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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFINAL SC Minutes 2022.0315.pdf FINAL MINUTES MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 15, 2022, 6 30 PM Present: Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton) Jeff Stulin, Vice-Chair(Needham) Alice DeLuca, Secretary (Stow) Michael Ruderman(Arlington) Steve LeDoux (Concord) Ford Spalding (Dover) Judith Crocker(Lexington) Dave O'Connor(Bolton) Jennifer Leone (Lancaster) Quorum 5 members Weighted Vote: Weighted Vote present at start of meeting.. 92 85% Others Present: Dr Bouquillon, Dr Perreault, George Clement,Nikki Andrade, Sandor Zapolin, and Julia Pisegna Note References to Covid and COVID-19 are about the worldwide pandemic that was declared in March 2020 and continues to affect school operations at many levels 1 CALL TO ORDER OPEN SESSION The Chair called the meeting to order at 6 30 p m 2 ADOPTION OF REMOTE PARTICIPATION VOTE To adopt remote participation by all members of the Minuteman School Committee pursuant to and in accordance with Sections(2)and(3)of the Executive Order Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law made by the Governor of Massachusetts on March 12, 2020, such adoption to be effective until said Executive Order is rescinded or the Commonwealth's State of Emergency as referenced in said Executive Order, is terminated, whichever happens first. ACTION 2022 #28 Moved(Leone) and seconded(Ledoux) To approve remote participation VOTE 8 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 92 85% Weight needed. >46.42% Final percentage results of vote 92 85% Acton,Pam Nourse I Yes I I Lancaster,Jennifer Leone I Yes 1 Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes I Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor ABSENT I Needham,Jeff Stulm Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes I Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote: Approved unanimously 3 PUBLIC COMMENT Dr Bouquillon stated that no public comments have been received 4 CHAIR'S REPORT—Pam Nourse Ms Nourse noted that as we prepare to move into a new stage with a new Supenntendent, she would like to create a transition subcommittee or transition taskforce to help ensure that as a School Committee,we are thinking about working with our new Supenntendent and doing what we need to do to make sure that the transition is successful For continuity purposes, she would like to name to the taskforce the individuals involved with the screening committee formed at the beginning of this process which includes Mr Spalding, Ms DeLuca, Mr. Stulin, and Ms. Nourse, with the role to focus on what needs to be done to maintain a smooth transition The taskforce will report back to the full School Committee with updates Ms Leone noted that this item was not included on the agenda for a formal vote, and it will be voted on at the next scheduled meeting (Mr O'Connor joined the meeting at 6 35 p m) Mr. Spalding stated that it could be voted on twice, showing the intention now and voting a second time at the next meeting ACTION 2022 #29 Moved(Leone) and seconded(Ledoux) To approve the intent to form a transition taskforce to help with the transition of the new Superintendent and the members to include Mr Spalding, Mr Stulin, Ms DeLuca, and Ms Nourse VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Final percentage results of vote• 92 85% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes I Lancaster,Jennifer Leone Yes Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes I Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor ABSTAIN I Needham,Jeff Stulin Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes I Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote. Approved unanimously Mr Ledoux announced that he has been appointed the Interim Town Administrator in Carlisle The position will begin on March 301}i He shared that while he does not believe it will impact his ability to be on the School 2 Committee, as their meetings are held on alternate Tuesdays,he wanted to make members aware of this commitment which will be for several months Mr Stulin congratulated Mr Ledoux on his new position 5 SCHOOL REPORT—George Clement and Katie Bouchard a Draft School Calendar for 2022-2023 Mr Clement presented a draft School Calendar for the 2022-2023 year He noted that it is a draft calendar which has been reviewed by School Council and still requires approval of the Union The final calendar will be presented to the School Committee for approval Mr Ruderman asked if Juneteenth was a state holiday and a no school day, and Mr Clement replied that it was Ms DeLuca added that the U S Senate voted to change the Daylight Savings Time rule, which is now moving to the House for approval,which could potentially change everything for school calendars Ms Crocked added that the change will impact students dunng the winter months when it will be dark until 8 00 a.m.,and this will affect students getting on the bus. b Student Professional Development Mr Clement stated that Minuteman will be participating at the 92"1 Annual Future Farmers of America State Convention There will be students from horticulture,biotech, environmental, and animal science participating in individual and team demonstrations,workshops,and in the AgroSciences fair Mr Clement added that we recently hosted a vaping