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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-03-28-SC-minLEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, March 28, 2023 Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 5:31 PM SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Sara Cuthbertson, Chairperson Deepika Sawhney, Vice -chair Kathleen Lenihan, Clerk Larry Freeman Eileen Jay SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent Dave Coelho, Assistant Superintendent Finance & Operations Chris Lyons, Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Staff Support The School Committee convened remotely via Zoom. Members of the public can view and participate in the meeting webinar from their computer or tablet by clicking on the link provided with the meeting agenda. Please note that this meeting is being recorded and that attendees are participating by video conference. This evening's meeting is being broadcast live and also taped by LexMedia for future on -demand viewing. All supporting materials that have been provided to members of this body are available on the Town's website unless otherwise noted. The minutes were taken by Julie Kaye, School Committee Meeting Recording Secretary. EXECUTIVE SESSION Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee enter into Executive Session under Exemption 3 — For the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining with the Lexington Educators Association (LEA), as the Chair so declares an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the School Committee, Ms. Sawhney seconded. Ms. Sawhney took a roll call vote, passed 5-0. The School Committee entered Executive Session at 5:32 PM and returned to Open Session at 6:14 PM. Student representative, Aditi Swamy has joined the meeting. CONSENT AGENDA Ms. Sawhney read the following consent agenda items: Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval a. March 10, 2023 - Payroll Warrant in the amount of $4,197,455.08 b. March 17, 2023 - BMO Warrant in the amount of $123, 719.99 JK 03/28/23 - DRAFT c. March 17, 2023 - AP Warrant in the amount of $1,233,741.79 d. March 24, 2023 - Payroll Warrant in the amount of $4,330,626.34 e. March 31, 2023 - AP Warrant in the amount of $1,385,565.72 Ms. Jay read the following consent agenda items: Minutes a. February 28, 2023 b. March 19, 2023 c. March 20, 2023 Mr. Freeman made a motion to approve the entire consent agenda, Ms. Lenihan seconded. Passed 5-0. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS Ms. Freeman announced the essay writing contest "My truth is..." got a lot of participation from Lexington Public School students, the website is mytruthis.org. The High School PTO Forum Navigating Life after LHS will be tomorrow, March 29th. Lexington Human Rights Committee, Race Amity Day is coming up and this year it's going to be on June 2nd. April 1st is the second ABCL concert of the year featuring the Billy Kilson Quartet at 7:30 at Cary Hall. Ms. Lenihan announced that the School Building Committee met last week; where we are in the MSBA pipeline was discussed. She also wanted to bring people's attention to the fact that there was another school shooting this week. Ms. Jay attended the Dance Around the World event. Ms. Sawhney gave a shout -out to the creative writing club at the High School. She also announced that this weekend the LHS Environton Club will clean up ponds. And this Friday 10 families will meet at a church for a show -and -tell. Aditi said that LHS Senate was able to get menstrual products in all of the female and all -gender bathrooms in LHS and some in the middle schools. Mr. Freeman added a statement about gun safety. COMMUNITY SPEAK Sara Daggett - 11 White Pine Ln (in person): She is a Town Meeting Member advocating on behalf of our teachers. She states that teachers are stressed, overwhelmed, and feel devalued. She also commented on the Town Manager's mention of the budget and its having enough funds to meet teacher needs. Amy Parish - 200 Summer Street: She is a teacher in Lexington and read a statement from Avon Lewis, this is the link to the statement. JK 03/28/23 - DRAFT Alison Buthlay - 445 Washington St, Boston (in person): She teaches 3rd grade at Estabrook and is here to advocate for her current and future third-grade students who deserve time outside of school to be curious, adventurous kids and not to be kept in school an extra 2 hours a week. Time in school is about quality, not quantity. Putting kids in front of teachers for two more hours does not meet their specialized needs. Maureen Haviland: She teaches at the High School, she finished Avon Lewis' letter that Amy started. Paul Bowie - Lexington (in person): He has lived in Lexington for twenty years and his children went through the school system. He and his wife chose to live in Lexington based on the school system and the quality of people that live here. He states that this is not a time to be frugal. His wife has been working in the schools for several years and he has seen over the years it becomes more stressful. Now is the time to put more money into education. Ms. Cuthbertson made a statement that the School Committee meetings before Town Meetings are not regular meetings, there is no public comments or Superintendent's reports. If there is something on the agenda for those meetings that you would like to make a comment on, please email the School Committee. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT Dr. Hackett reviewed her Su2edntendentBs Report with the School Committee. The highlights from her report include: 1. Congratulations and Celebration • Hastings Joy in Learning Celebration • Youth Counseling Connection 10 -year Anniversary • 2023 Youth Art Month Exhibit • LHS Chamber Orchestra • METCO Advocacy Day • 2022 National Winners of Scholastic Art Contest • LHS History Club won the MA WorldQuest Competition this past weekend • MASBO Appointment, Mr. Dave Coelho 2. We All Belong • Critical Literacy in English Language Arts • Update on the Teacher Diversification Grant • LHS Multicultural Festival • Asian Night at LHS was on Friday, March 17th 3. Standards -Based Grading Update 4. Patriot's Day 2023 celebration; Monday, April 17th 5. LPS Core Values Celebration on April 25, 2023 at Central Office School Committee Questions/Comments: Mr. Freeman asked about the Teacher Diversification grant. Dr. Hackett explained that we have staff who are aspiring teachers and we develop a pathway to promote people, especially diverse JK 03/28/23 - DRAFT candidates. He also mentioned standards-based grading, he hated it when it first came out and he now loves it. Dr. Hackett spoke about the transition from middle school to high school with standards-based grading. Ms. Sawhney brought up MTELs and how we have people in the system that don't have a Master's degree but they know a lot. Dr. Hackett added (with confirmation from Dr. Lyons) that we offer MTEL prep. Ms. Sawhney also shared a thought about standards-based grading in K-8. She asked, "How can we help struggling children when they get to 9th grade?" Dr. Hackett replied that we are thinking about this all of the time. NEW BUSINESS A. FY 23-24 School Calendar Recommendation & Possible Vote • Dr. Hackett stated that one thing she is hearing about is misinformation about the half -days. She wanted to clarify that we have told people that going five full days is "off the table", as well as Elementary World Language. The schedule will be the same next year, there will be no changes. • Caitlin Ahern, Director of Elementary Education, and Jennifer Gaudet, Director of Secondary Education reviewed the memo. • The only difference from next year's calendar compared to previous years is the half day before winter break and middle school conference dates have shifted a little bit. • Dr. Hackett added that there have been questions about holidays, this is a larger issue that needs to be resolved at a policy level. This will happen at a later date. She also added that this year the calendar was sent out to all staff for feedback. School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Sawney noticed that in the month of November, elementary school students have a significant amount of time off and this could be a challenge for working parents. She also mentioned the challenge of conferences for the parents of our Boston students. Ms. Ahern replied that educators offer virtual conferences and flexible times, and they are very accommodating. Ms. Lenihan would like to figure out when we are going to talk about religious holidays this school year. Mr. Freeman agrees with Ms. Lenihan, this is something that we need to address. He is also trying to understand why the labels of holidays were removed. Dr. Hackett explained that they were taken off because complaints were received about not all people being represented, this is a School Committee decision. Mr. Freeman added the possibility of having excused absences. Ms. Jay is also in agreement with Ms. Lenihan and Mr. Freeman, we are long overdue in addressing this issue. We are seeing members of the community asking for recognition. She also spoke about the second page of the calendar and the professional learning days. Ms. Gaudet explained that they were trying to simplify communication on the calendar. Ms. Ahern added JK 03/28/23 - DRAFT that we have an internal calendar that staff has access to that notes which days are which. Ms. Cuthbertson stated that it makes sense to have a discussion about this closer to the end of the school year, we want to go about this in a thoughtful way. Mr. Freeman made a motion to approve the 2023-2024 school calendar with the understanding that we will at least initiate a conversation about religious holidays before the end of this school year, Ms. Jay seconded. Passed 4-1 (Ms. Lenihan opposed). B. Vote to Approve the July 1, 2023 LABBB, Colla orative Agree er�t Dr. Hackett mentioned that she is on the Board of Directors. She explained that it has traditionally been a five -person collaborative that started with residences in Lexington 50 years ago or so, they were looking at ways to engage students in the community. This recommendation is to add Watertown to the collaborative. School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Sawhney asked about how we are going to manage space since the program is at the High School. Dr. Hackett responded that there had been conversations in Master Planning about this, and the possibility of renting portable space was talked about, this is "baked into the process" of the new/renovation of the high school. Ms. Jay asked about the enrollment in the program and if anything would need to change by adding another town. Dr. Hackett explained that LABBB functions like an in -district outplacement. She also spoke about the contributions of Towns and how Lexington is typically larger so we end up having a greater contribution and reimbursements. Mr. Coelho explained that the collaborative has sent back credits in the past. Ms. Sawnhey made a motion to approve the July 1, 2023 LABBB Collaborative Agreement, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 4-0 (Ms. Lenihan was not present at the time of the vote). C. Vote on School Choice Ms. Jay moved to approve that Lexington Public Schools will not participate in the School Choice Program for the 2023-2024 school year, Ms. Sawhney seconded. Passed 4-0 (Ms. Lenihan was not present at the time of the vote). D. Farmers' Market inert Request - Dose ear rewin Mr. Freeman moved to allow House Bear Brewing, LLC to sell Mead at the Lexington Farmers' Market for the 2023 season from May 30, 2023 through November 21, 2023 at the Lexington Farmers' Market grounds, Ms. Sawhney seconded. Passed 5-0. JK 03/28/23 - DRAFT E. Vote One SC Member to the No matin Co r ee fort a Eecu `ve Board o the Cary Memorial jLbrary Board of Trustees Ms. Cuthbertson moved to appoint Ms. Lenihan to the Nominating Committee for the Executive Board of the Cary Memorial Library Board of Trustees, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 5-0. F. Vote to appoint two individuals to the Per anent uil int Cornnlittee fort e