medford, Malden and Everett. And it is a, It was founded initially when the technology park was being developed, was being thought about. And it's continued for that time and has brought us millions of dollars through different grants over a period of time. Dr. Cindy Fadusha was the original executive director of that particular program. When she left to take a position with the Harvard Medical School and the physicians group over there, Molly Layden moved up into that position, and Molly Layden runs that program as well as our program. But the reality is that the program that she presented the other evening with regard to the youngsters developing applications at the middle school level was funded by the National Science Foundation. So we're allowed to charge a portion of her salary off to that foundation, to that grant. So that's the way we split it out so we can track it properly. And we audit it properly so that we can report to the feds.
[Roy Belson]: Tritech is the recipient of the grant. So as a result, Tritech exists as a holding company, if you will, to receive the grant. And this is the grant that comes in through Tritech, through that 501c3, which allows us to then rebuild it to this with the University of Lowell.
[Roy Belson]: No, because her portion of her salary, the part that she does for the grant, is paid for by the National Science Foundation. The rest of it is work she does for us directly.
[Roy Belson]: It's a function. It's a function of division of funding, not a function of two positions. She's a projects director, and the funding source is just like the nurse's position. It comes from two different sources. That's all. It's just paid for differently. If we didn't do that, we would be picking up the tab for lots of grants. So we use as much offset as we can, and we're allowed to charge to both the federal and the state, in some cases, and this. The same thing would be true of kindergarten aids. Okay, which we just did because some of it's going to come from the state and some of it's going to come from us. So it's a normal procedure. It's one position, but it's a normal procedure funded with two sources.
[Roy Belson]: Which one is that?
[Roy Belson]: Let me take a look and I'll be a little bit more tuned to that.
[Roy Belson]: Akira Kamiya is the person who is the primary director and runner of the National Science Foundation grant. The grant comes to us. He is located in Medford. And that's his salary. And it's paid to us by the grant through the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. They're our partner in that. And that's a direct salary. And he works for us and the project.
[Roy Belson]: So if I... It's a million two over three years. And those funds are allocated to these two people's salary and then... These two people's salaries and stipends to teachers working with students for equipment, materials, software, and give you a whole breakdown. If you go to the grants breakdown on the early part of the book, you'll see what's actually allocated to that grant and how it's broken down on a yearly basis. So if you go to the front of the book in the section that's given to grants, you will see it. Here it is. It's page, I don't have a page number on it, but I'll. Can you see it? Federal grants.
[Roy Belson]: Pat, go ahead.
[Roy Belson]: I'll provide it to you.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to say it again. In the last two months, we have given you every document on every outside community schools and all these things. And we can give it to you at the budget time. You asked for it earlier.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to say it very clearly. Okay. And I want to make it very clear to everyone here. A report asked by an individual member is not a report that superintendent responds to. A report voted by the school committee is a report that the superintendent will respond to. I cannot and my staff cannot keep doing individual reports every time somebody wants something different. It takes a lot of time. Pat worked overtime and overtime to get those reports to you at that point in time. And I think it's disingenuous, quite frankly, to keep asking for the same thing. You want it at budget time next year, you can have it. The committee voted to get it quarterly, we'll do it. But let's not keep creating these kinds of report situations, because all it does is take us off what we're trying to do for the education of the kids.
[Roy Belson]: And the other thing you need to keep in mind is just what we're talking about state and federal grants. We don't have the allocations yet. So I can't tell you what that account is going to look like going forward. I can only tell you what it's been in a given year because the state budget isn't even approved yet. And the federal budget won't get delivered to us until the summer. And all that stuff has something to do with the way we allocate money. We have to use projections all year long to see what's coming in and to balance one account off against the other. So, yes, we can give you projections. Yes, we can give you, you know, revolving accounts at a point in time, as a snapshot in time, like the end of the third quarter going into budget, which would be typical. But to give you a projection, what's going to be true in August are going to be true in September. is all speculation.
[Roy Belson]: No, we put them in the budget.
[Roy Belson]: There are three additional full-time AIDS at the Roberts. That's the addition. Everything else stays in place.
[Roy Belson]: At this point in time, no. Just the Roberts. Just the Roberts.
[Roy Belson]: To approve the budget. So I want to make another statement about something. Tomorrow night, I go to the city council. This is the school committee budget. I expect that the school committee supports its own budget because when I go to that council, I don't want to go in there and find that the budget that the school committee voted is not approved and not supported by the school committee. So I want to make that very clear. That's very strong. In my opinion, you vote as a committee, you stand as a committee, the superintendent represents you as a committee.
[Roy Belson]: So, Madam Mayor, can I just want to say one thing. My comment was not that people can't vote against the budget. Majority rules. It's 5-2. It's a vote for the budget. It's fine. I've been in enough meetings in the course of my career to know that they don't always get a unanimous vote for things. So that's not the issue. The issue I raised is when I go to the council tomorrow night, I want the committee to honor the fact that the committee voted. And I said that before, when I was talking about reports, I don't want to go to the council and find that individual members go there and argue against the budget. That's what I'm saying, because the budget is what this committee voted up or down. You're a committee, you're not individuals. You've been told many times that as an individual you have no authority. It's only when you're in session and as a group that you have authority to act on behalf of the city and the school system. And so all I'm trying to do is make it clear that I don't want to go in there with a divided camp tomorrow night and find that people will argue against me from my own committee because you voted this budget by majority. And you could have voted the other way. Or you could have voted for anything else you wanted. But you voted it. Up or down, whether you're on the majority side or the minority side, it is the school committee budget. And that's what the superintendent will represent tomorrow night. And if I'm asked about other people's opinions, I will say the school committee voted this budget. I just want to make that clear. That's why I said what I said. I don't have a problem with dissent. People want to dissent, that's business. I understand that.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, we're going to call upon our Director of Mathematics and Science to come up and introduce the robotics team and their successful competition recently, which put them into a very favorable company in New England Regional Robotics Tournament. So Carolyn Joy is going to come up and we have some presentations for them as well.
[Roy Belson]: If I could ask the superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: So we've met with DSAC, and you know, we've worked with them before, and we'll continue to work with them. There are, you know, different assistances they can provide at different times, and it really depends on, you know, what we identify as being most significant. As Melanie points out, there's a set-aside in the IDA funds that, you know, will be moved into that area, and also DSAC has some funds. So we'll take a look at it. But I think that one of the things that What we probably should do is, since Kathy can't be here tonight, and Kathy had some additional things she wanted to say, is why don't we schedule a session in the Committee of the Whole sometime before the year's out, and we can have a good give and take on where we're going.
[Roy Belson]: I think we'll have a, you know, obviously there's a lot of things going on as, as Melanie points out, the early childhood rate is way up. If you combine the partial with the full inclusion, the rate is that much more substantial. So the question is, how do we get it more full inclusion?
[Roy Belson]: The pay structure?
[Roy Belson]: We'll work that in. I just, you know, I was hoping that we'd have something to you before the next school committee meeting.
[Roy Belson]: So that's the policy. And you know, sometimes you have a policy and not everybody implements it the same way. And that's the problem. This was a discussion we had at a curriculum subcommittee not that long ago, and I think you attended this.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, you were there. And, you know, we had that discussion at that time. And, you know, we went back out to the buildings and we told them that policy is our policy and follow it. And that there are some teachers who feel like, you know, they're hamstrung when a youngster is misbehaving or work is not coming in. And they misuse that policy. We've got to stop it. We don't want them to do it. The whole issue of recess is not a new topic. We've talked about it many times. We're hamstrung a little bit by time and learning requirements. The Medford school day is not as long as some other places. And we need to meet that 900-hour requirement from the state. And recess doesn't count. That's something that, you know, we're up against the wall on. But there are other ways to promote exercise, and there are other ways to do things that perhaps we can look into, and we certainly will. And maybe there are ways that active learning can take place when youngsters are moving around. There's a book out not that long ago called Spark. I don't know if you've seen it, which youngsters are up and moving while they're learning. And that's a good way to get some exercise in as well. But recess is an important topic. No one wants to deny that. But there are some issues that we have to sort through. And we do not want our faculty to use it as a punishment. We had the same issue years ago in writing, where Some faculty members assign writing as a punishment. And we said we don't want kids to think of writing as a punishment. We want people to think of writing as something you enjoy doing and like to do. So we're going to work at it. We certainly need to have a little more discussion on it. And I'll take, obviously, the input. And let's see if we can't, during our administrative meetings, come up with something that might further the issue that Mrs. Kline's raising.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, we certainly have it on the web page. We'll just make it more prominent. And we'll, once again, reinforce it with our principals during the administrative meetings. And that will take place at the close of school. And we'll make it more of a definitive priority to people that's not going to be taken lightly if people abuse that policy. That's as much as we can do with regard to the policy. Now, with regard to other measures, that's a whole discussion unto itself. We need to think about what we can do about that given the time and learning constraints and all the other things that we have to meet with regard to state requirements.
[Roy Belson]: We've said that many, many times. I'll say it again.
[Roy Belson]: It is in the handbooks.
[Roy Belson]: We'll put it out again.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent members of the committee, um, the Medford public schools has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Massachusetts department of public health. With us this evening is our supervisor of health services, Tony Vento, who can come up and explain the grant and explain what we're going to do with it and why we want to implement it next year.
[Roy Belson]: Good afternoon members of the committee. The governor proposed a 2017 budget. The House and the Senate then passed their versions and the budget now is in conference committee. The conference committee has to reconcile the legislative differences between the two chambers, and when the conference committee reports out, and generally they'll take a good part of this month to do it, there'll be an up and down vote in each chamber. If passed by both chambers, they can't make modifications once it comes out of conference committee. It will go to the governor, and he'll certainly veto a few line items based on his preferences. It will then go back to the legislature for possible veto overrides, which is typical. And a final version will then be sent to the governor for enactment. This process probably won't be completed until towards the end of June. You need to be realistic about how that takes place. It's a typical process in the state. It usually doesn't happen any sooner than the last week in June, if that at all. So negotiations begin amid uncertainty over the 2016 revenues. Now, when I wrote this report, there was $260 million behind projections. As of the other day, that projection went up to $311 million behind projections. Now, Kristen Lepore, who's the Secretary of Administration and Finance, has indicated that they could handle that at the state level. But it does dampen the kind of thinking that goes on in the legislative chambers, because they're saying to themselves, well, if we're $311 million behind now, what will we be in June? What does that mean for carryover money into fiscal 17? So we just don't know how that's going to play out just yet. The overall budget levels filed so far as follows. The governor is at $39,553,000. The House is at $39,539,000 below the governor. And the Senate is at $39,558,000. So the Senate's usually higher. And generally, it comes in somewhere between the House and the Senate. The overall increase is about 3.59%. The Senate is the highest. According to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, the original projection rate for revenue was going to be 4.3%. However, right now through April, it's only 1.9%. That's quite a gap in revenue that the state is expecting to have. Overall, the House and the Senate provide similar support for K-12 education. But there are differences among the 30 line items that need to be reconciled. And I'm going to give you some representative differences because I think they do affect us as we prepare our budget and as we go forward. So one that I know you're all interested in, the house appropriation for kindergarten is $18.5 million. That's level funding from this year. The Senate is, that's a mistake, the Senate is at $2 million. I'm sorry. The Senate is at $2 million. Any reduction in this level will affect direct funding coming to Medford for kindergarten. This could be as much as $150,000. If the Senate level carries or something lower than what we're getting, we could lose as much as $150,000. That's not good. Charter school funding is still well below the formula entitlement offset local costs for both branches. The Senate is 5 million higher than the House. but neither really addresses the actual gap which could approach $50 million in underfunded entitlement dollars. Medford is projected, based on the early returns, to have less students in charters, but we could end up paying more in the current year, because that's the way the funding works. And if the reimbursement goes down, that's a problem. Non-resident pupil transportation would be funded at $1.8 million by the Senate, which is $1.5 million more than the House. The funding line helps to offset the cost of the Minuteman bus. Now, we're working on a less expensive cost for that particular vehicle because we have less youngsters going. We might be able to use a smaller vehicle and pay less for it. But in the meantime, we would like to get that reimbursement because that obviously helps to offset the cost. The Senate version puts $350,000 into a new line item that would support the development of alternative assessments of student performance beyond test scores. That's aspirational. I don't know that we're going to see much from that, but it's an interesting proposal. The Senate has used the budget process, if you will, to legislate policy issues, which the House has not. It's a real tricky slope because that means the Senate has to convince the House that it should be legislating policy through budget. The governor has eschewed that at this particular point in time. So let's see what happens. The Senate version of the SPED circuit breaker is about $5 million more than the House and approximately $10 million more than the Governor. This funding line offsets extraordinary special ed costs. We're projecting that we need somewhere around $283 million in the state to offset the cost to get to 75% reimbursement. That's worth somewhere in the vicinity of $1.45 to $1.5 million to us every year as it's currently coming to us. If that goes down, that's money we have to find in our budget. We don't think it's going to go down, we just don't know if it's going to meet the 75% because every year more and more youngsters require care, costs of these placements may go up, and the gap could increase. So those are the main differences affecting Medford. Both the House and the Senate provided $55 per pupil minimum additional aid to schools under Chapter 70. This is $35 per pupil higher than the governor's. It's $30 per pupil higher than last year. This overall funding goes in directly into the city treasury and is used, obviously, for a number of reasons that the city needs to cover its expenses, including health care, pensions, and other matters that affect schools, but may not be something that you see on a regular basis in our budget. Homeless transportation is level funded from FY 2016. This is well below the need. Pat and I are projecting right now that we could have $140,000 in costs next year based on past experience. And we're not getting anywhere near that in reimbursement. And that was supposedly an unfunded mandate that the state auditor said would be funded, but it hasn't met its expectations at this time. So we call the legislators up on a regular basis. I was up the state house today for some time and spoke to some of our people again, but quite frankly, you know, it's hard to know what's happening in the conference committee until they really get serious and what the trade offs are going to be, because there's so many line items in the state budget. If somebody gets one thing, they may give away in something else, but they know what we want. They certainly know what we want. And, uh, we certainly have, the support of other school districts who have the same needs as we do. So that's an update so far on the state budget. It certainly affects how we plan our budget because we won't know some of these answers when our budget comes up. So it may be that we have to defer making certain decisions until we know what the actual state funding will be for certain items. But we'll keep you posted and we'll provide some additional information if something breaks to us in the next few days.
[Roy Belson]: So we're going to call upon our Director of Finance and Administration, Pat Feely, to bring you up to date on our finances as we approach the end of the fiscal year.
[Roy Belson]: We do that at the end of the year. We're a single appropriation. as opposed to the council, which has individual line items.
[Roy Belson]: But, you know, we always give you that at the end. And once everything's reconciled, but it takes a while for it to reconcile because things come in during the summer, they're encumbered, they're held over until they're actually paid utility bills, things of that type. So until we actually see the actual numbers, you don't want to make a million changes just simply on the fly.
[Roy Belson]: The rate structure, we're going to provide to you probably by the next meeting. So, you know, our recommended rate structure. That's being worked on right now.
[Roy Belson]: The only thing I'd say is that let us concentrate on budget right now. You know, we've got a number of things we've got to do. This is a serious period. I don't want to try to get tied up with too many things. I don't mean to put anybody off, but this is the most important thing you do. And if I have to be running other meetings and going here and doing side bets, I'm not giving you my full attention. There's the close of school. There's a lot of things. There's hiring of teachers. There's things that have to go on. I think we'll get you the material, but let's not try and squeeze everything in because you You make it more difficult to concentrate on the things that really will make a difference for you going forward. You'll get it. We're not pulling anything back. You always get it. But the issue is, you know, timing it. I think it will bring you something by we have a meeting on the 20th, I believe. You'll have stuff well in advance of that to look at. You may not need a subcommittee because we'll explain it. You may be able to just look at it and say, yeah, that works.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. So last Friday, pardon me? So on last Friday, the governor signed the public records bill. that the legislature finally put together over the last several months. I'm not going to go through the whole thing. There's a lot here. Obviously, we need to go through it more carefully, but there are new enforcement procedures in this, and there are new requirements under the public records law, which means that we've got to be that much more attuned to when people make certain requests. And obviously, you know, there is a need to to rethink electronic records versus paper records, who's the custodian of these things, and what constitutes a public record versus what constitutes something that's exempt. There are multiple exemptions from the public records law. The Secretary of State has yet, obviously just got passed, to issue regulations. When he issues those regulations, that will be another step forward. But this is scheduled to go into effect on January of 2017. So over the next several months, we'll be watching very closely to see what the regulatory requirements are and how that fleshes out the requirements of the law. But please read it, go over it, and we'll pay attention to it as well and keep you informed so that if these matters come up, we can handle them appropriately. I would say one thing that you've got to be aware of, your email is a public record. Your email is a public record, so if you say something you don't want to say in your email, it could be discovered. So you need to think about that a little bit because sometimes, you know, you say something in a sort of out there way and you don't really want to broadcast that.
[Roy Belson]: It's set by law. It's set now.
[Roy Belson]: All right. So Madam Mayor and members of the committee, As you previously had reported, Kevin Andrews is leaving to take a position as principal of the Nahant Elementary School. So on Wednesday, June 1st, I met with the faculty, along with Diane Caldwell, over at the Brooks, and then I met with the parent leadership team to hear their viewpoints on a succession plan. Both meetings were very informative, but the conclusions were very identical. There's virtually unanimous consensus to appoint an internal person to the position. There's a strong desire for continuity. And there's a significant confidence in the current assistant principal. The superintendent concurs with that expression of support. So unless the school committee really wants to go through a process that's different, I really don't want to run a pony show for anybody. I don't want to bring people in and pretend that we're having real interviews when I really believe that it could very well be something that we'll have a known conclusion before we even get started. Naturally, I'll speak to the unions about posting issues, but I would like to obviously, um, know that let allow the Brooks community to know the result before they go home, uh, the summer and also to allow for planning to continue. And it also will inform the budget process as well, because if I make moves internally, uh, that has some cost savings associated with it, which I think is a distinct advantage to us. given this year's budget. So I'm bringing it to your attention. I want to get some feedback from you. And obviously someone wants to speak on it. So I'd be happy to hear what people have to say, but that's my thinking on it right now.
[Roy Belson]: We'll appoint an assistant principal afterwards, but one step at a time.
[Roy Belson]: Well, we'll first look internally. And the reason we look internally is because we'd like to give our people opportunity, one, but two, is also a distinct budget advantage. If I have a senior member of the faculty who is qualified to be an assistant principal, it certainly helps to replace that person with a lower salary and recapture some budget funds. So there's a couple of advantages to going internally, but if that didn't come to pass and it wasn't something that worked out, then we would do what we have to do.
[Roy Belson]: I'm sorry?
[Roy Belson]: We're working on a solution there too and I really don't want to speak to that right now because I have to talk to Paul DeLeva in the morning. But again, I'm very budget conscious right now and I'm looking internally as much as I can because obviously anything I can save allows you to have a little bit more in other areas that you I might have some interest.
[Roy Belson]: It's OK.
[Roy Belson]: I'll take it.
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: Oh, I'd make it permanent. I'd make it permanent. I'd give the person the, you know, I would want that person to have the authority level. I wouldn't want someone to think, well, you know, this is maybe, you know, something that could change rapidly. You know, I want that person to have the authority level and be able to move forward.
[Roy Belson]: West Foote was the foreman carpenter of the public schools for many, many years. And West was a very gentle soul, big man, very strong and very, you know, impressive kind of guy, very quiet. His wife Connie was one of the key people in the payroll office, and the two of them, you know, would see each other because they were basically both part of the central office. And Wes was very, very skilled. You didn't have to, you know, explain to Wes how to make something happen. You know how to make it happen. And the Foote family was very active in the community for many, many years. His daughter, Linda, and daughter-in-law, Linda, and his son, Wes, Jr. So very close to them, very good people, you know, and 95 years old. 95 years old. God bless him. He was a great player, and I can still see Wes coming through the corridor. looking with Ernie Demon. I don't know if you remember Ernie Demon at all. Ernie Demon, the two of them. Ernie being the character in the crowd and Wes being the straight shooter. And it was really kind of funny because Ernie would say something and Wes would say, oh, Ernie, stop that. But really good, really highly skilled people. And they could do a lot of things. Back then, we had several carpenters. And they really did some really nice things in school to keep them up and running. And very fond memories of Wes. Good guy.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee and ladies and gentlemen, Tonight we're distinctly privileged and honored to have with us the Medford Middle School String Ensemble, which was founded in 2009 by Medford teacher Sophia Chang to encourage the development of musical excellence. Miss Chang is serving her 13th year as orchestra director at McGlynn Middle School. Since 2011, the ensemble has received six consecutive gold medals at the Concert Festival Conference. The string ensemble performed at Boston Symphony Hall and Mechanics Hall in Worcester. Many of her former students continue to pursue musicianship at the Tufts Youth Philharmonic, the NEC Youth Orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and among others. Mrs. Chang is committed to foster broader appreciation for classical music to young people. Tonight, we are privileged to hear them perform at least two selections, Cakewalk from Serenade for String Orchestra by Norman Leiden, and Lullaby by William Huffeld. Madam Mayor, members of the committee, let's welcome our middle school orchestra.
[Roy Belson]: I'll just be in front.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you, Madam Mayor. So, I've been here 21 years now as superintendent, 48 years as a public educator in the city of Medford. I grew up in the community. I went to the schools. I went to the Forest Park. I went to the Roberts Junior High School. I went to Medford High School. So this is my community. I care about it. And as I've said before, I never intend or would never intend to make a decision that would leave my community in the lurch. Now, having said that, we have had a process of evaluation and decision-making that has gone back well before my term as superintendent, and it's always been transparent. My self-evaluation will come to the committee this week. You'll have it. You'll have more than two weeks to go over it. That's a pretty substantial period of time to look at the document, which takes me time, to produce and review given all the other responsibilities that we have in the school district. The process will be in public. It always is. Open session. It's not an executive session. It's not away from anyone. It's open and every committee member has an opportunity to say what they feel and make whatever ratings they want to make. So far they've been good. I'm sure that there may be some things that people would like to see me do better, or the school system do better. But clearly, it's been an open process. And as you can tell, people come to the rail all the time and make statements, give their opinions, come into meetings, some of them in support, and some of them critical. But that's a balancing act. Wherever we are, that's what takes place. What does concern me is this, and I say this in a very sincere way, and that's simply this. Whether I stay or go, when I go, if an outside individual is going to consider the Medford Public Schools as his or her home, as superintendent, they are going to evaluate the environment. And if they feel the environment is hostile, they're not coming here. They're not coming here because it's a tough enough job not to be in a situation where people are divided and split along many issues. So it's our responsibility to have a decent dialogue, to make an appropriate decision, but to keep it intelligent and to keep it welcoming, so that when someone does consider applying for the Medford Public Schools, they say, I want to go there, because that's a good place to be a superintendent of schools. The people support the administration, they support their school committee, and there's mutual respect. And so that's really what we've got to strive for. A decision will be made. Decision will happen in public session. Decision will happen after a lot of consultation. And a lot of the things that we have to decide are based on, am I a person at this point in time able to bring forward our agenda in an intelligent way? Or is someone else maybe better positioned to do that at this point in time? That's what it's about. That's what it's about. So let's have our process. Let's respect each other. Let's continue to work together, and let's make a decision in a timely way on behalf of the community. Now, superintendent searches vary. Many of them are done in a lot shorter time than a year. But if that's the community's wish, then that's something we'd go forward with. But I've observed a lot of searches over the years, and people call me all the time because I've been around for a long time. So I think that it's important we go through our process. It's also informative to go through the process, because the things I will bring to you in the self-evaluation will remind you of things you've done. Even when I'm writing up the evaluation myself, I'm saying to myself, oh, I forgot we did this. Oh, I forgot this actually happened. Oh, this, yes, was a concern. Yes, we dealt with this. It's a process of re-educating ourselves about all the things that are going on. It's also a message that we send to our administration, faculty, and staff. And it's important that we do it right. And it's important that we have the right kind of discussion. And that we not create a leverage situation where decisions are made on the fly, or decisions are made without proper dialogue and discussion and process. I'm very confident that you will do that. And I'm very confident that we will have a good discussion and that a proper appropriate decision will be made. So thank you for your ongoing support. Thank you for your interest in perhaps making sure the community has a proper transition. But at the same time, let's make sure we do it right. And so you will get my self evaluation at the end of the week. And by the way, it's important that people respect the fact that you're the elected members of this community. You have a right to look at this stuff before the rest of the world comments on it. You work with me all the time. And conversely, I believe I have a right to make sure that the people who work with me all the time get the first pass at commenting on what goes on. I think we're in a good place. I think it will go well. And I think people will be pleased that a good transparent process has taken place. That's all we all want.
[Roy Belson]: Prior or by?
[Roy Belson]: Remember, and this is something that was misunderstood, and I heard this at a council meeting, that this is not the RFP. These are guidelines to the procurement office to develop an RFP. So they need to flesh out the specifics of security or other things, because if we get too tight right now, in their process, they may not be able to put something together that is appropriate for a vendor. If you set up a security plan that's around the clock or something like that, they may say that's prohibitive, no one's going to bid on it. We've got to get something from procurement, let them check with other people as to what's likely to go through. The same thing is true of other elements of this. This is guidance to the procurement officer. Remember, the procurement is going to come back to you. You're going to see the actual document. So this is really guidance. Let the procurement officer actually spell out a little title and you'll be better off. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: All right. Just one more thing. You know, there are a lot of stories and comments being made outside of us that sometimes mislead the public. And I want to make sure we clarify, just as we talked about, this was not the RFP. This was the guidelines for the development of an RFP. Now, the second piece is that there was some comment at a council meeting that dealt with the cleaning of the fields, that no deep cleaning had taken place. That's not true. We actually have the invoices. We actually have the procedure. And we actually have the details that they did a deep cleaning on a regular basis. So I want to make that clear that, you know, some people say things and, you know, they may think it's true, but we have backup information, which I can provide to you at a subsequent time. which shows that a deep cleaning was actually done, and the process and procedures spelled out as to what a deep cleaning actually is. So just for your information, in case you're asked, we've been doing deep cleanings because it was associated that if we didn't do deep cleanings, the longevity of the field would be compromised. We do deep cleanings.
[Roy Belson]: What page are we talking about?
[Roy Belson]: Do you remember that? No, just the one item. Let's wrap it up.
[Roy Belson]: Is it, you know, is it different? I mean, basically, we're losing... Ms.
[Roy Belson]: Madam members of the committee, Dr. Heidi Riccio is with us this evening. She's distributed some additional materials. There's a lot of exciting things going on in our vocational school, and she's here to tell you about some of them.
[Roy Belson]: So we're going to call upon our guidance director, Amelia Jensen, to tell us about the guidance department.
[Roy Belson]: Just want to mention while Amelia brings that up is Dr. Monaco is going to be at the high school on the 24th. And if you have time and you want to see him in the science labs talking with the kids and so on and so forth, we can thank him for the acceptances as well. Because maybe next year we'll go for 10.
[Roy Belson]: Fine Arts.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor, members of the committee, Molly Waden is with us tonight. Molly headed up this project and filed it with UMass Lowell. And this project is really an advanced project for a school system. It's a $1.2 million grant, which we share with UMass Lowell and Everett. But the work was done here with MOLLE and MOLLE, UMass MOLLE. And it's a program where youngsters have really gone to the next stage of computer development. Instead of just doing the routine searches and things like that, they're actually developing the applications that people buy and developing new engineering techniques. The way we've got to look at the future is that when we talk about science education and the like, it's not just learning the facts or the information. Now it's engineering solutions. And this is a major step. And for our middle school youngsters to do this is an incredible step forward in computer science education. And it's to be a model. But Ms. Molly.
[Roy Belson]: So we're going to call on our deputy superintendent to do this. It's almost summertime.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, you have a very extensive report here dealing with community schools, not only with information about the programs, but also with a lot of financial data. Um, Pat Vuey, uh, working with, uh, the community schools office, uh, put this together and Farina, Mr. Maloney, uh, Rachel Perry and others put this together so that we could, uh, analyze whatever you had concerns about. So Pat is here. Um, any questions you may have, uh, we can all try to answer them and, uh, go from there. But there's a pretty extensive report here. We can, uh, we're talking about community schools itself. MHS community pool and the edgily field One other thing to say though some of this material you received at the committee of the whole I mean the subcommittee And build these grounds some of it is additional based on additional requests This is a better day
[Roy Belson]: I'm not sure of the Reds, because obviously that's a, maybe Bobby can answer that particular thing. There was one person who was a coach and, you know, was affiliated with the Reds.
[Roy Belson]: Let's start one at a time.
[Roy Belson]: So you mentioned AIC.
[Roy Belson]: AIC contracts. with the school department through my office and with Pat Velie. So it's a direct contract, and we generate about 60,000 a year, is that right? Maybe sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, depending on the thing. Now, neither Pat nor I have any affiliation with AIC in any teaching or supervisory role.
[Roy Belson]: American International College. We basically just simply contract with them, and they use our space. and the like. Now, we have nobody teaching a course for AIC in our faculty or our administration. Some of our administrators from time to time supervise practicums for people that are looking for advanced degrees or trying to get licensure. I think at this point in time, there's maybe just a couple of people that do that. Beverly Nelson does some of that, as does Diane Caldwell. But they are not involved in the contractual activities with AIC. So they have no contact with, in terms of money. So I don't believe they're in conflict. But one of the things we can do is, going forward, we'll run some of this by Mark Rumley and ask him if he's got any thoughts about it. And he can check with ethics.
[Roy Belson]: It's pretty well attended by Medford and others. But having said that, most of the courses are education courses. If AIC were to expand or some other colleges were to expand, then obviously they'd offer other things. But with their education courses, mostly individuals were pursuing graduate degrees in education. So that's really where it's at at this point in time. But we can do that. We can take a look.
[Roy Belson]: We looked at custodial costs. We looked at, what do you call it, fare costs that we thought were involved. Basically, they run about four to five semesters, four to five, let's say, periods, four to five session periods. And generally, it comes out to $2,000 to $3,000 a course, maybe $2,000 a course. that they're paying us for for the rooms and for the custodial. So some of them run the same night. So that mitigates the cost of the custodian because one custodian can cover five classrooms or four classrooms. So we break it out. We can give you a breakout. We can show you what we charge. Um, and you can actually look at it.
[Roy Belson]: I'm just trying to make sure apples are apples. They don't have anywhere near as much coverage of the building as the Japanese do. They're basically talking five classrooms, maybe three nights a week.
[Roy Belson]: It's pretty substantial from what we're getting from them for the time. But we can show you the break up and you can look at it.
[Roy Belson]: The $200,000. For the Japanese, it's generally $100,000 a year. That's moved up from $90,000 a year. We moved that up $10,000.
[Roy Belson]: That's what it is, the $200,000 from the Japanese. But that's for two years.
[Roy Belson]: That's $100,000 a year.