workshop with the Middlesex Partnership for Youth, and it was also a robust week for social/emotional learning events He thanked Sarah Gahan, school psychologist, for a tremendous job leading this effort and rallying the students and staff There was something every day for the students to reflect upon and there were a number of resources added to our website The librarian, Ms Gleason, curated numerous fiction and nonfiction books for students to review He noted that they are also planning events on screenings for the signs for suicide which will be held at the end of the year On Sunday, April 10th, student ambassadors and peer leaders will assist the Minuteman Parent Association meet- and-greet event for parents to meet other parents whose children are in the same CTE program. He noted that this is the first big event held for parents m the building since Covid and they are looking forward to it Mr Clement presented the out-of-state field tnp to the Heavy Construction Academy in Brentwood, New Hampshire on April 27th, weather permitting Twenty-two students from electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and horticulture will be participating in the trip and experience, hands-on, eight different types of heavy equipment including excavators, bulldozers, front end loaders, backhoes, and dump trucks and will learn some basic operational techniques,preventive maintenance, and heavy equipment safety from industry professionals Mr Stulin asked if it corresponds to all School Committee policies Dr Bouquillon confirmed that it meets all School Committee policy requirements Ms Leone asked if this is just an introduction or does this helps the student receive any type of certification for machinery Mr Clement responded that it is an introduction at this point c Approval of the out-of-state field tnp to the Heavy Construction Academy in Brentwood, 3 New Hampshire on April 27th(weather permitting) VOTE: To approve the out-of-state field tnp to the Heavy Construction Academy in Brentwood,New Hampshire on April 27th(weather permitting), as presented ACTION 2022#30 Moved(Ledoux)and seconded(Crocker) To approve the out-of-state field trip to the Heavy Construction Academy in Brentwood,New Hampshire on April 27th(weather permitting), as presented VOTE. 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Final percentage results of vote 100% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes Lancaster,Jennifer Leone Yes Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor Yes Needham,Jeff Stulin Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote: Approved unanimously d Update on 1 Off-site Protects Ms Bouchard reported that Al St George has been appointed the off-site project lead, in addition to being the trades and transportation pathway lead and electrical instructor They are currently working on two Habitat with Humanity projects, one in Acton and one in Concord They plan to start the electrical wiring on the Concord house this spring and begin the work in the Acton house in the fall We will be partnering with the Concord Historical Society to begin renovations as early as this fall on an 1810 farmhouse There will also be an opportunity for some cemetery restoration repairing a stone wall which would include horticulture,as well as our traditional trades and academic integration projects looking at the history of the area and the history of the house involved She added that in terms of the North Building expansion project,which is approximately 1,800 square feet of the pre-engineered building, due to some supply chain delays that building will be scheduled a little bit later instead of this spnng We are now looking at the fall which will mean our incoming students can work on the building once it arrives,but the anticipated completion date will be over the winter and not late spnng/early fall as previously discussed Ms Bouchard reported that the East campus expansion renovation of our existing 1,600 square foot building for the animal science veterinary clinic is planned for half of the building to be used for the vetennary clinic and the other half will be used for academic space There will still be ongoing meetings with strategic partners to discuss the design of the building and what we want that to look like Mr. Stulin asked about the stone wall. 4 Dr Bouquillon replied that the architectural landscaping term is thrown wall When we were bidding out parts of this job, there was a 90-foot-long thrown stone wall that was priced at $300,000. The horticultural landscaping students made a presentation to Gilbane and the architects that they could do it for $20,000 He continued that if you spray it with goats' milk, in a year or two it will have a green, mossy look and appear aged There was continuing discussion ii SkillsUSA Ms Bouchard reported that on Wednesday, March 2nd, 56 students participated in Skills USA technical competitions with 13 different shops represented Minuteman earned a total of 17 medals — 14 gold and 3 silver and will now compete in the State competitions on Friday, April 29th. The advisors were so excited to tell the students about winning their medals that they went around with cameras and documented it telling each student they had won a medals The photos were great and really captured the excitement and shock factor of the students as this was all done remotely Ms