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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-05-21-SC-min LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, May 21, 2024 Meeting Minutes AGENDA: CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 5:38 PM SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Sara Cuthbertson, Chairperson Kathleen Lenihan, Clerk Larry Freeman Eileen Jay and Deepika Sawhney did not attend the meeting. SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent The minutes were taken by Julie Kaye, School Committee Meeting Recording Secretary. The School Committee convened at the School Committee Meeting Room at Central Office and remotely. Members of the public can view and participate in person or 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. STUDENT-SCHOOL BUILDING COMMITTEE (S-SBC)JOB SHADOWING REFLECTIONS Dr. Hackett invited the approximate twenty Student School Building Committee (S-SBC) members who job-shadowed to come up and share their experience. Sophomore at LHS, Elizabeth Yan explained; "The Student School Building Committee did a job shadowing activity where we went and followed different members of SMMA/Dore + Whitter, and the superintendent around. And so basically, there were multiple sites that students went to including an active construction site, I believe, the central office and other schools, and there's one more, I think, in Boston or Cambridge. And students had one person that they were shadowing specifically, and afterward, there was time for Q&A and reflection." Dr. Hackett also introduced Rosemary Park (SMMA - Educational Planning), Brian Black (SMMA - Architecture), Jessi Jacobwitz (SMMA-Architecture) and Calvin Heimberg (SMMA- Architecture). SSBC students: 1. Elizabeth Yan shadowed Dr. Hackett at Central Office. 2. Sanjana Thesayi shadowed Alicia Cosowski, Interior Designer at SMMA in Cambridge. 3. Nitsa Agarwal shadowed Alicia Cosowski, Interior Designer at SMMA office in JK 05/21/24-DRAFT Cambridge. 4. Jason Atanasov shadowed Christina Dell Angelo, Project Manager at Dore + Whitter in Newburyport. 5. Franklin Plasencia shadowed Anthony Jimenez, Electrical Engineer at SMMA in Cambridge. 6. Izzi Schuman shadowed Anthony Jimenez, Electrical Engineer at SMMA in Cambridge. 7. Shiyu Liu shadowed Christina Dell Angelo and Mike Cox, both Project Managers at Dore + Whitter in Newburyport. 8. Jeongwon Suh shadowed Jessi Jacobwitz, Architect at SMMA in Cambridge. 9. Marcus Tisdale shadowed Mike Cox, Project Manager at Dore + Whittier in Milton. 10. Alex Mao shadowed Rosemary Park, Educational Planning at SMMA in Cambridge. 11. Keshav Krishna shadowed Erin Prestileo, Civil Engineer at SMMA in Cambridge. 12. Lola Capapey shadowed Rachel Rincon, Asst. Project Manager and Mike Cox, Project Manager at Dore + Whittier in Milton. 13. Sophia Sha shadowed Christina Dell Angelo, Project Manager at Dore + Whitter in Newburyport. 14. Shiyu Liu shadowed Christina Dell Angelo, Project Manager at Dore + Whitter in Newburyport. 15. Spencer Tisdale shadowed Calvin Heimberg, Architect at SMMA in Cambridge. 16. Bryanna Kurspahic shadowed Brian Black, Architect at SMMA in Cambridge. 17. Rithvik Iyer shadowed Jason Boone, Senior Associate/Educational Facility Planner at Dore + Whitter in Newburyport. Mr. Freeman added, "I just want to say, Julie, you catch a lot of heat from us. But a lot of districts don't have these kinds of opportunities that you've exposed these students to. That's part of Lexington and you add value to that. And I mean, there are schools being built all throughout Massachusetts, and as a School Committee member, for some reason, you tend to know other School Committee members in other districts, and I've not heard one district say that their students had this kind of opportunity. So I want to say thank you for that. I'm sure that these parents appreciate you creating this opportunity, and thank you all for participating in and agreeing to it." Brian Black thanked Dr. Hackett for including him in this experience and appreciated the students' active participation and feedback. Rosemary Park thanked all of the students for coming to their office; she feels like she learned a lot from them. Calvin Heimberg also extended his thanks and gratitude to Dr. Hackett and to the students who shadowed. Jessi Jacobwitz heard many good questions from the students and enjoyed "bridging the gap" between the SMMA and the student world. Dr. Hackett stated that she is super proud of all the students who participated and that the next JK 05/21/24-DRAFT workshop will be on June 6th. Ms. Cuthbertson commented on how generous the current high school students are with their time since they won't benefit from the new school. She also stated how much she appreciates all of the students' voices and everyone who allowed the students to shadow. CONSENT AGENDA Mr. Freeman read the following consent agenda items: • Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval a. May 17, 2024- Payroll in the amount of$4,865,727.43 b. May 24, 2024- BMO Warrant in the amount of$73,172.70 c. May 24, 2024-AP Warrant in the amount of$1,464,495.43 Ms. Lenihan read the following consent agenda items: • Minutes a. March 20, 2024 b. March 26, 2024 Ms. Cuthbertson moved to approve the entire consent agenda, Ms. Lenihan seconded. Passed 3-0. LEXINGTON EDUCATION FOUNDATION (LEF) UPDATE Nicole Coelho, co-president of the LEF, presented the slideshow along with the president, Alyson Nickse. Nicole announced upcoming LEF events and accomplishments. This year, 36 grants totaling $204,000.00 were awarded. Mr. Freeman asked how the LEF determines who gets a grant. Ms. Coelho responded, "We offer school community grants to every school, so Lexington Children's Place gets $2,500, all of the elementary schools get $5,250, $7,500 for each Middle School, and $11,250 for the high school." She added that there's an application that goes to the School Partnerships Committee, and they make sure that it's in line with what LPS stands for. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS Mr. Freeman encourages everyone to check out the LexSeeHer monument in the center of town. Ms. Lenihan echoed Mr. Freeman's statement about the LexSeeHer monument. She gave a shout-out to Jessie Steigerwald, a former colleague on the School Committee, for her work on organizing the monument. She also announced that the next School Building Design Charrette/workshop will be on June 6th. Ms. Cuthbertson spoke about the calendar update for the 250th celebration. She, Dr. Hackett, JK 05/21/24-DRAFT and Ms. Jay all attended the AAPI 5k this past Saturday and then the Holi celebration at Hastings Park. She thanked the organizers of those events. Ms. Cuthbertson also mentioned that she forwarded an updated agenda to the School Committee for the finance summit that is being held tomorrow night. COMMUNITY SPEAK Mayumi Nakamura - (virtually): "I live in Arlington, and I am a teacher at Bowman. Tonight, I'm speaking on behalf of the Lexington Public Schools Employee of Color Leadership Team of which I am a member. So it's sort of a community letter. So to the Lexington community: During the community speak portion of the April 23 Lexington School Committee meeting, a town resident spoke in opposition to a March 12 email sent by Dr. Hackett that indicated "great strides in recruitment of teachers of color" among many other points. Dr. Hackett's letter also candidly acknowledged that with regards to retention, Lexington Public Schools "can always do more." The speaker insinuated that the district's hiring practices enabled a quota system for ethnically minoritized staff. He further asserted this practice was harmful to efforts to hire the best and the brightest, a group whose makeup presumably would include fewer culturally-diverse members. This idea is, on its face, offensive and factually incorrect. We have an extremely dedicated and talented staff and Lexington Public Schools does not employ a quota system, nor does it participate in the unvetted hiring of staff on the basis of any cultural identity. Comments such as these rely on a logic of colorblind racism to devalue the credentials and personal and professional experiences of staff of color. This particular framing has a long history and intolerant rhetoric. It serves to raise groundless questions about the qualifications of diverse employees while maintaining the appearance of an arm's length embrace of equity. Although the many contributions of our employees of color are impressive and self-evident, it is in the face of comments like these that we, as a school community, choose to voice our steadfast support. The Employee of Color Leadership Team vehemently rejects discriminatory speech and all forms. We stand in proud solidarity with community members of all backgrounds and, once again, assert we all belong. Respectfully, the Lexington Public Schools Employee of Color Leadership Team. Thank you." Ms. Cuthbertson added that the School Committee doesn't usually respond to public comment, but everything that Mayumi said is absolutely true and that we appreciate our staff members. Ruthu Hanchinamani - 7 Wyman Rd (in person): "I have circulated a letter to all of you about some suggestions talking about sustainability. I'm not going to repeat that now. I wanted to clarify a comment that I made in one of the emails I sent asking to meet where I said I felt the process was rushed. I meant rushed in the sense that we only learned that the cost of the new high school on May 2nd, less than two weeks later on the 13th, the School Building Committee picked five designs. One of them, D2, was just presented yesterday. It does not have a cost associated with it as of yet. But all the designs that were selected ranged around $625 million. feel that the general public did not have enough time to digest those numbers and provide feedback. The general public is kept in the dark. I know there was a mailing that went out to all people in town, but let's face it, mail is obsolete. And a lot of us look at mail as junk and don't even bother looking at it. I feel that there is a way to reach more people. We are trying to reach people through the town; however, there are previous databases where the parents who are no JK 05/21/24-DRAFT longer parents of the people in Lexington right now are still looking database that the town has. We would love to reach into that and be able to be far more people about ways to learn about the high school. Additionally, I want to make a reference to the survey that was...that was presented. 