[Roy Belson]: What we do with that, just so you know, we forward fund that. We ask them for the money up front. So we're two years ahead on it.
[Roy Belson]: Well, custodians would be. Custodians, it's overtime for them. Right. They're just there. And that's part of the contract to have overtime. But we'll run personnel by Mark. And let him take a look and see if there's anything he sees that's, you know.
[Roy Belson]: So you've got to understand that a custodian salary is going to be about $60,000 plus benefits. So if you add benefits to $60,000, you're almost on top of the 93. And the flexibility of the schedules and the different places that people have to be at at different times, you know, creates that situation. We're actually doing very well with the, you know, with the overtime account in that regard. But it's substantial because there's a lot of programs. You know, but if you hire one custodian, pay them benefits.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, it's a distinct pleasure tonight to welcome an individual who represents a fine institution in our community, who has made it possible for our schools to have this outstanding contribution by one of our teachers. I'm going to turn it over to our assistant superintendent, Diane Caldwell, to explain it, make a presentation, and you have it in front of you.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, no one gets away without a picture, so we've got to get everybody in here.
[Roy Belson]: You have to memorialize it for the next edition.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, we're going to call upon our Director of Humanities to make a presentation to the National Scholastic Medal winner. I'll call on Dr. Chiesa to come up here and make that presentation. And I'll do it from down there.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we're going to call on Dr. Chiesa again to tell us a little bit about National History Day. and also about our Model UN project, and to recognize several of the students who have participated in both of these activities, both of which are really terrific experiences for them and for the school system. And I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Chiesa.
[Roy Belson]: We'll get the model in here.
[Roy Belson]: I just want to thank Dr. Chiesa for all her work and her faculty and staff for what they put together, Director of Curriculum Bernadette Riccardelli for her work in supporting, and all the teachers who really put a lot of time in helping these young people to really take these events seriously and to participate in things that perhaps we haven't participated in as much in the past. And now that we are, we're doing exceptionally well. And it's to the credit of the students and to the credit of their teachers. administrators that this happens as well as it does. I'll just alert you that there's even more coming at subsequent meetings next week. I'll just bring this up. I will be traveling to New York to participate with Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Global Scholars Program, another example of our young people who are working closely with each other to understand world issues and to exchange ideas and to become global citizens of the 21st century. So we've got a lot to look forward to. You're going to see a lot more coming up. And we're really proud of our young people tonight. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Madam members of the committee, you have it in front of you is a report of our meeting with regard to here three pre-budget reports. You can waive the reading of it tonight at your discretion.
[Roy Belson]: Unless there's something you'd like to comment on that's within the report.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, this was our Curriculum Subcommittee. It was attended by three members and Mrs. DiBenedetto, The minutes are in front of you, if Mrs. Vandekoot would like to highlight something or talk about something in particular, but otherwise you can also waive this as well.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor and members of the committee, just as an off agenda item, but something to make sure that everyone is fully aware of is we were honored to have in our presence at the Medford family network, uh, this past week on Friday, The speaker of the Massachusetts House, Robert DiLeo. Speaker DiLeo came with Assistant Majority Leader Donato, Christine Bobber, and Sean Garbley, our two reps, also representing the city. Mayor Burke was there, School Committee Member Van der Kloot, and School Committee Member Mustone, and School Committee Member Kreatz. Were there? No, weren't there. Came later. OK.
[Roy Belson]: Get mixed up. We had nice representation. We had a wonderful presentation by two parents who had participated, two parents who came from a different country, who really expressed how it helped them make the transition. I think the speaker was very impressed with that. The program was co-sponsored by the Children's Trust. Susan Bartley is the executive director of the Children's Trust. The Children's Trust is the premier organization in this state that works to prevent child abuse and works to strengthen families. Susan Barkley has been very active for many, many years, and it's her goal to take the model created by the Medford Family Network in the early 90s, it's 22 years in existence now, and the work of Marie Cassidy, who's been our lead player in that organization for many years, to take that statewide. And basically, the pitch with the speaker was that this is the way you reduce child abuse, this is the way you help DCF meet their challenges, and this is the way you promote good gateway education into the community. And as the mayor emphasized also, that it was critical that we do these things so that when youngsters come to school, they're ready to learn. And they have family supports and parents know what's expected of them, and we can move our agenda forward. So it was a thrill to have the speaker here, to have such a strong delegation from our legislature there, and to have the program that we hold so dear, the Medford Family Network, raised to such a high level of praise by Susan Bartley, who I indicate is sort of the leader in the state for child abuse prevention and for strengthening families.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, they're sort of related. But in this instance, we'll call upon our deputy superintendent to introduce someone who she just met this past week.
[Roy Belson]: Well, the enrollment's been pretty stable. at this point in time. The shift sometimes is the grade levels and, you know, the distributions. So we want to take things away from people who already have them. We may need a little bit of a shift. I can tell you that as of today, based on what we've seen in previous years, we're 49 students ahead in kindergarten enrollment at this point in time. which tells us that people are coming home.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, just before we move on, just want to note that tonight, one of the contracts that we hope to settle tonight will be the nurse's contract. They've done an excellent job under Tony's leadership and we think that we're able to move forward, and they're certainly taking on more and more responsibilities.
[Roy Belson]: This is a requirement that we face every year. School choice is one of the pieces of legislation that would allow us or would mandate, if we don't reject it, to take a student in from another district at $5,000 based on availability of seats. We find that this is not a productive way to increase enrollment and that we have to notify the State Department by June 1st, so we put this on annually and ask that you approve it so that we can formally notify the State Department of Education.
[Roy Belson]: So, assuming that it doesn't snow.
[Roy Belson]: Or there's anything else that might get in the way of closing. This year the last day of school will be Tuesday, June 21st, 2016. It says 2015 here, so. Anyone who doesn't show up tomorrow will be in trouble. It'll be a 12 p.m. Release for all schools. The completion of school on this day enables us to meet the state required 180 instructional days minimum and the total hourly minimums for each grade level. We have a schedule for elementary and middle and high school. We'll post that on our webpage and through other channels and make sure that parents receive it from their schools as well.
[Roy Belson]: So we like to post these meetings as early as we can so that people can plan. Uh, this is, uh, we're starting earlier, uh, this year coming up in August. But these are the meeting dates that won't conflict with various holy days or other considerations that we would consider to be, let's say, not good practice.
[Roy Belson]: You don't want a meeting on Halloween?
[Roy Belson]: So I would. Consider it if we want to come in costume.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. So if we could approve the calendar tonight and we will come back to the next meeting with a change on October 31st, unless you choose to come in costume. Mr. Skerry.
[Roy Belson]: We can always make that move. The only thing is it comes right after school vacation. We put two meetings in a row. But we can do that. If you want to do that, we can do it.
[Roy Belson]: We'll send you a full update with the opening of school well in advance of the meeting.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, after a number of meetings on this matter, because it involves real estate negotiations, the committee went into session to discuss some of the possibilities. we put this together as a compilation of what you thought was important to be included in specifications. Should we decide to go forward with a winter season bubble over the elderly field or sometimes referred to as the field of dreams? Um, so it requires your approval for it to go to an RFP development. Once the RFP is developed, it would then go out. And of course, any awarding of a lease of any kind would then come back to the school committee. uh, before it was actually implemented. But these are the terms and conditions that we would ask to be put into the, um, RFP. Uh, and if there's any amendments to them, obviously we would make them this evening if we decided to go forward, uh, with the permission of, uh, mayor, I would read through them for public consumption and also, uh, to allow you some time to reflect on each one so that you may have some thoughts as we continue our discussion. Number one, the contract must include a parking lot for an additional 100 cars on the non-turf practice field adjacent to the turf fields paid for by the vendor. That's the West courtyard field. Two, the contract must include provisions for a field house with adequate indoor bathroom facilities. It should have a heater installed since it's going to be used during the winter months. All costs of installation and maintenance must be borne by the contractor. Three, the programs operated by the vendor must make substantial provisions for discounting participation fees for Medford youth and residents. One of the things that in checking with Mr. Scarpelli, who is actively involved in recreational matters in Somerville and is knowledgeable of our facilities as well, in Somerville they look at a 50% discount. We could change that, add to it, you know, as, as the case may be, but we could, you know, that's, that's nothing that we have to, uh, uh, decide immediately when we can come back to that.
[Roy Belson]: It should be in the RFP. Okay. Um, and that would be not only for Medford youth, but also for residents for the hours of operation must be established in such a way as to avoid conflict with Medford programs and to avoid late night impact on a butters. The contract may not operate programs beyond 11 p.m. on any evening. Six, all operational costs associated with the rented program must be borne by the company or vendor. This would include but not limited to electrical, heating, snow plowing, cleanup, maintenance, parking, staffing, et cetera. Seven, there should be sufficient insurance coverage borne by the vendor, contractor if you will, to cover any damage or liability. The city must be held harmless. All employees of the contractor work on site must be Corey checked. Appropriate security coverage will be provided by the vendor contractor during the contractor's hours of operation. Access to the main school building should be limited to emergencies. Nine promotion and advertising of the facility's purpose and use must be reviewed by the city to ensure that there is no misrepresentations. 10, There must be monthly reporting of activity and facility conditions to the city to ensure that any emergent situations are dealt with in a timely and effective manner. 11, the initial contract would be for a term of seven years with the possibility of three year extension after five years of successful performance. So that means after the fifth year, the committee would then decide whether it wanted to extend the three years. There must be an out cause in the contract for the city. If there was a failure to perform, or there is a transfer of ownership control. Twelve, substantial non-rental time must be available to the Medford Athletic, Physical Education and Community Schools for educational and recreational programs and activities. Any subcontractor of the contractor to a third party must be approved in advance by the city of Medford. So those are the general provisions. If there's something that we missed as coming out of our meetings, or if there's something that You want extended or clarified, we should talk about it now.
[Roy Belson]: As you remember from our discussions, that was to put it, it was to go into, I'm sure we left it off for some reason, but that was to go into the, into a fund that would only be used for either debt reduction if necessary.
[Roy Belson]: So, so they're excluded from there, but if there was a, you know, situation where an ambulance had to come up for some reason and they needed access to a medical attention immediately. We have custodians on duty through 11 o'clock. So I mean, so they could enter the building. It would be obviously a call to the building and the building would open. I think for that reason, I don't know, somehow it wouldn't have a key, but I mean, but if you had an emergency there and you needed the building and you didn't open it up, I think we'd be liable. I think you've got to be conscious of the fact that the building has to have some kind of availability for an emergency emergency. I'm not talking about for general reasons. You know, we just,
[Roy Belson]: It's a decision you can make. It's a decision you can make.
[Roy Belson]: OK. So the only thing I would suggest is that we have a snow day at 7 o'clock in the morning. By the time the vendor gets there at 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon, everything's clear, everything is taken care of.
[Roy Belson]: No, I'm just saying, but let's say that situation would occur. I don't think it should be so absolute, because if we had six, seven, eight days, that's revenue that a vendor might be interested in, because obviously they're offsetting costs. I'm just doing it to be balanced.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, well, you see there's a cost of snow removal here that's put in.
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, I don't think you can ask a vendor, what do you call it, to provide security for for times when they're not doing their work. If you load up costs to the vendor, you're not going to get a vendor. So it has to be somewhat balanced, because obviously people want to pay for what they're responsible for. I don't think you can ask them to pay for things that occur at times when they're not there. Now, that's a decision you can make, but I think it might compromise a bit. subtract from other things that the vendor might be willing to do.
[Roy Belson]: Again, you know, we can put anything we want into the RFP. You just want to make sure that it's attractive enough for someone to come in and say, I'm willing to pay for this, do this, do that, you know, and the like. Is it necessary? If you feel it's necessary, then it goes in. If you don't feel it's necessary, then it might alter the willingness of someone to bid or to pay for certain things.
[Roy Belson]: No, they don't have access to the high school.
[Roy Belson]: Well, that's the whole point of it. You know, that's why the 100 spaces, you know, we're asked for 100. He probably has indicated, you know, in the preliminary thing they needed about 60, but we asked for 100 because I thought there might be some overflow or there might be some situations where other multiple events were running and we might need a few extra spaces. Or during the regular year when we have other events sweeping, maybe more spaces. We'd be the beneficiaries of a larger one.
[Roy Belson]: But I don't know.
[Roy Belson]: You may find that you have limitations.
[Roy Belson]: You know, you can, um, From some of the preliminary discussions, I believe that the vendor that we did talk to to get some information was talking about 4 o'clock in the afternoon during the week. And then on the weekends, having a more expanded time, because obviously they would have more activity in the weekend.
[Roy Belson]: I think they wanted to come in in the morning and then run through the day. So that wouldn't really be available to Medford independent programs on Saturday and Sunday. So I think that's what I understand from, you know, the preliminary discussions with vendors. So I would say four to 11 is probably typical during the week and then probably be something like 8 AM to 11, you know, 11 PM on during the weekends.
[Roy Belson]: We'd go by the city solicitor though.
[Roy Belson]: I want it to be a little dollar amount for what?
[Roy Belson]: Usually, on penalty fees, Usually, there's a one-time pass where someone misses something. Then the second time, it's one thing. And then the third time, it's more extensive. And then possibly, then you reach a breach of contract. But you're essentially, you don't want to dissuade people from doing this. If you want it, you don't want to dissuade people from doing it. You want to make it so difficult for a person to say, I can't take the chance. I'm going to be kicking out all kinds of things. On the other hand, you also want to send a message that you can't. You can't cavalierly break the rules because you will pay for it.
[Roy Belson]: I think the other thing, too, is that there are different, you know, violations. Staying over, not cleaning up, not having security. I'm going to think this one through just a little bit because some things are more egregious than others. And, you know, it could be the A person, if they miss it by a half an hour on a given night, it's not the same thing as blowing it out for two hours, or not having the right cleanup, or not having the right maintenance going on, or not taking care of other things that need to be done. So, I mean, there's severities that you want to have some degree of flex.
[Roy Belson]: We'll put some recommendations down based on calling to some people.
[Roy Belson]: So here's the sequence. I mean, I'm listening to everything tonight. Sometime tomorrow or the next day, I'll draft up the materials that you're giving me now and we'll run it by you in a temporary. Then we'll send it over to procurement. you know, I mean to actually draw specifications. Okay. And then legal to actually look at it at some point, you know, probably early next week when they've had a chance to play it through, we could send you something in the, you know, in the, in the thing. The only thing is, is that remember under the open meeting law, you can't deliberate with each other. So you can look at it yourself and feedback, but we can't, We can't go back and forth as a committee because we're not in open session.
[Roy Belson]: I'm sorry?
[Roy Belson]: You can do that. You can do that. But if there is differences between one member and another member, I won't be able to resolve it individually until we get back in open session.
[Roy Belson]: OK?
[Roy Belson]: We have the letter.
[Roy Belson]: So what you really need to do is we only made one edit where most was added to most charters.
[Roy Belson]: And that's the only change and if there's no objection to that then those who want to sign it. before we send it out, and we'll do so in the next little while when we send it out.
[Roy Belson]: Pardon me?
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, we should vote. We should roll call it.
[Roy Belson]: Original is April 25.
[Roy Belson]: But I think it's, you know.
[Roy Belson]: I think it'll be fine. Unless you really feel, you know.
[Roy Belson]: What that is activity that was approved by community schools a while ago and it's happens to be. So I wanted to make sure that you, I just got it today myself from Mr. Maloney. So I wanted to make sure you knew about it. So in case you heard about an event, uh, this is a group that's been active with us in the past.
[Roy Belson]: I was told that the projected fee is $3,500. If they spend more time, it'll be higher. But that's the projected fee at this time.
[Roy Belson]: Well, again, we still haven't reached the point of having a formal fee schedule and the like. So this is what was in place. And so we just simply have gone along with it. But it pays the bills. Like I said, when we finally arrive at what we're going to do in the future after the ninth or hopefully subsequently after the ninth, uh, these fees will be readjusted to affect, to reflect whatever decisions you make.
[Roy Belson]: I believe it's a non-profit organization, but I can't attest to that at this point in time.
[Roy Belson]: It's a non-profit solicitor's non-profit, I'm sorry.
[Roy Belson]: Not to the general event, to the cultural activities, I believe there's a ticket.
[Roy Belson]: I don't.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Chair, look, we've had a major discussion about rentals and we're going to have another discussion coming up. This is an activity, this is a group in this community that's been here before and used our properties before. It would be an embarrassment for me to go to them and say something at this point in time and change the rules as we're operating right now. Going forward after the 9th, you can make whatever rules you decide are appropriate. I think that's the way it ought to be. And if you decide everything has to come in front of you, then you're going to have to have every piece of business come in front of you all the time. And we'll do that. But at this particular point, I'm to imply that this group, you know, was any different than any other group that we've had over the years, is really kind of out of line as far as I'm concerned. I reach a point where, you know, this is a group, this is a cultural group within our community. It's active within our community. We should treat them with respect.
[Roy Belson]: I was giving it to you tonight because it was given to me today, so you would know about it and you wouldn't hear about it on a phone call on a weekend. Now, I try to keep you informed when I know something's going on, but we agreed at our meeting of the whole that we would leave things alone for the rest of this year until we came to a new conclusion about our rental rates and all the stipulations involved. And that's all I'm saying at this point in time. We're just simply moving along. I gave it to you tonight so you'd know about it. And I think that you will at the, after the ninth and after subsequent meetings, you will have an opportunity to set whatever rules you want to set in place, whatever fees you want to set in place and whatever enforcements you want to set in place. And that will then govern whatever happens next. And then anything of this type, if you want to make it all come in front of you, then all come in front of you. But that's the way, you know, we'll do it. But that was the understanding we had after the last committee of the whole.
[Roy Belson]: You've received more reports than most people ever see. Okay, and you've received financial reports on all kinds of things, but you'll get even more. So Pat will stop doing the budget to do this one audit.
[Roy Belson]: If they're going to what?
[Roy Belson]: I don't know. I'll have to ask them.
[Roy Belson]: So upon approval of the school committee, We will ask the city to allow us to utilize the money from the public art funds that were appropriated for us.
[Roy Belson]: I've made no decision at this time and that's up to the committee. So when I'm ready to make a decision and the committee is ready to make a decision, we'll do that. But there's no decision at this time.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you, Madam Mayor and members of the committee. With us is the headmaster of the high school, Dr. Perrella. This morning, as you know, you were notified that there was a bomb scare sent to Medford High School by robocall. This was also sent to many other schools in the area, including Somerville City Hall. There are at least 10 other school districts. I provided you with a handout from one of the, newspaper outlets as well. I believe the high school handled it exceptionally well. They did everything that was according to their protocol. You have the report in front of you. Local police and fire officials were on hand to assist with the sweep of the building. Students were kept in place. When stabilization took place, students and faculty were notified, and a robocall went out to parents in the community very quickly. Dr. Perrella is here. I'd be happy to answer any questions that he has and that you may have for him. Dr. Brown.
[Roy Belson]: I think it's a good, it's a great idea. It's another example of how the city and school work together under the mayor's leadership. So the reality is that, sure, we can make it happen. And we can, good idea about putting it part of the registration. We can move that along and we're electronic so we can pass it to them.
[Roy Belson]: All that's possible, and it's all good ideas.
[Roy Belson]: Well, we certainly would work on it this spring, and then have it ready going into the next school year.
[Roy Belson]: We put in parent information and things of that sort as well.
[Roy Belson]: As you see from your packet, you also have museum passes and other things too, so it's not just resources.
[Roy Belson]: We can certainly do all that and we can certainly hype it, you know, over the next several months so that going into the fall is even more robust.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, as you know, We passed a gender non-discrimination policy in 2013. And this past period of time, many organizations have come together to support additional legislation in the Massachusetts Statehouse to deal with all public facilities being available to transgender individuals. public schools are already covered. However, this issue is critical to us because as our young people go out into society and they go out into the world, we want to make sure that what they learn in school and what they experience in school is available to them in the larger world. Our current policy is a good one. So one way to reinforce it is to give our support to the ongoing legislation that is being proffered at the state house. Additionally, The site council of the high school, working together with the Gay-Straight Alliance and others, has tried to put forth a survey, and will put forth a survey, to help youngsters identify, it's anonymous and it's voluntary, so that we can better serve them, and we can make sure that we have everything in place that is necessary to accommodate our students. And that it's important that we also accurately report to the state on the various mandated reports. You have the survey questions that are here, you have additional information, you have our gender policy from 2013, and you have pieces of the legislation that is at the state house. So I present this report to you this evening to make sure you're fully aware of what we're doing. And that we get your support to go forward and to make sure that we can speak with a very clear voice at the state level. That the Medford School Committee and the city of Medford is in full support of all our youth, including our transgender youth. So I'd recommend that we approve this this evening. We have individuals in the audience tonight that headmasters here, I believe a couple of students were here and they're no longer here. Okay, a couple of them occurred, okay. And if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them for you, but I ask that you extend your support this evening.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, at our last meeting, we talked about the substance abuse drug and alcohol policy of the Medford Public Schools and the new legislation, the Opiate Act, if you will, that was passed in the legislature this past month and signed by the governor. Clearly, all of us are concerned, and at our last meeting, at your request, you asked that we withhold posting it until we brought it to you back to your attention. This evening, I brought that policy back to you, and I've also added a few things to keep it consistent with the new act, and to clear up a few things that would be inconsistent with the actual act. For example, eliminate the term CASPAR, which is no longer the program of choice here in the Medford Public Schools. So I've tried to put this together for you, and with your support, we will post this on our web page. And we will wait for additional guidance from the state, from DESE, from DBH, and others to further update it based on the deliberations that they have as they go forward in carrying out the legislation. But in the interim, it's important that we're compliant with the law that I'll be able to post. And if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. You can see that I've also attached legal advisories from Murphy, Hesse, Toomey, and Lane, who represents us in various areas of special education. But they're also an excellent source of information in almost any legal matter.
[Roy Belson]: Yes, and then also we'd be able to post it consistent with the law.
[Roy Belson]: So I know at the high school, we have a very specific form that people sign. Dr. Perrella can speak to that. I know that handbooks are turned out to parents at the lower grade schools, and I'm not sure they have to sign off on these things. It will require that we take a little bit of time and explain, because some people are concerned when they sign something that they don't fully understand it. So with your permission, we'll do it over the next period of time. But it takes a little bit of time to explain these things to people, because just to put it in front of them and say, sign your name, probably wouldn't work with any great degree of, let's say, effectiveness. So we'd like to sort of do it in small groups with parents and work it through the schools that way so that over the next year everyone signs in. But I think we need to take our time and make sure that, otherwise we're just going to have people signing their name, they're not going to read it. Understanding it is probably not going to be a very high either in some cases. There will be some very diligent people who will, but it won't be widespread.
[Roy Belson]: Currently the policy reach will not be allowed. We'd like to change it to daytime so that we have some discretion because obviously there are some situations out there that require discretion. One of the things that, I just want to pontificate for a minute if I can, get away with it, and that's simply this, is that we can't be afraid of having discretion. Sometimes you make hard and fast rules and they don't apply to everybody. And then you're stuck with that rule. So I think it's very important to make it may not so that we can look at a circumstance and make a determination. Hopefully we're being fair and even handed across the board, but when something becomes so hard and fast, it becomes necessary to enforce it with everyone. So that's why it may not came in.
[Roy Belson]: As school administrators, we make decisions about young people every day, who get something, who doesn't get it, because we have to. It's a human enterprise. abdicate our discretion or abdicate our judgment, we're basically just robots. We're just following mechanics when it comes to young people. And it's important to understand the circumstances that young people find themselves in at different times and how they were involved. A person could be at a site where alcohol is there and then not be a user themselves and might be blamed for it. Another person could be there and actually be distributing it or distributing drugs. There are differences. There are differences. And so our responsibility as your leadership team and management team is to be able to accept the responsibility of making discretionary judgments and not to abuse it and not to give away anything that isn't deserved or punish people in ways that are inappropriate, but rather to ensure that there is a review. and there is an understanding, because without that, we're basically on autopilot, and then I don't think we're being fair to our young people and our families. So I understand the downside, but we make a lot of decisions about what goes on every day, and you need to trust us to do that, because if not, schools can't run.
[Roy Belson]: Dr. Perrella is the headmaster. If he has doubts, he'll come to me. If he has a clear understanding, I will respect his judgment.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, our legal counsel, Howard Greenspan, is here to report on the matter that you referred to him and our committee the whole with regard to rental and school properties. At this time, I'd like you to welcome Howard Turner.
[Roy Belson]: So researching the issue as well, I found that, as Mr. Greenspan explained, that in the minutes of the March meeting, we indicated we would post those policies that had been approved of March of 2012. If you go online, and remember the online policies were posted by MASC based on the fact that we had approved them, and the ones we hadn't approved were still pending. If you look at the policies online, you will find that the policies, the four policies we're talking about, are not there. So what it means to me is that we didn't get to it. We hadn't really dealt with it yet, and that two of the policies that were MA Medford policies were older policies that we had had from older yearbooks that might have been available through hard copy, but they weren't available online. So as a result, It's clear to me, at least from my standpoint, you know, concurrent with our attorneys, is that we need to decide what you want to do. The law doesn't prohibit us, but the four policies either contradict themselves, and they weren't posted by MASC because clearly Jim Hardy, who was our consultant at the time, didn't get the go-ahead from the committee at that time to post it because we hadn't got that far. We'd done so much that we wanted to get as much as possible up, but we really didn't get that far. So in the interim, if I can, just for a little bit more and then certainly take any questions. In the interim, Pat Bealy has convened a committee with community schools and several of us working on it to come up with a draft policy for your consideration, which obviously you can change, adjust, modify, add to, subtract, as you will. with a fee structure, and we would hope to present that to you very shortly, probably at our next meeting, so that you can look at it and begin the process of agreeing what you want to be the policy of the Medford Public Schools. It's much more comprehensive than anything we've ever had, it's much more detailed, and it also reflects a lot of the discussions that you've had in our discussions and meetings as to what you have indicated were concerns that you had. So, I think we're, and attract to come up with a new policy, one that you will have obviously the final say over, and whatever you decide, we'll implement. But as Howard points out in his reference, in going over the issue of revenue, it becomes extremely important that we understand that revenue is key to keeping some of these facilities going. So we need to understand the balance between Programs that provide revenue and programs that are simply community oriented, that we are supporting activities within the community. It's a balancing act. But having said that, I'll be happy to answer any other questions you have or I'm sure direct them to Mr. Greenspan.
[Roy Belson]: My answer to that is I don't believe any of them. I believe they all were in discussion.
[Roy Belson]: So, Madam Mayor, you know, we've agreed to do that. This is not something that, you know, we need to say, oh, we've agreed to do that. But we first wanted a legal opinion. We now have a legal opinion. We told you that we've sat and worked on a comprehensive policy for you to review with a fee structure based on what we think is necessary to sustain the operation of the building. We will provide you with every renter, every user, We're also preparing for you a policy with regard to booster organizations, which will require that booster organizations register with the schools so that we have some access to their materials and we can track their materials. So there's a lot that's coming forward to you. You know, it just takes a little bit of time. We pulled it all together to do it right, and we waited for the appropriate legal opinion, and we did our homework. And I think that over the next month, you're going to see a lot, and you're going to have a chance to do it. And the reality is, is that going into the summer, into the next school year, you'll have a policy in place, assuming that you approve it. And that you'll have fees in place, assuming you approve it. And you have a structure that we believe will answer your questions and the questions of other people, and at the same time allow us to move forward in a constructive way. So I believe it's happening, and I believe that there's a lot of goodwill here, and I believe everybody wants it to work. And we certainly want to take any doubt away from anyone about the operation of the schools with regard to nonprofit, community, and other groups. It's also important as we go forward that you help us to identify to what extent, if any, you want to allow certain groups to have a pass in terms of the rental or the use of the school facilities, such as community organizations. How often, how frequently, so that we can fairly distribute them. This is a very involved process because there are many, many people who see the schools as a place where they can conduct their activities. So you're going to get a very comprehensive report. It's going to be very thorough. And I believe that when we come out of this school year, you're going to have something very, very well thought through and something that you will have had a very strong hand in developing.
[Roy Belson]: Our goal would be to allow our community groups to have access while we are developing things. Now, going forward, you may decide that there needs to be a modest fee or some type of fee. But for the short period of time that they would be inside, remember, this is April. For the short period of time they would have to remain inside, we'd like to sort of not try to construct some sort of artificial fee structure. Not for the batting cages. Not for the batting cages.
[Roy Belson]: Insurance liability.
[Roy Belson]: Do you want to discuss anything?
[Roy Belson]: So here's the way it would work, okay? If you approve it this evening, we will contact the individuals who run these organizations and talk to them about what their schedules they would like to see. And we will try to work their schedules into times where we have existing supervision in that part of the facility. To the extent that we don't, We will calculate as to whether or not the cost of supervision is extraordinary enough to worry about it, or if it's just marginal in order to help community organizations. If it's small enough, we probably would absorb it under our normal operational costs. If it were extensive and they wanted to use it, then we would have to say we can't do it unless you're prepared to pay for that supervision. So, you know, we obviously recognize the legitimacy of the concern, but at the same token, we're trying to say we want our community groups to feel wanted, while at the same time, we want to make sure that we understand that this is a temporary measure and that all things will be put in place and we'll ask for their cooperation.
[Roy Belson]: I'm not sure, but I'm sure there are guidelines, and I will ask the athletic director to inform me.
[Roy Belson]: When you say something happens, would we talk about injury?
[Roy Belson]: So if an injury were to happen, And there's no gross negligence on our part. We're not responsible. We're only responsible for gross negligence. And Mr. Greenspan can comment if, in fact, I miss something. But with regard to the issue of general negligence and the like, we would expect that the people who are running the program would be responsible and that our supervisor would follow the rules that we set in front of them.
[Roy Belson]: So the answer to that is you can have us do anything you want. We're just making a suggestion that it might be possible to help out community groups. We're referring to the youth baseball activities that are in the community. That's all we're referring to. We're not referring to outside groups. We're not referring to anyone. We're just referring to youth groups.
[Roy Belson]: Well, that's what has to be, you know, worked out in the final analysis. So when we get to talk to these people, we'd say, I'll call a meeting of them or ask them to come in. And I'll ask for some scheduling possibilities that they might like to have. Maybe they don't want to do it. Maybe they'll turn around and say, you know, it's not worth it. But, you know, if it's worth it to them, we'll schedule it. And then we'll determine who's going to open and close and, you know, and supervise.
[Roy Belson]: All I said to you a little bit before was that if it's a small amount of money that's required, And there's not someone else up there. Remember, there's three different batting cages. So if our team is using one of them, somebody can use the other two. I mean, or whatever the case may be. So, you know, if we can't cover it with someone who's already going to be there, we'll assess the cost. And if it's minor, you know, a few hundred dollars, you know, for a few, for a couple weeks, then we'll absorb it. If it's not, then we'll not allow it or ask them to pay it.
[Roy Belson]: Well, that's an acceptable facility of the school. So at this point in time, you know, the fire department hasn't found any problem with our use of it.