Leone asked if there was a drop off in participation due to Covid, and Ms Bouchard shared that there was more student interest in participating this year over last year which she credits to having more students in the building full-time learning more about SkillsUSA The leadership team is also very strong, and they purposely went around to every single program to talk to the students about this opportunity Ms Leone shared that it was very impressive to see the number of students involved and winning medals in 9th Annual Top Chef Competition—March 30th Ms Bouchard reported that the next Top Chef Competition is scheduled for March 30th The event is for senior projects and will include 12 seniors. There will be six teams where one member will prepare the desert, and the other team members will prepare the entrée All students will complete the research to complete their dish and they will also have an allergy or dietary restriction to meet when preparing their dish There will be three judges for the event, with Dr Bouquillon serving as the longest-standing judge on the panel Students will be graded on the appearance, flavor and texture of the dish, as well as the student's ability to answer questions about their dish Parents and families are also invited to attend this fun event iv Capital Skills Grant FY22 Round 2 - $150 000 Awarded Ms Bouchard updated members on the Capital Skills grants We were recently awarded the Capital Skills grant for FY22,Round 2, and while we applied for$300,000,we were awarded$150,000 for the purchase of Robotino which is a flexible robot that allows students to gain skill sets in mechatronics, programming, sensory technology, motor and drive technology, control technology and image processing. She explained it as an internal "door dash" for Minuteman where you tell the robot to go get something and it will bring it back to you We are also awaiting the arrival of the MPS (modular production system) which is a miniaturized production line so the warehouse can be set up It will be equipped with sensors for learning how an assembly line works We expect the delivery date around the end of May/June timeframe i Capital Skills Grant FY23 Round 1 —Up to $1 5M Requests 5 Ms Bouchard shared that the FY23 Capital Skills Gant, Round 1, application can be for $1 5M We are currently working on this grant for metal fabrication and animal science and working with our instructors and industry partners to help us identify any additional equipment needs This grant will help expand capacity and provide industry recognized credentials in these programs, and the grant will be submitted on March 24th We expect to hear a reply on the awards on or about May 12th 6 SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT-Dr Edward Bouquillon a School Building Committee Report—Ford Spalding o MSBA Proiect Update Mr. Spalding shared that there has been no change in the status of MSBA project and campus buildout since our last meeting He added that the roofing contractor will be on campus for repairs based on the initial installment errors The budget report for February 28th indicates a balance of$37,565 00 of uncommitted funds remaining in the budget after a transfer of$600,000 00 to the north building project He added that he intends to start the MSBA close-out process in May after the field project is completed. This will include the close-out with Gilbane. Mr Stulm commented that with any project, there are going to be errors that need to be corrected and asked if the roof corrections is the only item that requires correction or are there others Mr Spalding responded that everything has been pretty much taken care of and that is the last item Ms Leone asked if the roof issue had anything to do with the addition of the solar panels on the roof, and Mr. Spalding replied that it had nothing to do with it. o Athletic Fields Update Next,Mr Spalding reported on the athletic fields EverSource has completed its work and the power is operational on the site We have tentatively scheduled a field lighting ceremony tentatively on Tuesday,May 3rd The baseball field will be complete in the next few days The softball and related fields will be completed no later than April 1st Grass seed will be put down Baseball, softball, and lacrosse hope to have home games on the field sometime in March, and rentals will be starting soon Mr Stulm expressed his excitement at the progress being made and how close we are to completion! Mr Spalding agreed and reiterated that this is the icing on the cake for the students to be able to be playing on their field, along with other children from neighboring communities Mr Ruderman agreed that it is so important for equity and Minuteman should offer a full high school expenence, which includes being part of a team Mr Spalding added that we have the no-cut policy so all students will be on that team! o North Outbuilding Proiect Update He continued with the north building project update Seaver Construction is our project manager and they were authorized to proceed with the project They have started the process with Lincoln for the building permit,insurance and performance bonds are in the process of being secured Package Steel System of Sutton will be providing the fabricated package steel building and construction with an 6 anticipated start date of August and will be ready for the students