HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-09-12-SC-min LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Meeting Minutes
AGENDA:
CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 5:35 PM
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT
Sara Cuthbertson, Chairperson
Deepika Sawhney, Vice-chair
Kathleen Lenihan, Clerk
Eileen Jay
Larry Freeman
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT
Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent (after executive session)
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.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Ms. Cuthbertson moved that the School Committee enter Executive Session under
Exemption 2—For the purpose of conducting strategy sessions in preparation for
contract negotiations with the Superintendent of Schools, with any final terms or
agreements being promptly disclosed in open session, Ms.Jay seconded. Ms.
Cuthbertson took a roll call vote,passed 5-0.
OPEN SESSION
The School Committee re-entered open session at 7:04 PM.
CONSENT AGENDA
Ms. Sawhney read the following consent agenda items:
• Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval
a. September 8, 2023 - Payroll in the amount of$4,682,823.34
JK 9/12/23 -APPROVED
b. September 8, 2023 -AP Warrant in the amount of$685,158.98
Ms. Lenihan read the following consent agenda items:
• Field Trips
a. Clarke Quebec Trip from May 28-May 31, 2024
b. Diamond Quebec Trip From May 28-31, 2024
Mr. Freeman asked, "For the payroll and AP warrant, is there a way in the budget that we could
know if we are on target? Like to this day." Ms. Cuthbertson responded that Mr. Coelho does
quarterly updates. Mr. Freeman stated that it would be good to know if we are on target since
the School Committee votes on it every meeting. Dr. Hackett added that that would be "tricky."
Mr. Coelho explained that "quarterly reports is where we recognize all the movement for the
first quarter that comes in December." Mr. Freeman does not want to create additional work, he
was just thinking about the school district that has been in the news where millions of dollars
disappeared. Ms. Cuthbertson mentioned the Finance Subcommittee and that Ms. Sawhney is
in contact with Mr. Coelho.
Mr. Freeman made a motion to approve the entire consent agenda, Ms.Jay seconded.
Passed, 5-0.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS
Ms. Lenihan gave a vaccination update, the FDA and various organizations met today and they
approved the new COVID booster and it will be available to everyone 6 months and older. It
should be available in pharmacies later this week. She also mentioned the first community
forum for the high school building project this Thursday, September 14th at Cary Hall from 6:30
PM to 8:30 PM.
Ms. Jay does not have any announcements, but she mentioned that there is School Building
Committee meeting on Thursday as well. This meeting will be at 2:00 PM and it is hybrid. The
meeting Ms. Lenihan spoke about is also hybrid.
Ms. Sawhney reminded people that there is another hybrid Cary Hall event on Wednesday,
September 13th from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM, it is about the LexPress bus service. The Ad Hoc
Transportation Committee will be presenting its recommendation as well as the research that
went into the recommendation.
Ms. Cuthbertson thanked and shouted out all of the educators and staff for sticking out the
heat!