[Roy Belson]: They've been in the pool. They've been in that entire area.
[Roy Belson]: And they're aware that students are up there in that area. At any time, if something were to go wrong, certainly they could come in and change their mind. But as far as I'm concerned, they've cleared it.
[Roy Belson]: I'll have to check on that with Mr. Malone.
[Roy Belson]: It's already been sent, we call it, to us. We're going to bring you back a report.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, at a previous meeting you asked me to draft a letter that to some degree paraphrased the letter sent by the Ludlow School Committee to our legislative delegation with regard to the Charter School cap lift, recommending that the legislature reject that particular item. Now, specifically, the State Senate, passed a bill the other day through the Senate. It isn't legislative, it isn't law, but it passed through the Senate, which is a comprehensive approach to the charter school issues that have been discussed throughout the Commonwealth, much more broadly based than some other discussions have been, and dealing with much more than the charter cap lift. There's going to be some debate on Beacon Hill. I don't believe that the Senate bill in its entirety is going to be accepted by the House or approved by the Governor, but there may be elements of it that are acceptable by the House and by the Senate, and maybe even by the Governor down the road. But certainly, the House and the Senate would probably get together and have a discussion about it. From our standpoint, I drafted a letter. which would be consistent with it, but it wasn't done in the context of the Senate's passage of this bill. I would ask that you study this material, and maybe I would draft another letter since this is going to be a pending discussion going forward. Because I think that the letter that I originally drafted for you is probably a little bit out of date, the fact that there is a change in what's going on on Beacon Hill. So I'll do whatever you want, but I think that there's quite a bit of ferment going on. And it may be that the Rise Act that is consistent with the charter school legislation is something you want to take into consideration. The letter that I drafted for you is on the back page, the last page of this. And if you haven't had a chance to read it, maybe you should take a few seconds and read it. But it paraphrases or closely paraphrases the letter that was sent from Ludlow with a few changes that reflect more of a Medford issue. Because since our issues are not totally Ludlow's issues and our numbers are slightly different. I just want to tell you that the preliminary numbers on charter schools have been posted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. And this year we have 344 students attending charter schools. Next year the department is projecting we have 315, a substantial reduction of 29 students. So that's not necessarily a final number, it could be a change up or down. But it certainly is a trend that we were hoping for because obviously that puts junctures back in our schools and also deals with money as opposed to it going outside of our schools. So happy to answer any questions you have or continue the discussion.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. I'd also want to say that, you know, we have a meeting May 2nd, so that I would probably bring it back to you for approval on May 2nd.
[Roy Belson]: that necessarily we're going to get agreement in a short period of time with the legislature and with the governor and everyone else like that. But I do believe that there are some pieces in the Senate's legislation that we should be supportive of. I mean, for example, within the Senate's legislation is full funding. the school districts, as opposed to partial funding that we're getting now. Within the Senate's piece, there is a piece that calls for a reimbursement formula that's more realistic. So reality-wise, we should probably want to reference those items. Now, I'm not going to reference the items about good, bad, or indifferent about charter schools, because that's not what I think you're asking me to do. I would like to be sure that we're able to be on record as saying is that there is a bill out there that is asking for full funding. There is a bill that is asking for that. that there be reporting, that individuals would know who's going and who's not going, that there be better demographics taken across the board. Not necessarily, some schools have done well, but other schools have not done well. I think those are things that we should want to be on record and show that we're knowledgeable of the latest things that are being discussed on the Hill, as opposed to being four weeks behind. So I think that that's, you know, I think that makes us much sound much more intelligent when we present a letter to the Commonwealth saying that we're aware of what's being discussed rather than we wrote something a month ago and still sending it.
[Roy Belson]: So we are scheduling a committee of the whole on April 25th, that's a week sooner.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, but what I would do is I would send it out to you well in advance. I'd draft it this week and send it out to you over the vacation period and let you look at it. And if it came in April 25th, we'd make it a standalone item along with the committee of the whole reports. And we could go from there, that would be a week earlier. But I do think you should have some of the latest stuff. I just don't think you should be talking about things that may not be in play right now going forward.
[Roy Belson]: Please do it soon so I can really reach them and get you in.
[Roy Belson]: I may also mention that I gave you an article this evening, it was in the American Prospect. The individual who wrote the article used to write for Commonwealth Magazine, now writes as a deputy editor for American Prospect, which is a very progressive publication out of Washington. Robert Kuttner, Robert Reich are, you know, part of the editorial board of this particular group. So it's fairly strong. magazine, if you will, or commentary. But it talks about the great diversion. It talks about the money moving away from the traditional schools. It's not passing judgment on whether or not charters are good, bad, or indifferent. It's just asking the question, can you support two school systems with a finite amount of money? And that's really sort of the harder part of this discussion. can we really do that? So I recommend you read it and become familiar because there's a lot of stuff going on that's affecting other communities, not affecting us as much right now, but it could going forward. And it's the kind of discussion that's going to happen over the next several months, especially if it goes to a ballot question. So you need to know these things, and it's important that you stay up on it.
[Roy Belson]: We are putting data together for you based on your request.
[Roy Belson]: While we're up, I also heard today that the passing of Linda Houston, who once was a secretary of the school. She's a member of the DePasquale family. And I met her, so if you could take another second. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Just a couple of quick things for you. Again, I'll send you out information on our beginning of the pre-budget season on April 25th. We'll send out the materials early next week. So you'll have them to go over and begin to look at various departments and programs to give you a preview of the kinds of concerns we may have going into budget, so you can begin to ask questions about that. Additionally, in the back of your packet, we have the responses that I sent to the city council based on the various things that they had asked over the last a few months with regard to security and substance abuse and the like. So please review that so that if you're asked whether or not we sent that, this used to be, you know, some question as to what we did, we did. And the other thing is, is that some of you were able to attend, but I do have some information from Robert Brooks, who spoke at the Symposium on Addiction. I thought it was an excellent program. I'm glad that some people made it, approximately 80, 90 people there. We thought some of the things went well. We would have liked more people to have been there, but I understand that's Saturday, and sometimes it doesn't work, but it's an important activity, and it does continue our efforts to inform the community about these matters and keep them involved. You all know that the play was this past weekend, and many of you attended, and I know that you've all told me how wonderful it was, and I think that, you know, it's another It's an important accomplishment of our young people, so I think it's important that we recognize them at some point going forward.
[Roy Belson]: We can either waive the reading or the Secretary can read it or someone else can read it.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we'll call in our assistant superintendent. Dwayne Caldwell to deliver this report. Good evening.
[Roy Belson]: Members of the committee, we're in the middle of MCAS season. Park season is on the way. And there are a number of issues associated with it. Our director of curriculum, Bernadette Riccardelli, will be giving you this report and informing you how things are going.
[Roy Belson]: The Andrews opted to take it on the computer because they felt they had the capacity to do it. We allowed it because it would give us an opportunity to see how it would work. Paul DeLave is very good with computers and technology. We felt that it would give us a chance to explore the use of computers. I believe we mentioned it to you at one point.
[Roy Belson]: I think we voted in general to do that, and I think we did tell you that the answer was, but if we didn't, we can always vote.
[Roy Belson]: But I think it's a good idea to have at least one school try it so we can understand.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, this is the season where the Massachusetts School Building Authority asks us to submit a statement of interest if we're contemplating possibly submitting a project. And the project we're contemplating submitting deals with the vocational school. Our director of the vocational school, Dr. Heidi Riccio, is here, and I'm going to ask her to come up and talk about the SOI that we want to submit with your approval.
[Roy Belson]: So we're going to save the second part on the studio until the next report.
[Roy Belson]: So the way it works is, is that the statement of interest goes in state, you know, to this, to the state, they determine whether or not it's even eligible, whether they would be willing to entertain it. We then, if we get to the next round, we'll start to put some other plans together and little by little, it'll move forward. If we get invited to submit some design, then we have to go to the, to the City Council for money for design. And then if we get beyond design and they accept that, then we would go to construction documents.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, We've been working on this project for a little while now in conjunction with City Hall, Louise Miller, Scott Payette from the architectural firm, and Dr. Riccio and members of our media and technology staff to put together various aspects of this program. We're about to begin some early construction with abatement process during the school vacation, so that we can get things going. You see from the charts up there, we have a timeline that we hope to finish construction sometime by the end of the summer, and then begin the process of populating the place and getting things operational sometime in early October. So we're going to turn it over to Dr. Riccio again to tell you a little bit about how that's going to proceed, so that you get an idea of where we are with the multimedia, and with the Access Channel.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, I passed out this evening some additional documents. One is from the legal office of the MASS, along with the Detroit LLP, Leslie Carey being the particular writer. Another is a document that I gave you. two-sided, that update some of the substance abuse programs that we have put in place this year based on last year's budget, including the Michigan model, and other things, programs that are coming up, including mention of April 2nd's meeting on the addiction program that will be held in the Caron Theater. But we'll go into that a little bit. So there's additional programs. and things that I want you to pay attention to. There's also an item on the city council tomorrow night asking for some information on what we're doing and, with the mayor's permission, I might send some of this material along to them to keep them involved and perhaps invite them to the Angle's second presentation. Dr. Robert Brooks is there. Dr. Robert Brooks is perhaps one of the most eminent psychologists in the area. We're dealing with adolescents and children, and he was the director of McLean's, but he's also very well known for all his other work, including with substance abuse.
[Roy Belson]: We'll just put out more information.
[Roy Belson]: We'll put that up.
[Roy Belson]: Put that up. Now, on March 14, 2016, Governor Baker signed House 4056, which is entitled NAC, relative to substance use treatment education, and prevention. The legislation passed both House and Senate unanimously. The act is more popularly known as the Opium Bill. It's formally listed as Chapter 52 of the Acts of 2016, and with a few exceptions, it became effective immediately, and a preamble to it that makes it effective immediately. So I've attached the legislative bulletin that you would normally receive from MASC. You may already have it, but just in case you haven't seen it yet, it's attached as well from legal counsel Stephen J. Finnegan. It highlights the pertinent portions of the new law that impact the schools of the commonwealth. So I'm going to talk about some of the specific elements that affect public schools and provide you with a status update as to where we stand as a school district. Schools are required, to notify parents, guardians, and all attending students regarding our substance abuse policy. This policy must also be posted on our website. This policy must be filed with DESE. We will be posting our policy after tonight. And of course, we'll also hold a meeting to review it and see if we want to make any changes to it, or adjustments to it, or upgrade at any given point in time. But we'll use the current policy to at least meet that immediate requirement after this evening. And then when Destiny gives us some more guidance, we will follow up the policy to them. They have some of their own ideas, and I'm sure that we will try to incorporate them as well. It's in the handbooks, distributed to students and families. It's also contained within our online policy manual. And we'll highlight that policy to make it more prominent and visible to students and parents by putting some kind of thing on the front page so people will go to it without having to go into each school. Dessie, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, is instructed to provide guidance and recommendations to assist schools with the development of effective school policies and practices regarding substance abuse prevention and education. ESRI tells me that DESI will take five, six months to get there. Because that's typical, you know, as they convene meetings and so on and so forth. So we can generally expect a five to six month time frame for DESI to give us real guidance. They may give us some preliminary things, but real guidance will take a few months. And we'll continue to work cooperatively with DESI and DBH as we go forward. Currently, we have taken the following steps with DPH, and this is done through Tony Vento's office. Some of this you already know, but I'm going to repeat it so that everyone has a chance to hear it as well while we're listening at home. All nurses are now trained to administer Narcan. Narcan supplies are available at each of our schools. Training was provided by Armstrong Ambulance at no cost. Narcan was purchased through CVS at a reduced cost using grant funding from our Central School Health Services grant funding. It's a grant we get every year. Naturally, we track it in the budget. It's in there right now in the governor's budget, but we'll see what happens when it goes through the legislature. I would expect them to sustain that particular line item. We also got a grant from the Central Schools Health Services grant. of $9,700 for support student screening planning costs under HESPR. That's the screening tool where parents can opt out if they want. It's like a five to 10 minute screening and we would keep it confidential and we report to people who have need as to what they can do. High school nurses have been trained on this particular screening procedure to meet initial DBH requirements, working with grade nine students to start We expect to implement the training and screening during the 2016-2017 year at the high school as per DPH recommendations. Now, if you go into the actual state law, most schools don't have to do it in 2017, but we're ahead of the curve. We're going to start a little bit earlier. We're planning to train middle school nurses to meet the 2017 mandate for grade seven students. Additional training to elementary nurses is possible, depending upon DPH mandates and recommendations. We don't know what their, what their preference is at this time. At our professional day on March 1st, 2016, we provided motivational interviewing training to our nurses to get them to work with the students and others to get them to be forthcoming. And we'll continue to prioritize social and emotional learning as one of our key initiatives in the school district. We have to do this on an annual basis at two different grade levels by law. Parents can opt out in writing. All information obtained through the screening is confidential, except in case of medical emergencies. If something happens in a medical emergency, obviously you can't keep it confidential, you have to deal with it. We're well ahead of the act. As explained above, we're moving in the direction of the law. The implementation of screening is subject to state appropriation and will not be generally required until 2017, 2018, if it's funded. So again, unfunded mandates are often the case in the Commonwealth. If they don't fund it, it may not be required, but we will try to keep it in place, and like I said, we're ahead of the curve right now. There is a good Samaritan cause. Section 12FF that absolves any person who in good faith attempts to render emergency care by Narcan from liability except for gross negligence and or willful or wanton misconduct. So I've attached additional information for you. On Sunday, April 2nd, 2016, the Medford Public Schools, through the Bloomberg Center for Civic and Social Responsibility, will offer a workshop program on addiction, and Dr. Robert Brooks is the featured speaker. I have his resume and some information here for you. As you know, the Medford Public Schools has implemented the Michigan model curriculum. The program is a comprehensive approach to health, wellness, and good decision-making. We're giving great emphasis to social and emotional learning. We've added counseling assistance to our faculty, and we're close with many external agencies. So we're committed to working with the community to move this forward. I'll call your attention to some of the things that I brought to you tonight. This document is a memo from me, an update, and I just bring a couple of things to you. The Michigan model is piloted in all our elementary schools this year. There are 13 teachers who are piloting it at this point in time. They're also comparing it to second step and to see which things cross over. They'll evaluate each lesson and choose lessons that they think will be most effective with the students. Middle school and high school students are in full implementation of the MidMichigan model at this time. If only a Wahlberg Foundation opiate awareness video was added to the sophomore curriculum at the high school. Vaping, more dangerous than you think, or vaping, if you will. Video is added to the sophomore curriculum as well. Youngsters who inhale things. Presentations. End the stigma of addiction. Substance abuse prevention projects were unveiled at an event at Medford C Hall on February 3rd, 2016. Michael Sporker of the MHS team and MHS students of the Gay-Straight Alliance shared their stories of family and friends with addictions. There's an addiction symposium on the second, I've already referenced that. Grants, partnership for success grant for preparation, prevention of prescription drug misuse among youth was awarded to the city of Bedford. Penny Bonioli, Brooke Hoyt. Lisa Van Doyen, Rachel Perry, John Perot, and Heidi Riccio, Amelia Jensen, and Tony Vento are working on a plan to implement evidence-based prevention programs, policies, and practices to reduce prescription drug misuse amongst persons age 12 to 25 years old. So another initiative underway. The Safe and Supportive School Grant, we applied for this at the end of November 2015. It's yet to be awarded for all four elementary schools. We'll wait to hear what happens with that. We've got an MIA workshop, The Face of Addiction, The Opioid Crisis, The Journey from Painkillers to Addiction. It'll be led by health teacher Ellen Ridden, and it'll be done in May of 2016. There's another program called Heat Heroin Education Awareness Task Force Conference on Friday, June 17th, and we will have people from our staff attend that conference. So we're very active right now. There's a lot going on. This is something that we take very seriously, whether it's drugs, alcohol, whatever it is, we're taking it very, very seriously, and we believe we're ahead of the curve. I'm willing to answer any questions you may have.
[Roy Belson]: It will be on the website this week. It will also be out to the media this week. And we will also be sending things with the permission of the mayor to the council tomorrow night.
[Roy Belson]: Saturday the 2nd. We'll clean up. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: So it's probably more consistent than? It's consistent. Each school has a little bit different approach to delivering the health program. OK. But they schedule it generally once a week.
[Roy Belson]: We'll send it along. We didn't encode it with this.
[Roy Belson]: It's a little different to school to school. I mean, from high school to now.
[Roy Belson]: You can send it up.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, we're going to call on our assistant superintendent, Diane Caldwell, to deliver this report. It was partially put together by John McLaughlin, who's covering you on camera, so if you need John, he's on the other end. Okay?
[Roy Belson]: I just want to comment, if I can, that with the help of the DPW and the mayor's office, we had all the drains cleared going into every school. So it became a preventative kind of thing in case it was happening someplace or about to happen someplace else.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you, Madam Mayor and members of the committee. You have a paper in your folder about the field trip to Washington and the reimbursements. The checks are out there. And we'll find out if they didn't. But right now, Pat did a great job pulling it together, and we're sitting all to ensure that everyone got their check. And the total amount was $3,680.
[Roy Belson]: That's one. The second thing is, is that the day on the Hill is in 2016. There's now a paper in your folder. It's April 26. If you want to go, you've got to let us know so we can make arrangements for you to sign up, and I want you to go to the Day on the Hill as a registered member as opposed to somebody who just walks in and has to leave, okay? You did it yourself? You didn't ask permission? I'm just kidding. No, it's okay.
[Roy Belson]: On the day on the hill, basically it's a day for the school committee members to meet legislators, to talk about issues, and to perhaps share with other school committee members from other communities things that are of mutual concern. You know, Ann Marie is former president of NASC, Paul Wetzel has been a member of the executive board for a period of time, and they can certainly share ideas with you as to how to make that day effective if you want to come. Okay? So Then we've got something on the Mathematics middle school mathematics and pathways to high school mathematics on Thursday April 14th from 7 to 8 p.m. The science lecture hall we're inviting up Middle high school students up to see things and to talk about It's scheduled for the middle school. So middle school students can see our science labs and see what's going on. It's April 14th. It's listed here, it's 7 to 8 p.m.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so that's that. And you also have in your packet a copy of the latest teacher's contract that's been made, so in case you need a copy of that. We can't get these on the city side.
[Roy Belson]: Name was spelled incorrectly? It must be the Teachers Association did this. Blame the Teachers Association. Where's Shelby? All right, so we'll try and correct it.
[Roy Belson]: We have a meeting next week and the week after. So we have a number of things coming to you. And we'll be working on that over the next few days. So we've got a busy schedule over the next two weeks for the holiday break. And we're giving you stuff as well.
[Roy Belson]: So we'll schedule it whenever you schedule the last one. Whatever you want to schedule, we'll schedule it. I'll talk to you.
[Roy Belson]: So what you have is you have the minutes from the Committee of the Whole. Sometimes we read them, sometimes we don't. And hopefully you've had a chance to read through them. And we can waive the reading tonight. Or we can refer it to the discussion of school security when we get there.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we'll call upon our Director of Science, Rocco Sieri, and our Deputy Superintendent, Beverly Nelson, to give us information on the science fair and to talk about the winners and all the things that many of you witnessed when you went up to the science fair.
[Roy Belson]: Do you want to know anything about it?
[Roy Belson]: We don't know.
[Roy Belson]: We don't know. We don't have a, you know, we haven't scheduled a day off for it because we think it's usually very, very late.
[Roy Belson]: So we didn't want to just interrupt the flow of the days because that first day, Monday, is Labor Day. Then if you have the next Thursday off, you've got two days off in that week. So we're going to play it by ear, but I think it probably will be in session. But if you want more detail, we can go over it. Otherwise, if you're happy with it, we'll just look for your approval.
[Roy Belson]: We'll put it on our webpage right away, you know what I mean? And then we'll send stuff through the buildings.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we're going to ask our Director of Finance and Administration, Pat Feely, to bring you up to date on the new systems that we've implemented this year.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, I spent the better part of today at the Statehouse as they received testimony on the initiative petition and the version of the Statehouse bill with regard to charter schools. As you may or may not know, the state awarded new charters to Brockton and Springfield at its last meeting. And locally, the board approved an expansion of the Pioneer Charter School, as well as an expansion of seats at Mystic Valley. You have the technical information here, so I'm not going to go through every bit of it. There are a number of issues that are being raised at this point. Today was a very extensive hearing at the State House. As I indicated, I got there at 10 o'clock, it didn't leave until 4.30. So you get the idea of how many people were testifying at different points of the day, not only in charter schools, but common core and some other matters. Citizens Republic Schools released a report, I've attached that to this cover sheet that I wrote. on the wait list. Now, the wait list is projected by DESE to be 34,000 students, but when it's sanitized and worked on, CPS projects that it's more like 15,000 students or less. Part of that is because some of the students are in Horace Mann charter schools. Some of the students are at grade levels where they won't accept into the school, and some of them are simply the wait list. Like, for example, Mystic Valley has 3,600 kids on a wait list. That number is bogus. It's just a rolled over number. Instead of, you know, every year going through and seeing how many kids are actually interested, they just roll over the numbers. Now, there are schools that don't roll over the numbers. And, for example, Prospect Hill didn't roll over the numbers. So, you know, that's helpful. But I've given you a chart to give you an idea. We currently have 344 students at charter schools. The average cost is about $13,300. If the initiative petition were to go through, it could allow for 12 new charters a year. for over 9,500 students and well over $120 million new that would then have to be picked up either by the Commonwealth or the localities. As you know, the Commonwealth has historically underfunded the entitlement. So I suspect that at least some of that would come back to the communities. And Medford would be a community that might be hit by that since we're surrounded by some charter schools. So this is part of the discussion, you know, today that as to how to handle that. I don't think the state could actively vet 12 charter schools in any one year. But that's what's on the initiative petition and that's what is being discussed at the state house. The other thing would be is that there's also a capital fee that's paid by the state, another $100,000. There's other funding that moves with this as well. So what I'm providing to you right now is to give you an update as to what's happening in the charter school area. It's certainly going to be an ongoing discussion. There were people from all over testifying today. And it was obviously very interesting, pro and con. And so we need to see where that goes. Obviously, we're concerned that if in fact that were to pass, it wouldn't happen next year because you have a situation where the election would be in the fall and it would take another year for it to kick in. But since Mystic Valley has 400 additional seats, Malden and Everett have been capped. At least Malden has been capped because they've already reached a certain number. Medford could be a prime target for that. Pioneer is also in Everett, which could be a target. And we talked last week about, you know, possibly the closing of a parochial school, which could have some youngsters going to charter. So we track it very closely. We talk about it. You know, not to say that all charters are bad. Some charters are doing a really good job. But having said all that, you know, when it affects us economically, we have to pay attention to it, or potentially economically. Secondly, there are a whole series of other things that we're all interested in. Some of the testimony today was on a mental health bill at the Statehouse on education requiring social, emotional, mental health to be taught as part of the curriculum. There was another piece on having summer school or summer programs count for credit and being another learning experience, extending the learning time through the summer, more learning time. People testified on that. other discussions about other uses of money. So for example, one of the parts of my testimony was, is that if you're going to spend $120 million new, why not put it into things that we all know we should have? More early childhood, more on technology, more on learning time. et cetera, more social emotional health. So these are things that are going on, but it's an ongoing discussion and I want to keep you involved and aware as it's happening so that if you read it in the newspapers or you hear about it, you'll be informed and you'll be able to comment on it. So I'll continue to give you updates on this and there's plenty to read right now.
[Roy Belson]: The charter school amount is really, you know, a composite of what we pay. Um, the differences is the fact that, you know, at the elementary level, it's one thing at the, depending on the school they go to and so on and so forth.
[Roy Belson]: Did you accept the other?
[Roy Belson]: I think we all know the cost of going to college has skyrocketed, or has had youngsters in college in recent years. And college debt, which spins from the cost of going to college, has also dramatically increased. So helping families to prepare is a very critical step in promoting college attendance and completion because a lot of very worthy youngsters have to defer going to college or perhaps go to a school that's not their choice because of the cost. And that's a serious issue and looking forward. I have attached some statistics by which I think they're very, very revealing. And I want to pick a couple of them out to just simply amplify in this report. Realize that statistics tell us that only 40% of adults keep a budget and track their spending. In other words, saying some people just spend, or their paycheck comes in and goes out, and so on and so forth. They're not really sure why they're spending it. Approximately 75% of American families are currently living paycheck to paycheck, and 25% have no savings account at all. Collectively, American consumers owe $11.5 trillion to lenders and creditors, and this grows every year. In 2013, student loan debt grew by more than 11%. And only 50% of American families have more than three months worth of expenses saved. 50% have less than one month saved. And the average American family savings account balances $3,800. The average amount saved for retirement is $35,000. The average amount of household debt is $117,951. And the average amount of family home value It's about 160, but it's probably up a little bit higher in this area. People spend 12 to 18% more when using credit cards than when using cash. The percent of American workers who postpone the retirement age this year is 24%. You can't afford to retire. Only 18% of adults who are contemplating retirement feel they have enough to do so. 76% of college students have a credit card. And it goes on and on. I mean, I don't want to read them all for you. But it just gives you an idea that financial literacy is critical. And it's important that we do more with our community and we do more with our students in the area of financial literacy. I currently serve on the Treasurer's Economic Empowerment Trust Fund. And this is a major discussion that we're having right now. I'm part of a subcommittee with Senator Eldridge. and Representative Altrino from Malden, and Representative Ryan, and a few others, to look at all this and see if we can't come up with some suggestions to augment a report that was commissioned earlier in the year. On Tuesday, March 15th, at the McGlynn Middle School, starting at 7 p.m., the Bloomberg Center, the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility in the Guidance Department, will welcome State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, to the McGlynn Middle School, where she will discuss preparing for college, the proactive steps, and financial resources. And there'll be other speakers as well. I won't read them all. At this point in time, you can read them. And we'll be talking about what are some of the strategies you can get involved in in order to prepare for this kind of expense, because it's really out there. So we'll continue to provide you information on this. We're going to have some recommendations as we move forward, possibly with something that we'll incorporate in the curriculum as we move forward into the budget going forward to next year. And we think it's an important topic and we think it's a topic that affects families and young people. And it's critical that we help our young people and their families to get higher education but at a cost they can afford without the debt that will nag them for many years after they complete.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, I have distributed to you this evening a Fresh report. Apparently, when we were preparing the report, we put the old report on top of the materials. So I apologize for that. But you do have the new report. And I'm going to go over it in detail tonight. Take any questions you may have. But I think this reflects the consensus we've been talking about over the last couple of weeks, at least, as to where we want to go. And then certainly, we can discuss anything else you'd like to. So pursuant to our recent deliberations on school security, this report represents our unified position on these matters. While certain steps and information must remain confidential to ensure the effectiveness of our actions, this report contains the agreed upon protocols and practices that will guide our responses to the various threats to school security. So the following general principles will guide our policies and practice. One, All threats will be treated seriously. It goes without saying. We treat every threat seriously. We don't treat it as something that is not real. We treat it seriously until we know differently. Two, each threat is unique and must be handled in accordance with the specifics of the situation and the realities of the impacted facility. So again, threat can come in different ways. It can have different variables in it. And it can affect a different facility which has different considerations that we must bring to bear. No two facilities are exactly the same. And no two threats automatically are exactly the same. Each school has a multi-hazard response plan. So every school has a plan. They don't advertise it. because obviously that would reveal certain confidential information. Each school has a building level emergency response team with the principals involved. All school personnel and students will continue to participate in regularly scheduled drills. We have regularly scheduled drills at each of the schools and we also have drills with the fire department. All threat assessments and response interventions will be coordinated with local law enforcement and fire safety. We don't act alone. When something happens, we're talking to the police. We're talking to the fire department. We may be talking to the state. We may be talking to the FBI, Homeland Security. We're talking to whomever we believe is necessary to be interacting with us. But in particular, our own police department and our own fire safety operations are always involved. Protocols will adhere to the guidelines of the Massachusetts State Police. the Massachusetts Department of Fire Safety, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. I've attached that to the report that had the wrong cover on it, but you can see it there. And we've passed that out before. Each threat will be assessed by a combined police, fire, and school assessment team. Additional police and fire personnel will be summoned as necessary and consistent with the findings of the threat assessment. It's not necessary to call out every fire truck and every squad car in the area when we believe it's a low-level threat. But if necessary, we'll interact and we'll call out whatever we think is necessary and summon them to the area. Regional assistance, like the STARS program, will be activated as necessary, determined by the Threat Assessment Team. So our police department can activate STARS with us, The fire department can activate mutual aid. All these things are possible, but we don't just do them, we do them in sequence as we determine the threat, as we determine what needs to be done, and what is the best response for us. The school environment will be sealed off from non-public safety personnel until the situation is stabilized. We cannot allow people to come up to the facility or enter the facility until we know that we're stable and everything is in place. Can't manage the students, the faculty, the staff, and itinerant people coming and going. If a situation is in place, we'll seal it off and we'll act accordingly. Evacuation protocols, when necessary, will be used away from the identified hazard. People ask me all the time, What door are you going to evacuate from? Well, it depends where the hazard is. If the hazard is on the west courtyard at the high school, then we're not going out the west courtyard. If it's on the vocational side, we're not going out the vocational side. If it's in the front door, we're not going out the front door. We will use the appropriate evacuation routes or evacuations in place within the buildings based on where the hazard exists or where we believe the hazard exists. We will move away from the identified hazard. The Medford School Committee will be notified of the threat as soon as possible by the administration. Updates on the status will be provided in a timely manner. We'll let you know as soon as we know what's going on, and we'll provide you updates in a timely manner. Faculty and staff after threat assessment will be notified, and students will be informed of the action plan, whether it is the shelter, lockdown, evacuate, as soon as it is feasible. As soon as we know enough to tell people so we know what we're asking them to do and we can do it with confidence so we don't get people saying, well, I'm not sure of this, I'm not sure of that. We need to be sure of what we're going to do in order to engage the students and have them respond appropriately. Individual communication devices will be discouraged. We don't want people going to their own cell phones or other devices to call or make calls at the point of impact. Because if they do that, they may have misinformation. They may be telling people things that, you know, that are not appropriate, or perhaps creating other concerns. People may be listening in, and it may be the person who, or persons who are actually causing the hazard. Parents will be notified of the situation after the situation is stabilized or the evacuation protocol is implemented. When the situation is stabilized or we're evacuating, we will tell people, we will tell parents what we're doing. A reunification site will be established for parents who desire to dismiss their child. No non-public safety personnel can enter the building or premises until stabilization is achieved. Students may only be released to a parent or a guardian, and the reunification site will be determined based upon the identification of a safe area. Now, it could be an area in the building. It could be an area outside the building. It could be to an area off campus. It could be in a bus. It could be any number of things, depending on what we believe is a safe area and where we can coordinate reunification by parents, guardians, and students that they wish to withdraw. Administration will coordinate the dismissal of students by meeting with parents at the established site. So administrators will go out, meet with people, determine who is going to be dismissed, who is going to be let go at that point in time, and then they will be brought to the site as opposed to just having them walk out to the site. We'll provide a follow-up message to parents, students, and the community within a day. It takes a little bit of time to figure out what's going on, but certainly by the next day we should have a full-blown letter, if not sooner, if we can determine that, and we'll let people know. Remember, we're going to notify people of a situation once it's stabilized, but I don't want to tell you that I can tell everybody everything until I know myself, until the people involved know. As a result of inquiries regarding our protocols for shelter in place, stay in place, I put a description in the previous packet that was given to you that was produced by the high school, which explains that procedure and how that works. The following additional information is provided in response to inquiries that were made in public settings. The high school personnel who made the sweep of the bomb threat included the following. Headmaster John Perrella, the Assistant Principals David Blouk, Nick Tucci, and Gail Traynor, the Vocational Director Heidi Riccio, the Vocational Assistant Director Jill Sawyer, Medford Police Officer Jim Ricciardi, High School Security William Mazaker, High School Security Janet Connors, the Athletic Director of Community Schools Director Robert Maloney, and two building monitors, Dennis Robinson and Joseph DePace. Each of these individuals has a designated search route. We have it planned out where people look at designated places. I'm not going to reveal what those places are. They look for packages, backpacks, unusual objects in hallways, cafeterias, gyms, bathrooms, trash bins, storage areas. Exterior areas are also checked. These individuals practice these procedures several times a year. I was asked, do they have any experience doing it? Yes. The search was directed by the headmaster and the police resource officer. Had it been a bigger threat, we would have brought in additional police personnel or fire safety personnel to assist with that. Each week, administrators meet in community-based justice sections, CBJ, to evaluate information and discuss possible threats to the school. The frequency of bomb threats in our area was discussed well in advance of the actual incident at Medford High School. There were over 145 threats of a similar nature in this area during a six-week period. Subsequent to the sweep, each person is called into the office by walkie-talkie. A debriefing was then held based on the findings, and this is a standard procedure. What happened? What do you see? What didn't you see? Is there anything that concerns you? and what should we do about it if we think there's some concern. We have a very good camera coverage at Medford High School and Medford Vocational Technical High School. This year we have spent $55,000 new on camera repairs and replacement. Our contractors are American Alarm, and we've upgraded certain cameras to provide wider coverage and a sharper image over the last week and a half. We will be installing a revamp buzzer system at the front door of Medford High School. The purchase order is out there. We expect it to be in place within a week. Pat Vealy worked with us on this today with City Hall and with the people involved. It will be a situation where the person monitoring the front door can actually see who's out front and can determine whether to let that person in or not. That will work in conjunction with the Raptor system and also be similar to what exists in the outside buildings. All doors will be locked during the school day and monitored by personnel moving through the building. Now, it's imperfect. If somebody lets somebody in, it's pretty hard. So you have to know not to let people in if you don't know who they are. And that's something that every member of staff and student has to internalize. send people to the front of the building. So for example, this Wednesday, there is a group coming to the vocational school for the community that cares project. They're going to work on the bids and the like. They'll all be checked in. When we had the chamber luncheon, people were checked in. People who are regulars will have badges. They don't need to check in because they'll have the badges. We know who they are. So everybody needs to be checked in. Cannot let people in through doors. And that's really human. There's no system out there where you have as many doors as we have at Medford High School. All guests in the building will be checked and IDs issued. Regular personnel will be expected to wear their IDs. So key personnel continue to meet and review protocols and practices in light of the most recent wave of threats to schools. There have been several regional meetings regarding best practices, several of our people have gone. You heard last week Officer Ricciardi tell you he'd just gone to another event. We'll continue to participate in these sessions and stay informed of threat patterns affecting area schools and other institutions. So that's our report of where we are, what happened, and I'd be happy to take any questions you have.