to start their work in November The student work will include plumbing, electrical, internal finishings, and the installation of machinery Once that work is complete,we expect the north building project to be ready for students in September 2023 o East Campus Expansion Project Update Dr Bouquillon updated members that the Request for Information (RFI) was sent to interested parties We have received one very promising response from a potential partner who is very committed to education The other response was more curriculum-based Dr Bouquillon continues to have conversation with the Boston Veterinary Clinic which has 3 locations in Boston, Brookline and they were looking into opening 3 additional clinic locations in the metro-west area Two principals of the company visited Minuteman and met with Dr Bouquillon, Director of CTE Katie Bouchard, and Animal Science Instructor Sasha Chapin He added that their clinics are designed in such a way that the pet parent is never really separated from their pet, and they can watch the entire process Boston Veterinary also works with Northeastern University's co-op program where they typically have 10-15 co-op students, and the company has really helped these students move on a career pathway towards becoming a veterinarian They have been in business about 10 years Dr Bouquillon, Mr Spalding, Mr Ikonen, Mr Joynt (KBA) had a meeting with two Boston attorneys who assisted the district in 2015 when we first began crafting the framework for a public private partnership They are revising the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in light of the legislation that was passed in 2018 that allows Minuteman to enter into long-term leases with compatible partners Greg Joynt knows their architect The attorneys are working on some key questions that we have, such as, do we lease them the entire building and they manage the renovation of the veterinary area and the academic space, and then we get to use those spaces? We are working on that as we want to ensure that the procurement requirements under the law are being met Dr Bouquillon added that he is very excited about this potential opportunity Ms Crocker thanked Dr Bouquillon for his vision and goal for this program b COVID/Mask Options Update Dr Bouquillon reported that masks are now optional and noted that currently there are 10-15% of staff and students continue to wear a mask and there have been no issues It seems students still need mask breaks, even though they are no longer wearing masks, and we are encouraging teachers to take mask breaks, take a walk outside if needed, especially with the nicer weather coming Mr. Stulin added that is great, as long as it is understood that we may have to reverse course at some point in the future c FY23 Budget Member Town Presentation Update Dr Bouquillon has recently given budget presentations in Concord, Arlington, Acton, Bolton, Needham, Lexington, and Stow in addition to pre-meeting work He noted that the focus is why member town assessments are going up so much and it really is all about enrollment and people do 7 seem to be understanding that He added that Arlington Finance Committee, which is compnsed of almost 22 members, voted unanimously in favor of the budget and their assessment is close to $8M. Bolton's enrollment was up 60%, but their assessment was only up 35% There was also a good meeting held in Concord Mr Ledoux added that the Concord Finance Committee unanimously supported the budget Ms Crocker mentioned that Lexington meeting starts in two weeks and the majority of Lexington town meeting voted to go remote, but she feels that if the students can be in class, we should be sitting in the halls also. 7 FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT—Rich Ikonen a Finance Subcommittee Uadate—Steve Ledoux Mr Ledoux noted that all items being presented for a vote were approved by the Finance Committee to bring to the full School Committee for approval He deferred to Rich Ikonen for the details Mr. Ikonen presented the 2nd Quarter Revolving Fund Accounts and provided members a copy of same in their packet He highlighted that there has not been much change since these numbers were last presented and the negative numbers are still due to Covid He discussed the child development deficit of$56,969 07 and predicted that the final deficit will be $30,701 00 The district has been given permission to use ESSER grant money to offset that cost which was due to paying teachers and aides, and that should offset that entire deficit Next, he discussed food services which had a deficit of $106,623.00 and reported that we are expenencing some good reimbursements with the free and reduced lunches, as well as federal aid coming in, so he is predicting a minor positive number Next, Mr Ikonen discussed the Minuteman Technical Institute (MTI) The district no longer has the Community Education line item, and he proposed the approval of the reclassification of Adult Education plumbing under Function Code 1100000 Community Education to Function Code 1600000 MTI post- secondary and added that this move makes sense seeing that we no longer have Community Education programs. ACTION 2022 #31 Moved(Leone) and seconded(Spalding) To approve combining Fund 1100000 Community Education/Adult Education- Plumbing with Fund 1600000 Minuteman Technical Institute (Post-Secondary) VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Final percentage results of vote. 100% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes Lancaster,Jennifer Leone Yes Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor Yes Needham,Jeff Stulin Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes 8 Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote: Approved unanimously b 2nd Ouarter Reports Mr Ikonen reviewed the General Fund Report, a copy of which was provided to members in their packet and noted that these transfers are made as a clean-up based on some funds that were going in the negative because of the reorganization of Human Resources, Business Office, long-term substitutes, and student transportation He noted that the contract for student transportation is broken up into three different categories—regular transportation, after school transportation,and athletics We started the budget with transportation in one group, and now we are moving athletic transportation into the athletics budget Mr Stulin asked for clanfication on the reduction in classroom teachers at $391,000 00 and the increase in psychological services of$292,000.00. Mr. Ikonen responded that some of those items were mis- classified and the transfer allows us to move that money to the proper classification Ms Andrade shared that the three FTE's, two social workers and one adjustment counselor, that were budgeted to special education teacher function codes We are properly classifying those to function code 2800 to be able to properly report on our end-of-year report to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education The other portion is our long-term substitutes line She added that we = had a military and maternity leave, so the portion of those salaries that was not going to be paid out was reclassified to the long-term substitute required for those positions Mr Stulm asked for confirmation that there was no reduction in teaching services, but rather placing people into the correct category. Ms Andrade confirmed it is for reporting purposes ACTION 2022 #32 Moved(Ledoux) and seconded(Leone) To approve the 2nd quarter FY22 transfers, as presented VOTE. 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Final percentage results of vote 100% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes Lancaster,Jennifer Leone Yes Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor Yes Needham,Jeff Stulm Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote• Approved unanimously c Middlesex Retirement Board—Local Options Acceptance Memorandum 9 Mr Ikonen provided members a copy of the Minuteman Retirement Board Local Option Acceptance memorandum in their packet and introduced Sandor Zapolin as the representative from the Minuteman Retirement Board Ms Andrade explained that the local option acceptance memorandum provides parity between the Minuteman Retirement Board System and other retirement board systems She added that the Finance Committee has reviewed this document and highlighted that the one important item that would have a financial impact is the COLA base as it would affect our accrued liability Mr. Stulin asked if this is similar to the COLA adjustments we have made in the past and do we know what the total impact on this will be to Minuteman in the future Ms Andrade highlighted the actuary notes (located at the bottom of the memorandum), and it increases from $13,000 00 to $14,000 00 and would change our accrued liabilities in total by $82,000 00, and we are looking at the increase The Retirement Board voted to approve $14,000 00 as appropriate and it would be in line with other member towns' retirement boards. She reviewed the PERAC retirement board funded ratio information, a copy of which was included in their packet, which reflects that Minuteman is in the top five funder ratios of other retirement boards, and fourth on the list at 94 2% funded, and this would extend the liability that we owe to FY28 instead of FY27 Mr Stulin thanked Ms Andrade for the details Mr Zapolin added that there are two other options, and one is just a 10-year ordinary disability so if someone became disabled, but not job related, they could retire with an ordinary disability at 10 years, all but 2 of the 104 local retirement boards have adopted this provision The second point is the member survivor allowance which is just a minimum for someone who is working and dies while employed to provide just a minimum allowance to the survivor higher than if it was calculated normally ACTION 2022 #33 Moved(Ledoux) and seconded(Leone) To approve the Minuteman Retirement Board Local Option Allowance Memorandum, as presented VOTE• 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Final percentage results of vote 100% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes Lancaster,Jennifer Leone Yes Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor Yes Needham,Jeff Stulin Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote: Approved unanimously d List of Monthly Donations 10 Mr. Ikonen presented the list of monthly donations which included a $1,000 donation from Robert Kelly to the Resendes Scholarship and another donation of $2,500 00 from Allison Huntington for the McLaughlin Scholarship ACTION 2022 #34 Moved(Ledoux) and seconded(Leone) To approve the list of monthly donations, as presented VOTE. 