COMMUNITY SPEAK
Amy Morin - 22 Hamblen St (in person): She is the co-president of the LEA, and she is speaking
on behalf of her fellow co-president, Robin Strizhak. "So apparently our keys get stuck in our
office door because of humidity, that's one thing that we learned last week. We also learned
JK 9/12/23 -APPROVED
that many air conditioners across the district did not work, and to be clear to the community,
not all schools or classrooms have air conditioning. Educators are buying fans with their own
money to blow humid air around. High school students are creating data sheets, tracking
temperatures inside and outside and community levels over the course of the week. Building
principals and administrators are turning themselves into pretzels in the quest to help their staff
and students be in a school safely in any way that they can. But in all seriousness, we want to
take a moment to sincerely thank all of the LIPS staff, educators, and administrators alike for
their incredible work during the oppressive heat wave last week. Educators felt supported by
their admin team and worked hard to support all students. Last year during the Joint Labor
Management Committee for Health and Safety, a contractual committee that exists to raise
concerns about students' and staff's well-being, there was a discussion of how to be proactive
with regards to rising episodes of extreme heat. Unfortunately the meeting ended without any
resolution. We know that some of the buildings are old. Certainly, everyone is aware of the high
school's limitations. We don't expect the town to put central air in tomorrow, yet we cannot
wait for new buildings to ease this growing crisis. At the same time, we also have many issues in
the new buildings as well with regard to extreme heat or extreme cold. For example, the library
in one of the newer buildings went from 90 degrees Fahrenheit last week to 57 degrees this
week. Extreme heat events will become more common, more severe, and will last longer. These
events are not like heat waves of the past and we need to take them much more seriously and
in a more tangible way than we have thus far. OSHA recommends for temperatures and
humidity in the workplace that temperature should be between 60 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit
for indoor spaces with no more than 50 percent humidity. Anything exceeding this level can
create a hazardous work environment. This is not about comfort, although let's be honest, it
would be more comfortable and we don't prefer that, it's about safety and health in our
community, Because children have smaller body mass to surface area ratio than adults, they are
more vulnerable to the heat and heat illness, fainting, muscle breakdown, organ failure,
seizures, etc. In terms of the impact on mental health, studies have shown that children are at
greater risk of developing anxiety or depression due to the high heat. Lastly, extreme heat is
linked to poor cognitive function and retention of information. Students cannot focus on
academics when they don't feel well. This has been linked to an impact on their future income
as well. In studies from the early 2000s on temperatures and student performance, nearly all
come to the conclusion that even reducing classroom temperatures by as low as 5 degrees
Celsius can improve students' performance and cognition. We have the same conversation
twice every year about heat but let's actually do something about it. LPS is one of the first
districts in Massachusetts to have a comprehensive safety planning case of a campus intruder.
LPS was the leader during the early days of COVID. Let's continue that streak together,
researching and creating a comprehensive science-based heat response plan and showing the
state that we take climate change and climate justice seriously in our schools."
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
Dr. Hackett reviewed her Su2erintendent's Report with the School Committee. The highlights
from her report include:
1. Oppressive Heat in Public Schools
JK 9/12/23 -APPROVED
• Dr. Hackett visited the hottest classrooms, and she is trying to figure out if there
are any steps that we can take to help in the future.
• Ms. Lenihan spoke about the Bowman and Bridge renovations; she was involved
in the debt exclusion campaign for that project. "I would not say that they were
small renovations, it was many millions of dollars and it was to extend the
lifespan by 20 years." She went on to point out that these renovations were done
11 years ago and climate change has happened much quicker than anticipated.
Ms. Lenihan asks with days over 100 degrees, at what point does it become a real
safety issue (metrics or thresholds)? Dr. Hackett responded by saying that she is
reluctant to do early dismissal or cancel on warm weather days because we could
be in for many and once you set that standard, you have to continue it. "I think it
has to be consistent, so I worry about the precedent that we may set"
• Ms. Sawhney mentioned that air conditioning produces exhaust, which is hot air,
and that can serve to increase the temperature around wherever is being cooled.
She asked about replenishing trees that have been lost due to construction
around the middle schools.
• Ms. Cuthbertson mentioned giving the Master Planning Committee an update
about this the next time they meet.
• Dr. Hackett pointed out that this issue is not unique to Lexington and it will be to
be continued. She also spoke about the interior classrooms at the high school
having no windows so putting in air conditioning units would be very difficult.
Not having the electrical capacity is another challenge. Dr. Hackett asked, "Would
we ever consider a remote day so that kids' learning wouldn't be disrupted?".
2. Congratulations and Celebration
• Vaccines: we appreciate the ongoing efforts of our nursing staff to do their part
to ease the transition and welcome new families into our school community.
3. We All Belong
• Restorative Justice: this summer we continued to build our districtwide capacity
for building a restorative justice culture in our schools.
