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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-11-18-SC-minLEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday, November 18, 2025 Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:01 PM SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Eileen Jay, Chairperson Sara Cuthbertson, Clerk Kathleen Lenihan Sarah Carter Larry Freeman, Vice -Chair, 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 remotely. 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 attendees are participating via 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 Ms Lenihan read the following consent agenda items: • Payroll and Accounts Payable Warrant Approval a. October 31, 2025 - Payroll in the amount of $5,258,367.76 b. November 14, 2025 -AP Warrant in the amount of $1,758,850.49 c. November 14, 2025 - Payroll in the amount of $5,366,767.59 Ms Cuthbertson read the following consent agenda items: • Minutes a. October 21, 2025 Ms Carter read the following consent agenda items: • Donations a. A Donation of BOLT -XC pole Vault Equipment at a Value of $19,922.20 Ms. Lenihan moved to approve the entire consent agenda, and Ms. Cuthbertson seconded. Ms. Jay took a roll -call vote; the motion passed 4-0. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS AND LIAISON REPORTS Ms Lenihan reminded everyone of important dates for the high school project vote. The last day to register is November 28, and the last day to request a mail -in ballot is December 1. She encouraged everyone to register and request ballots early to avoid any issues on Election Day. Ms Cuthbertson thanked the Indian Americans of Lexington (IAL) for hosting their Diwali celebration, which she attended. Ms Carter reminded the other School Committee members to complete community service hours. There will be an opportunity to log volunteer and attend the V0250 lighting of the arch on November 28, 2025. She also encouraged any youth to also log their hours. Ms Jay announced that there will be a full board meeting of the Cary Library on November 19, 2025. She also thanks IAL for the Diwali celebration. COMMUNITY SPEAK Wendi Hoffer - 3 Crawford Rd: Ms Hoffer is speaking on behalf of the parent group, Lex Kids Be Kids. They support healthy, developmentally aligned, and balanced tech environments for children. She proposes the creation of a Technology Advisory Committee for Lexington Public Schools to provide a structured forum where parents, educators, administrators, and students can collaborate to examine the use of technology. The proposal highlighted concerns from recent parent surveys, including excessive screen time, inconsistent enforcement of personal device policies, mandatory social media communication, unclear use of Al, and a general lack of clarity about technology in schools. Ms Hoffer also referenced Malden Public Schools' new Al Working Group as a model for collaboration. She emphasised that technology has a significant impact on student well-being, learning, and relationships. PRESENTATION: Sustainability Champs & LPS Green Team Update Christine Goulet joined the School Committee to lead the presentation. Dr. Hackett had an announcement in her Superintendent's report about the Green Team, so she shared that before the presentation. On Monday, October 27th, the Green Team travelled to the State House in Boston for a rally, and then testified before the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on the bill and act restricting the use of rodenticides. Ms Goulet explained that every school had a different starting point with having a Sustainability Champion or Green Team. The Sustainability Champions are designated LPS staff in each building who promote sustainability actions and initiatives in the schools. They not only work with students, but they also collaborate with Facilities, cafeteria services, Whitson's, the administration, teachers, as well as the community and families. Each school's Sustainability Champion will share something they are proud of from last year and something they are working on this year. • Lexington Children's Place (LCP) - Jane Do o Teaching the children about composting. o This year, they will work on starting a Pollinator garden. • Bowman -Stephanie Kelly, the Sustainability Champion, was unable to attend the meeting. Ms. Goulet highlighted Ms. Kelly's accomplishments: o She worked with fifth -grade students in the pollinator garden. o She collected 50 coats through Anton's Cleaners. o She expanded the Hard to Recycle items. o She also worked with Safe Routes to School with the Walk N' Roll o She presented at a faculty meeting o And she helped set up the hydroponic garden • Bridge - Heather Kinney o Ms. Kinney is encouraging students to be leaders in the school and the community with a focus on environmental causes. o She helped students present to Kindergarteners through second -graders o Fifth graders share their knowledge of sustainability with younger students through classroom lessons. o Other initiatives: Lights Out for Lunch, collecting over 300 books to send to an underprivileged village, working on the pollinator garden, expanding recycling, and encouraging students to use their voice and to be active in the