[Roy Belson]: Designated safety?
[Roy Belson]: Well, remember, I don't know where the police send somebody up in the fight.
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. I can do that.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: It's probably at the DA's office, but I will ask.
[Roy Belson]: Um, let me say thank you to you. We've had a very good dialogue and you've given some good input. It's helped to formulate what you would like to see. Um, every community has to go through this. No community is immune. And so I think we've had good discussions. Um, if you read through the minutes of the, uh, committee of the whole, I think it was a good meeting. It was a substantial meeting. I watched the tape a couple of times, you know, to see it all, to see the different give and take, so I could capture what I thought people wanted to see, as opposed to just simply trying to remember it on notes. And I think it was a good give and take, and I think our previous meeting on the subject also helped to shape this. This is an ongoing responsibility to all of us. And the people who think that, you know, you can just simply wave a wand and wave threats away, they don't understand. Every community has issues that they have to continuously pay attention to. And we're no different. But we will. We have good people in place. We have excellent cooperation from the police and fire department. We have excellent regional relationships. And we will work on tightening up the various human behaviors that can sometimes make us a little bit more vulnerable. So thank you. We have one thing we should do. One thing that's come up.
[Roy Belson]: I'll just change the location.
[Roy Belson]: Just got tabled.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. We have a couple of one thing is that there's some concern. Again, there's some concern.
[Roy Belson]: There is some interest on the 21st of people attending the Celtics through the activity that is Medford Community Night at the event. We have a scheduled meeting that night. Several of you have asked me if you'd like to go, so it's fine by me. But technically, you have to decide you want to postpone that meeting to another day. Is that your wish? If not, we're in session. I don't cancel your meetings.
[Roy Belson]: All right. So let me tell you a little bit about what I've got. On the 14th, I had told you that previously I was scheduling activities around the schools. I'll be down in Robertsville on the 14th in the evening. So the 14th does not work for me.
[Roy Belson]: So, you know, so there'll be people that, so I can't do it the 14th, I could do it the 28th.
[Roy Belson]: The only thing about March 28th, I just want to lay this stuff out for you, it's the day after Easter. So if we do that, If we do that, well, the Jewish boy has to tell you about this.
[Roy Belson]: OK.
[Roy Belson]: We just have to go to executive session for a brief bit of information that I want to provide to you that can't be done in open session.
[Roy Belson]: So as you know, the mayor appointed subcommittees at the last time and there's a curriculum subcommittee and this was reported to the subcommittee so that shortly in the future we'll have a curriculum subcommittee on the issue of the academics. The information, Administration met with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, got a lot more data. And as a result, we'll bring that to the subcommittee. And thirdly, Diane's here to talk about the letter. I don't know how that specifically was issued.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, we'll call upon our deputy superintendent to lead the discussion in this particular area. No? Who's going to do it?
[Roy Belson]: We're going to call upon our director of humanities to do it.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Belson, Madam Mayor and members of the committee. Unfortunately, the trip had to be canceled or We agree that it should be canceled because of the circumstances in the world at that particular time. We worry about security. We've had several other discussions about security and safety in recent times. Obviously, a decision was made at that time based on what we knew and what might be a threat, because there were threats on Washington at that time. When people signed up for the trip, and I have the material, and I believe it was put in your packet, information was part of the sign up. that talked about a cancel for any reason insurance program. And that program guaranteed 75% back. Getting a company to agree initially to pay it back, if you ever deal with an insurance company, you know that it isn't just a phone call. That we had to follow up, and we were able to get the 75% back, albeit. It took several phone calls and work on staff. Bernadette Rigodelli did a lot of work to follow up on that as well. At the time, we said we would try to convince the company that this was an unusual circumstance and that it should be 100% back because it wasn't something that was canceled because we just decided not to go. This was a world situation that came out of nowhere. And there was a lot of planning into it. We also discussed what else could we do going forward. And we referred that back to the trip planners, the people that had sponsored the activity, and said, we would work with you to come up possibly with an alternative activity that might provide some kind of experience for our young people who wanted to go on that trip. When Ms. Valdez contacted my office, She indicated to me that the refund was going to the wrong person. Now, we don't know who the wrong person is because the refund goes to the person whose name is on the form that the insurance company has. In this instance, it was someone who she disagreed with should be getting the return. It's necessary on our part and due diligence to make sure that she was entitled to the refund. We had to talk to the company. We just couldn't just simply say, okay, we'll give it to you because you say you're the person who's going to get the refund. It's not that simple. A lot of people will claim ownership of a refund, but it has to be done officially and professionally with an outside company because they're not writing a check to someone if they're not sure it's going to the right source. As far as I don't care about that right now, I would never say that. If you interpret it that way, I don't believe I said it, But if I did, I apologize for that, but quite frankly, I would never say that to anybody. Of course we care about people and getting their refunds back and getting their materials. Now the question then boils down to, there were 32 youngsters who lost approximately $230 each. If the committee wants to make whole, the committee just simply has to direct the administration to make it whole, or their portion thereof. But we don't make that decision for you. That's something you can request of us and approve for us. However, anytime something like this happens, you are setting a precedent. Because if you do it this time, it's conceivable that in the future you will be asked to do it again and again and again. You can vote that this is a one-time situation. You can take all kinds of options if you decide to do it. We've had two or three inquiries on this subject out of 32 people. I'm sure everybody would be interested in getting all of their money back if it were possible. But that's a decision that this body has to make and direct the administration as to whether you want to do that. And again, you may be setting a precedent, or if you want to frame it in such a way so that this is a one-time only situation, and the buyer beware in the future, that's possible too. So it's up to you. It's what you want to do. I certainly don't want to tell you what the right thing to do is because you may have some feeling that this was something that was an extraordinary event. You may have some feeling that because we canceled it, it was an extraordinary event. $200, $230 is not a small sum for some families. For other families, it's Maybe not as much. So it's a decision that we make together. And if you make a decision, we'll act on it.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so at this point in time, there is no specific that's in place. There have been some prior discussions about it, but most of our Washington types and the like have been busy. There's an election season underway, and some of the early phone calls have clearly not resulted in much activity yet. It may be that after tomorrow, the March 1 activity, the election, that some people will then have a little bit more time from the Massachusetts delegation, and maybe we'll be able to round up some kind of meeting that would go forward. At this point in time, there's nothing really new to report on that.
[Roy Belson]: And quite frankly, they stood their ground, because they have a plan, they have a policy, and they stood with it. And I imagine they might have had other requests from other places, and while we think we're the only trip that got canceled, there are probably a lot of trips that got canceled, and there are probably a lot of investment dollars that they may have had to make at this point in time. So their answer to us at this point is no.
[Roy Belson]: Well, another option could be that, you know, we see what the next month brings, and if we come up with something, we bring it back to you, and you tell us whether or not it's sufficient, or you feel it's something you want to support in lieu of returning pure dollars or doing nothing.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I think we can do that.
[Roy Belson]: We can certainly do that. But right now we haven't had any traction on additional dollars from the insurance company, nor have we had much movement on alternative activity.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I know that the advisors on the trip would very much like to do something, but again, you know, I'll re-approach them this week and ask them if they've got any ideas. We've talked to the young people and if they've got something they would like to do and we can help them facilitate it, but perhaps incorrectly, but I left it in their hands to, you know, decide whether there was an alternative they felt they wanted to do. And if not, maybe we would come up with something independent of them.
[Roy Belson]: You can have whatever subcommittee meeting you want, but I think maybe you might be better off initially allowing some of this to germinate outside so that when they come to you, there's actually concrete statements rather than just simply
[Roy Belson]: OK.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor, we'll provide the committee with a disc so you can play it over and over again.
[Roy Belson]: Bernie won. OK. See how he does tomorrow.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, the principal of the McGlynn Elementary is here and Diane Caldwell is here as well. Give us this report.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, as you know, tomorrow is a professional development day. There is no school for students at the schools tomorrow. So turn it over to our deputy and assistant superintendents to provide this report.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, the Parent Child Home Program has been with us for several years, but it's one of those programs that sometimes is not as well advertised or known among our early childhood initiatives. But it's a very important program. It's a program that sends home visitors, trained home visitors, into the homes of some of our least economically well-off individuals. And it works with parents and children, building opportunities for those parents to learn how to use materials, toys, to educate their children. We sometimes forget that when we have our own children, we're able to provide them with things and show them how to use educational materials or do an activity with them, that not all people have been trained to be parents. And not all people know how to use educational materials or how to actually grow a youngster and grow together. And this program is a very successful program. It is a nationally researched model, evidence-based. There was a program at the State House the other day, which I was fortunate to speak on a national level. Each family that's involved receives 92 hours of home visiting over a two-year period. And we have 28 families right now who are participating with us. And you have a lot of information. I'm not going to go over it right now, but I'll be happy to answer any questions that you have. I think it's a terrific program, people are really good and we've seen a lot of progress in youngsters who have come from this program moving along to the family network and then all the way up into the elementary schools and along the way. We sometimes take it for granted that when a youngster comes to us, they all have the same background, that's not true. Some youngsters come to us in kindergarten with 1,500 words, and some come to us with 500 words. And there's a real difference. And they don't know how to play, and they don't know how to use materials.
[Roy Belson]: We generally work with schools. We work with the transitional assistance bureaus. And we try to find people through our various voucher programs and the like to identify those people. But we're always looking for people. who want to participate. So if you've got some good people, we're interested. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Every year around the holidays, we conduct a drive. We took care of about 30 families with all kinds of materials and the like every year. And then the VOC does a food drive, and some of the other places do food drives, and the like. So it's always in season to find a way to help families. And I believe the schools do a pretty good job doing that, because they know the youngsters very well. And I'll tell you a story that goes back a long way. But there was a teacher who saw that a little girl in her classroom didn't have any gloves. So the little girl was very proud. She didn't want to just give her gloves. because I thought I was taking charity. So she planted some gloves in the closet. And when the kids were putting their clothes on, she says, whose gloves are these? And no one put their hands up. And a little girl who didn't have the gloves kind of looked at him and said, well, if no one wants them, maybe you could use them. And then she'll show you what our teachers do. It's really quite remarkable how they find ways to not embarrass a youngster, but at the same time, find ways to help them. And I know that there's a lot of private giving that goes on outside of our regular official channels. But this is a great program. It's a program that makes a difference. It also is a very important part of child abuse prevention. And there are several other programs like it, but this is a particular type of program. And you're going to see some things coming from the Children's Trust in the next little while as well that will reemphasize this area. as well. So I think it's a great program and it's important that you know about it. And if you know of families that are in need, we certainly are looking, uh, and we keep looking for money. There was a woman in the audience at the state house the other day who, uh, had just given $150,000 to the program. She heard about it. She came and she just, she and her husband wrote a check for $150,000. Incredible.
[Roy Belson]: So the pastor of St. Clements Elementary School has indicated that it's not sustainable going forward beyond this year. We have about 21 students there that would be there next year. We think they would be there if they were to continue. But class size there is very low. And while there are parents who would like to keep it open, I'm not sure it's economically sustainable. I'm not going to pass judgment on whether it is or it isn't or what's going to happen there. But it is important for us to anticipate the possibility of some of these youngsters wanting to come to our schools. We're going to outreach to them. Some of them may want to go to the other parochial schools that are in our area, some in Somerville, some here or in Arlington. But some of them may also want to go to charter schools. And while I'm not going to rail against charters in any way, shape, or form, I'm just going to say that if they go there, it costs us money. So I would just as soon like to be in a situation where we offer people a chance to view our schools, to see the Columbus in that area, and potentially come to our schools if that's a choice they would like to make. So I want you to be aware that we will outreach to St. Clement's and we will do our best to sensitively ask people if we can be of help.
[Roy Belson]: And we want to appreciate their wishes and their sensitivities. On the other hand, we also want to make sure that they know they have an option if they want it.
[Roy Belson]: Madam members of the committee, several of you were able to attend the Chamber of Commerce luncheon with the vocational school and the high school the other day. I think it was a very successful event, there were over 25 people from various businesses and entities in the city. In addition to many of our own staff, over 40 people, uh, the report is in front of you. I'm not going to read every word because I think, you know, uh, what was there, except to say that we think it's a win win situation, opportunity for us to showcase, uh, the kinds of programs and activities that we have and, and our, and make that strong offer that we want to partner more and more with, uh, the community, uh, to ensure that, uh, The community has access to our youngsters who are trained to do certain things, and our youngsters have access to jobs that might be within the community. I know in talking to several of the individuals who were there, they were very excited about it. It gave us an opportunity to showcase some things at the vocational school. It allowed us to talk a little bit about our program to work with youngsters who are disabled and who are looking for an opportunity to do. something, even if it's only part-time, to help them build their confidence as well. And I think it was a great meeting. It was a good time. I think those people that went there really got a kick out of the good food that was put out by the Culinary Arts Department. And I'd be happy to take any questions you have, rather than try to go through it. But several of you were there.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you very much. And if elected, I want to make mental training.
[Roy Belson]: So Pat really worked hard on this. Not everybody has this. It's not just a license to be a school business administrator. It's above and beyond. So we're very fortunate to have Pat doing a great job And I'm going to tell you just how well we're doing financially.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, so let me say that I was as surprised as anyone else to find this out today. This is totally unauthorized, and it's not something that I'm aware of or have been aware of. But what I'm learning is I'm learning that sometimes our coaches make deals through their booster clubs and through their own activities that sometimes give preferential treatment to certain vendors as part of their own fundraising. When someone uses our facilities, when someone uses our name, it needs to come through the appropriate channels of the public schools. Procurement regulations and the like mean that no one gets an advantage over anyone else when something like this is available. So there may be multiple groups that would like to utilize our facilities. In fact, just the other day, when I toured the facility, I mentioned to the mayor that we need to sit down and discuss how the facility could be used. by different groups that I was sure would be interested in using it. I knew that our softball team and our baseball team would be definitively interested, and they needed to be given preference. But I also knew there'd be other groups that would like to use it, and that we needed to set up a process, and we needed to set up a structure for fees and other considerations, maintenance and supervision, in order to go forward with that. So when I learned of this this afternoon, I was as angry as anybody, because I clearly felt that this was bypassing our normal, appropriate process. And so I spoke to the director of athletics, and I let him know that I'm going to be meeting with the coaches, and no one is going to make any deal over any facility, over any program, under our control, unless we have an appropriate structure and is an appropriate process of procurement. So, I agree with you, it shouldn't have happened. I've instructed Mr. Maloney to inform the individual has it up to take it down, and if it's not down, that individual will be barred by me from future activity. I'm very upset about it. I'm upset about it because we need to ensure that we have proper liability, We need to ensure that we have proper coverage. We need to make sure that the maintenance of that facility is well thought through, and that any revenue generated in that facility is properly placed and reutilized to maintain it and to further the programs that are under our direction. So I don't disagree, and I can assure you that we're going to go forward very quickly tomorrow to ensure that that's down. And the information is out there that an appropriate process will follow quickly. Remember, this thing's only been in place for a couple weeks. It's only been set up recently. And I only had a chance to tour it the other day to make sure that I understood what was up there as well. So I don't disagree. We'll handle it. And we will bring it back to you so we can have an appropriate discussion.
[Roy Belson]: So obviously, we need a discussion about the organization of community schools and athletics. there's pros and cons to what you're suggesting. And we'll have that discussion and we'll provide you with a full report. We were planning to have a meeting on this anyway, but you know, with a changeover and everything else like that, we haven't gotten to it. There've been other things that have taken our time, but we will have that meeting and we will move forward. And I want you to see it because I think it's massive. There are other things that are coming up. We have a discussion about the rink that's going to have to be discussed very soon because the, uh, Department of Conservation and Recreation wants to turn it over to the city and there's some implications for that. We've already do have it right now, but if we take full control, there's new expenses associated with that. Um, all these things need to come together as a full discussion. So, uh, it's timely, but I think we should reserve judgment as to the best organizational arrangement, but that's a discussion that we can have and you have the right to make a decision. So let's go over. And we'll move to set up something in the very near future that will allow us to have a productive and comprehensive discussion.
[Roy Belson]: I have no idea that they were doing that. So, you know.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, we have a number of organizations that support our athletic teams We certainly don't want to discourage them from supporting themselves these various booster clubs, support groups, and the like. But they can't be making arrangements using our name and our facilities because they think that they have a privilege for a role to play. And coaches cannot make decisions for the school system. And there are too many situations like this that I'm becoming aware of that I don't like. And so that's going to stop. And this just brings it to a head. And we'll deal with it, and we'll deal with it effectively. We had some discussions that were overreaching discussions about how we might be able to raise more money and do some things, but we left it strictly to the coaches and the athletic department to sort of pull it together. We never really finished off that discussion. So it's time. And we need to make it happen. And I don't want to ever be in a situation like this where I have to stand here and tell you I don't know. That's embarrassing to me. I don't like it. I was very upset this afternoon. In fact, I was yelling on the telephone, and that's not like me.
[Roy Belson]: Don't disagree.
[Roy Belson]: Who's at the kid's corner.
[Roy Belson]: Motion for approval.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor and members of the committee, Distributed to you this evening a report on the call that was received at Ventric High School this morning at about 9 o'clock. It was a robo call, an automated call. About eight other school districts in the area received the same call. Most of them stayed in place and didn't respond to it. We have had extensive discussions with state police, fire, and others about the appropriate responses to these matters. have given you the Massachusetts State Police bomb threat, if you will, a short guide as to how we handle these things. And on Thursday last, we actually had a workshop on it. We will be continuing to talk about these things because they could become more frequent. The one thing we can't let happen is we can't let people who are just mischievous just simply disrupt everyday school. And this will happen throughout the Commonwealth if we just simply need to react. On the other hand, it's critical that we evaluate every threat with great seriousness, and we do a thorough assessment. After we got the threat, we did a sweep of the building. We used other methodologies to book. We used our cameras and other things to see if anything unusual was around. And we determined that this was really not a high-level threat. It was a very low-level threat. And we put it out and moved on. Since that time, the headmaster has notified the faculty and students. Headmaster is sending out a robocall to parents this evening, which will tell them how it was handled and what was going on. So this seems to be the latest in the forms of school disruption that's taking place. We won't take anything seriously. If we think something is a little bit more involved, we will take it seriously and act appropriately. I don't want to discuss too much right now because I don't want to let anybody know all the trigger points that we would have. I have tentatively scheduled with your approval on February 10th a meeting with the police department and other school and community safety officials for the purposes of talking about school security and safety. That was the first night that everyone could agree on, which was February 10th. It's a Wednesday. Now we'll schedule other meetings as we go forward. It'll be a committee of the whole and topics like this will come up and we'll hear from the professionals as to why they feel one way or another when these things come in. So I'm happy to take any questions you may have. Otherwise, we'll continue to follow our protocols and continue to consult with police, fire, and other public safety officials.
[Roy Belson]: Do we have all this?
[Roy Belson]: We went over it the other day. As you remember, I told you we sent a group to a multi-hazard activity run by DESI maybe a couple weeks ago. They went over it again.
[Roy Belson]: I mean, basically, these things are not rocket science, what you do, but we have all these things. We'll show you some things, I need to be careful that are not up to the general public, because I don't want people gaming our protocols.
[Roy Belson]: Headmaster sent an auto call out, and sent one out this afternoon to- Just so parents are aware that this is happening.
[Roy Belson]: What we've said before, and I'll say it again, it's very important that we don't, like at 9 o'clock, get it over with and suck on our parents because we want people coming up. And that creates more confusion and more chaos. If we felt there was any kind of danger, we wouldn't wait to move parents into the place, we'd be moving the youngsters very quickly. But there's a need to maintain calm, there's a need to maintain composure, and for everyone to act professionally when these things happen. Otherwise, you create more problems than you solve. And then everyone starts to, you know, think, well, gee, we can disrupt the place. Years ago, pulling fire alarms was a sport in most high schools. You know, people would pull the fire alarms, and everyone would have to do it. Now, back then, they weren't the bomb threats, the shooter threats, and things that we have today. But the same principle applies. If we let people continuously disrupt our operations without good cause, without real understanding of what's taking place, then we just play into their hands.
[Roy Belson]: We'll discuss it at that time.
[Roy Belson]: I just don't want to put out major documents that other people can read into and perhaps even get published. And now we don't have the benefit of knowing what we do when people can get it.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, Richard Trotter is here. He's going to talk to you about the Center for Citizen and Social Responsibility, and funded by the Bloomberg Foundation, and some of the terrific stuff that's going on. So he's here to talk to you with some of the students and some of the other people that are involved.
[Roy Belson]: It was a shot.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, we're calling on our Deputy Superintendent to take you through the report on district and school 2015 accountability levels. It's a very complex area. A lot is changing and we want to make sure you're fully aware.
[Roy Belson]: So let me, let me just say this. This system is very, very involved. It was created as a compromise. to deal with the federal government that was trying to change its positions. And you notice a new act came through this past year, E-S-S-A, which changed the basis for the waiver system that the then Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, put in place, and the state got a waiver on it. And in order for the state to get the waiver the second time around, they had to make the system more rigorous and move away from what E-S-S-A says it's trying to do. So that begs a question to begin with. I would just suggest the following. First of all, let's not define ourselves by this particular system. We know there are good things happening. We know there are some things that need to be worked on. Most of our schools are doing just fine. If you look at some, as Beverly and Bernadette pointed out, some of the allegedly best high schools in the state, they're level two and our high school's level one. You know why? Because they haven't got less room to grow. their progress and their performance can only grow so high. So their progress is muted. Now, certain communities, which are way below us in terms of actual performance, became level two. Why? Because they can show progress from the depths up a little bit more, so they get more points. The system fights each other. There are two basic issues. The CPI, the cumulative performance index, which is based on so many points per scoring at each level. Advanced and Proficient getting 100, Needs Improvement getting either 75 or 50, depending on what level of Needs Improvement you are, and then less down below. Now, we do just fine on the CPI. And in fact, we're ahead of some communities that in fact got a better accountability rating. But they've got more room to grow in terms of progress from down here. The performance index deals primarily with growth. Now, if they're going to change the numbers of people in a group and try to compare them year to year, you would fail a statistics course at any local university. You just don't do that. So I brought it to the attention of the association. I'll continue to bring it to the attention. There'll be a robust discussion on the thing. The people who are representing the department, quite frankly, are really just messengers. They can only tell you so much. We really need to get into the people to design these things, and that's best done initially at the association level where we can get them there and really grill it and really talk about more than one district at a time. If you're talking about one district, some of you think you're whining. If you're talking about multiple districts, it looks like, what do you call it, you're saying, this is a problem. So if you take a look at a place like Waltham, a lot of characteristics of that, same thing, drop down. Reading, same thing, dropped down. A lot of places have similar kind of experiences. So I'm not going to define this school district by this particular rating. I'm pleased that the high school and the vocational are level one. I'm pleased that the other schools are holding their own for the purposes of explaining it. But we're not going to accept the fact that the system applied measures that don't ring true to any kind of statistical analysis that we're aware of. or they change the formula without giving proper notice to the districts of how the formula was going to change. So we'll get back into it. Just don't beat yourself up on it. Understand that it's a complex area. Understand that we're committed to doing well by all our students. Understand there's complexity in taking tests, complexity in all the changes that are going on. And we're going to work our way through it, just like we work our way through everything. And in a real short time, we'll be back to you. I'm sure we're going to have some very interesting findings, along with some other districts that have similar experience. But we want to tell you the truth. We're out here tonight talking, giving you the information, because I wouldn't want you to read it in some other place and say, why didn't you tell us? But I'm relatively confident that this stuff is going to get a real scrutinization before it's over. And you should be generally pleased that high school and vocational school score higher than Andover and some other places. Arlington, okay, some other places. Maybe not Arlington, I may mix up one, but you know, score higher than some of these places.
[Roy Belson]: And Waltham's a level three. It's a high school, too.
[Roy Belson]: It's Waltham, too.
[Roy Belson]: The system may work mechanically, but it begs a question as to what it really tells you about actualities. And so, you know, we're giving you the information. We'll continue to research what we're doing. We'll continue to talk to our colleagues and we'll continue to pursue the department as to how they do this, because it's not just for this year, it's going forward. If you're going to rate schools, If you're going to rate programs, you've got to have something that's transparent and understandable, and something that enables each district to work on whatever might be considered a deficit in a meaningful and progressive way, not to be surprised at how you came up. You know, sometimes when you watch certain figure skating things or you wonder how the judges came up with something, well, I think we're saying things, if you watch a basketball game or a hockey game, you know the sport at the end of the game. Enough of the sports analysis.
[Roy Belson]: So what I suggested to you was, is that in the near future, very near future, I'm actually going down to the school and run a little open forum with them. And we answer their questions, come down and talk about the good things going on at the Roberts and talk about the anomalies of the system.
[Roy Belson]: It should be noted that the state never meets its own targets. It sets targets. It's yet to meet its own targets in some of these special populations. So that's also troubling, too, to set targets that, as a state, we can't meet. and then to hold individual districts accountable for not meeting the same targets the state can't meet. There's a lot here. There's a lot here. But I mean, again, as I just want to emphasize, don't beat yourself up about it. This is informational. We'll need to talk about it. We need to get in behind it. We're going to be working with the state and others to try and make the system of accountability one that is truly transparent and truly rates a school system and a school on how it performs, not on some sort of magical statistical formula, which when you throw it all together, you come up with goulash.
[Roy Belson]: So again, I'm going to say this so that I'm very clear as to how I feel about it. We're doing an awful lot of good things at that school system that is questionable label to school. It doesn't mean, that teachers aren't teaching, and good things aren't happening, and that we won't work on doing better. But we don't need to flagellate ourselves. There's a lot here that needs to be looked into. The school has got a lot of ELL students who have to take a test with less than a year in the school. The school's got a lot of other challenges that maybe some of the other schools maybe don't have, and maybe we have to look at the shifts in population. The equity percentile eliminated almost 54% of the schools from being rated. And just simply moved them over to the side. Schools that did less well on the cumulative performance index than the Roberts. There's a lot here that needs to be looked into. We are certainly committed to doing a better job and working at it. But I want to say it clearly and unequivocably, you know, because I'm not afraid to say it. At this stage of my life, if I can't say it, I don't know when I will be able to say it. The school's a good school. It works hard. The teachers are good people. We'll continue to make progress at that school, but let's not beat ourselves up. We'll work at it. We'll do well. We'll find the issues we can do better on, but let's not beat ourselves up. This is a very unusual scoring system that the state can't even explain, never mind the people in the field.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, last Thursday, or Tuesday rather, January 26th, we had a terrific program on distracted driving. It's the fourth time we've had the program. The mayor was present, as was Catherine Fretz, and a whole pile of other people, and it was a terrific program because basically it's dealing with our young people's need to pay attention to the skills of staying alive, and the skills of being concerned for each other and not just simply taking care of their routine business while they're driving or doing other things. And it drives home a really critical point. I won't take the time to read the whole program, but just simply to say even a few moments of distraction can alter your life and the lives of others, people you care about in a permanent way. It's a terrific program. We're going to do more with it. We're going to put some things on the on our cable and on our web page, and we're going to keep driving it on to our kids, because there are too many examples out there of young people and older people, parents and others, who we always say, don't let your kid drive drunk, but don't let your kid drive distracted either, because either way, you can hurt somebody, including yourself.