• Lifelong Learning: our LPS Equity website includes a list of many resources for
self-paced exploration of various equity topics.
4. School Building Committee Update
• There will be a community forum on 9/14/2023 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. to
talk about the new Lexington High School Project. Dr. Hackett also mentioned the
students who are helping out and the new technology, Mentimeter, that is being
used.
School Committee Questions/Comments:
Ms. Lenihan asked about vaccination clinics and including other vaccines such as the RSV
vaccine. Dr. Hackett replied that she is not sure about the answer to that since the town is now
offering them, but one way or another people will be able to get their vaccines.
NEW BUSINESS
A. Ad Hoc Land Acauisi °onoLkLon Group Poliicy Vote
JK 9/12/23 -APPROVED
Betsy Weiss, Vice Chair of Lexington's Housing Partnership Board spoke, she explained that the
Housing Partnership Board developed a proposal to create a policy for an Ad Hoc Land
Acquisition group, which is becoming the Property Working Group to include representatives of
Recreation, Conservation, Housing Partnership, and Historic Resources.
Ms. Sawhney would like to understand the process; she asked, "How do you, or which groups
get to know about land available? Does it go directly to the Select Board first? How do you even
know that there is land available that could be under consideration?" Ms. Weiss responded,
"that what will happen in the future is if this working group,... the Conservation Commission
wants to call it the Land Act Property Working Group instead of land acquisition because
Recreation also wants properties like 173 Bedford St., which is an existing property, to be
included in this. So once a property is identified, then that property that either the Conservation
Housing Partnership, Recreation, School Committee will then go to the Town Manager and then
he will convene the Working Group." Ms. Sawhney asked the clarifying question, "So how does
this property come to somebody's attention because I'm thinking that most of the properties
that would come to see the Select Board's attention would be larger properties. So, for
affordable housing, you may just want a little cottage that has become available" Ms. Weiss
responded that "typically Conservation has been proactive and gone out asking."
If a property is identified, then all five stakeholders will come to that initial meeting and say,
"Yes, I'm interested or no, this does not interest me, I don't have to go anymore"
Ms. Jay would like to be clear on this. "This is only if it's either a new property available to the
Town or it also says use, like a new use for property. So this wouldn't apply to anything that
already exists, like 137 Bedford Street, as an example of something that's already owned but
there may be some interest in stakeholders sitting around and figuring out those issues so it
could be either." Ms. Weiss replied that that's correct, she also gave an example of private
business wanting to give a portion for public use (playground, field). Ms. Jay added, "Is the
assumption of this working group would be to evaluate possible uses and present options to the
Select Board? Or is the hope that the working group will ideally come to some consensus to
make a recommendation?" This group is not expected to come up with an answer necessarily.
Ms. Weiss confirmed this. Ms. Jay also asked about how members of this working group will be
appointed and how long their terms would be and other specifics. Ms. Weiss responded that
that is a good question, she does not have an answer to that yet. She added that each of the
five stakeholders would have a representative on the Working Group. Ms. Jay suggested that
something should be in the policy about these positions.
Dr. Hackett asked, "Does it tie into the Capital Planning for the Town?" Ms. Weiss replied, "How
do we buy it? Where do we get the funds? I assume that funds will most likely come from the
CPA. If there were a portion that was affordable, then it could come from the Affordable House
Trust."
Ms. Jay added "This talk about purchasing and CPA brings up the issue of timeliness. I mean, if a
property is available and there is a mechanism to buy it, do you want to wait for this working
group to do its deliberation? I would think that there are times where the Town will just move
ahead on a purchase." Ms. Weiss replied "So since CPA was connected or voted on, land
JK 9/12/23 -APPROVED
acquisitions have been paid for through CPA. And I understand that usually land acquisitions are
a long process, it's not really quick."