high school r`ect The School Committee discussed and decided that since not enough is known that it would be best to table this vote at this time. Ms. Lenihan made a motion to table this proposal from the PBC, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 5-0. G. Vote to_ppoint the Permanent Building Committee and Sustainable Lexington as the Committee to review the Integrated Building Design and Consruc `on Policy Ms. Sawhney moved to name the Permanent Building Committee and Sustainable Lexington Committee to the Committee jointly appointed by the Elected Boards every three years or sooner, as required to reflect current best practices and performance standards for health, energy, and resilience and any updates to applicable codes and reference materials, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 5-0. The School Committee took a recess from 8:04 PM to 8:11 PM. CAPITAL PLANNING Master Planning Advisory Committee's Central Office Relocation Recommendation Mike Cronin, Director of Public Facilities, and Dr. Hackett reviewed the slideshow. The Administrations Recommendation is Option 4a, temporary relocation to 173 Bedford, demolish & LHS Addition. No vote was taken. School Committee Questions/Comments: Mr. Freeman understood that the bathrooms on the fields would not be impacted by the building of the new high school; he asked if that has since changed. Mr. Cronin's recollection is the bathroom facilities would not be impacted by the construction of the new high school. Mr. Freeman then asked about the tennis courts, and Mr. Cronin replied that there is work to be done on the tennis courts and pickleball courts. The MSBA will investigate and decide which areas will not be touched and which ones will be put "offline" Mr. Freeman asked if the possibility of inflated costs is built into the proposal, Mr. Cronin responded that the costs seem to be relatively stable right now. He added that there would be updates on numbers. Mr. Freeman is also concerned about the square footage for Central Office, Dr. Hackett responded that she thinks that the proposed Central Office size is just the right size. JK 03/28/23 - DRAFT Ms. Lenihan asked "Can we do this?", move to 173 Bedford, tear down the current CO building, build the fields, and have the School Committee retain the authority of this parcel? She is concerned that once we give up the authority over this parcel, it's gone forever. Dr. Hackett answered that it would be given back to the Town. Ms. Lenihan would like to discuss this with the Select Board. She is also concerned a situation where we move out of CO, the building is demolished and the debt exclusion does not get passed. Ms. Jay's worry about moving Central Office into the new high school is the number of constraints on that piece of land. She feels like we may be tight on space and does not want this to compromise what we want for the high school. She also brought up the need for an additional 50 spaces for parking on that same plot of land. She is thinking about what are we going to have to trade-off in the design of the high school in order to accommodate the Central Office. Mr. Cronin responded that the Central Office would be a little bit less than 3% of the new building; he wants it to be clear that it is not a big "chunk" of the new building. He also stated that the plan for the new high school includes 600 parking spaces, 200 more than there are currently. Mr. Cronin added that the new building would be much more efficient and have a smaller footprint. Ms. Cuthbertson asked when we need to make a decision on this. Mr. Cronin replied that the School Committee should meet with the Select Board over this sooner rather than later. Ms. Cuthbertson suggests that no vote be taken at this meeting. COMMUNITY SPEAK Lauren Mills: She is a teacher in Lexington and loves teaching in Lexington. She states that it was very interesting listening to everything the School Committee discussed about the location of CO. She feels that often the middle school conditions are unsafe, they are overcrowded and the HVAC does not work. It is frustrating to her to hear the talk of putting in a pool when her classroom was 90 degrees from May to June. She states that she emailed the School Committee, Dr. Hackett and facilities but never received a response. She added that her students have to wear coats in class during the winter and the air filter in her room is disgusting. These conditions impact the students and the staff. Dr. Hackett stated that she is checking her emails and she does have emails from Lauren but they are not about the heating. Ms. Cuthbertson added that she does not see any emails to the School Committee either. Dr. Hackett informed Lauren to make sure she communicates with the principal, and she responded that she has had conversations and nothing has happened from them and that this has been going on since before COVID. She has the emails, Dr. Hackett asked her to send them to her and she will follow up with facilities and she acknowledges that the building does need work. Lauren thanked the School Committee for listening. Susan Seppe: She works at Bowman and has been a teacher in Lexington for 28 years. She has been a Kindergarten teacher, and first -grade teacher and is currently a literacy specialist. She finds it insulting that we are talking about a new Central Office when teachers are fighting for equitable pay. She pointed out all of the extra work teachers and specialists have done since the pandemic. She added that the morale among teachers is super low, they are tired and they JK 03/28/23 - DRAFT always go above and beyond for the students. Mona Roy, Bertwell Rd: She would like to make sure that when planning for space, there are enough classrooms for special education services. She would also appreciate community conversations about graduation requirements and what the community wants from the building. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Lenihan made a motion to adjourn at 9:38 PM, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 5-0. JK 03/28/23 - DRAFT