[Roy Belson]: Can you keep it on yours? Absolutely. One more comment. Just going back to Bloomberg report tonight, this report tonight, and our most recent discussion about accountability. good school, a good school system, a good educational program is better known by more than test scores. There's a lot of good things these kids do. You saw last week the vocational stuff coming out. You'll see more coming out. Let's not just simply classify ourselves on a test score. Let's understand the comprehensive nature of what we do, and let's lead that charge into the Commonwealth rather than simply be defined by some very narrow parameter.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, Governor Charles Baker issued his proposed budget on January 27. Proposed budget is a $39.1 billion document. that make some new investments in targeted areas such as unrestricted local aid, child welfare, and substance abuse prevention. Major areas of the government see limited increases, and many accounts are level funded. There are no new taxes, but there is a plan for corporate tax relief over four years. The proposed budget holds new spending through a 3.5% increase, although revenue is projected to increase 4.3% next year. The administration hopes to close the $635 million gap that they say currently exists and to rein in the costs of mass health. It should be remembered that this is only the beginning of the state budget process. The House and the Senate will weigh in with their own versions. Oftentimes, the word is that the governor's budget is dead on arrival. But to be a little bit more respectful, I think the House and the Senate will obviously have their own versions. that will then go to conference committee when they finish that, to iron out their differences. It will then go back to the governor, who could then veto some of the legislative actions. It will then go back to the legislature for a veto review, which could often lead to overrides of the governor's vetoes. The whole process usually doesn't complete until late June. However, we should get a pretty good idea on how it will play out after the Senate and the House do their initial work. The following is a preliminary view of the proposed budget and how the governor's budget might impact Medford. And the reason I talk about the governor's budget impacting Medford, because now we'll begin the lobbying process with our own legislators to improve things we don't see in this governor's budget. The cherry sheets are attached to this report for your review. They're called cherry sheets because at one time they were printed on cherry colored paper. It's not because- And it stuck.
[Roy Belson]: And it stuck, okay? Number one, unrestricted local aid is increased to measure by $480,827. This is municipal aid money. It's more than usual in recent times. It's a good hit. The city can use it. At one time, there were two categories of general aid and additional aid. That was collapsed several years ago into general unrestricted aid, and now there's one category for that. Number two, Chapter 70 general education aid is up $96,340, higher than last year, and is equivalent to approximately $20 per pupil. Last year, we got $25. The distribution is lower than last year based upon the change in state weighted calculations and a $5 per people lower than the minimum aid of FY 2016. Medford is a hold harmless district. Hold harmless means that we won't get lowered and we won't get raised, except for the minimum aid hit. Because of the numbers and because of the economics of the Chapter 70 formula, which places Medford between the wealthy communities and the less wealthy communities. At one time, we received as much as 37% of our school budget from the state. Today, we're lucky to see 19% from the state, at least in the general distribution, maybe even less. And it won't move until these things actually take place. So that's what hold harmless means. No new provisions are made to address the recommendations of the recent Foundation Review Committee. You may remember that some of you were involved with that. And there was an $800 million initial recommendation to add, but that money's nowhere to be found. It's certainly not in the governor's budget, and there's no reference to that at this time. That would have raised the foundation level. However, I'm concerned that it may have raised the foundation level and given Medford no new money. I think we talked about 151 communities might not benefit from it at all, even if the 800 million were there. The quality kindergarten budget, one which you have an interest in, and I provided you that report in the back of your folder tonight if you go to it, was level funding. But the distribution rules are changing. It's likely the governor's plan, if the governor's plan is sustained, that we will get approximately $109,580 in FY17, rather than $143,362 in FY16. Now, the House last year eliminated it. The Senate put it back in. The Governor apparently decided that it was worth something. I don't know how that's going to play out. We'll have to see where that goes, but you'll have an analysis in the back of your folders tonight about how it plays out on the kindergarten side. Non-resident transportation is another fund. That's the money that we get for buses that go to Minneapolis. That will offset Minuteman's bus as it has this year at about 50% of the cost. Bus costs about $65,000, okay? Homeless transportation is level funded when we pay a portion of the anticipated liability. And it always depends on how many are homeless across the state and for men. The more homeless, the bigger the bill. The more transportation, the bigger the bill. The more across the state, the less distribution, because there's only a limited amount of money, so the percentage distributed comes down. But it's only projected about half of the anticipated liability. Charter school funding is a real sleight of hand proposal. This year, the line item was $54 million below the formula for reimbursement. $54 million below the formula for reimbursement. The governor proposed increasing that line item by $20.5 million, which doesn't close the gap. makes it sound as if it's, you know, it's a real good ad. He also wants to change the distribution formula from the current six-year plan to a modified three-year plan, with some communities only getting the first year of the three-year plan, and 100% for the first year. That would be Medford. We would lose substantial money. Depending on your communities, charter enrollment, and economic disadvantage, which we're not economically disadvantaged in terms of the state. This proposed method would cost Medford reimbursement funding over the next few years, and obviously we should strongly oppose it. We're having discussions in the Senate where the opposition seems to be stronger. The House seems to be in favor of some form of charter lift, but I need to find out what specifically they're going to go for. As you know, there's a petition out there that will be in the election next year if this legislation doesn't pass. In the current tense, the projected net charter cost increase over last year could be as much as $547,611. Furthermore, DESE may allow Mystic Valley to grow its enrollment by 400 students, probably not all in one year, and this could obviously affect us. Now, the reason for that is DESE restricted Mystic Valley because it wasn't taking in ELL students or a sufficiently diverse population and its governance structure was considered to be less than favorable. For some reason, the commissioner is saying, well, they've made progress. My read of their version of progress isn't very high. But if they're allowed to take more students, that could impact us. And that means the numbers go up. And that means there's less reimbursement. And that means it takes dollars away from the locality. This is a major fight that has to happen on the Hill. Special education circuit breaker funding is level funding. These cost factors for extraordinary placement and spend inevitably go up. It's probably $11 to $12 million lower than what the Circuit Breaker Coalition, of which I serve on, anticipates the next year. These are the costs of private day placements and residential placements. Now, it's a mixed bag. Obviously, we want the money for this, but I'm also very concerned that In some of these places, the private schools are just simply trying to raise their tuition costs or adding to it. So we need to have a bigger discussion about that. Plus the fact transportation in schools is not funded. And we think that sometimes can be as expensive as the other. The Department of Public Health School Health Services grant is also level funding. And we can expect a small reduction in that distribution if the governor's budget were sustained. That pays for school nurse and a few other school related activities. School choice costs in FY17 are projected at 62,000 versus 16,712 in FY16. That number could change three or four times. So I'm not so sure how that's going to play out. Those are just estimates based on what they think might move. So it's not something to be ignored, but I don't think it may hold because every year it's a little different. The early education and care department funds some of our early childhood operations. There are several programs involved. The governors consolidate some of the funding streams, so it's unclear which programs will benefit and which ones will be cut. This needs to be fleshed out over the next deliberative period. The Children's Trust Fund, which funds a good part of the family network, a major contributor to our family, is level funding. They're trying to do more, and hopefully They get more because they're a very good program, but if they get level funding and more and more programs come in, then they cut back what they can give to any one program. Overall, the cherry sheet proposed by the governor assigns 814,088 in new receipts to Medford and 869,051 in new charges. It's a negative of 54,963. So you can see that state aid to Medford is very flat, very flat. The above is a very preliminary snapshot, which we'll continue to analyze and refine. We'll also strongly lobby the state house delegation for adjustments that are more supportive of our needs and objectives. Cherry sheets are attached.
[Roy Belson]: There is a program called school choice. that enables a youngster to go from Medford or from, well, we don't participate in it, go from Medford to another community for a fixed amount of money if they wanna go there, if that school system, let's say, wants to participate. There are some schools out there that take youngsters in on school choice because it fills empty seats and they get five, $6,000, depending on whether special needs or not, and it gives them a certain amount of money. It's a very low amount of money. And if a youngster has certain needs and the like, it could very well be losing financial proposition. However, they're projecting that there's probably 10 to 12 youngsters from Medford who might fit into that category going elsewhere next year. Okay? Thanks.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, Minuteman's another example of something that we've worked with for a number of years. And we've put a lot of money into Minuteman. And to some degree, part of it was because our vocational school wasn't everything it needed to be. But our vocational school is rising and done very, very well. We've got a lot of other options in our collaborations with Cambridge and Somerville and Waltham that enable us to do some things that will help us keep our students home and keep our dollars home. Minuteman Regional Technical High School currently serves 673 students from many different communities. There are 16 member towns who enroll 396 students, and 277 students come from non-member towns, like Medford. When Minuteman was originally built in Lexington in 1975, it projected serving almost 1,000 students. The history of Minuteman enrollments tells us it was a very unrealistic projection. Ron Fitzgerald, who at one time was the superintendent of Minuteman, told Commissioner Dave Driscoll at the time that he would always need at least 100 students from outside the district each year, each freshman class, to reach that goal. And even with that, he didn't reach the goal. The following is the current enrollment from member towns. You can see that, I'm not going to read it for you, but you can see some of the towns are very small, like Wayland 2 and West End 5 and so on and so forth. And the big ones are Arlington, Lexington, Lancaster, Belmont to some degree, okay, Acton. But they're made up of 16 towns and not many of them, you know, send a lot of Doversons to. Seven of the member towns are actively considering withdrawal from the regional district under a one-time option. Normally, withdrawal would require a unanimous vote of all members. The seven communities would decrease current enrollment by 57 students. They include Boxboro, Carlisle, Dover, Lincoln, Sudbury, Wayland, and Weston. Those are the ones who are actively voting. Minuteman realized that it couldn't get 16 communities to vote for a revised regional agreement and for a new school. So as a result, the school committee came up with a plan to allow communities to leave on a one-time option if they would approve the revised regional agreement. This is what you've got here. Seven communities can only leave if they approve the new regional agreement, which would diminish their voting capacity if they were to stay. So if they stay, communities that send fewer kids would have almost proportionate voting, less power. So instead of having a 1-0 vote, they might have a 0.5 vote. OK, compared to communities that send a lot more. The Minuteman School Committee devised this one, too, because with seven communities in opposition, there would be no constructive way to gain sufficient town meeting support across the region. Seven projected leaving districts recognized they stay there for a pupil cost would be extraordinary for a limited number of students. And the new building was constructive. And the projected capital debt was apportioned. For example, Weston would pay approximately $49,000 per student. Good Harvard for that. Plus a special needs cost assessment. Minuteman is the most expensive vocational school in the state, with the exception of the agricultural schools. And that's an under the instance. Some of the agricultural schools are pretty good. As previously stated, non-member cities and towns currently provide 277 students as follows. Boston since 25, Medford since 34, Waltham 44, Watertown 66, and others about 109. Next year, Medford will have 17 seniors graduating this year, and we'll have 17 students remaining there, and they can't take ninth graders. The current base tuition for our district students is $17,005, plus $4,500 in special needs services required. The rate is set by the commissioner, and that rate's coming down based on agreement. Minute Man has the MSBA tentative go-ahead to build a new school in Lincoln for 628 students. I have no idea how they're going to get 628 students there. The towns that remain in the district must approve bonding for $144.9 million plus interest on a 30-year period, meaning $300 million. State funding is projected to be $45,206,061 for the proposed 257,745 square foot school. Okay? Now, that 45,000 belies the reimbursement rate that's being advertised at 42, 43, 44%, because it's really only 32% of the actual cost, because not all costs that Minuteman is proposing are eligible for reimbursement. It'll come out in the town meetings. If the project goes forward, the school is expected to be open for the fall of 2019. Most estimates are 2020. take a little bit longer. There are many non-financial contingencies to be worked out before construction can take place on the Lincoln site. For example, wetlands, EPA. Secondly, Lincoln is asking for mitigation for the use of their land, police and fire and other considerations yet to be decided by the Minuteman School Committee and others. So we're not clear as to how that's going to play out and how that might delay or not delay what's going on. So let's look at the Medford impact. Currently, we have 34 students at Minutemen. This year, 17 seniors will graduate, and no ninth graders can go there under the new state regulations. Also, the expansion and development of our vocational program will keep future students home. Three years ago, we had 50 students at Minutemen. We also had cooperative agreements with neighboring districts in Cambridge, Somerville, Waltham, and Boston through our Solve Collaborative. The reduction of our enrollment at Minutemen will enable us to save significant funding, which can be reinvested in our own school system. in our own vocational school or other concerns that you would find to be priority. The collaboration between the high school and the vocational school is also a major achievement, since it will enhance college prospects for our vocational students and provide occupational skill training options for high school students at a reasonable cost. So this is what's going on right now. Town meeting should take place somewhere before March 1st. We'll begin to see what takes place and what moves forward, but it's clear that we are moving away from Minuteman. Minuteman has to solve its own issues. Right now, financial, building, all those kinds of things, and there's a lot of disagreement among the towns. That doesn't mean they won't build a school. It just simply means I don't know how they're going to get 628 students when the Metro Vocational School and Waltham and other places are building and expanding their own programs so that, Somerville, so that The kids are going to stay home. Happy to take any questions.
[Roy Belson]: It's tricky because obviously there are different factions in Lincoln. But Minuteman owns land in Lincoln. So even if it doesn't participate, Minuteman owns the land. But to build on it, would require permits from the town, obviously, and that would require mitigation as they're talking about sewage, they're talking about all the kinds of things that water, all the kinds of things that would be fire, police, it would be typical.
[Roy Belson]: It's varied over the years. Okay. At this particular point in time, the only programs they think they can still go there for is horticulture.
[Roy Belson]: They could go to Essex agricultural, but we would like to hope that, you know, since horticulture isn't really a field in which there's a growing market demand, we'd like to argue that why would you put a kid in a field that the market demand is actually coming the other way? There may be other areas that a student can go into that would suffice or at least meet their interest. But why would you go into horticulture in a world that is not funding that? Maybe environmental science would be a better choice.
[Roy Belson]: At this point, that discussion is something that isn't in play because the school hasn't been built. And the state has indicated that if we were, in their opinion, if we did have to pay a capital assessment, it certainly wouldn't be at the level that they're asking their member towns to pay. It'd be only for those facilities which are actually impacting the kid. Now, we have argued, and we simply have some pretty good legal backing for this with attorneys that we've discussed this with, that this is an unfunded mandate. The commissioner exceeded his authority in putting that in regulation. The board exceeded their authority with sending it off to the state auditor and then off to the legislature, the courts rather if necessary. So that would be something.
[Roy Belson]: Most of the vocational schools are pretty full. There is a movement on the part of the governor to expand vocational education across the commonwealth. There is a $75 million bond that he's putting out there for vocational school development. We will be applying for some of that money. In fact, the proposal is in. We'll talk about that at another time. It's in the area of culinary and hospitality. And it's a very substantial thing in conjunction with WIN. Okay, but we'll go into that at another point. We also have our new media world that's being built and developed and again to be talked about at another time. But the reality is is that we are very well positioned to block any programs that Minuteman would have put up and say we'll take Medford kids with. Not that, you know, at one time, I'm going to say this very honestly, at one time, it probably was a case for some kids to go to Minuteman because if you wanted to go to college and you wanted to take some of the more advanced courses, maybe you couldn't get them through the traditional vote that we were running, okay? And some people took advantage of that. So let's accept the fact that, you know, we weren't doing everything we could do to perfect that, although we did do some things that, you know, that would improve our program and attract kids to keep them home. But that's gone. That's gone. And for us to pay the extraordinary cost that's Minuteman, and to travel our kids to Lexington or Lincoln, whenever it's going to be, doesn't make any sense. We need to build up our own programs, do what we have to do. Minuteman's a level two school, by the way. Medford Vocational is a level one school. Not that, again, I'll go back to the issue. Don't hang too much on those issues. But, but, but, when it works to our advantage, But I mean, but the reality is, is that we've made significant movement. And let's make that movement work for us so that we can invest in our own kids, in our own place at a better amount, fund other programs that you're interested in, and make sure that we develop our school system, our community, with the neighbors around us who want to work with us and collaborate with us, rather than somebody who just simply needs us as a cash cow.
[Roy Belson]: One of the things you need to remember is, is that it was never supposed to be that ninth graders would go. Commissioner Driscoll at the time, was lobbied by certain members of the state board to make an exception because Minuteman was struggling. And the idea was, well, you send a few kids over there. Send a few kids over there. The few kids became a lot of kids. And they went out of whack. So the argument was put it back. We had testified at the board. We were there with others, Austin and others, and made our points, and we carried the day on that.
[Roy Belson]: I was certainly part of it, certainly part of it. I've been selling bureaus lately.
[Roy Belson]: You're asking Roy.
[Roy Belson]: You probably got something in front of it. It's OK.
[Roy Belson]: Just don't put your finger in front of the... Back up.
[Roy Belson]: Susan! Why don't you come up with the trophy? While we're under community participation, we'd like to invite Jen DeSales to come up and say a few words about the Medford Children's Art Showcase.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, project 351 is a project that was originally started by Governor Patrick. It's been continued by Governor Baker. It's an outstanding project. It takes place, it begins on Martin Luther King Day. It's a project which brings 351 students from across the Commonwealth, from all the cities and towns, together to celebrate the idea of community service and to perpetuate the ideals of Martin Luther King. It goes on all year. And tonight, our principal, Paul DeLaver, is here with the representative from the city of Medford, Joelle Brown, and her family. And he's going to come up and tell you a little bit more about the program and about the participation of Joelle. And she'll tell you a little bit about what her first day was like.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor and members of the committee, I also attach to this a press release on the Martin Luther King Day activity at the community center in which several of our students participated. This is informational for you. We'll schedule another time for them to come down and be recognized for their work as well. But this evening, it was not appropriate for them to come down at this time, not possible.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor, members of the committee, I'm going to call on our assistant superintendent, Diane Caldwell, to tell you about this program, which we're doing with the state.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent. So I want to point this out because I think Paulette hit it from the head. We were doing this for years. And this was part of what we call developmentally appropriate learning at the early grades. And the standards curriculum came in and it pushed academic learning down. We've had this discussion with the kindergarten teachers. We actually had a meeting last year where we were talking about what kindergarten teachers need to do in the assessment of students and the like. And we made the commitment to look more developmentally appropriate. This is what you do at Elliott Pearson. This is what you do at some of these places. So we're trying to get kindergarten one, two, to look more developmentally appropriate and to be more developmentally appropriate. You may have seen that Mayor Walsh in Boston advocated for an expanded early childhood program recently. The governor is still not committal at this particular point. But this is a very powerful strand of advocacy that's going on in the state. The problem is the money's not behind him, yet. So there's a lot going on with early childhood, trying to get it back to what early childhood is really supposed to be about, which is helping youngsters do things tactile, to play, to learn through play, integrate learning, and not get siloed into academic areas. This is something that you're going to see more of, because I think people are catching on again. They're starting to, if you will, rebel against the academic infusion that goes down too low. Because as youngsters develop, this is how they learn. And then they're ready to do academics. You can't rush the learning. Some people think you can speed it up. You can't. If you do, you miss steps. So it's really important for us to understand how significant this is.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, Our Director of Vocational Education, Heidi Riccio, is here. Dr. Heidi Riccio is here. Give her credit. She worked hard. And there's a lot of vocational reports tonight. And let's start with the environmental science report, which is a significant addition to our programs. And we had a visit from the state the other day. And it's really quite fun. I'm going to let Heidi go into it.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent, Madam Mayor, members of the committee, um, just to give you some reflection on the meeting that was held with the state, One, it was a very full meeting. There were people there, friends of the Fells were there, other people were there who were expert in the field of environmental science. But what's really significant to us is that everyone was remarking that the high school, vocational school, is actually on the grounds of a very, very significant environmental science field. The Fells is right behind the school. You couldn't find a better laboratory. than the outside of Medford High School with all the activities that are out there in the field. And they were all remarking just how wonderful it is to have that geographic location in our midst. That's one. Second thing is in talking about students, a number of our students have gone to Minuteman for environmental science. That will no longer be the case. And that allows us to reinvest in ourselves, and it allows us to put the biotech and the environmental together, and to grow that program very, very significantly. So those are two very, very significant things as a result of this movement. And we also have quite a few youngsters in the high school that have been very, very active in environmental science as well, and they'll be able to cross over. And a lot of the discussions that have taken place between the headmaster and the director have been on the issues of sharing resources. So we're going to see youngsters who are maybe not formally involved in environmental science as a chapter 74 program also be interested in taking advantage of that program too. And the headmaster actually has a joint program with Tufts University underway right now. So environmental science is going to be a very, very exciting area. The other day there was a young man, Daniel Powers, and his family there, incredibly impressive. His interest and how he got involved. We just have to bring some of these people down to every committee of the whole so you can actually hear the enthusiasm from the young people. And so you can see it, maybe even go up into the science lab itself and see how they actually use the materials. It's really impressive. It really is quite an exciting area, especially given the whole discussion of climate today. It's an environment that's really significant. And Alicia Hunt from the City's offices were also very active and very interested in pursuing things as well. So you're going to see a lot of integration between city and school on that as well.
[Roy Belson]: We're growing tilapia, if you didn't know.
[Roy Belson]: The fish don't know it then.
[Roy Belson]: We haven't told them what their future is. Head first.
[Roy Belson]: So here's another vocational program. Dr. Riccio will take you through it. It's another exciting program. You saw the other day about one of our students who was in this program. And it's another exciting program that's really taking off. So we're going to leave that to Dr. Riccio to introduce our student and talk a little bit about the program.
[Roy Belson]: Dr. Riccio. So once again, making a maiden appearance at the school committee, Dr. Heidi Riccio.
[Roy Belson]: And we're not done yet. OK.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, the day students are not the only people who are beneficiaries of the vocational school. There's more coming, so once again, making her first appearance, no, Dr. Heidi Richel.
[Roy Belson]: Before she goes, I just want you to know there's more coming. Heidi has a lot of spare time, so we've given her more things to do. But I think what's really significant is on Friday, Heidi and I attended, along with Lisa Berube, who is our cooperative placement coordinator, attended a activity at the Federal Reserve Bank run by the Alliance for Vocational and Technical Education. The featured speaker was the Governor, Secretaries of Education, Workforce Development and Labor, and Housing and Urban Development were all there along with representatives from around the state, Commissioner of Education and others. And the whole purpose was to talk about how we're going to advance vocational education because obviously Vocational education provides a tremendous alternative for youngsters who want to go right into the workforce, or who want to go to college and develop their career after they acquire a skill. And this was an outstanding meeting. We went over a lot of possibilities. There's substantial money coming down from the state. We're applying for it. We've put together several partnerships, which you will hear about very soon, as soon as we get a little bit more go ahead to talk about them in public. I think you're going to see some really exciting things coming out of the vocational school going forward, and out of the overall high school going forward with regard to vocational and skills-based education. So there's a lot going on in this area, a substantial amount of activity. And Heidi's been a tremendous addition to our administrative team. And I don't know if she sleeps, but she's producing work at a tremendous amount. Thank you. She's got a short commute back to Salisbury, so she might get on the road.
[Roy Belson]: So we're providing you this information early at this point in time. It's not going out just yet, but we're going to start to alert people that kindergarten registration takes place. And there's several reasons why. One, Charter schools in our area are recruiting quickly on kindergarten, and they have to have their enrollments in by March 1 to get their funding. That's to start with. Also, we have situations in which some people are not sure of our kindergarten process, how to get there. So we want to get people early, as early as we possibly can. So we're giving you this information. We're ramping up our public relations, ramping up our outreach to people, but the formal process won't start until a little bit later. But we're making sure people get information, we're letting them know there's workshops coming, that there's opportunities to attend our schools, and that we have great class size, we have great other things going for us, and possibly other things that might come. But I think that it's kind of important that we get out front and let people know just how good our kindergartens are and things we're doing so that they don't opt for something besides us. And then we pay that tuition through charter school or through some other activity. So just to give you information of what's going out the door, it's on our webpage. We're going to keep promoting it and letting people know that the formal period will start a little bit later. But pay attention, there's a lot going on in our kindergartens.
[Roy Belson]: We need to be careful that we don't disrupt the classes and create a revolving door, people coming and going. But let's see if we can't do something that would give people some access. If they request it or we tell them that if you're really unsure, maybe we can do it. A lot of people are not unsure, they don't need that. There may be some people that do. So it's a good suggestion, let's look into it.
[Roy Belson]: First opportunity for, I'm sorry.
[Roy Belson]: We can talk about it.
[Roy Belson]: We actually have an actual cost, but that cost will increase once the power negotiations and the kindergarten has completed because there were raises that are projected in that activity. But so we have a cost basis that we can give you. We actually did the chart. I'll provide it to you. Our next meeting is Monday. I'll send it to you. I'll scan it in and send it by email this week. As I indicated, it was initially $65,000 just simply to bring up nine people, plus another $143,000 that comes from the state grant if the state grant disappears. So we just need to know whether that's going to be there in the state budget. We'll start to emerge very soon. The governor will release the state budget, his proposed budget sometime this week. The legislature will take the rest of the year to figure out what they want to do. Probably won't have a real budget till sometime in June from the state. Usually they take all that time to come up with a budget. But we'll get a feel as to whether or not the kindergarten grants are going to be held in place or not held in place. And that will give us a truer picture. But the initial cost is 65. There's another 20 that would have to be added to that, plus anything that we do with raises or increases in raises as a result of our bargaining. So that's our initial cost, but I'll give you a figure. I'll scan it and send it out to you by email.
[Roy Belson]: So again, we certainly all agree that we'd like to do a lot of things. You'll prioritize it when the budget comes up. That's the way it's done. And there are many, many things that people want to do. And if this is a priority, and this is where you want to go, then we'll make it. Just paraphrase Heidi, you can look at it twice and never cut. It took a little while, but everybody got it.
[Roy Belson]: But clearly, you're going to have to look. You're going to have to look at all the things that you'd like to see. And let me put it this way. Early childhood is clearly something we all support, early childhood education. But there has not been the funding behind it. It's been minimal across the state. And it's something that Boston asked for, but the governor was uncommitted. And I doubt you'll see it in the governor's budget. So the question is, will the legislature rise up and put money in there? The House didn't last year and the Senate put it in and then the conference committee restored it. So we just have to be real. We certainly want to do things. If this is your priority as a group, it'll be there. But I want to be realistic with you. I don't want to be pie in the sky and tell you there'll be other things that you may want also. And there has to be a balancing act that's going on. But if this is the thing you want, you'll get it in there and it'll be there. We're working towards it. We talk to people all the time about these things. You know that I'm a huge advocate for early childhood education. My problem is that I've got to make sure I get the resources to back it the way I'd like to back it and the way undoubtedly you'd like to back it.
[Roy Belson]: We've been the leaders in this area.
[Roy Belson]: I'm not against it. I just want to make sure that we understand that a budget is a balancing act. And we've got to keep a lot of things in mind as we go forward. And we don't know some of the other issues that will or won't come at us. And I don't want to just say, sure, we'll do anything you want. I want to be realistic with you and tell you that you're going to look at a lot of things. And you've got to make some decisions. We've got a growing EOL population. We've got a lot of other things going on in our world that will require your attention. And it may be that you need to balance that off a little bit. But let's put it on our plate as something that's a priority that you want to see. And let's see if we can't do it.
[Roy Belson]: I think it's a good idea. I think the suggestion is one in which once the governor puts his budget out, we then can see what the governor's proposing and where the gaps are, educationally, that we see. and then give our legislators some guidance as to what we think needs to go back in. The governor has indicated he plans to increase the amount of money to education, but increasing the amount of money to education is kind of, well, it takes a little interpretation. By that I mean, just because you add more money, when you get through distributing it across 351 cities and towns, it doesn't add up to a lot. Okay, so you've really got to understand Plus the fact that they increased one account and then take money from, let's say, the circuit breaker or some other place. You know, last year we were net, net at a loss from state aid. in that regard. So that's not, you know, that's something we've got to be very careful about.
[Roy Belson]: I plan to give Secretary Clark's report next week.
[Roy Belson]: You've got to get a handle on what's coming out of the statehouse before you start to move.
[Roy Belson]: Like I said in previous meetings and things like that, you'll get a report next week. There are many fine charter schools and they do a good job. And there are some that are not as good and perhaps need some correction. So we don't use a blanket. The biggest issues with charter schools, and I think the Senate has taken a very interesting position under President Rosenberg's leadership. that they want a more comprehensive look at the charter school question than just simply an up or down on the cap lift. And we're going to see some things coming out of there that will look at enrollment, wait lists, funding, and things as well, rather than just simply say there's demand. The state auditor has continuously come out and said the wait list is not real. Although the proponents have said the wait list is real. And so I'm going to hang my hat with the state auditor on this one, because I know how the wait list is generated. And there are youngsters on that wait list who signed up 10 years ago and are still on it, and have long since been out of the program. So there needs to be a significant amount of discussion on this area. Let's not, you met Barish last week, you attended our management meeting. Barish is my intern, if you will, from, who is the director of the Pioneer Charter School in Everett. So he sat in our management meeting today, and we went over stuff, and we traded ideas. This is a good dialogue that can happen between a charter school and the traditional public school. It's not that they're all enemies. We work together. In fact, I've given him stuff, and other people have given people stuff. But how we fund them, who they serve, what they require from us, or how they drive the educational programs, all are fertile subjects for discussion.
[Roy Belson]: Again, like the issue of the kindergarten, we're all early. We want to, this is going out in February, but we're letting people know now to start thinking about it. We put it on our website. We've given people information informally. I told you last week, and the same thing is true with the kindergartens. I'm going down to the schools. I'm working out a schedule now with principals to talk to parent groups and the like to promote the schools, and at the same time, help people make these selection decisions. One of the things that happened in the past is some people would claim they never got the information, they didn't hear about it. We want to make sure everybody hears about it, or there's a sufficient amount of information out there so that if they didn't hear about it, you must have missed it by not listening. I mean, there's obviously, you know, the possibility that somebody wouldn't hear about it, but if we go to the wall and let people know, it really is highly unlikely. What I don't want to have in a situation where somebody says, well, I really wanted to go here, and you put me here, and I didn't know, you lost my paperwork, all those kinds of things. We're pretty good about tracking what people send us. So we want to get it out. We want to show you what we're doing. There are certain issues with regard to specialized classes in certain areas. We're looking to balance those off because obviously some youngsters are more challenging than others. And we want to make sure that each school has a fair chance to meet the needs of every student that goes there. So this is informational for you. Again, like the kindergarten piece, it's an attempt to try and give you advanced information.
[Roy Belson]: Good evening.
[Roy Belson]: It's our intent to talk to you extensively about technology. and the implementation of technology-based programs, including online. Obviously, as we move into the future, our technology has to be very robust, very dependable, very reliable. We had a major discussion on that today, on how we can do that. And we need to make sure that as we add more and more requirements and demands on that technology system, that it can hold up.
[Roy Belson]: teaching classes, like having... Right, but it's the same system, it's the same network, it's the same bandwidth.