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed > 50% Final percentage results of vote• 100% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes Lancaster,Jennifer Leone Yes Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor Yes Needham,Jeff Stulin Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote. Approved unanimously 8 COMMITTEE REPORTS a Communications, Access, and Admissions—Jeff Stulan Mr. Chiariello reported that on February 18th the first set of offers of admissions were sent. The deadline for those students to reply was March 8th He added that we over-enroll intentionally because we know that some students will decline their offer of admission He continued that on March 9th, 11 students were offered admission, and noted that we are still waiting to hear back from two students For students who apply to private schools, March 10th was the day that they found out about the private school admission, so we typically hear from those families also Our goal is for 175 students for the class of 2026 To date,we have received 272 qualified applicants, which as noted in our Admissions Policy, means that we have received all their records and they have completed their interview by the February 15th deadline He noted that this a significant increase from the class of 2024—2026 with an approximate increase of 25% Mr Chiariello added that our total enrollment is going to go up to about 700,which is approximately a 10% increase He reviewed the overview class of 2026 admissions chart and highlighted the slot allocation based on the design enrollment of the school and noted that we had 272 qualified applicants between both the original offer and the more recent offer, and we have offered 214 students with 179 accepting There were 33 students who declined their offer, and there are 58 students currently on the waiting list He reviewed the percentage of 8th graders who are applying to the school He noted that Ms DeLuca had calculated that the school could be filled with 6% of each member town's 8th grade class Mr Chiariello showed a slide that illustrating the number of qualified applicants in the classes of 2024- 11 2026 He highlighted that in most towns, that number is increasing every year over the past three years, with the most significant increase coming from Concord. Next, over the next few months, we will begin to welcome the new families to the Minuteman community and completing the diagnostic assessments, course recommendations, and scheduling Ms DeLuca added that she is continually struck by the importance of what Minuteman does for so many students and how many more students need services of this type in the State of Massachusetts She wishes that the rest of the school districts would learn more from what is being done here and how important it is. Mr Ruderman asked that with such a large overage of applications in almost every town, how are students with special needs fainng and will the composition of the incoming class be markedly different given the intense competition between students getting in and the first students that are not getting in Mr Chianello responded that at this point, all that information is voluntary on the application and what we usually find is that a significantly larger population is on an IEP. That status is not held against students The percentage of students who applied and voluntarily indicated they are receiving special education services is the same percentage as was accepted Dr Bouquillon added that it is important to emphasize that the regulations require that we are blind to the special education status of applicants, and we are not supposed to know that If people volunteer it, that's what they do We do not figure special education status at all into the decision to offer admission That would be a violation of the regulations Ms Nourse asked if there were additional questions and commented that it is very exciting to see these numbers continue to grow year after year Mr Stulin shared that we still have to deal with disappointed parents and students, and he added that one of the Needham Finance committee members was most surprised and disappointed that we have students who were not accepted admission, and who continued to bring ideas to allow for more students to attend the school Mr Stulm looks forward to our ability to assist with these issues as we go through the plans to expand. b Policy Subcommittee—Alice DeLuca Ms DeLuca presented the Use of Facilities Policy KF for second reading and provided members a copy of the policy and the background documentation on how they will do the procedures associated with the use of facilities in their packet Ms. Leone asked if the deposit % and timing issue on one of the previous documents has been resolved, and Mr Ikonen confirmed that it was corrected Ms DeLuca thanked Dr Perreault and Mr Ikonen for all their hard work on this at the school distnct level and noted that she and Ms Crocker spent a lot of time reading them and going over all the little details ACTION 2022 #35 12 Moved(Stulm) and seconded(Crocker) To approve the Use of Facilities Policy(KF) for second reading, as amended VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed.. > 50% Final percentage results of vote 100% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes Lancaster,Jennifer Leone Yes Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor Yes Needham,Jeff