HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-09-19-SC-min LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Meeting Minutes
AGENDA:
CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:05 PM
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT
Sara Cuthbertson, Chairperson
Deepika Sawhney, Vice-chair
Eileen Jay
Larry Freeman
Kathleen Lenihan did not attend this 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.
CONSENT AGENDA
No consent agenda for this meeting.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS
Mr. Freeman did not have anything to report.
Ms. Jay stated that in June the School Committee voted to approve a letter of support to the
legislature on Bill S.2988/H.542,An Act to Promote Racially Inclusive Curriculum in Schools. The
School Committee is in the process of sending that letter to the Joint Committee on Education.
There will be a public hearing at the State House on October 10, 2023. Ms. Jay is unable to
attend the hearing, she would like another member of the School Committee to attend to read
the letter in person or virtually.
Ms. Sawhney mentioned her subcommittee work with Finance. She talked about the public
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forum on September 14, 2023 that was for the School Building Committee. The meeting was
presided over by the Owner's Project Manager (OPM), Dore & Whittier. This will be the third
major construction project in Lexington for Dore & Whittier. Mr. Freeman and Ms. Lenihan were
there at the September meeting. Ms. Sawhney explained that she is also on the Permanent
Building Committee so she has been involved in the design work and Sustainable Lexington. She
also mentioned that the designers were requested by the community to be more inclusive and
that our diversity policy can be better incorporated into all of our work. Ms. Sawhney spoke
more about the OPM team, "I'm sure they were fantastic, very talented, very experienced, but
you all know how talent and experience are also not the only things that bring people to the top
echelons of power, decision-making groups or where the most economic benefit can be
derived." She made a comment that the students at the meeting were the only diverse
representation. Ms. Sawheny has looked at the questions that were asked of the OPM and she
has looked at the questions that have been asked in the designer selection process, she does
not see the same emphasis on DEI as there is on sustainability. "I am very very worried that as
we go forward we will continue to see a group of people making decisions for a group of
students who don't look like them. And I am not sure that the design decisions or any of the
other decisions will be truly representative because they can never viscerally understand what a
BIPOC person feels and needs and wants."
Ms. Cuthbertson attended the Appropriation Committee meeting last week, they talked about
how they are trying out Al to help with their meeting minutes. She suggested looking into this
for School Committee meetings if it works for them.
Mr. Freeman added that he had an emotional response to Deepika's comment and that DEI was
not mentioned once at the OPM meeting.
COMMUNITY SPEAK
Mona Roy- Bertwell Rd. (on Zoom): She wished everyone who celebrates a happy Ganesh
Chaturthi. Ms. Roy is a bit surprised to hear that the OPM team adults are all white and she is
uncomfortable with the only BIPOC representation being students. She appreciates the
comments from Ms. Sawhney and Mr. Freeman and hopes for some course correction. Ms. Roy
noticed on the agenda that there's an FY 2025 budget calendar and some budget guidelines and
it is not clear to her whether this is a working document or the final one. She suggested adding
some language on academic outcomes, mental health outcomes, and measurable goals to item
7. Ms. Roy asked why item 10 is limited to just science class.
• Ms. Cuthbertson wanted Ms. Roy to know that she and Ms. Sawhney will be meeting
with Mr. Coelho about the budget guidelines and there will be updates and revisions
before a vote.
Jennipher Burgess (on Zoom): She is an educator at Hastings and is incredibly thankful for Ms.
Sawhney and Mr. Freeman's comments. She thinks about how we have to service different parts
of our schools all the time. She thinks it's important for the people we give our business to have
the same ideals as Lexington. She also added that she was deeply troubled that the students
were the only people of color.
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Amy Morin - 22 Hamblen St (in person): She is speaking as co-president of the Lexington
Education Association. She explains that LEA members dressed in red today to demonstrate
solidarity with one another and to support the Unit D negotiations team. There was a
bargaining session today. Ms. Morin asked the School Committee to be cognizant of the
Educational Support Professionals (ESPs), Unit D, Unit C, and our Tech Units while discussing the
budget guidelines later in this meeting. They are fighting for a living wage throughout the State
and ESPs are fighting for things like access to affordable health insurance, paid FMLA,job
security, recognition as educators, and more. She also mentioned the request for educator
input on working the Friday before Veterans Day, LEA members were surveyed and the results
were sent to the School Committee. Ms. Morin stated that across the State there is a shortage
of educators, she urges the district to promptly post vacant positions so that every Lexington
student gets the education they deserve.
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
Dr. Hackett started off by addressing the feedback of the School Building Community Forum on
the new High School. "The first thought and sentiment I want to convey is that Ms. Sawhney
and Mr. Freeman did exactly what the diverse representation policy calls for, which is to identify
and look for inequities and try to use that as a guide for how we can do better." She also
explained the OPM process and how the five people who were at the meeting were a small
representation of the large team. Dr. Hacklett also spoke about the process of picking a
designer, she added, "I would also offer the statistic which is I think across the United States,
87% of classrooms, some may be higher than that, are populated with white teachers. Usually,
white female teachers, which means that many of the children who show up in those spaces are
showing up with educators who don't look like them." LPS has worked very hard to address this
and continues to work on it. Dr. Hackett recommended that the School Committee write a letter
to make sure that the School Building Committee and OPM are paying attention to our diverse
representation policy and that companies may not have a job in Lexington if they do not
prioritize diversity. Ms. Cuthbertson mentioned that a lot of this process is dictated by the
MSBA. She asked if there was any way that we could advocate and work with MSBA for changes
to their processes. Dr. Hackett suggested inviting Dore & Whittier to come to a School
Committee meeting. Ms. Sawhney suggested inviting the Human Rights Committee (HRC) to a
joint meeting.