[Roy Belson]: So I guess what I'm trying to tell you is that we will be coming forward to you with some significant technology recommendations that will enable us to do a lot of things that right now I would consider to be difficult in terms of reliability and dependability because of the networks and all the other demands on the system. And also what we ask teachers to do. So that you're going to see quite a bit coming forward. And I think it is the wave of the future that we have to have these things. But it's not going to replace a lot of other things we have to do. And we still have to have face-to-face contact with youngsters, because there are a lot of youngsters who, even given the time to do things online, won't do it. And we need to make sure we have a blend. But you're going to see quite a bit coming forward. And I suspect that, as the mayor works on capital improvements as one of her priorities, that you'll see us making some recommendations on capital. that will be part of that.
[Roy Belson]: I mean, we have, we have piloted, you know, we have done this, but there are issues associated with it. Who provides it, the nature of it. Does it meet our standards? Does it fit with certain things? Is the pace differently different? We've had several people try different things. So, I hear what you're saying. We're not telling you no. We're just telling you that it's got to be part of a more comprehensive approach to the use of technology. Just to say we're going to do more online learning or pilot a few more programs really avoids the bigger issue of providing a more comprehensive approach to this. But you're not wrong. We will do it. We just simply need to put it into a package that's going to be robust, dependable, reliable, and allow us not to have to shut down other activities to allow certain other things to happen.
[Roy Belson]: I've given you a quick snapshot of four major subjects. There are other subjects, and we'll give you more information going forward, but I want to verify the numbers a little more closely before I provide them to you. But these numbers were something I could verify, and I wanted to give you at least something this week. And I'll keep feeding you more information on it. But as you can see, that the class sizes are generally very, very good. They're excellent, in fact, by secondary school standards across the Commonwealth. So we're doing well with that. There are some classes that are a little larger. There are some classes that are a little smaller, depending on those enrollments. But those are the average class sizes that people are there. And it looks pretty good to me as far as where we're going. We have good faculty, and I think we're handling a lot of subjects with a pretty good teacher-staff ratio.
[Roy Belson]: Times two. Two teams.
[Roy Belson]: Plus you have specialized classes that are there and you can get done part of the general class size but a part of an ELL or a special ed class.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, remember, we'll get it twice, never cut.
[Roy Belson]: Not in detail. You know, again, what Pat really has listed for you, the things we've done, we've got to look at, as you can see, our actual maintenance budget itself is over the top and we're going to make it up with heating and other things, but We've got to be careful as we select priorities and as we go into the discussion of capital improvements. I think that's probably the best place to look at those things and not try to squeeze it into a budget that obviously we have to operate with for the rest of the school year. So as we get a better handle, as we move further down the year, we see that there's room we can probably tackle some things. But I want to be very careful coming out of January that we don't start spending money on projects that are somewhat discretionary. I understand that they're things that you'd like to see, but they're somewhat discretionary against the whole issue of funding the entire district. So I think that when you see us propose to the mayor and others capital improvement plans, I think you'll start to see things like that become more dominant. But I also want to get more information from Alicia as to what is really available to us as opposed to what people are talking about but hasn't been firmed up.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, we can talk about it.
[Roy Belson]: I think we can again look to all of those kinds of things but I think it should be something we put in the conversation.
[Roy Belson]: Because- Happy to talk about it. As you know, we've talked about this before. McKinney-Vento was not new. The state auditor indicated that it was an unfunded mandate. And the state initially funded it, then went through nine seat cuts from Governor Patrick, and then has been funded at maybe 50%, 60% of actual cost for the last couple of years. So again, as I go back and we talk about the state budget, you talk about what you'd like to do, let's get a handle on what's coming to us before we start saying we're going to do this, we're going to do that. We have a lot of very worthy goals, but we have to make sure we've got the resources to do those worthy goals. And then you have to prioritize which ones you're going to spend the money on.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, this is really a double report. First one talks about the date on January and June 8th. And the reason we do that, in case a snow day comes, and that's why we do it this early. In case a snow day comes, we're already set and we don't have to rearrange our calendar and people can get adequate notice for those people coming from out of town. So I recommend that you approve the date of June 8th, 2016.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent. So the second piece is the issue of Gantr. And we've had good success there. We recommend that we continue with Gantr.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor, members of the committee, I think we all recognize that oral hygiene and dental health is important to the general health of an individual. Our supervisor of health services, Tony Vento, is here to talk about the program. We think it's important that we incorporate it into our schools and we partner with local dental associates and that we can move this forward for our young people. So Tony, come on up and why don't you explain it.
[Roy Belson]: Report on the Impact Ability Program, Mr. Superintendent. Mr. Chair and members of the committee, the Impact Ability Program teaches personal safety and assertive communication skills to individuals with a wide range of disabilities. The program is a very research-based program. It's designed to help those students with disabilities recognize abusive and unsafe conditions, as well as to protect and advocate for themselves. You may not know this, but people with disabilities are three times as likely to experience violent crime as those without disabilities. And women with disabilities in Massachusetts experience more than twice the rate of sexual assault as those without disabilities. ImpactAbility is part of the Triangle Disability Service and Advocacy Organization, founded by parents and business leaders in Medford, Malden, and Everett. For over 40 years, Triangle has worked to integrate adults and teens with disabilities into their local communities through employment and residential supports. The program started in 2011, ImpactAbility, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. some attached information as an evaluation of the initial program. By the Institute of Community Health, a grant from the Cummings Foundation has enabled the program to collaborate with Medford's Special Education Department this school year. Dr. Jan Hollenbeck of our SPED Department is coordinating the implementation in Medford. And on Tuesday, tomorrow, December 8th, there will be a program celebration from 10 to 11.30 a.m. at Medford High School. Triangle Board Member and State Representative Paul Donato will be the keynote speaker. As we prepare our students with disabilities to make a successful transition to adulthood, it's essential that we take a comprehensive approach. And impactability adds an important dimension to their preparedness. I expect there to be some program representatives, but I don't see any here this evening at this point in time. But it's a terrific program. We had at least six graduates this year. We expect to expand it even more next year as we go beyond the trial phase. It's the kind of thing that we need to do to ensure that youngsters who have deep impairments have the ability to function in adult society and not with fear and not with the inability to defend themselves should something show up.
[Roy Belson]: Sure. Essentially, girls hockey programs are not always fully occupied by any one community. In fact, more and more communities are merging themselves to have two or three communities merge together. And in fact, in Malden, the boys hockey program is in a merger as well. So in Medford, our boys hockey program is strong, but our girls program comes and goes depending on interest. Secondly, for a number of years now, they've played or got special permission to get under high school age students to participate in order to have a full roster on the team. We think this is a way to preserve the program. and to ensure that our young people get that chance to play while at the same time making sure that we have enough players to field a competitive team and to ensure that no student is on the ice more than they should be during a regular game.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Benedetto.
[Roy Belson]: I only saw it at the time that I've got, I've seen it this week. So it's coming to you as soon as I saw it. I think they were exploring it as a possibility rather than remember this whole thing is still subject to your approval. So it doesn't go forward unless you approve it.
[Roy Belson]: There are 14 Medford High School students, there are three students from Malden. Malden students will pay the user fee that Medford students typically pay at this point in time. As far as charging Malden, we haven't worked out those details at this point in time because it was something they didn't anticipate, but we will sit with them and talk with them because we do a lot of things. between districts that eventually work themselves out financially. Going forward, obviously, we would work out a more definitive share of the cost. But at this particular point in time, our concern is that the program go forward. Now, as far as underage students go, I believe there are at least three or four of them. who are not of high school age, or eighth graders who require MIA waiver approval.
[Roy Belson]: Well, typically to support a team of this type, we really kind of need over 20 youngsters. At this point in time, with only 14, you really don't have enough if there's an injury or youngsters can't make it. You can't have enough people on the ice. Remember, hockey is not a sport where you skate the whole game. You have to come off, another line goes on, another defense goes on, a goalie gets hurt, you have to have someone in that role. So, 14 isn't really a good enough number to field a team for a whole season.
[Roy Belson]: Depends on their full schedule and their thing, but it's well over $35,000 a year, possibly close to $40,000 a year.
[Roy Belson]: Well, Malden students will have their own insurance coverage, just like Mayfair students do in general. And then we are covered as a program. If we voted as a joint program, then we're covered. So liability only comes from gross negligence. If we were to do something that was inappropriate, put somebody on the ice who shouldn't be on the ice, and they had a concussion and we continue to play them, there might be a situation that we could be liable for, but under normal circumstances, we're no more liable for them. And we are for any of our own players.
[Roy Belson]: Yes, this is a one year thing and we'll look at it going forward. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: By the way, I'm telling everybody we won the second half of the game.
[Roy Belson]: So on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015, the Federal House of Representatives passed the Every Student Succeeds Act by an overwhelming majority of 359 in favor and 64 against. We expect the Senate to act on it if they haven't already acted on it today, sometime this week at the beginning of the week. This new act will replace the very flawed and very unpopular No Child Left Behind legislation. This new version of the ESEA Elementary and Secondary Education Act has been years in the making. NCLB was passed 14 years ago. The original ESEA was crafted in the early 1980s. You can see how this process takes place. Essentially, the new legislation scales back the federal role and returns substantial authority to the states on the key issues of accountability, teacher evaluation, and school improvement. It maintains annual testing in reading, ELA, and mathematics in grades three to eight and once in high school. The act will still require that we disaggregate student subgroups and their performance. but there's greater flexibility in how we determine progress and appropriate intervention. It encourages states to incorporate more than test data into the accountability system. There's an awful lot of detail in this act that will be needed to be worked out in the implementation phase. It remains to be seen how Massachusetts will use this new flexibility. Obviously, we will all be seeking input on how Massachusetts moves forward. It's our hope that the evaluation of students, teachers, and schools will be more progressive and encompassing of the total school mission. Attached to this report is a detailed explanation of the many facets of the new act. I've asked you to read through the materials, and we'll schedule sessions going forward to talk about the various topics and also to reflect on information we received from DESE about how they intend to proceed under this new act. Overall, it's a significant improvement over NCLB, but like everything else, the devil will be in the actual implementation. And we'll be active in our voice at the state level. And therefore, we have to prepare well so we have an informed opinion when we're involved. So there's a lot of aspects to this. It wasn't my intent to discuss it all this evening, but to give you a chance to read it. If you happen to answer any specific questions you may have, should you have them this evening.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Scali.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. So as you know, the McKinley-Vento Act, and many of you will report in the near future, I'm glad it's the latest, McKinley-Vento is the Homeless Education Act. That money has come through the state, even though it's federal legislation. This act portends some larger role for the feds in providing money to the state. We don't know that yet because it's all subject to appropriation. If they don't appropriate it, it's only a possibility that they'll actually do it. When we talk about issues such as impact aid, impact aid typically comes when you have a federal facility on your local property. We don't have much of that. So we typically don't get much of that impact aid in our facility. We're doing an army base or some other kind of military facility on your thing you might get more impact aid. Construction aid, probably go to the poorer communities, not to us. But we'll probably see some things as consolidations in Title I, consolidations in bilingual, ELL, some additional thinking about special education, how that's funded, possibly some funding in areas of innovative curriculum and technology. It's all subject to appropriation. And until they really start appropriating money and start assigning it across the states, it's kind of hard to know whether we're going to see more than we're currently seeing or less than we're currently seeing.
[Roy Belson]: So I'm going to call upon our Deputy Superintendent to make this report to discuss with you the choice that the Medford School Committee needs to make by December 18th, by the way. We just got this from the state.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. You've had several reports on this. And we told you what was going to happen several months ago. We told you that the new test was going to be Park and MCAS closed. They were going to find a compromise. And they went ahead and did it. Now, the political winds of war were such that there were people that were against MCAS. There were people against Park. The new chairman of the board, the governor, wanted to go back to MCAS, but the business community wanted them to go to PARC. The Pioneer Institute wanted to go back to the old frameworks, but the business community and others wanted to go, and the college and university group wanted to go to PARC. So this was a way, and they also didn't want to give up their control to any other state. So you know what PARC has morphed in? PARC is now a consulting company. They're no longer just producing the test. They're now selling test items, okay? and Massachusetts is going to adopt park items and move them into MCAS 2.0. Our responsibility right now is to ensure that our students get every opportunity to learn what types of questions they're going to see going forward. And our teachers get as much practice as they can get. Accountability will be held harmless. That's the draw. So, you know, the the races slowed down. The issue for us now is giving our people the experience with the types of questions they are going to be asked to take in the future. Now, there's a long way to go with regard to whether mandated testing or too much testing is still going to be argued across the state. And we know, and I can tell you this now, we know that Park scores were much lower than Epcot scores in this round. And we know that they were given a boost on what the department calls equity percentile, to give the Park scores an advantage. So, for our purposes, we need to do what prepares our students for the future. The political discussion about testing in Massachusetts, I just told you about the ESEA, which is going to leave a lot of responsibility to the states. to make up their own mind. All that stuff is going to be worked out. But in the short term, our students deserve and our teachers deserve an opportunity to learn as much as they can about the types of questions that are going to be asked going forward. And then the political discussion about too much testing, no testing, mandated testing, how tests are used, is going to be front and center in the commonwealth.
[Roy Belson]: We're held harmless. We're held harmless.
[Roy Belson]: I actually think that if we would stay with MCAS, we would get penalized. That's what I actually believe, because I believe the push is to get us together. This is Debetta Detto.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Belkin, I think another factor, if you read the ESEA material that I gave you a little bit earlier, you'll find that the feds are now saying that the state should take into account other factors than tests. It's starting to trickle down from the top. And I think that's really what we've all been talking about. It's not that this testing, testing has its role. I mean, you know, we've all taken tests in our life. It's the amount. It's the intensity that they've put on it. And it's the way they've used test results to judge students and schools. If you look at the distribution of who does well and who doesn't well, you could look at a socioeconomic map of Massachusetts and of the country. It's just that simple. And it's not quite one-to-one, but it's very close. So you can use testing to give you an indicator of what a youngster is doing and how schools are doing. But it's not the only indicator. I've used this example before with you, but I'll try it again. John Goodlatte, who was perhaps one of the most interesting and most outstanding scholars of education in the 1980s and 90s, wrote a book called Place Called School. And when he was talking about the SAT, the over-dependence on the SAT at the time, he said, a single test score tells you as much about a student's knowledge as a temperature or a thermometer tells you about a person's health. You get an indication, but you don't get the whole picture. And I think that's what we've got to understand. Different youngsters come to school with a lot less cultural enrichment, a lot less language than other youngsters. A lot less stimulation. And other youngsters come with a lot of it. And that is very predictive of what takes place. It's not the only predictive factor. Certainly instruction is important. Certainly the quality of what we do is important. But there's a tremendous disadvantage to some communities who work with youngsters who come and don't speak English, who have a lot of cognitive disabilities, or come from homes which don't have the enrichment. And it's how we use it. It's how we work with testing that makes the difference, and whether we overuse it as a way to make judgments about whether schools or individuals are ready for the future. That's really the issue. But we've got to prepare our kids. If this is the regimen that we're going to face, and we're teachers, then we have to work on it. We anticipated this, by the way. We very much knew that this was going to happen, and we've done it. Heard that, I believe Diane and all the department heads. However, now we've got to actually take the action step to send the message, this is where we're going.
[Roy Belson]: Financial report, Mr. Superintendent. Mr. Members of the committee, I call upon our Director of Finance and Administration, Pat. to give us our financial report. This evening, I've also passed out some additional information to enhance what you know about that. And Pat will take you through it.
[Roy Belson]: It's not their jurisdiction.
[Roy Belson]: It's actually a very good increase for the amount that they use. And the profitability of that particular situation is very good.
[Roy Belson]: Our goal will be right after the first of the year to sit down and have a larger discussion on that. I know that topic has come up and it's very complicated because there are a lot of different situations. So for example, we serve a lot of community activities. We certainly value those activities for the services they provide to our young people and to our families. They may be in some instances lost leaders while others provide us revenue that offsets them. So it's a balancing act to make sure that we don't deprive our young people of the programs and activities that they want since some of these programs and activities can't generate enough funds. But we try and balance it against other programs that can provide the funds so that in the aggregate we make up.
[Roy Belson]: We've actually begun working on that. It's much more complicated because there are so many different activities. Some of them are done by the buildings themselves.
[Roy Belson]: Because of the PTOs and other things they run. Some of them are done by us. And we're trying to get a handle on, you know, the differences that exist. But overall, overall, with the major renters, we make up.
[Roy Belson]: We'll schedule it early.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: It is. We can read it. Let everybody read it, Pat, and we'll come back if anyone has questions.
[Roy Belson]: Right after the first of the year, we'll have the police chief and all of us get together in the hall, and then we'll carry that forward into a larger meeting.
[Roy Belson]: I don't, but we've talked to the police department, and we've gone over a whole series of things with other activities. And I think we'll be ready right after the first year to talk about it.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, I think we know that sometimes it snows in Massachusetts, and last year was probably a very, very bad year, one of the worst years we've had. Although some years we've had no snow at all. But it's important to go over this, and hopefully there's some people listening to us this evening, and if not, we're putting it out there to them, because there's a lot of variables in this. And it's important that people understand why we do what we do and how it works. So as we head into the winter season, we have a comprehensive notification system to parents, students, and community should conditions require the closing of schools. Experience tells us the number of school closing can vary from year to year. Last year, we closed schools seven times, but there have been years when no days were canceled for inclement weather. The decision to close schools results from a process that evaluates multiple factors. The paramount consideration is student faculty and staff safety. We must consider not only the storm conditions, but also our ability to clean school areas, streets, sidewalks. We also have to consult the weather service, our DPW, and public safety officials. We also have to determine whether or not on that particular day we're going to have sufficient faculty who no longer all live in Medford or one community away. These people come from distances now. So if the teachers aren't there and can't make it in, it's a wasted day. So we speak with colleagues in neighboring school districts, and we talk to our transportation providers as well. And as you know, we have to conduct 180 days of school to meet DESE requirements. And waivers are not frequently given by the state. In fact, they are very rarely given. This year, our calendar gives us 11 days to work with, much more than the past, as compared to normal eight days. By contrast with the MTA, by contracts with the MTA, we must complete the school year by June 30th. We're mindful that when school is canceled, that it can be a hardship for working parents. Therefore, it is very, very important, I have to stress this, I'm going to keep banging this out, that parents and guardians begin planning for coverage now in anticipation of closings. Don't wait for the day that it snows to decide who's going to cover my kid. Start thinking about how you can work with your neighbors, with other people, with grandparents, to cover those situations, or to talk to your employers about accommodations that can be made when those things happen. We're also aware that a significant number of students that schools provide safety, warmth, and nutrition. There are a lot of latch kids out there, latchkey kids out there, in communities across the state whose parents have to go to work and the kid's home. That's dangerous. Sometimes we don't like to call a school unless we absolutely have to. We don't want kids in that situation. We always try to provide the earliest possible notification to families and staff as possible. However, many times storms intensify and conditions are unpredictable and change throughout the night and early morning. Our preference is to let people know the night before, but in any case, no later than 6 a.m. We do not favor delayed openings. People ask me about that all the time. As they impact bus schedules and generally result in less productive days. You can only imagine when kids come in at 9, 30, 10 o'clock and everyone's talking about the weather. It isn't really a day at school. It's pretty hard to get people back and focused. So why risk the safety factor just to get people in and mess up things and bus routes get all goofed up. We don't think it's a great way to go. We do make provisions for unpenalized student arrivals, late student arrivals. So if a student does get in a little bit late, and we know that it's a situation, we work with them. When school is canceled, families will be informed through multiple media. Notifications will be posted on both television listings and websites of channels 4, 5, 7, Fox, and NASA. Closings will also appear on the school website. And robocalls will go out to homes, either from the principal or the central office. We'll be busy disseminating this information this month, hopefully so that people understand why we do what we do, where they can find out the information. And hopefully they'll begin to make plans, should they need, to close school and still go to work or do something else. One other pitch that I want to make, it's very important. We've talked to our bus companies, talked to the DBW about clearing areas around bus stops. But it's very important that residents do everything they can to shovel sidewalks and to make things passable so that youngsters are not walking in the street. It's tough in some roads. If we get major accumulations, the banks get high. For little kids this high off the ground, it's hard to see. So another thing we ask people to do is buddy up, do things that, you know, have an older child walk with a younger child, or have parents accompany people to bus stops, and do the kinds of things that take the extra amount of precaution necessary to avoid an unfortunate situation. which may be beyond anyone's control except the individuals who are involved. So that's our information on snow closings or climate weather closings. Happy to take any questions or any suggestions anyone has of anything else we can do to make it more effective going forward.
[Roy Belson]: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
[Roy Belson]: I think we can participate in some of the agenda, but Melanie will turn off when I would like to address the special education.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent. Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, I want to get this to you very quickly because obviously we have to make some phone calls. And I want to make sure that we're all in agreement as to what's going to take place. As you know, we approved a trip to Washington, DC, which was going to go there Thursday morning with about 35 students and faculty members and other people. We have checked with the insurance company and the like, and we are planning to cancel that trip in light of recent events at this point in time. It's unfortunate, but there's all kinds of safety and security issues that are associated with that. It's covered by insurance at least to 75% of the cost. We may get 100% of the cost back. If we don't, we'll talk about how we might be able to help the students and others recapture the remaining part, or reschedule it at a later date. But at this particular point in time, we can't get enough assurances of safety. The youngsters would be in situations where they were out in the open, in public places, traveling into monuments and other things of that type. It's just a bad time for people who are traveling, given the current news that's been out there and some statements made by terrorist groups around the world. So unless there's an objection, I'm going to go ahead and cancel that immediately. Chair, do you have any objection?
[Roy Belson]: Well, you know, with the high school, there's been a discussion with different people, but Bernadette's been in the middle of it. Can you probably come up, Bernadette, and talk a little bit about that?
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor, just one other point I think that everyone needs to know. Obviously, we don't like to do these things, but we may be able to schedule some Skyping with the Congress people and other people that they would otherwise have talked to in person. And so we'll look at that tomorrow morning, see if we can't create another experience that would be at least a good experience for them to carry out that kind of work.
[Roy Belson]: About 32, 35.
[Roy Belson]: I mean, obviously, this is a heightened period of concern. It's right after a significant event. And, you know, we have to be measured in how we approach these things. It may be that in a few weeks, things would change and other things are possible going forward in the next few months. Right now, not enough is known about what could be happening internationally. We need to give people an opportunity to tell us before we start putting any situations in place that could compromise the safety of the students.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, I'm going to call up Rachel Perry, our assistant athletic director, to come up here and deliver this report and also to recognize some students along with Mr. Dempsey and others and to present an award to some of the people who are recipients.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor, I'm going to call up Director of Curriculum to comment on this award and to allow the recipient to come forward and
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to call up again, Nelida Lepore, who is leading the trip. We just talked about trips. As you know, the nation's capital has been tapped. So this is a little bit different. It's a little further away. So I think we're in a pretty good place to look at this this evening. So I'll turn it over to Nelida.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Chair and members of the committee, most of you attended the open house of the vocational school, so it speaks for itself. I think it was an outstanding presentation by the vocational school faculty, the director, all the staff up there. The new health assisting program was outstanding. revamp of the facilities and other matters really stood out. Vocational school is definitely on the move. Our director, Heidi Rich here, would have been here this evening. Unfortunately, her mother passed away. I have a notice in front of you. Her name is Elaine Donahue. Arrangements are Wednesday night and Thursday up in Lawrence. So I'm not going to go into that report tonight except to say that if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. Otherwise, we'll save it for another time when Heidi can be with us and talk to you more completely about our vocational initiatives.
[Roy Belson]: A lot of alumni have been really stepping up. Just a whole group of people. It's actually listed in here, all the different groups that. And the furniture.
[Roy Belson]: When we get the details, we'll bring that to you by the next meeting.
[Roy Belson]: I'm already planning to ask them for money for the locations.
[Roy Belson]: Mayor and members of the committee, our Director of Curriculum, Bernadette Rigodelli, is going to deliver this report to you on our Veterans Day program.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor, members of the committee, The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, is given every two years in English, Language Arts, and Mathematics. And Massachusetts has consistently led the nation in this particular assessment. Over 3,000 Massachusetts students were tested in each of the grades, four and eight, in both subject areas. And there were Medford students included in this sample. I can't reveal names, but we're part of the distribution of youngsters who are taking this test. According to the 2015 NAEP results, Massachusetts fourth graders had an average score of 235 in reading, which was higher than the 2013 score of 232, and above the national average of 221. 50% of all Massachusetts students scored proficient or above, which was significantly higher than the national average of 35%. And performance of students with disabilities grew eight points from 2001 to 2009. English language learners also increased eight points from 192 to 200. Now, I'm not going to read the whole report. You have the results here. It gives you an idea of the general progress. I've also attached to you, for you, a report from Education Week, which gives you some real national data and some of the information that's associated with test administration in this area. People forget that the NAEP has been around a long time. They're talking about comparing states and the like. It's not the end all and be all, but it certainly gives us a very good snapshot of where Massachusetts stands among the various states in the country. And it tells us a little bit more than we would otherwise know. So we'll continue to review the statistics generated by NAEP and look at trends across the various assessments, variations from year to year, are best kept in context because students change, the demography changes, and other assessments in concert with this maybe are used to provide information on other aspects of student progress. So it's a national analysis attached and a commentary by Education Week, which is a very respected journal that comments on education across the country. I'd be happy to take any questions you may have.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, as we are here this evening, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Board is meeting in Malden discussing the recommendations of Commissioner Chester to implement a hybrid test that would combine MCAS as we know it and PARC as it is emergent. And he's calling that MCAS 2.0. Now there's going to be a lot of people on different sides of the issues. There'll be people that are recommending that MCAS be the standard. There'll be people recommending that PARC replace MCAS. There'll be people supporting the commissioner's position for a hybrid. And there'll be people arguing that testing should go away altogether. It's going to be very interesting over the next couple of days. I had the opportunity to talk to the Secretary of Education, James Pizer, on Saturday evening at the Children's Trust event. And we talked a little bit about it. But I suspect that the board will probably approve MCAS 2.0. I suspect that's what's going to happen. The bigger issue is how is this going to roll out, and who's going to take what, and when, and how much preparation is going to take place. According to the commissioner's approach, if you've done MCAS in the past, you can continue to do MCAS for one more year. They might work in a few park type questions in there to try it out to see how people do. If you were doing park, you'll continue to take park. and there'll be some rollout activities, but the subsequent year, MCAS 2.0 would be the Commissioner's recommendation. I suspect that's what's going to count, but I don't know that for a fact as we stand here tonight. I've also provided you some comparative results between MCAS and PARCC, and you can see that PARCC did not achieve as much in terms of student proficiency as MCAS did, because PARCC is allegedly a much more difficult, deeper thinking type test. Whether you agree or disagree that testing It should take place or how much testing should take place. We're going to get some answers at least over the next couple of days to at least get an idea of where the state wants to head. But I suspect the debate is going to continue for a long period of time as to how it's going to roll out. and what it all means to all of us. I provided you with a lot of information. I don't want to go through every page of it unless you have specific questions, and I'll be happy to address those specifics. And if we want to hold a larger meeting or a committee of the whole on it, once we know what the state has actually done, I think that would be a good idea. Mr. Mayor.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. DiBenedetto.