Stulm Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote• Approved unanimously Long-term OPEB Funding Policy (DLCA) Next, Ms DeLuca presented the Long-Term OPEB Funding Policy for first reading This policy was developed based on the work of the OPEB subcommittee She added that there was one piece that they did not know how to word, and that an updated version will be coming back for second reading Mr Gammill suggested that we add language in the second version that says , "The annual review of the funding plan by the Finance Subcommittee will also include the calculations,based on the most recent OPEB Actuarial Valuation, of (a) 50% of the Service Cost, and (b) 50% of the Service Cost plus 2 5%of the Net OPEB Liability, and report these as aspirational funding goals for the School Committee."This language will be added to the policy for second reading. Ms Leone noted that the policy states that it refers to each new employee that has been hired and she feels that needs to be clanfied-is it only for newly created positions or for every new employee hired Mr Ledoux clarified that the intent was for just new positions that were created, and Ms Leone stated she does not believe that language is clear, and that if we say new staff positions, we need to reiterate that it is for each new staff employee, each new position created. Mr Stulin thanked the OPEB subcommittee for their hard work He also expressed his concern that our member towns are on the hook for this because eventually they are in charge, and he asked if we have talked to their Finance Committees about us adopting this policy and if they think this is a good way for us to do it Mr Ledoux shared that in terms of Concord Finance Committee and Concord Select Board, it has been presented and they were on board with it. Mr Ruderman added that Arlington totally appreciates it Ms Leone added that she has had conversation with Lancaster Finance Director and she certainly was appreciative of it Ms Crocker commented that a member of the Lexington Finance Committee who has attended several meetings in the audience and she loves what we are doing. 13 Ms DeLuca confirmed that the line Ms Leone is referencing under new positions OPEB Factor,the third line, 'when adding a new staff position,the school district administration will add an additional 10,000 for each new employee that has been hired' which needs to be clarified for each new position that is being created Ms DeLuca corrected the line to read- instead of each new employee that has been hired, it should say each new position that has been created- and the motion was amended to change that wording ACTION 2022 #36 Moved(Crocker) and seconded(Ledoux) Motion to amend To amend the Long-Term OPEB Funding Policy(DLCA) VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed.. > 50% Final percentage results of vote 100% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes Lancaster,Jennifer Leone Yes Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor Yes Needham,Jeff Stulin Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote: Approved unanimously ACTION 2022 #37 Moved(Crocker) and seconded(Ledoux) To approve the amended Long-Term OPEB Funding Policy(DLCA) for first reading, as amended VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present 100% Weight needed. > 50% Final percentage results of vote 100% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes Lancaster,Jennifer Leone Yes Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor Yes Needham,Jeff Stulin Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote Approved unanimously 9 SECRETARY'S RPORT—Alice DeLuca Ms DeLuca noted that she has not received any comments on the minutes ACTION 2022 #38 14 Moved(Leone) and seconded(Crocker) To approve the Budget Hearing and the regular School Committee meeting minutes of January 27, 20222, as presented VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present. 100% Weight needed >43 76% Final percentage results of vote 87 53% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes Lancaster,Jennifer Leone ABSTAIN Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor Yes Needham,Jeff Stulin Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote Approved unanimously 10. EXECUTIVE SESSION ACTION 2022 #39 Moved(Leone) and seconded(Spalding) To enter into Executive Session and not return to Open Session for the following reasons 1 Pursuant to MGL c 30A, §20(a)(3) to discuss strategy with respect to likely litigation with the Town of Lincoln regarding permit fees if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares; and 2. To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel, namely the Superintendent-Director, Dr Kathleen Dawson Ms Nourse noted that the Executive Session will include members of the School Committee, Dr Bouquillon, Julia Pisegna, Attorney Peter Sumners, and Attorney Michelle McNulty VOTE• 9 members in room at time of vote Weighted Vote present. 100% Weight needed > 50% Final percentage results of vote 100% Acton,Pam Nourse Yes Lancaster,Jennifer Leone Yes Arlington,Michael Ruderman Yes Lexington,Judy Crocker Yes Bolton,Dave O'Connor Yes Needham,Jeff Stulin Yes Concord, Steve Ledoux Yes Stow,Alice DeLuca Yes Dover,Ford Spalding Yes Final status of the vote Approved unanimously 15 Respectfully submitted, Julia Pisegna Alice Deluca District Assistant Secretary 16