Dr. Hackett reviewed her Superintendent`s Report with the School Committee. The highlights
from her report include:
1. Congratulations and Celebrations
• AP Art and Design Portfolio Exam
2. We All Belong
• What Is Culture?
• New Massachusetts Health Standards
3. Apply Now: Calendar Working Group
• The School Committee is forming a School Calendar Working Group to review the
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current school calendar and explore ways to be more inclusive of the many
religions and cultures that exist in our community.
4. Technology Capital Budget Update
• Capital Budget Memo FY 25-29
School Committee Questions/Comments:
Ms. Cuthberson commented that her son brought home his Chromebook with a nice cover on
it. This is a small added expense but necessary since students often drop them.
Mr. Freeman stated that Google pushes out software updates, and he assumes that this impacts
our Chromebooks. He asked if someone keeps track of the Chromebooks that have to be
replaced due to being out of date and which ones are broken by students. Dr. Hackett will follow
up on this.
NEW BUSINESS
Policy Prioritization
Ms. Cuthbertson reviewed Policies for Consideration `23-'24. The Social Media Policy and the
Student Cell Phone Use Policy were decided to be a top priority.
FY 2025 Budget Guidelines and Calendar
Mr. Coelho, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, joined the School Committee
to discuss the FY 2025 Budget Calendar and proposed Budget Guidelines.
School Committee Questions/Comments:
Ms. Sawhney asked for clarification on when the fiscal year ends, Mr. Coelho explained that FY
24 will end on June 30, and FY 25 opens a month earlier so that requisitions can be entered.
Ms. Sawhney would also like to understand what the district is spending money on in more
detail since she approves the warrants. This will be discussed further at a Finance Subcommittee
meeting.
Mr. Freeman added that this is what he was asking at the last School Committee meeting, "Are
we in budget?"
Ms. Jay added that the warrants used to be on paper, but now they are digital so it's easier to
see what we spend a lot of money on. Mr. Coelho explained that there are policies in place to
ensure that we purchase items for the best price. Dr. Hackett added that not every requisition is
approved, there is pushback sometimes. Ms. Jay asked if more visuals could be used in the
presentation of the budget to make it clearer. Dr. Hackett explained that there is a checklist that
graphically lays out this information.
Ms.Jay moved that the School Committee approve the Lexington Public Schools FY
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2025 Budget Calendar, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed 4-0.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Second Reading of the L S ellnessPolio.
Julie Fenn, Assistant Coordinator of Wellness, and Eamonn Sheehan, K-12 Coordinator of PE and
Wellness,joined the School Committee and reviewed changes/updates (pages 6, 20, and 26)
that were made to the policy. Ms. Jay suggested some formatting changes.
The School Committee will vote on this policy at the next meeting.
FY 3-24 Calendar Consideration of Veterans gy O servance & Possible Vote
There was a discussion about whether to change the School Calendar to observe Veterans Day
on Friday, November 10, 2023 by closing schools and offices that day.
Dr. Hackett's recommendation is to keep the calendar the way it is.
LPS staff were polled on whether they would like the day off for Veterans Day observance with a
day added in June or not. The results were very close to being fifty-fifty. The School Committee
discussed and decided not to change the calendar.
No vote, the calendar will remain the same.
NEW BUSINESS (continued)
SC-Supt Collaborative Goals, 2023-2024
Dr. Hackett reviewed the projected document, the following goals are based on the Strategic
Plan.
■ Goal 1 -Address and Narrow Equity Gaps
■ Goal 2 - Redefine Success
■ Goal 3 - Cultivate Student Agency
■ Goal 4 - Innovate for Sustainable Change
Dr. Hackett asked the School Committee for feedback before she publishes a final draft.
COMMUNITY SPEAK
Jennipher Burgess (on Zoom): States that it is not just teachers that are affected by the holiday,
it's all educators and specifically Unit C members who are now required to go to Lexington
Learns Together (LLT). Ms. Burgess also brought up the Building Committee, and how Hastings is
a brand new building but it has many issues including access. She would like a good group of
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building representatives from each unit to be able to participate with feedback.
Dr. Hackett added that the School Building Committee has a standing item on the agenda which
is called "Lessons Learned from Hastings"
POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS
• Ms. Sawhney would like to see data on how many transfer students we get every year.
Action item #5 (2-28-2023) was updated to include this request.
• Mr. Freeman asked for#4, Initiate conversation about religious holidays, to be marked as
resolved.
• Mr. Freeman also stated that#1, investigating FM systems and technology to improve
access and facilitate communication (audio and visual) in the School Committee Meeting
Room is very important.
ADJOURNMENT
Ms. Sawhney made a motion to adjourn at 8:50 p.m, Mr. Freeman seconded. Passed
4-0.
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