Mr. Freeman mentioned that the Town Manager is referenced quite a bit in the policy, he asked
if the Town Manager has the final yes or no responsibility. Ms. Weiss explained that the Town
Manager would convene the Working Group but it goes to the Select Board. Mr. Freeman spoke
about the inconsistent wording and also pointed out that it says that the Town Manager may
appoint additional members to the Working Group, he asked if that is the only person who can
add members. Ms. Weiss replied that yes, "The reason that was added, Recreation said that if
there's a piece of property and they want someone from Economic Development to be on
there, or they want someone other than the five stakeholders to have input into it, then the
Town Manager could add an additional stakeholder for that specific property but they wouldn't
be on it permanently."
Ms. Cuthbertson summarized that Mr. Freeman suggested adding the word "property" in front
of all the mentions of Working Groups. Ms. Jay suggested adding something about how people
are appointed and for how long.
Ms. Jay asked for the role of the Select Board to be made clear in the policy.
Ms. Lenihan moved that the School Committee vote on the Ad Hoc Land Acquisition
Working Group Policy as amended, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 5-0.
B. Integrated iaildin esi n Constriction Polio Vote
Todd Rhodes from Sustainable Lexington, and Mr. Cronin, Director of Facilities,joined on zoom
to present the updated Integrated building Design and Construction Policy.
Ms. Lenihan moved that the School Committee approve the Integrated Building Design
& Construction Policy, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 5-0.
C. First Reading of the LSellness Polio
Julie Fenn, Assistant Coordinator Wellness, and Eamonn Sheehan, Coordinator K-12 Physical
Education and Wellness,joined the School Committee. Ms. Lenihan stated that the Policy
Subcommittee met last week and they talked about the LIDS Wellness Policy. She then explained
that Massachusetts mandates wellness policies.
Ms. Fenn explained the process of creating this policy. Ms. Cuthbertson mentioned that this
policy will take the place of two established policies.
Ms. Sawhney asked about the format of the policy. Ms. Fenn explained that there is a template
that lists everything required. Mr. Sheehan added that "a lot of this was driven by the CDC
template we had to use and it was way more comprehensive" He also explained that this is a
work in progress and in three years there will be another update.
JK 9/12/23 -APPROVED
Dr. Hackett asked about the statement on the cover that there's a policy circular for only one
year and later in the policy it mentions two years. Ms. Fenn replied that she has to go in and fix
that. 2025-2026 will be the next evaluation, but if there are any updates before then, the
Superintendent and the School Committee will be notified. Dr. Hackett also asked about the
section on leadership which says the Superintendent will convene the meeting (which she did
not do). Mr. Sheehan replied that this will be another edit.
Mr. Freeman asked what the numbers mean on the grid on page 26. Ms. Fenn apologized for
not including the scoring, she will add and edit it.
Ms. Jay spoke about how this identifies things that we are doing well and things that still need
to be worked on. Ms. Jay also asked if the Health and Wellness Curriculum goes through a
curriculum review, and Ms. Fenn replied yes. Ms. Fenn also clarified that a formal review is done
every three years but informally on a regular basis. Ms. Jay asked if there's a mechanism for
Health and Wellness goals to be integrated into the School Improvement Plans. Dr. Hackett
brought up Illustrative Math (the new elementary math program) and how it made its way into
every School Improvement Plan.
Ms. Shawhney asked how the action items would actually be completed, and Ms. Fenn
explained.
Ms. Jay would like more to be said in the policy about how this is beneficial to students and DEI.
Ms. Cuthbertson announced that the second reading will happen at the next meeting, next
week.
COMMUNITY SPEAK
No speakers.
POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS
Ms. Lenihan requested for "Explore CTE specifically related to the role of football" to be added.
Ms. Freeman requested "Investigate FM systems and technology to improve access and
facilitate communication (audio and visual) in School Committee Meeting Room" to be added.
ADJOURNMENT
Ms. Lenihan made a motion to adjourn at 8:48 p.m., Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed
5-0.
JK 9/12/23 -APPROVED