Student Government Sustainability groups • Estabrook - Katherine "KC" Pyskaty o Green Team meetings every second and fourth Thursday. o Collected Trex plastic. o Students made posters to educate other students and staff about composting. o Last year Estabrok hosted 3 Walk N' Roll events. o Students emailed and interviewed people from around town. o Students created several "Sustainability" bulletin boards and handouts. o Students encouraged other students to compost on Fridays. o Campus clean-ups last year, the first one for this year will be on Thursday. o Lots of learning has been happening in the Estabrook greenhouse. o A new pollinator garden is in the works. o Held an event for Earth Week. o Librarians helped find books for Story Walks. • Fiske -Julie Romagna o Fiske has an active team of 56 parent volunteers staffing the composting station during lunch periods. o Composting efforts have reduced the number of trash bags generated from 15 bags per week to 4, and dumpster pickups have decreased from three times a week to once a week. o Plans for this year include coordinating with classroom teachers on persuasive writing lessons where students will write letters to Whitsons. o Students will thank Whitsons for increased use of compostable products and request the elimination of plastic cups used for fruits and vegetables. o The goal for this year is to reduce waste and plastic contact with students' food. o Despite the town -wide elimination of single -serve plastic bottles, plastic cups are still used in school food service. • Harrington -Abby Brayton -Chung (Abby couldn't attend the meeting, so Ms. Goulet presented on her behalf) o One of Abby's main accomplishments from last year was starting a fifth -grade Hawks Council Sustainability team, as part of the fifth -grade Student Council. o Two Walk, Bike and Roll Days o Waste -free Wednesday initiative o Maintained the school's pollinator garden o Work to expand student -led, school -wide, sustainability initiatives. o Supporting the new hydroponic gardens. • Hastings - Thais Gloor o Last year, Ms. Gloor proposed the idea of creating a virtual field trip to the Black Earth compost facility. A group of adults was scheduled to visit Black Earth Composting on May 23rd to make the video, but a storm prevented the visit. She hopes to be able to make it to Black Earth in the spring. o The hydroponic garden has just been set up, and planting will begin in January. o This year, Ms. Gloor would like to see an increase in composting opportunities, including the placement of composting containers in the teacher lounges. o Other initiatives at Hastings include the Pollinator garden and Safe Routes to School. • Clarke - Tracey Herbert o Ms. Herbert has been part of the Green Team for about 15 years. o Two Walk N' Roll events this year, o Students participated in school cleanup activities (the Green Up Cleanup). o Students are working toward achieving a plastic -free lunch. o Met with Whitsons' (Kevin Silvia) to share ideas and initiatives. o Educating parents on how to reduce plastic in the lunches they pack for students. • Diamond - Christine Goulet o Last year's biggest success was the start of Diamond's first native garden. o School -wide bingo during Earth Month. o Students gather plastic and other recyclable materials. • Lexington High School - Sarah Anderson (Damian Barneschi is currently out on paternity leave) o Big pushes for composting and less plastic. o Recycling of toners and batteries. o Promoting Walk N' Roll and other initiatives. o Many environmental clubs have been established. o Ms. Anderson would like to create a webpage so that people can look up where certain items can be recycled, as well as find answers to basic questions about recycling and information on the environmental clubs. o Reminding students and staff to turn off lights and machines when not in use. o The Green Team pushed for reusable plates and real utensils to be used at faculty and staff breakfast. o The Sustainability Champion role is helping with logistics and figuring out what is feasible in different schools. • Green Team Updates o Cindy Arnes appreciated the focus on the harms of plastics, especially to children's health, and emphasized the need to keep plastics away from food sources. Ms. Arnes also noted that the town has begun a pilot agreement with Black Earth to process food waste at the Hartwell facility, which is expected to be operational by spring, allowing more people to observe composting locally instead of traveling to Manchester. o Lin Jensen gave four updates: ■ Update 1: Harrington installed a second dishwasher and started using reusable trays and utensils. Several groups contributed to funding the project, and the new system has been highly successful. A celebration is planned for January. ■ Update 2: We are planning to add dishwashers and reusable items to two additional schools. Maggie Peard will meet with Dr. Scully, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, in December to discuss funding for this initiative. ■ Update 3: Harrington now uses stainless steel trays instead of plastic. This is healthier for students, especially with hot food. The trays sometimes show watermarks, but they expect improvements in cleaning. ■ Update 4: The food rescue program continues to grow. Middle and high schools often have fridges where leftover food can be shared instead of being thrown away, and extra food is sometimes donated to shelters. School Committee Questions/Comments: Ms. Lenihan is excited about the pollinator garden and composting projects and hopes they grow and encourage more families to compost at home. She shared that composting keeps her kitchen and garbage cans cleaner and is better for the environment. She also liked the idea of a student field trip. She was interested in the high school's mention of Al and energy use, and noted concerns about the amount of electricity data centers consume. She is curious to see how students will think about balancing sustainability with the use of Al. Ms. Cuthbertson thanked everyone for their presentation and hard work. She recalled her time as PTO co -president at Estabrook during the Black Earth grant, noting the considerable effort it takes each year to keep the program running. She praised the dedication of the volunteers and staff, saying their commitment makes the program a success. She also said Lexington is a great example for other communities and that working together can make an even bigger difference. Ms. Carter praised the team for teaching sustainable habits to young children, starting as early as ages three and four. She noted that learning these habits early helps them become second nature as children grow. Ms. Carter hopes these ideas can spread so that young people can have a more sustainable future. Ms. Jay thanked the team for their work and noted seeing the hydroponic gardens at Estabrook and how similar efforts are now happening in many schools. She appreciated that each school adapts projects to fit its own community. Ms. Jay was impressed by the team's dedication beyond their regular duties and recognized their passion for supporting students. She highlighted the ongoing collaboration between parents, community, and schools and expressed confidence that these efforts will continue. Dr. Hackett thanked the team for their small actions that are leading to big outcomes for students. She noted that every school now has a hydroponic tower, thanks in large part to Kevin Silvia from Whitsons. All of this work really benefits our students and the planet. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT Dr Hackett reviewed her Superintendent's Report with the School Committee. The highlights from her report include: • Lexington Girls Win First Cross Country State Title since 2016, our boys took 4th place overall. • Education Support Professionals (ESP) Day is Wednesday, November 19th. • LPS Athletic Director, Naomi Martin, Named District 4 Athletic Director of the Year. • Honoring veterans on Veterans Day, November 11th. • The American Revolution, a film by Ken Burns, premiered on PBS on November 16th. • Empowering Citizens Conference on October 29th with Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan. • High School Building Project Update: On November 3rd at Special Town Meeting, we had a 91% vote in favor of advancing the high school project to a town -wide debt exclusion vote, which will take place on December 8th. Voting registrations must be done before November 28th. o Ms. Carter noted that this election is on a Monday. • The Core Values Awards night is scheduled for December 16th in the Central Office gymnasium at 4:00 pm. • Doreen Crowe, Director of School Health Services, gave a seasonal health reminder. • Indian Americans of Lexington (IAL) turns 30 this year, and they celebrated with a Diwali event on November 9th. • Harrington's Cultural Night, Passport to Joy: A Heritage Celebration. • English Language Education (ELE) Resources Fair will be on January 21, 2026. • LexGiving 5K on November 28th. • Lexington vs. Concord Carlisle will be playing at Fenway Park on November 26th. POLICY READINGS a. Comloetencv Determination Policy - Third Reading & Possible Vote • Draft policy b. Graduation Requirement Polio - Third Reading & Possible Vote • Draft policy The School Committee discussed word-smithing and formatting of the policies. Ms. Gaudet, Director of Secondary Education, joined the School Committee as she worked extensively on these policies. Ms. Lenihan asked why the Graduation Requirement policy mentions opting out of science or social studies but doesn't mention math, since seniors can currently opt out of all three subjects. She wanted to know why math was left out. Ms. Gaudet explained that math was removed because most colleges want students to take four years of math, and students usually do that anyway. She added that math could be added back or other flexible options could be considered; math was added. Ms. Cuthbertson moved to approve the Competency Determination Policy; IKFE, Ms. Lenihan, seconded. Ms. Jay took a roll call vote, passed 4-0. Ms. Cuthbertson moved to approve the Graduation Requirement Policy; IKF, Ms. Lenihan, seconded. Ms. Jay took a roll call vote, passed 4-0. COMMUNITY SPEAK No speakers. POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS Items added: • None ADJOURNMENT Ms. Lenihan made a motion to adjourn at 8:01 PM, Ms. Cuthbertson seconded. Ms. Jay took a roll call vote, passed 4-0.