[Roy Belson]: I provided you with a fairly substantial package on school security issues. I'm going to go over some key points, make some recommendations, and then certainly I'm wide open to any comments you want to make. The only thing I would suggest is that I'm not going to go into very deep protocols because if I do that, I release information that should be kept tightly because it affects the safety and security of the operation of the schools. I will answer broader questions. We have the principal of McGlynn and the principal of McGlynn Elementary with us this evening. We have our director of elementary education here this evening to direct, to answer any questions that might be directed to that specific incident. This report is divided into five parts to enable us to better focus on the specific elements of our current school security plans and possible enhancements to the system. This report has multiple attachments to further describe and explain both current and possible security measures. The first part is devoted to the McGlynn incident. The second is the current security measures in place. The third is proposed additional security measures The fourth is about challenges, and the fifth area provides attachments that speak to the issues of security, safety, and provide you with ideas that we may or may not implement in your direction. Now, on October 30th, 2015, an unauthorized female adult entered the McGuinn School through the middle school side entrance around 12.30 p.m. She entered at the same time that seventh grade students were returning from recess. The door through which she entered was monitored by a lunch attendant and a teacher. However, she was not challenged at the point of entry. She then proceeded to the elementary side of the building and encountered a teacher who asked, may I help you? The intruder responded she was just looking for a pen. and she was not redirected to the main entrance or further challenged. During the next half hour, she went in and out of elementary classrooms and stole money, approximately $800 in total, from six different teachers. The individual then left the building through the back door. No teacher or students were in the classrooms that she entered. her progression into the parking lot, entrance into the school, movement throughout the school, exit, and drive away from the parking lot were captured on the school's video camera surveillance system. The theft was reported by teachers to the elementary principal, Diane Guarino, in the afternoon after the students had left for the day. Principal Guarino reported that the theft to the superintendent who instructed her to file a police report. It was not clear at this time as to whether this was an inside or an outside job. On Monday, Alan Arena, our network administrator, reviewed the video surveillance. There was multiple hours of video surveillance during that period. It identified the presence of the female intruder. The tape was provided to the police. The police shared the tape images with area police departments to alert them of possible persons of interest or person of interest. The information was picked up by Fox Media as they monitored these things. Fox began its coverage of the incident sometime Tuesday afternoon. Superintendent spoke with Fox on Tuesday evening. I emailed the school committee members in the early evening of that day describing the incident. Tuesday was a professional day in our school, so no students were present. The incident was not reported by the school administration from the outset to enable the police to proceed with their pursuit of the intruder, who probably did not know that she was on surveillance tape. We also hope to avoid any panic or anxiety for parents coming to the school since students were not endangered at this time. The building administration intensified their security measures. As of this time, the police have not identified the intruder. The superintendent then met with all principals and reviewed security protocols. Responses were provided to email inquiries in the local press, and letters were sent home to parents. You have a copy of the letter sent home from McGlynn. The incident at McGlynn was not taken lightly. It resulted from human error. No unauthorized person should ever be allowed to enter the school without being challenged and redirected to security. This element is correctable. Our schools are busy places, and there are many individuals who must come and go on a daily basis. Unknown, unauthorized persons must always be stopped, challenged, and redirected to security. I want to talk now about some of the current measures of security in place. The Metro Public Schools take security very seriously. We were founding members of NMLEC, the Northeast Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council, and the STARS program, right after Columbine, that linked police to the schools on both a local and regional basis. Chief Sacco was the head of the task force, and I served on the committee. All main buildings of our schools have the following. documented security emergency plans. They conduct periodic drills at each building. They have coordinated detailed war plans that were paid for by the STARS system. There are surveillance cameras, door monitoring and main door buzzer systems, shared police resource officers. We have the Nemlick STARS program, which allows us to call upon resources at a regional level. in various types of capacities, everything from graphic analysis to psychological analysis to anything to a SWAT team. Various IDs and sign-in requirements exist in our schools. We have new enhanced phone systems that went in this year. Walkie-talkies and cell phones. 911 access from any part of the buildings now. Emergency medical plans, which you received earlier in the year. Principles met with the superintendent and have reinforced the following in each building. One, all doors must be locked at all times unless they are being monitored by an assigned member of the staff. Two, non-authorized individuals entering or traveling into our buildings must be stopped and questioned. They should be escorted to the main office for signing. Three, Building guests must be wearing an appropriate ID badge issued by the school. If there is resistance or concern, then assistance must be requested by notifying the office. The office must be alerted. Number four, if you see any strangers or suspicious individuals around or near the playground, if necessary, at the end of recess, bring students, end recess rather than bring students into the building. Five, For those staff members who are providing services to outside students, please provide the main office a schedule of those appointments. The main office will call to your room when they arrive so you can escort them from your office to the room. Six, those staff members who hold after school detentions, after school academic support, band practice, and the like, must be stationed at the door as students are exiting the building in order to ensure no individuals are entering the building unauthorized. 7. All valuables must be in a secure place. The office will support the staff member and call for police backup at 9-1-1. A report will be filed for the principal and the principal will notify the superintendent's office. Now, regular CBJ meetings, community-based justice meetings, are held weekly to review situations that require special attention. These happen with the police, the district attorney's office, and some of the social service agencies to go over anything happening on the street on weekends, happening in the courts, that might affect us. And we talk about those with our principals and we provide information should there be anyone in their area or anything going on in the neighborhood or anything happening in the weekend that requires special attention. Some proposed additional security measures in addition to existing measures. One, we are going to implement an enhanced ID system, the Raptor prototype. I can't say Raptor right now because it has to be put out through the procurement process. But you have in your packet here a detailed explanation of the Raptor system. The Raptor system currently exists at the vocational school. It is a system in which all visitors will have a picture pass. So you take your license out or some other government ID, you put it into the system, and it prints a pass that goes on your clothing. The cost is about $2,000 per building. The vocational school is in place. We will implement and install a security alert system at all main doors to provide rapid response when needed. We'll have available to the person as the security person a alert buzzer that will allow them to make an immediate call to an individual who can then make a 911 call. Okay? There are different proprietary systems available to us. Once again, we need to go through the procurement process to identify which one will be installed. And that will happen very quickly, because we'll move through an emergency process. We'll consider selective placement of additional building monitors at the high school complex. Why the high school? 37 doors. Most schools only have a handful of doors that they can be monitored. The high school is much larger. Many more possibilities exist for entrance and exit. We will insist on uniform dress for all security personnel, people or monitors. We will then provide them with proper attire, not police attire, but proper attire to identify them as building monitors, officials of the school. Five. will improve notification with school committee and parents when incidents occur consistent with best practice. Superintendent made a decision. Obviously, it was not something that everyone agrees with. I understand your need to know. I certainly will ramp it up and take your guidance on that. The only thing I ask from you is that if you get certain secure information, that it stays with you as opposed to anyone else. because when we are in pursuit of an intruder or anyone, or something is going on in an investigation, I need to maintain a certain level of confidentiality consistent with best police practice. But you're entitled to know, that's my area, I accept responsibility for that. We have challenges. High school is a very large facility, with many doors, points of entry, and multiple all-day programs. Every assembly, every activity, people coming in for concerts, people coming in for athletic events. You can't stop everybody all the time. We don't want to make the environment not conducive for learning, or not a friendly atmosphere. We don't want people to be driven away. Well, at the same token, we need to maintain vigilance. and have people who know who should be coming in and know who should not be coming in. But we have ballgames, we have visitors who come from other schools, who come from other areas, press, other people that come into our world. Special events at every school where reasonable access is necessary. Bus transportation. We have buses moving throughout the city. Outdoor events, many outdoor events. Maintenance of security cameras. We have a lot of security cameras. But to keep them up and doing everything they need to do is a cost. And we'll probably have to pay that cost every year so that there are a few cameras that go down every year. We're going to have to do that. We'll have to upgrade some of them from time to time. Sometimes they're affected by weather. Sometimes they're affected by other factors that we don't know. But clearly, there's a cost that we're going to have to make a line item for to ensure that they're in place. And then we have to have the most important thing, the uniform and diligent implementation of security protocols by all faculty and staff. Human error, human implementation is our best source of protection. You see something that isn't right, you don't ask, you report it and let it get checked out. I'm gonna give you a little example today. Today, an individual in the back of the high school was going to put something in the dumpster, and they put a bag down on the ground next to their car as they went to do one other thing. Immediately, they got calls, and Jimmy Ricciardi was out there picking up the bag, checking it out, and make sure it wasn't something that shouldn't be there. People have to be vigilant. Some of these things will be overkill. But if you see something that doesn't look right, You need to respond, and everyone has to take that seriously, because there's no other way. There's no other way. I've provided some attachments for you. The Metro Public Schools Crisis Response Manual. It's very substantial. Now, there are some pages in there that are part of another manual that are, like, for example, floor plans and the like, which aren't included in here, but that's confidential to us. The Massachusetts School Safety and Security Task Force report that came out in 2014 under Governor Deval Patrick and his safety officials suggested procedures by a responsive, or let's say a respected expert in the area on threat assessment in schools. We provided you with a copy of the sample emergency response procedures at the McGlynn School that every teacher has in their possession. I've given you a copy of the Raptor prototype ID system to look at. And you have a letter from the McGuinn parents, or sent to the McGuinn parents by the elementary principal. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. While there are challenges, we have many important security elements in place. We'll work together with our principals, teachers, staff, parents, law enforcement, and community partners to enhance our capacity going forward. There's no perfect system. We live in a very dangerous world in many ways. But we do everything we can do. And we're open to additional suggestions. But I don't think there's a silver bullet out there. I don't think adding 10 more people to every school or another person there is going to change everything. I think it's going to be selective and targeted. The biggest single factor will be making sure that everyone who works in the schools is a first responder, alerts people when they see something, and follows every protocol as they're laid out. Mr. Mayor, I'm prepared to take any questions. Mr. Mayor? Mrs. Vanden Heuvel.
[Roy Belson]: So again, it's probably something that could have been done, maybe should have been done. Take the criticism. But clearly, you know, we have certain people who are expert at certain things. And there was a distinct feeling that it was an inside job, because no one saw anyone come and go. It came afterwards when we did see the video, and we did file the police report. So I'll take your criticism as something that we've done. You know, simply a void in the future. We have to deal with it.
[Roy Belson]: So the RID systems in the schools, they're just not as uniform as they will be. with the Raptor system or the Raptor prototype system. We certainly need to do better. The principals drill and run practices, you know, with their staff to go over these things at the beginning of the year, during the year, and still can't necessarily guarantee there won't be human error, but we certainly have made this an emphasis point. Maybe sometimes adversity, especially if it didn't result in something much more difficult, can further intensify the need for everyone to follow up intelligently and follow up more intensively. So, again, take the criticism as something instructive, and we'll work on it. We'll work on this. You can see from what we're proposing, we're not taking this lightly at all.
[Roy Belson]: We have information. We have that here. If you read it in some of the material, it's in the activity right there. Hand it out. And you know, again, we've got to keep driving it home. Keep driving it home. It's something that's not an error that you can allow to happen. There's some things you can allow to happen, and you say, well, no harm to follow. And security is not something that fits in that category.
[Roy Belson]: No, we go over it. We go over it. I mean, you know, I have the principals of the McGlynn here tonight, and they can tell you what they do specifically if you care to talk to them about it.
[Roy Belson]: Well, they don't sign off.
[Roy Belson]: Maybe that's something we ought to do. Take that as a piece of guidance.
[Roy Belson]: Well, I agree. I agree. This is not an excuse. It's not an attempt to duck anything, but these buildings have been in place for a lot of years. This is the first incident. It doesn't make it right. It's the first incident, and we can learn from it. We will learn from it. We are learning from it. We're doing things about it. So I take your criticism, and we'll work on it. No, but Mr. Superintendent, this shouldn't have been a first. Right.
[Roy Belson]: The policies. I think we have two principles here. Let them address it. Let them tell you how they do it.
[Roy Belson]: Because everybody has their own style a little bit, but certainly, you know, the message is the same.
[Roy Belson]: Everyone has been instructed to do that. They were told to do it. I believe they've done it based on the information I have. I'm sure everyone does it slightly differently, but I will take that idea about sign off very seriously. make sure that, you know, I get those. I did have the principal sign off to me on a document, you know, that they had done what they were supposed to do. Um, I believe every building is covered and I believe they run regular drills. I know they do.
[Roy Belson]: We had a very, very productive meeting with the principals and then we told them to go back and make sure everyone knew what was expected of them. And I believe everyone did it with diligence.
[Roy Belson]: We've had multiple meetings on this over the years. The high school is, what, 45 years old now? Mm-hmm. So at one time, as you may or may not remember, we had a whole CETA security force. Right. Mr. LaPorta was directing the team, and we even had a guardhouse at the middle of the hill coming up Steve Miller Drive before it was Steve Miller Drive. We've had a lot of things. We've gone over those things. There are fire laws about exits and so on and so forth. And, you know, again, we've had a lot of discussions about things. People have come in and told us to use wands and things like that. But you can't turn the place into a prison. You have to turn the place into an educational institution. So we can certainly look at that. I'd be happy to bring in someone else to have another discussion with that, along with the police chief and others, and see if we can't come up with something that gives us another dimension. But the high school is probably the most problematic place because there are a lot of activities, there's community schools, there's the use of the pool, there's athletic events, there's concerts, there's meetings, there's all kinds of things, there's daycare, there's all kinds of things going on up there simultaneously. And so that's our biggest challenge.
[Roy Belson]: Aye.
[Roy Belson]: Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. Aye.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Bellson. So I'm responsible for the school system. Tonight, I've told you what I think happened. I've told you what we plan to do about it. You've given me some additional suggestions. We're going to meet and we're going to follow up some more. We've met with our principals. I'm just going to suggest that this is an ongoing process. You know, one time, two times, three times, not enough. It has to happen all the time. We have to constantly refresh ourselves, constantly have the discussion. But I do ask one thing. Let's not create fear and anxiety in the community. For the most part, our schools are very safe, a lot safer than a lot of schools around us. We have a lot more in place, and you've supported that. The city has supported that. There are some people that would like to make it sound as if our schools are not safe. It doesn't mean there's an excuse for what happened. But overall, our schools are very safe. It's important that we send that message out, because we want our young people and our families to come to our schools and not be afraid. But we have to continuously work at it, and that's our responsibility. And maybe this is a good wake-up call. Maybe this is a way of reinforcing our efforts and moving forward. I want to address one other thing that I read on a blog recently. I want to make sure that if anyone in the public is listening or anyone is picking this up, you understand that. When we withheld some information from the public, we didn't do it because there was an election. The two individuals running for the top seat in the city have nothing to do with the security of the schools. Neither one of them had an advantage or disadvantage from the event. And people that would like to ascribe those kinds of things to the electoral process are way out of line. We did it because we felt it was consistent with best police investigative process. I should have notified the school committee. I accept that as legitimate criticism of me, and I'll do better. But as far as holding it for some nefarious reason, that's pure BS. It has nothing to do with what we do. We don't politicize situations in our schools, certainly not ones about the safety and security of our young people, our faculty, and our staff. And anyone who tries to do that is going to hear from me. Cut, dry, and simple. Can we improve? Yes. Will we improve? We have to. Will we do everything we possibly can? Absolutely. But in no way, shape, or form will I be silent when people try to politicize this event. We need to get everybody behind us. We need parents, kids. faculty, staff, to understand that it's a shared responsibility. It's a shared responsibility. And when we do that, we have the best opportunity to keep our kids safe, to keep our world safe, and to promote education in our community. So I appreciate what you're telling me. If there's improvement to be made, it's mine, and I'll work at it, and we'll go from there.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, that's fine. This is the third request and I hope to see it next committee meeting.
[Roy Belson]: First is the National Merit Semifinalist, Ian Adams. Our next commended student is Serena Doe. Sophia Mackay, McKay, McKay. Michael Walker. And we have a few people that aren't able to be with us this evening, and I'll just read their names. James Kostick. Thank you, Mr. Superintendent. Congratulations.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, there are a number of issues associated with opiate use that we have been addressing in our schools and in our community and throughout the state. And this is another issue that needs to have you involved so that you can give us some guidance as to the direction of the schools. Tonight with us, we have our supervisor of health, Tony Vento. as well as our supervisor of health education, Rachel Perry, and Penny Funioli, who is working on the city side in substance abuse as well, prevention. Now, Narcan is a medication that reverses overdoses from heroin or other opiates. At this time, our police department has been trained in the use of Narcan. And also, Armstrong Ambulance personnel are able to administer this medication. We generally would call them if we went to an ambulance. The incidence of opiates or heroin used by students in our schools is very small. However, the possibility always exists that a student, a staff member, or a visitor to our schools could experience an overdose. And during the period from 2000 to 2015, there were zero deaths in Medford from opiates for individuals below the age of 20. The highest numbers occurred in the 20s, 30s, and 40s. 88% were males, while an immediate call to 911 is the approved Department of Public Health protocol, is a medical emergency that must receive a rapid response. And Narcan, in most instances, reverses the overdose. The question is, should we train our nursing staff so that we can respond rapidly while we wait for 911 services to arrive? So that's the discussion tonight. I'm going to call up our supervisor, Tony, to talk to you a little bit about it and to answer any questions you might have. We want to give you information on Narcan. Our goal is to inform you about opiate use, about the possibilities of having our nursing staff prepared to administer it. If we elect to do so, it will take some time to put it in place, but tonight we're looking to see if you want us to move ahead with this type of training. So I'll turn it over to Tony.
[Roy Belson]: What about substance abuse?
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor, members of the committee, the next report is a more comprehensive look at our substance abuse prevention and education programs. With us tonight, we have. from the city's offices and the regional office. We have Tony Bento, our supervisor of health services, Rachel Perry, our supervisor of health education, Jeff Lappin, our director of clinical services, and other members of our overall staff who contribute to this area. So the Metro Public Schools, working together with community and regional partners, we offer significant substance abuse prevention and education services to students and their families. The update report is offered to provide you with the latest information on the various programs and services that are in place and are emergent in our community. This report is intended to inform you regarding what we know about the behaviors and incidents of students in our community and schools, and what we're doing to prevent and respond to substance abuse. So we're going to call up our individuals and have them give you some detailed information. And you have attached information that will allow you to follow along as they reference it in their presentation. So we'll call up Penny and Rachel, Jeff, Tony to begin the process.
[Roy Belson]: So I recognize our physician out there, Dr. Kristen Goodell, who advises our health staff and does a good job keeping us informed of pediatric practice in the community.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, you can see there's a lot of information here as you're referencing, and obviously we respect what you're saying about getting it out so that people can handle it. This is a very protracted conversation. I was going to give you sort of an introduction, a little bit more of what's going on. I'd like to ask Tony to talk a little bit about MassBURT, because that's the latest thing coming out of the governor's office and Senator Flanagan's office, which I think is going to be part of the new new bill coming out of the legislature. So I tell you a little because that sort of speaks to what George is raising with regard to getting to people and really dealing with individuals rather than talking in the atmosphere right now. And I think it probably is a, it's a good thing to interject right now.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, the guidance department's hosting two specific nights. One is annual college fair. The other is the financial aid night. Unfortunately, the dates kind of correspond to things that conflict with you. The 21st is your debate, and the 4th, for those at the conference, will be at the conference. But both items are excellent events. They'll be well attended. You have a listing of the colleges that are coming on the back. It also should be noted that the Special Education Department on the evening of the 21st will be hosting a program to help parents with students with disabilities to make the transition from high school to college. And we think these are all terrific programs. The guidance department sponsors them every year along with the SPED department. And they are very valuable additions to our program. So it's informational for you right now. And if you have any questions, we'll be happy to try to provide additional information going forward.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. Um, and our last meeting, we talked a little bit about the common core and we were going to hold a committee of the whole, but your schedules are pretty tight and there's so many things going on that we thought we could accomplish it at this meeting here. Since Beverly is so good at this stuff that, you know, she'll cut right through it and make sure that you understand it. And before you know it, you'll be on a national tour explaining it to other people. So.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Chairperson, members of the committee, we have a professional day coming up on November 4th, November 3rd rather. You're going to be nervous. I had an extra day, Roy. Yeah, well, you know. It's a day. Here we go. We have a professional day coming up. Bernadette's going to give you a very extensive report. Diane, Beverly, Kathy, all the department heads have contributed to trying to develop this, working with the teachers to come up with things that are meaningful to the individuals there. So Bernadette's going to go through it for you, and I think there's a lot of value to what's going to happen on that day.
[Roy Belson]: So as you'll note, the paraprofessionals are part of the professional day. The secretaries have been going through some different programs with Pat Vuey on different things they're going to do and different programs they're using. The custodians, we're talking about some techniques to help them do their job a little bit better. We've got some of that moving at this point in time. So I think we're, you know, we're cognizant of the fact that support staff plays a very valuable role, and they need upgrades and updates on a regular basis, and especially the use of materials. If you're a custodian, you know, what materials are appropriate to use, what materials are inappropriate to use. If you're using the wrong material on a surface, you might get it clean, but you might also damage the surface. You've got to deal with toxicity. You've got to deal with all kinds of things. So we've got a lot of this stuff in motion, and we do it not always as formally as this day, because this is a full day, but we certainly do it.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Chairperson, members of the committee, Pat Vili is here to go over the financial report with you through this period. We're in good shape, but I'll let her go over some of the details, and if you have any questions, I'm sure we'll answer them for you.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah, we had talked to him, but I'll follow up.
[Roy Belson]: We brought that again, you know, it's, uh, it really depends. You keep talking to people, we get different opinions as to the value, whether we get enough for them. Um, there's some people feel we should preserve them. I guess we can give you another update on, on, on what we think the value is. But if we go to auction or we go to sell, we may not get that value.
[Roy Belson]: I'm not so sure that the instruments we're talking about are playable by the level of student that we have. There may be one that's not.
[Roy Belson]: That remains a question, because we've had professionals look at it. And some say they would need some substantial work for them to be usable by an experienced professional.
[Roy Belson]: And the wealth could come back to the community. So why don't we give you another report on that, and you tell us what you want to do as a group, OK?
[Roy Belson]: Mrs. Cunha.
[Roy Belson]: The antique. The antique instruments or all instruments?
[Roy Belson]: Okay.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent. So I gave you two off gender items, actually three. I just want to tell you what they are so that you can go over them and stay up because obviously they're in the public discourse. And while they're not immediate to you right now, they are immediate in terms of what's going on at the state house and what you need to know. The first item is the testimony at the joint legislative hearing on charter schools.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Thank you. I've given you the testimony of the state auditor, which I thought was very compelling. And I've given you the testimony that I provided at this time. It's important that we pay attention to this, because there are bills being filed that would increase the amount of charter schools available in the Commonwealth and could affect our community or any other community around us. And if they affect communities around us, youngsters could go. This is not an indictment in any way, shape, or form of charter schools per se, but it's rather a statement that says, if you've only got so much money, you're already telling the public that the state budget is running behind by about $145 million. Kristen Lepore has indicated that she's going to try to make up that money in the next few months. If you start expanding things, you start spreading it out even more. And as you spread it out even more, you're already $54 million behind. And in our community, it costs us, and it will cost other communities as well. The value of charter schools is something to be debated, whether they're the right way to go and not the right way to go in ed reform. But I think the case can be made that there are other interventions which would be more productive. And I think that the discourse will happen. Now, today, I read from the Statehouse News Service that the Senate will be caucusing on October 28. as to whether they will take up a charter school bill this year, or whether they will just simply rely on a petition or the legal lawsuits that are going through on the outside. If the Senate demurs and says they're not going to take it up, that means the legislature will not take it up. Because the House may pass it, but if the Senate doesn't pass it, it's not going anywhere. If they decide to take up a bill, we don't know which bill they'll take up. And that could be very interesting as well, so we'll have to follow that. So a lot of this is very fertile right now. A lot of discussion is going on. But it's important that you stay informed and you understand the debate. And if you read these two papers, I think you have a pretty good idea. So that's the first thing. The second thing is I gave you a handout tonight. There was an article in the Boston Business Journal that kind of tried to rank our MCAS scores, one community against the other. And quite frankly, It's a flawed mechanism because it's using different metrics and putting them together and saying the total equals a rating. That's just not an acceptable way to understand what's going on, especially since we know, if you just simply look at socioeconomics, how schools will come out. You can predict which schools will be on top, which schools will be in the middle, and which schools will be towards the bottom. So Lawrence and Chelsea never catch up. And Weston and Wayland. Harvard, places like that, are always on top. So I mean, there's really a faux reality to this kind of thing. But I did want to give you something that would show you how we stack up against some of the area communities, to give you a little bit of comparison, as you were asking that the other day. If you look at English language arts, our 92, this is 10th grade, the only thing that can be compared, puts us ahead of almost all the other urbans that we would compare to. demographically. If I'm going to compare myself to a community that doesn't have the demographics, doesn't have the ELL populations, doesn't have the SPED population, I'm kidding myself. I mean, I can't expect that we're going to get that kind of result. In mathematics, with the exception of Cambridge, we leave that back as well. In science, there's a dip there, but in science, The difference is that who takes the science test, 9th grade, 10th grade, or 11th grade? There's three different tests. Our kids are taking it in the 9th grade. And many of them have to take a different one in the 10th grade. But overall, they've done well. The other thing is the competency determination is at 220, not at 240. So if you take 220 rather than 240, we virtually have almost everyone passing. So they meet the competency determination We obviously have stuff to do, to work on, but I think you should know this so that if it comes up in discussion, you have information that you can share and feel confident that these are accurate numbers. On the second page, there's been some discussion recently in public discourse about the cleanliness of our buildings and the like. I think our buildings are pretty good overall. Our high school is 45 years old. Yes, there are some places that can use some improvement. But overall, with our cleaning service, the custodians, and the work that's going in, a lot of improvements have been made. The sidewalks, which were criticized, have been repaired. The steps on the west courtyard are being finished off in the next two weeks. They took a little bit more to get the right bid in to do that. And there's been any number of different projects. When you look at the things that have been done, you've got to ask yourself, this is quite significant. I mean, you think of all the facilities that have been upgraded and improved. So I think you can be fairly proud that you've done a lot. You've supported a lot with capital planning. The vocational school has an incredible amount of increases in maintenance and in new facilities and the like. So I think that if you look at that, you can be fairly good about that. Is there more to do? There's always more to do. Maintenance is never perfect. You can walk through any street in the Commonwealth and find it. the winter took its toll. You can walk through any public building and find that there's things to be done. If you look up over there in City Hall, right above you, behind Anne Marie, there is a crack in the decorative part of the ceiling, which almost killed me one night, sitting here at a city council meeting. The good news for me is I'm still alive, and the bad news for other people, I'll just leave them. But you can see that there's always something more to do. And, you know, I think you don't have to take a backseat on that. You have provided substantial funding, and the substantial work has been done. I believe that, you know, as we go forward, there'll be more and more capital planning. We'll be talking about that. But I don't think you have to take a backseat when it comes to capital planning. So those are some upgrades and reports to help you in your discussions as you go into the next few weeks as people maybe ask those questions, and it gives you a little bit more ammunition. Thank you. Thank you.
[Roy Belson]: Motion to adjourn.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you so much.
[Roy Belson]: The school department has any number of different units that are in collective bargaining. At one time, the lunch mothers had a collective bargaining unit. That dissipated. And as a result, there wasn't any real exchange between the different groups. But you raised it the other day, and we're looking into it, and we're going to have a meeting with them now that the school's closed. And we'll look to see what kind of adjustments can be made that are intelligent with regard to their current status. So I think it was a good point, and we'll look into it.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you, Mr. President, councillors. Thank you very much. I appreciate the support. I realize that many questions get asked and illegitimate questions that have to be answered. We'll try to keep answering them for you, but we appreciate the support you've given us. There's a lot of nice things happening in the school and a lot of the investments have been made by the council supporting bond issues and other matters. So I just want to say thank you and appreciate it. It's been a long night, but it's always interesting.
[Roy Belson]: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
[Roy Belson]: Update report. Before we do that, can we have Mr. Cieri come up and give us just a quick presentation?
[Roy Belson]: Thank you so much. Mr. Belz. Rocco did a great job in acquiring this. And we also established a good relationship with the person who coordinates the program. And I suspect we're going to see some more people coming to Medford very soon. But just to give you an idea, this topic was on subatomic particles. So if you didn't know it, you were all made up of quarks. That's what you are, up quarks, down quarks, and electrons. Those are the subatomic particles that you're made of. Everything else doesn't matter. It was a very interesting kind of discussion about how the colliders and all these things come together to actually see these things, to actually find these things, these subatomic things. But one of the messages that he gave to the young people, which I thought was really significant, He said, sometimes when you study things, you don't know how you're going to use it or where it's going to take you. But knowledge, studying knowledge for its own sake, often leads to things. So today, we have many things that we take for granted. But when they were first studied, they had no application whatsoever. And they didn't make sense to anybody else except the scientists who worked with them. And the youngsters were so engaged and so feeling strong with this man, because this man was so engaging and so warm to the youngsters, so interested in what they had to ask, that it really was an exciting experience. I wish we could have all shared it again, but maybe the next time when he comes in or someone comes in like that. But just remember when someone asks you what you are, you just tell them I'm a simple clerk.
[Roy Belson]: And everything else doesn't matter.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, our Director of Finance and Administration is going to deliver this report. We wanted to give you an idea of some of the terrific things that have been done over the last several years. And we also give you an idea of some of the important things that were done this year to respond to elements in our schools that needed substantial involvement this year. To give you an idea, sometimes during budget hearing, you would ask some of these questions, and so I'm going to call upon Pat to Go through that list with you, give you an idea of where we spent some money this year and where we have spent money in recent years.
[Roy Belson]: The motion of Mr. Schapelle be accepted and placed on file. All in favor say aye. Aye. The motion of Mr. Schapelle be accepted and placed on file. All in favor say aye. Aye. The motion of Mr. Schapelle be accepted and placed on file. All in favor say aye. Aye. The motion of Mr. Schapelle be accepted and placed on file. All in favor say aye. Aye. The motion of Mr. Schapelle be accepted and placed on file. All And Jeanne Irwin is with her. Jeanne is the person working on the implementation of the
[Roy Belson]: As per our discussion at a committee of the whole meeting, um, the system we're looking to put in place is much more user friendly. It will encourage more people to use it because I think they'll find that it's an easy way to take, information they put in and transmit it or get information back. It'll be to their advantage. But as far as mandating its use, that's part of negotiations. So that's in our negotiations package. And, you know, we're going to have to encourage people to use it. But as far as mandating it goes, we need that will be dealing with it on a different basis. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: Report on the new phone system, Mr. Superintendent. Very members of the committee, we have another surprise guest. Pat Healy is going to come up and brief you on the issues of our new phone system, where we're going with it, and the great tour they took the other day to do a lot of inventory and work with a lot of people to move it forward.
[Roy Belson]: Members of the committee. In the previous meeting, you asked for information on the food service program. Tonight, our Director of Finance and Administration, Pat Bailey, along with our Director of Food Services, Jewel Bradley, and her assistant, Maria Archeri, will be here tonight to update you on our food service program. And at some point, we need to at least, we have three options here. We need to at least meet the federal standard as we go into next year. So there's three options for an increase. One of them is an absolute minimum, and the other two are highly desirable if you decide you want to move forward. Otherwise, we'll have to look at it going forward. So may I return it over to Pat again, and they can take us through the food service report.
[Roy Belson]: I think what the mayor's asking is that the rack price is still pretty reasonable.
[Roy Belson]: I know there are some changes in the food programming for next year, and they're going to reorganize free and reduced, and they're going to call it, what is it, it's economically disadvantaged, and I'm wondering how that's going to affect our community.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Bellson. Mr. Mayor and members of the committee. Early this evening we received a capital report. And in the last page we saw that we had to spend money to replace water heaters. We had to spend money to replace ventilation systems and other things like that. Because in the normal scheme of things, things break down or things need more maintenance. We have a lot of equipment in the food service operation. It's a prudent course of action to properly fund it. Now, we can get by into the fall with just being compliant, or we can make a move to give the department a little bit more room so they can do what they have to do as it occurs. Now, we didn't plan on a water heater going down this year, but when it went down, we had to fix it. In fact, two water heaters went down. So it's really a matter of either planning for forward plan to put things in place, or just simply meeting compliance, because we have no choice but to meet compliance, or you'll lose serious money. And then come back to you in the fall and say, by the way, if something goes down, we need the money. Things are going to break in any normal operation. Let's not kid ourselves. They do. They go down. We've talked about bulbs. We've talked about projectors. We've talked about computers. We've talked about maintenance things. We have things that can, we have things that are going to go down and the food service is no exception. So it isn't a question of bad planning. It's a question of they've worked within their revenues. We've gone through a recession and we've managed to stay whole. The school system hasn't asked for a supplemental budget in years, almost a decade because we've stayed within our world. working with the mayor, working with you, working with everyone else. So we can either decide that we're going to fund it intelligently going forward for the year or going the next couple of years, or we're going to put a bandaid on it and we'll be back in the fall or back in, you know, the first of the year talking about looking for an increase. So it's really a choice. It's really a choice. I mean, it's just, it's just good planning. That's all.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Belson. Members of the committee, we have our supervisor of health, Tony Vento, here to go over this with you. This was given to you a while ago. We need to bring it back because obviously it's a topic that comes up periodically. We want to be consistent with the best advice we get from the Department of Public Health and all the other associations that deal with this, the Academy of Pediatrics, National Association of School Nurses and the like. And it's really important that we minimize student absences and we don't create a sense that something is more let's say, dangerous than it is, when we need to keep youngsters in school and we need to give people clear instruction in the school as to how to handle this. So I'm going to turn it over to our supervisor to explain it to you a little bit more so that you have a sense of what we need to do in order to get a consistent policy in place.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Mr. Mayor, just one thing. I know the committee would like to congratulate Tony on the recent marriage of her daughter.