1,040 people responded online, that is less than 10% of the households in Lexington; of those, 79%were parents, students, and staff, and 21%were community. The others of those 70%favored a new school, which aligns with the 79%that consists of parents, students, and staff at about 22 for a reno add-on. I think the voices of the general community should be heard. And I think if we open this to more people, you would see that there are more people favoring Reno/Add on. I'm not opposed to a new school. I just think that we should find a more reasonably priced opportunity, an option that ranges somewhere less than $625 million. Thank YOU." Olga Guttag - 273 Emerson Road (virtually): "I'd like to echo the concern over the price of the project. And what I see is every time that I look at the newest plan, more things have been added in. I am very strongly opposed to relocating the Central Office into the high school. Central Office has an entire building and at the moment that functions well because it doesn't comply with the same rules as what you have to do in the school. Also, adding extra classrooms for growing enrollment into a permanent structure is an unnecessary expense both in construction and in maintenance. What we need to follow is the system that they have in many other states where if we need the classrooms, allocate space on the site where we can include portables, but don't put in the permanent classrooms that do not need to be used as part of the original design because all the statistics right now indicate that our population is dropping rather than growing. And I know that you can't look into the future, but portables are a great way to solve a future problem which we do not need to pay with current money. Thank you." SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT Dr. Hackett reviewed her Superintendent's Report with the School Committee. The highlights from her report include: 1. School Building Committee Update • Massing Concepts • Preliminary Design Proposal Submission • Central Office Square Footage in Plans for New High School • S-SBC Members' Job Shadow Architects and the OPM 2. We All Belong • Upcoming Holidays & Observances • Special Presentation at LHS On May 29 • Diversity Book Project 3. Congratulations and Celebrations • Lexington Student Research Publication Collaborative • High School Quiz Show • Annual LHS Pops Concert • Spring Core Values Celebration • Festival of Colours • 2024 Longfellow Student Poetry Contest JK 05/21/24-DRAFT • Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month • 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program Lexington Award Winner NEW BUSINESS A. Vote to Approve LCP Tuition Increase for the 24-25 School Year Ms. Lenihan moved to approve the LCP Tuition Increase for the 24-25 School Year, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 3-0. B. FY 24 3rd Quarter Financial Report - Presented by David Coelho, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations. C. Superintendent`s Evaluation COMMUNITY SPEAK Susan Barrett (virtually) - "I'm a Town of Lexington employee. I'm the transportation manager, so I'm speaking in that capacity. And in that role, I am also your Safe Routes to School coordinator, a role that came to me in the unfortunate time of April 2020, but really glad to be in that position. And you know, when schools resumed, we've taken on lots of great things. We've seen great initiatives. In case you don't know, Safe Routes to School is all about active transportation, walking, biking, rolling, and the rolling doesn't mean rolling in a car. It means rolling on your scooter, on your roller skates, in a wheelchair, you know, whatever it may be,just student-powered transportation. Obviously, we can't do this work without the support of the schools, and we have many lovely volunteers and I'm here with one specific request. We had a fantastic meeting with LPS administrative staff on April 4, and that included David Coelho and Chris Lyons. And in that meeting, it was really productive, we agreed to a number of things, one of which was to have a district-wide travel survey. It's a very short travel survey, Massachusetts Safe Routes to School, so that's out of MassDot, they actually have a format that they do. They gave us the website link, and it was all prepared and ready to go and we were going to run it the last two weeks of May, which was the dates that David and Chris had suggested and the staff had suggested. However, since then, we haven't heard back and wondering, you know, right now, it would be a bit late to do it for this school year, but I'm hoping we can get your blessings to do this at the beginning of the school year. Again, it's all ready to go. What we would need is the "yes" from everyone and your willingness to reach out to the principals and have them promote this. Having this data would be something we have not had for over a decade. The last survey was done...I believe it was in 2011 or 12. So it's really important we do this. It's an incredibly short survey that would go out to all your families. And so, I'm just hoping to get your feedback on that. And I'm happy to come back any other time to tell you about Safe Routes to School, but in the interest of time, I wanted to focus on this one question. Thank you so much" Dr. Hackett replied, "We do know about the survey. We have a number of plans for surveys. We're trying to spread them out so that we don't inundate people with surveys. We do think it's a good idea. I think Dr. Kavanaugh's looking to see if/how the data may be different, and we may already have access to some of the data, but she's looking at those pieces" and that we will get JK 05/21/24-DRAFT back to Susan. POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS Nothing was added. ADJOURNMENT Ms. Lenihan made a motion to adjourn at 8:24 p.m, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 3-0. JK 05/21/24-DRAFT