HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-01-10-ESTABROOK-min Minutes of the Site Council's
2024-25 academic year (January 10, 2025)
Attendees: Gerardo Martinez, Maris Joniec, Karyn Zao, Andrew Harris, Carolyn Mabardy
Agenda:
- Public Speak: No one attended for public speaking. Gerardo mentioned that there have
been questions in the community about new federal immigration policies and their impact
on families and students.
- Council parents mentioned that families have worries about special education programs
- Potential student council coming in to practice Public Speak related to argumentative
unit of writing in grade 5 focused. Kids may mention about the Homework Policy, have
been researching. Potential sharing their arguments with PTO board, or School
committee
Update on Current (FY25) Budget:
- School Committee announced modified spending freeze
- Some spending will be approved (supplies - paper, pencils)
- Numbers given in December:
- December budget deficit at 833,00
- 25.76 FTE added (new enrollment/ class size guidelines)
- Families more apt to come to Lexington for certain programs provided
- Transportation
- For General Education students, special education students, displaced
families
- Salaries/ Substitutes
- Following contract
- Out of district special education placements
- Specialized programs district pays for
- Direct Impact on Estabrook
- Current operating budget has been reduced by 15%
- Cuts are carried over for FY 26
- Cut into supplies, machine maintenance, professional development
- Estabrook enrollment:
- 498 students in SY24-25 (-46 from previous year)
- Lost METCO program (about 15 students)
- Impact
- Consolidating departments
- New Hires
- Might opt for someone on the lower end of the pay scale without
compromising their credentials
- Class Sizes and overmax aides
- Aides for additional support in class
- Teachers have mentioned it might be difficult to find
someone who will work for 10 hours at a time, along with
their availability
- Special Education program caps may be revisited
Questions or Concerns about budget:
- Class size and overmax aides are a concern
- When thinking about producing high quality instruction
- Override
- Andrew: people who were moderate about the highschool were
upset about this
- Redistricting?
- Some schools have a smaller zone
- Andrew- some families who have already been redistricted will
not again (especially for middle schoolers)
- This happened roughly 6 years ago
- Different schools have varying numbers of students-
- Spot Redistricting
- Can district create more buffer zones,
- Additional concerns C&I will there be a cut?
- Will there be an approval of credits for lane changes
- Can principals let educators know in advanced if they will be reduced
- Questions
- Being an overmax aide for 10 hours would be ineffective, could potentially make
classrooms worse
- Circling back to supplies, LEF was asked to provide help with supplies - not
possible based on feedback from administration
- Redistricting - making students feel like they are a removable piece of the
community
- Could this impact transportation costs?
- Gerardo shares Estabrook general operating funds expense reductions
Meeting Wrap Up:
- When information comes up, Gerardo will share as it comes in.
- Next meeting in March
Meeting adjourned at 3:15pm