[Roy Belson]: Congratulations.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I believe Dr. Perrella is here, as well as Mr. Tucci, our assistant principal, and Candy Margulies here, member of the steering committee, co-chair of the steering committee. Let me begin by saying before we call them up, we're pleased to report that the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, NEASC, acting on behalf of the Commission on Secondary Schools, has awarded Medford High School, Medford Vocational Technical High School, full reaccreditation for a 10-year period. This is the best possible rating under the NESC system. A round of applause for that. A lot of credit to a lot of people. The high school accreditation process, as you know, is a major undertaking. Congratulations and credit for the preparation of our self-study and evidentiary submission, as well as the confidence on the on-site visit belongs to the leadership of both the high school and the vocational school, and Heidi's here also, the steering committee, faculty, staff, and students. There are many significant findings, but I'm gonna cite a few of them here before we call up our leadership. The school board, that's you, superintendent and principal are collaborative, reflective, and constructive in achieving the school's 21st century learning expectations. In talking to the various people who come in, they don't always find that to be true, that people talk to each other. I'm surprised. The school is a safe and respectful environment that responds to the diversity of the school community. The school has made significant capital improvements and technology investments. There is a strong collaboration between the principal of Medford High School and the director of the vocational school. Teachers who personalize instruction help meet the needs of a majority of students. The use of formative and summative assessments in the classroom for the purpose of informing instruction. The teacher's practice of giving timely feedback to students. The students who feel supported and cared for by their teachers. All powerful statements. The personalized care and attention that is given to the various wellness needs of the school community, the topic that we addressed the other evening. The active and effective site council and parent-teacher organization, and the cultivation of many productive partnerships. These above commendations that I'm reading are only a sampling of the findings by the visiting committee and the commission. Naturally, there are recommendations for improvement as well. However, when taken in context, the overall picture of our high school and vocational school is excellent. The report is in front of you. I'm going to give you time to read it and digest it, and then we will schedule a committee in the hall to go over any aspect of it in detail. But I think, you know, we take a little time to reflect on it. That will give us a better opportunity to pick those areas that we want to concentrate on, especially as we go into budget. So, Mr. Chairman, without further ado, I'd like to bring up the leadership of the high school, Dr. John Corrella, Assistant Principal Nick Tucci, Director of the Vocational School, Heidi Riccio, and Steering Committee Co-Chair, Andy Margulies, accept your congratulations and at the same time answer any questions you may have and to make whatever statements they want to make. Mrs. Van der Kloot.
[Roy Belson]: May 14th?
[Roy Belson]: Oh, so what's, you know, we've got a lot going on, but I've got some suggested dates as we move into the evening tonight. Okay. Go over a whole list of dates and you can pick. I want to make sure we get better.
[Roy Belson]: We have a couple of dates a month in May that are open that hopefully everyone can.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. In fact, as a reward for all of you, you're invited to the junior prom. All you have to do is get a date. I'll let you get it at 12 to six.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Chairman, our football coach is here, Jason Nascimento. Up here, Jason, come on up and let everybody see you. Promising an undefeated season next year, by the way. This is the chairperson of the football associates, okay? So the other day, received a check from the Sylvia Occella Foundation in the amount of $3,000 to enhance our football program. Sylvia Occella was an outstanding educator and athletic director and coach at Revere for many, many years. And his family has put together this foundation in his honor and memory. And Medford was the recipient this year. He was a 49-year veteran. as a football coach, athletic director of Revere High School. And so I'm going to let Jason and Chris talk a little bit about what they're going to do with the money, and then we can take a vote to receive it, and we'll send a thank you note to the Chavo Foundation.
[Roy Belson]: Just like Belichick, we won our version of the Super Bowl against Malden last year. We're ready.
[Roy Belson]: Chairman and members of the committee, our director of vocational school, Heidi Riggio, is here. And she's going to begin by telling you a little bit about this program to extend the day and also to recognize one of our outstanding students who really came up with something special along with his teacher. So I'm going to turn it over to our director, Heidi Richie.
[Roy Belson]: The vocational school has revolving accounts. It's already been set up. The goal will be to take any tuition in and put it back into those accounts, and when there are surpluses in there, to reinvest it. In addition to our own budgetary allocations that we may make, or capital improvements that we may make, that may be beyond the ability of this particular type of fundraising.
[Roy Belson]: I just wanted to spell one false rumor that seems to be making its way around the city. Hunter is not working on a robot that will be running the school district.
[Roy Belson]: Chairman and members of the committee, I'm going to call upon our Director of Finance and Administration, Pat Feely, to come up and deliver this report and tell you a little bit about why this is necessary at this time.
[Roy Belson]: Move approval. Chair and members of the committee, this is a standard thing we do every year. I have to report to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by June 1st. I'm asking that you take the vote this evening. The choice program is a program in which if we were to participate, we would have to take students from anywhere that wanted to come to Medford for available seats at approximately $5,000. It really doesn't work for us, so we recommend the school committee take the vote to reject school choice for the school year 2015-2016.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I call upon our deputy superintendent to begin the process of introducing the departments. We'll be presenting pre-budget reports in this evening.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent bring up Rachel Berry to make that motion.
[Roy Belson]: We've actually distributed them among the principals, assistant principals and others, but
[Roy Belson]: Well, first of all, as you know, we have, and I'm going to talk about more meetings coming up. You know, we have multiple meetings and, you know, we're already in May. And so one of the things we're going to be doing is we're going to be, you've got to look at this as a two or three year plan. People come up and say, I want this, I want that, I want that. You know, and we're going to triage it for you and give you some recommendations, and then we can discuss it. It'll be part of our, an active, you know, discussion that we have. And we'll set up a time to do it. But obviously, this is, when people come up and they tell you they need this and they need that, in probably over two, three years, we can probably do it. Just as we replaced assistant principals, just as we put other things in place, you're going to see this move over two, three years. And now, if the revenue is good, you move a little faster. But the reality is, is that we're asking people to tell you what they really would like to have, so you see that. But from our standpoint, we're going to have to triage it over two, three years.
[Roy Belson]: Well, we'll certainly go over it with you. I think we've got to look at it from a holistic standpoint because the other thing, too, is that certain departments have people who can do more than one thing. Some departments don't have that possibility. We know of certain possible retirements. That opens the door for replacing people in certain ways. So, for example, a senior person retires. You might be able to get two positions for that senior person because of their salary level. All these things factor in, so we're just going to have to look at it intelligently. But first thing, we'll get it together, and then we'll have that good discussion that you're looking for.
[Roy Belson]: This report will be delivered in five languages.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, we call upon our curriculum director, Dr. Bernadette Riccobelli, to tell us about what's going to happen this summer quite a bit.
[Roy Belson]: There are a few items that I just want to cover with you, just so we're aware of them. I've given you some papers, just for your information, on the hot water heater at Columbus. We have it basically. We did do some repairs on that, but the repairs are not holding. And we're going to have to work with the procurement officer to replace that as soon as possible. But in the next few days, there may be some need to use sanitizer and other things of that type until we can get it actually done. You have a paper in hand with regard to an investigation that we're underway. I'm not going to talk about it, but you've got the paper there. The indicated minutes from the other night will be forthcoming very quickly, but we wanted to make sure I get back to each of you so that you can be properly recorded as to what your positions were. There was so much going on that evening that I took notes, but I'm not sure I got everybody's. position clearly, so I want to make sure that you have an opportunity to comment to me so I can record them properly. A couple of other things on Friday, May 8th at 9 o'clock in the morning, the Family Network is having a legislative breakfast in the Family Network area. Mary Cassidy's group always invites our legislators to talk to them about some of the issues that they would like to see happening. On Monday, May 11th at 6 p.m., the National Honor Society has its induction. It's Thursday, May 8th.
[Roy Belson]: All right, it's changed again? Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: I will check that out and get back to you. Right.
[Roy Belson]: I'm going to clarify that now.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. Um, so I get to get the national on site because I have a different date in my book. So I'm going to get that out. Okay. May 13th school council reports.
[Roy Belson]: I can't schedule. There's no dates.
[Roy Belson]: Let's continue. I had other conflicts. Let's continue. May 20th, we're looking at before school programs. We're going to be talking about our initiative of before school programs. Diane's been working on that. I'm looking at May 25th and May 26th for meetings, committee of the halls. One to deal with tech and SPED.
[Roy Belson]: Isn't that what?
[Roy Belson]: I'm sorry, not May 26th. May 26th and 27th, I'm sorry. We're working fast.
[Roy Belson]: 26th and 27th, yeah.
[Roy Belson]: One, having a committee of the whole on technology and sped together, you know, different things like that. So, instead of being in here, because those things are a little bit more complicated and a little more give and take. And then maybe that week also having one on the public relations issue that you want to talk about.
[Roy Belson]: That's why I'm putting dates out and I want to get feedback.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah.
[Roy Belson]: On the 26th. 26th, I think. You know, it could flip either way, whatever works. Public relations would be on the other day if we can do it. Now, again, I'm asking you about data because I've got to try and work it all in because there's a million things going on that we're involved in as well. If I can.
[Roy Belson]: The Curtis Tufts graduation is coming in here. I'm not sure what the date on that yet. I'll get you that date as well. High school graduation is June 4th. We got that, okay? Our next meeting is May 18th, the next formal meeting in here. And at that time, or next week, I'll be sending you materials on my evaluation and contract negotiations. So you'll have a chance to look at that and you'll be able to respond to that. Because of that evening, I would think we have some discussion on that.
[Roy Belson]: Most of them start at 7 unless you want to change the time.
[Roy Belson]: Okay, you may know the state budget. It's being heard at the state house by different groups now. There's a lot of committee meetings and testimonies and hearing going on. The house has passed a budget. It's a little bit better for us than the governor's budget. The senate will be producing one in the next couple weeks. We'll be watching that to see how those things play out. There were park forums all over the place, you know, there was four of those statewide. We're tracking those. This week there's also a GBL meeting with the athletic directors talking about possible new league configurations. So there's a lot of things going on. I mean, that's why I'm saying every day we settle something, there's something else happening. And of course, we're negotiating with our teachers and all our bargaining units, and they're clamoring for dates to be available to talk. We had a meeting with the teachers today. So all those things will be in front of us, but Some bad dates here, you're going to let me know. I'll put them out tomorrow again and just let me know. Our schedule is pretty tight. And I would think that sometime in June before budget, before the full budget, again, I'm waiting on the mayor to give me some guidance on when he's going to be prepared to go forward with the budget. But I would think that we would then have a meeting in the US with regard to priorities sometime in early June. Plus, there's any number of retirement parties and things like that that are going on that are hard.
[Roy Belson]: Well, it conflicts with some other things that are going on. So I just, I thought it was possible that we would conflict it.
[Roy Belson]: Subcommittee on Monday?
[Roy Belson]: On the 11th?
[Roy Belson]: I'll be happy to do it if you're prepared to do it. That works for me. We'll schedule a subcommittee meeting of PR on the 11th, okay?
[Roy Belson]: Well, we can hold it in reserve just to be sure there's something else you want to do. I mean, there's so many things you want to do, as you can see from all the good things going on. When do we schedule it? I mean, we certainly want to schedule a night sometime down the road to talk about the high school and the accreditation. I mean, you may have other things you want to talk about, too. So, you know, I'm just trying to work it all in, but I want to be respectful of your calendars because you've got a lot of things, too. But every day there's a bump on something, you know. Now, the other thing I was going to talk about, we talked about it briefly, Beverly mentioned it briefly, which was the issue with regard to the council reports, okay? School council reports. We're going to try a format. I'd like to cooperate to try a format. The format is that you read these reports carefully. list whatever questions you want to list instead of having a principal come in and read you everything that you can read yourself. And then, you know, we'll go around the room and we'll take 10, 15 minutes on the report, but you ask the questions and we'll get it. And then at the end of those reports or those questions, we'll then take like 15, 20 minutes to go over any kind of common threads or half an hour to go over common threads. That way we'll get through the meeting in a couple of hours. rather than be there for four hours, as people read you everything you could read yourself. So that's the idea behind it, to try it as a format. If it works, that's a good way to go. If you find something that's really pressing, that you really feel you have to talk about, well, that's a different matter. Okay?
[Roy Belson]: Move approval.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, I don't believe I see Kathleen Kaye here, but I do see Diane Caldwell, who will represent Kathleen Kaye, to tell us about an anonymous gift to the Columbus School.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we have with us this evening Carolyn Joy, our Director of Mathematics. who will come up and tell us a little bit about the blockball team. We also have Barbara Chin, the advisor to the blockball team, and also several members. They've done exceptionally well over the year. And Dr. Martinez Van Schor has been incredibly generous for multiple years, enabling them to participate in this wonderful event. I'm going to turn it over to Carolyn to give us a greater explanation.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, as we approach a new term, and as we begin an opportunity for new members to become familiar with our school system, I thought it would be instructive to provide you with some brief information about the enrollment in the schools, who is our student body, and what are some of the things that we have to face going forward. So as we begin a new school term, it's useful to provide this snapshot about enrollment, demography, and class sizes. These statistics are basically the fundamental data that we will use, the facts that we will use to determine our program and our budget going forward, both now and in the future. So let's note some of the following. Overall enrollment is 4,462 students pre-K through 12 in all our school buildings. There are students who are outside of our school buildings for whom we're responsible, but these are the students in our school buildings. This number is down slightly from last year's count of 4,514. The number will fluctuate as the year goes in, as youngsters come and go. This is a snapshot of a number that we had last week when we prepared this report. Our school population is approximately 65.5% Caucasian, 15.3% Afro-American, 8.6% Asian, and 9.5% Hispanic, with the remainder being of mixed racial origin. There are slightly more males and females in the school system system-wide. There are 23.5% of our students whose first language is not English. The ELL English language learners student population is 7.8%, but that's growing all the time. Students with disabilities are approximately 18% of enrollment. Students are considered high risk by state guidelines of 43% of enrollment. And that includes disadvantage economically, special needs, people don't speak English as a first language. We have over 400 teachers in our school system. The student teacher ratio is 11.5 to 1 compared to the statewide number of 13.3 to 1. 99.7% of our teachers are fully licensed for their teaching assignments, compared to 97.4% statewide. So I've provided you some charts to look at a little bit, which will give you some idea of, you know, where these things are distributed. But let's go on a little bit more. Kindergarten enrollment by school teacher and kindergarten age fed inclusion designations. enrollment by school grade, grade level classification, elementary class size enrollment by school grade level, and teaching. Overall, middle school and high school vocational school class sizes are good. There's some variation based upon student course selection and specific student requirements. Periodically, we will provide you with additional data as the year progresses that will help us jointly plan programs, staffing, and budgetary matters. If you look at the first chart, you'll see how the students are distributed by grade levels. See that on that chart there. Happy to take any questions as we move forward. The next chart consolidates those numbers, so you can see it by levels and by specific schools. And the third chart is the elementary enrollment chart, which speaks directly to class size. Now the class size issues are always at the forefront of the school committee's concerns. But if you look at it, the class size in Medford are exemplary. They're better than most communities around us, better than more wealthy communities. And I think the school committee has made this a very high priority over the years. And I think it's well placed. And I'll be happy to answer any questions about that particular chart. And the last chart, if I can, I'm just going to finish one chart. The last chart is a look at the kindergarten aims list. And you can see that there are kindergarten aides, some are part-time, some are full-time. Normally we assign full-time aides in classrooms where there are students who require special attention. Part-time normally is in situations in general where there are students who require significant additional time. Since we're in negotiations with our paraprofessionals, and because it's a sensitive topic, we chose not to take any time away from anyone. So there are some classrooms which are not inclusionary right now that retain their full-time in. This is a topic undoubtedly that some of you would like to talk about some more and we should probably schedule some time to talk about it so you can decide what you want to do going forward in the future. There's some question as to whether or not the state will continue to provide kindergarten funding for expansion of kindergartens. It may not show up in the next statewide budget. It's approximately $143,000 and that's something we need to take into consideration. However, you may have the desire to make this a priority and do some other things with other resources. So I'll be happy to take any questions, Madam Mayor, or I'm happy to entertain any concerns anyone has.
[Roy Belson]: As I said in my introduction, the reason for that is that there were people who were full time. Class size numbers sometimes go up and down. And because we were negotiating with the paraprofessionals union, and because we tried to maintain harmony in that situation, not bump people down or take hours away from people, we agreed to let it stand for this year until a more complete discussion could be had.
[Roy Belson]: I would suggest to you that our kindergarten class sizes even at the McGlynn are some of the best in the state.
[Roy Belson]: Well, that's what it says. You can see it from here.
[Roy Belson]: We'll be happy to provide the information.
[Roy Belson]: So from year to year, because it's open selection, some people will choose one school over the other. Another factor is that there are certain specialized classes which go up and down, special needs, ELL, and that affects it as well. We try to keep it as close as possible, but from time to time there are preferences. So the key for us is not to have the class sizes get too large in either school. However, it's highly possible that any given year, in a given classroom, or a given school, there's going to be a disparity in the numbers of youngsters who want to go to that school. So if you take a look at, for example, the Andrews in grade eight, it's nine students less than the McGlynn. But in grade six, it reverses itself. And some of this is a function of choice and what people would like to see. So we want to continue to have choice, We want to make sure that the classes are a good size, but on the other hand, we try to balance it as much as we can.
[Roy Belson]: It could very well be that one classroom may have someone in it that requires more attention. It could also be that.
[Roy Belson]: We can break it down for you, so it's a little larger report because there's more of them. But remember, in every grade level, there are two teams. And those two teams will split the numbers of students, minus the numbers of students who are in specialized classrooms for various reasons. So if you take, for example, the McGuinn in grade eight. Let's start with grade eight. And you say to yourself, OK, in grade eight, there's going to be two groups. And those two groups are roughly 75 students apiece. All right, roughly. If you divide the fact that there are four sections for each, at least four sections, your class size is around 20 or under. Right. That gives you an idea. And then you have to minus out the students in specialized classes. I'll break it down for you, but that's a quick way to look at it.
[Roy Belson]: We did in the past, but not this year.
[Roy Belson]: You're going to see.
[Roy Belson]: OK.
[Roy Belson]: I'm glad you're happy.
[Roy Belson]: It happens once in a while. I've been talking to Joe in the background, and he told me that he would come up and talk to you if you were happy. Yeah. But the reality is that, yes, the vocational school is growing. And the integration between the high school and the vocational school is growing. We met today to go over even more options to increase that. So I think you're going to see that grow. And next year, I don't believe there will be any ninth graders going outside. the district, with the exception of possibly Essex Aggie, where there is a specialized animal husbandry childhood program. But that will further increase that number.
[Roy Belson]: You'll see some interest in our next meeting. I think you'll see some additional programming, too, coming into the vote.
[Roy Belson]: All right, the average statewide is slightly higher who don't speak English, who are ELL. It's about 8%.
[Roy Belson]: It's in the same ballpark.
[Roy Belson]: So special ed statewide is close to 17%. Right.
[Roy Belson]: Most of the inclusion is done in the general ed areas as opposed to the regular academic areas. It's done in gymnasium. It's done in music and art and things of that type, the inclusionary practices with regard to that. Now, in some instances, it's done in the academic areas, but not as frequently. The numbers are still remarkably low.
[Roy Belson]: No, they're pretty good. They're pretty good.
[Roy Belson]: They're pretty good. The thing you raised with regard to the nursing services, Tony Vento is here today to talk about the Narcan issue. But Tony and I attended the DPH nurse leader program in Marlborough not that long ago. And Medford has perhaps one of the best ratios of student nurses. A little bit of amusement, Tony will know what I'm talking about. Mary Cichikowski was the superintendent in Lexington, get up and bragged about her nurse coverage, and we got up and bested her, and I said, we're better than Lexington. So I thought that was pretty good. We got a good laugh out of that. We have at least two nurses in every building. That's almost remarkable with this day and age. And this year, to your credit, you added counseling services. So I think our support services are very strong. There's always room for improvement, but they're very strong.
[Roy Belson]: We'd be happy to provide it. You noticed that if the number seven was the student teacher ratio, we're 11.5 to 1, the state is 13.3 to 1. So that alone gives you a clue, but it's not the total picture.
[Roy Belson]: So there were approximately 330 students in the charter schools right now. I mean, that number goes up and down a little. A few years ago, it was 315. It's come up, it's gone down depending on what's going on right now and people wanting different things. The youngsters at Minuteman, the vocational school, have come down dramatically. It's now at 35. It was at 50 a year or two ago. It will come down to half that, if not more than half that next year.
[Roy Belson]: It's starting to change dramatically. And I suspect with the vocational school being ascendant in terms of what it's doing, in terms of some other programs we're running, in terms of our public relations activity that we're pushing and branding our schools in a positive way, that we'll see more youngsters coming back. Because there's more options in our schools than almost any other school around us. And that includes some of the towns that one would consider wealthy.
[Roy Belson]: Hard for me to tell you exactly that because people do come and go a little bit. There are some people who've come in and some people that have left. Especially youngsters who come from other countries that moves back and forth very rapidly.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, I'm going to call on our deputy superintendent, Beverly Nelson, to deliver this report and bring you up to date on this matter.
[Roy Belson]: I will double check. So let me just make it clear. There is no opt-out. Anyone who pursues the opt-out is doing it as their own individual initiative. Well, I just want to make it very clear. The only difference is that the state has not imposed a penalty on the lower grades because, quite frankly, they wouldn't know what to do with anyone who did opt-out. I mean, what are you going to do? If a whole school opted out, maybe they would zero in on that school and bring down a team to ask a lot of questions. But there's no official opt-out of this test, and anyone who does it does it, you know, basically as a, if you will, a maverick move, their own move. From our standpoint, we think that taking these kinds of tests prepares our students best for the future, because it will be, whether you call it PARC, or you call it MCAS 2.0, or you call it anything else, it's going to be more performance-based. And we need to give them practice, and we need to give the teachers practice. Let me add one more dimension to this thing. And it's probably a good time to put it in, because this is a discussion about notification of parents. This evening, I handed you two press releases that came out of our new Office of Public Information. there is going to be quite a bit of public information on this. And in fact, I'm already working with that office and other people to go to each school and hold time with parents and others, coffee hour with the superintendent, whatever the case may be, to solicit information and to answer these questions. So you can see over the next month or so, or two months if you will, because it may take a little bit of time to schedule it all, we will be out there talking to people to help them understand what's going on, so they appreciate why we're doing what we're doing, or if they have some concerns, they have an opportunity to express it. So I think this is the beginning of our way of increasing public information, public notification. This is a good example of where it will be a very effective initiative.
[Roy Belson]: We also anticipate that some of the questions on the 10th grade MCAS will begin to overlap. They're going to change, right. So you need to understand that it's not going to be the same test.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, ELL English language learners. significantly growing part of our population, significantly needy part of our population in terms of services that are required. And tonight, we're going to give you a little bit more detail on that. And also, I want to tell you a little bit about access testing, another form of testing, which affects the placement of students in ELL programs or in other classrooms where they may, in fact, be able to take those courses. So tonight with us our coordinator, supervisor of English language learning, Leslie Trotter is with us to take us through information with regard to English language learners and access testing.
[Roy Belson]: All right, so let's talk about this a little bit, because I think it's important for you to understand that DESE recommends a lot of things that they don't fund. If you look at all the recommendations that come out of DESE, you would have to put hundreds of thousands of dollars into all kinds of things because they're not terribly realistic. Secondly, the movement of youngsters to our schools at this point is accelerated. And so it's very difficult to know how many come and how many stay. It could very well be that sometime in February a whole pile of youngsters go back to Brazil and change everything all over again. This discussion really belongs at the state level. because the state has made a whole series of demands on schools but not provided the resources or the technical assistance to bring it forward. So we're not by ourselves. The ideal is always the ideal. But clearly there's no absolute violation of what we're doing. The rule is are the youngsters getting sufficient number of hours, not are they in a certain class size. I understand that certain class sizes can be advantageous, but if those numbers keep shifting on us, we're putting money in and then we're not necessarily getting it. And getting the right person in the middle of the year to take on a class with that specific licensure is not so easy. They're not standing out there. So let's go one step further. The state's goal was to develop this retail initiative to the point where these youngsters could be more easily included in regular classes because then teachers in those regular classes would have the knowledge to work with youngsters whose language was not English. That has been very successful in Medford and very active in Medford. Our hope is that a lot of these youngsters will progress very quickly. But trying to predict the numbers of youngsters who come into Medford in any given year is very difficult. So that's a budgetary discussion we should have. It will affect other allocations we make, because we're going to have to decide what's more important at any one time. Should we put more money in this pocket or more money in that pocket? But I don't think we're derelict in our responsibilities with these numbers. It would be ideal to have the numbers recommended by DESE, but we're certainly not far afield of almost every school district that has any kind of urban rim population or urban population with these numbers of youngsters coming in. So I think it's a balancing act as to what we do, but we'll certainly look into it and give you more information.
[Roy Belson]: So I'm just going to put that as certainly in giving you this report tonight, that's what we're doing. We're telling you this is an area that's growing and we're paying very close attention to it. But again, This is something we've got to plan for going forward because it is a growing area and there will be some tradeoffs.
[Roy Belson]: Right.
[Roy Belson]: The difficulty comes in the fact that You have to concentrate your services in one place, because we're not big enough to have every place have an ELL program, a special ed program for certain types of language-based programs, a special ed program for therapeutic learning. So we have to split it up among the different buildings. Each building has certain specializations. Otherwise, we can't concentrate our staffing. And then there's an economic reality having to add more staff and also space, which is not available to us.
[Roy Belson]: We'll look at it.
[Roy Belson]: So Madam Mayor, members of the committee, special education, as you know, has many, many needs. And one of those needs is to work with youngsters who may need to be restrained at different times during the school day. And there are certain regulations that have been revised by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And these need to go into effect immediately. The school committee must actually approve the revised protocol. We reviewed them very carefully. Kathy Medaglio, our director of pupil services is here to present this report and answer any questions you may have.
[Roy Belson]: One of the problems is that, just saying this in general, is that there's so many retrainings required of people coming into schools today. There isn't time in the day, either during this time that they're hired or before, because obviously they're coming out. If the school of choice where they're coming from hasn't provided it, or hasn't done it the way we would want them to do it, we'd still want to do the retraining. It would be nice if the part of the licensure that they came out of the schools had the training provided to them, but since it doesn't, it makes it almost impossible to cover all the trainings required of a teacher coming in, this being one of them. You saw some things with ELL, being another of the retail kinds of things. There's gonna be a special ed requirement. It's reaching a point where there's so many requirements that are there. it's almost impossible to do that in front of it.
[Roy Belson]: When we have a new person who starts in the middle of the year, it's part of their assignment. You know, they're filling out their employment forms and they're doing the ethics training and
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor and members of the committee, obviously this is a topic that we've had previous discussions about. And the school committee authorized our staff to go out and actually acquire the Narcan and to do the training. So tonight we're going to get an update from Tony Vento, our supervisor of health services. But before Tony gets into it, I just want to bring you a quick update. Today, the governor announced an $85,000 grant to the city of Medford for five-year periods, a year for five years, to assist with opiate addiction prevention programs. And also today, the House announced that it was prepared to pass legislation that was somewhat similar to the governor's bill. Not totally similar, but somewhat similar, on sometime on Wednesday. The Senate has already passed a bill. It differs from the House bill. The Senate bill requires screening at the public school level. They'll have to resolve that in conference committee. But there's a lot of action on the bill with regard to opiate prevention and intervention activities. But tonight, Tony is here to tell us about system that we put in place based on our last vote to implement this system. Good evening.
[Roy Belson]: Absolutely.
[Roy Belson]: Thank you. Before we go on the next item, while Tony is here, just inform the committee that tomorrow, uh, Tony and members of the police department and the fire department are going to Lexington, uh, to participate in a multi hazard training program over two days, dealing with our updates on how we respond to multi hazards. We'll give you a report after the training is done. to give you some of the latest things that have been recommended or the changes that we will look at in our policy. But over the next two days, they'll be spending time looking at all the things that can happen, whether they be violence-related, natural disaster, fires, any kind of thing that might affect a school or a school environment going forward. So you can see that this is getting very sophisticated, very complicated, this whole health field, because basically people have to be up on almost everything. It's not just opiate. It could be combinations of factors that are actually affecting an environment. Now, it's rare that these things happen, but it's not rare if it happens in your neighborhood. It happens in your school. We stay on top of it and Tony will be leading the team of police and fire tomorrow and the next day to go over our multi-hazard response programs.
[Roy Belson]: Two long days.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, we'll call upon our Deputy Superintendent to tell you about our March 1st Professional Development Day.
[Roy Belson]: Madam Mayor, members of the committee, you don't have to stand up while I'm talking. I appreciate that. There are a couple of things you have to pay attention to. In your packets, I provided you with a copy of the open meeting law. You need to read that over very carefully, and you need to sign at the end of it that you have read it and you are certifying that you are aware of the rules in that, and I need the copies back. Second matter is that I've also provided you with the Ethics Commission's requirement to take the ethics online exam. If you haven't done it in the last two years, you need to do it again. So that's a requirement of law. You can do it online. If you need assistance doing that, come into our offices. We can assist you with that going through. That's the third. For new members, it's important that we talk about the chart, the course requirement, which is an eight hour requirement of law. MASC provides a course. There are other options as well, but it must be completed within the first year of your service. It can be done at a conference, or it can be done through one of the MASC conferences, or it can be done through actually one of their specialized programs. We can talk about that individually as to what's most convenient for you. It's advantageous to become familiar with these rules governing school operations. And also, in many instances, to talk to colleagues from other districts who may provide you with perspectives on how they feel the best way is to conduct business. And the last couple of things I want to introduce tonight, we have a guest with us tonight. Sitting over there, Paresh EC. Paresh, why don't you stand up for a minute? Biresh is the head of the Pioneer Charter School in Everett. Biresh is spending time with me as he's working to get a superintendent's license. And we're working on deals to bring kids back. Actually, Biresh is very interesting, and the two of us have very good dialogue, and I look forward to spending good time with Biresh as we talk about the relative merits of education and the like. I appreciate Biresh attending tonight to get a feel for how the school committee works, and I'll certainly spend some time visiting Pioneer to find out some of his top secrets so we can incorporate him in our program. Thank you, Biresh, I appreciate it. And lastly, I mentioned it earlier, but I'll mention it again. Tonight you have two press releases, the beginning of a very series, a very significant series of press releases coming out here tonight. One of them is about Ketty Toussignon. Ketty is the top student in the vocational school. Ketty is in the health assisting program. She's now spending nine different sessions at Harvard University in a medical preparation program. She came from Haiti, didn't speak English at all as a 10-year-old. Today speaks English very, very well, is the top of her class, and someday hopes to become a physician and to open up a hospital in Haiti. It's a wonderful story. It's out there. That's one of our stories about students on the move, students doing things, success stories. And I think it's the kind of thing you'll see coming out of our public information office. The second piece you have is a piece that summarizes the teacher contract to the public to let them know what's been done. I think it was a very good contract. There's a nice quote in there from Charlene Douglas, the president of the MTA, affirming the fact that it was good negotiations. And one of the key factors that I want to emphasize is the fact that the teachers embrace the idea of rigorous professional development. We've talked about professional development tonight, the importance of it, all the things that they have to learn in order to be an effective teacher in today's school systems, not just academics, but their ability to work with special students, their ability to understand the laws of the Commonwealth and how it applies to them, and their ability to effectively use technology and other innovative techniques. And the ability to improve our professional development initiatives and to put some real money behind it was a great improvement, and I appreciate the committee's support on those matters. And I think that story will speak well to the public, so happy to put that out there as well. So look forward to some more terrific press releases. Alex, take note. We expect to read it in the paper someday. Someday. Maybe tomorrow. Thank you.