Minutes of the
Monson School Committee
Regular Meeting
August 21, 2024
Present: Chair Alison Morgan; Vice-Chair Jamie Murphy; Secretary Karen Nothe-Valley; Committee Member Colleen Flynn; Committee Member Peter Wiggins; Director of Business and Operations Leah Zippin; Superintendent Dr. Cheryl Clarke.
Note: This meeting was video recorded.
Mrs. Morgan called the meeting to order at 7:06 PM.
Mrs. Murphy read off the MPS mission and vision statement.
Dr. Clarke announcements and updates:-All staff is set to return to the buildings on August 27th
-MHS BBQ night for new and incoming (7th grade) students August 27th
-Transportation night for students and families on August 20th
-August 29th first day of school for students in grades 1-12.
-No School September 2nd & 3rd.
-First day of school for PK and K September 4th.
-September 7th Class of 2025 Handbag bingo fundraiser @ the American legion.
-September 11th PTSA meeting
-September 23rd Stephen Hill presentation for parents and students. Sponsored by Monson Substance Community Partnership. Dinner provided by PTSA.
-MHS Know your school night (open house) September 25th
-GV open house September 26th
Acknowledgements:
-Dr. Clarke welcomed Maria Barnes as the Dean of Students and Director of Counseling within the district. Dr. Clarke also welcomed Lauren Brin as the Assistant Principal of the Early Childhood Center.
-Dr. Clarke would like to thank United Way for donating 40 backpacks stuffed with School Supplies for the “stuff the bus” initiative.
-Dr. Clarke wanted to thank Karen Methe for all of her years of service at Monson Public Schools as her personal secretary and also the school committee secretary.
Motion by Mrs. Morgan to move up an age request for a student on the agenda.
Ms. Nothe-Valley second request.
Roll Call vote
Mr. Wiggins - Yes
Ms. Nothe-Valley - Yes
Ms. Flynn - Yes
Mrs. Murphy - Yes
Mrs. Morgan - Yes
Motion carries 5-0
Mrs. Brin and parent/guardian met with the school committee to see if the parent/guardian's child could enroll in Kindergarten before the respected age cutoff. Mrs. Brin stated that she completed the child's screening and discussed the “scoring” with the School Committee. Mrs. Brin stated that she would recommend the student to be placed within the Kindergarten classes.
Motion made by Ms. Flynn to move forward with the student being place in Kindergarten
Roll Call vote:
Mr. Wiggins - Yes
Ms. Nothe-Valley - Yes
Ms. Flynn - Yes
Mrs. Murphy - Yes
Mrs. Morgan - Yes
Motion carries 5-0
Minutes from June 5th - Mrs. Morgan asked if the school committee was able to review the minutes from the meeting. Ms. Flynn stated that she was unable to reread the minutes from the meeting and requested tabling the minutes June 5th & June 12th for the next meeting.
Ms. Nothe-Valley stated that she did submit additions for the June 5th meeting but they weren’t updated in the minutes. Mrs. Morgan stated that revisions can only be made at the meeting once they are submitted - Mrs. Morgan asked for Ms. Nothe-Valley to table them for today, but they would be discussed when the minutes are to be discussed at the next meeting.
Mrs. Morgan asked if everyone was able to take a look at the regular July meeting minutes? Ms. Nothe-Valley stated she was unable to, that she had just received them last night. Mrs. Morgan said that they will go over all of the minutes at the next scheduled meeting.
Update from Dr. Clarke:
-Both summer programs have concluded / with regards to summer acceleration program - everything went well and is hearing positive feedback. Dr. Clarke thanked Mrs. Watts for obtaining the grant and also coordinating the program.
-Summer eats program: approximately 9,895 meals were served this summer through the program at MPS, and all locations were well attended. Dr. Clarke would like to thank Food Service Director, Tracy Blanchard, for all of her hard work and would love for her to come to the next meeting to update the School Committee.
-9th annual bus tour was yesterday - 35 staff members participated at 3 separate locations around town on 2 different buses. MPS staff distributed over 200 backpacks with school supplies. Rachel McRobbie and Erin Fontaine also participated through the Monson Drug Community grant and handed out parent bags. Mr. Fontaine, Winnie Fontaine and Mrs. Barnes also attended the bus tours. Dr. Clarke also stated how great it was to have some MHS administration faces there!
-MPS is fully staffed! Staff will be starting next week with a full day of PD. Tracy Blanchard and the MPS cafeteria will be providing a nice breakfast for staff members to start the day off. Staff will also be meeting with their mentors on Monday and getting to know the administration team. -Dr. Clarke presented the school committee with the agendas over the next few days - PD days, meetings, Denise Newland will be joining (PTSA), appleseeds, department meetings, building based meetings, alice training, etc.
-Students will be trained on September 12th for the Alice Drills - letters will be sent home to families regarding procedures and training.
-Dr. Clarke and Mrs. Zippin worked with the Monson Drug Community grant and they have graciously written in a late bus for after school help at GV - historically the late bus has just been at the HS. Dr. Clarke stated that the grant has funding for 6 buses a month to be utilized as such - (after school help.) For now, the late bus will run on Wednesday’s but if no staff is staying on Wednesday to facilitate extra help (as per the contract language) Dr. Trivisonno will move the late bus to a different day and inform families of the changes.
-Athletic tryouts are currently taking place. Mr. Fontaine and AD, Mr. Dreher also facilitated an athletics night that was well attended as they have not had one in a couple of years.
-Supplies and materials: Dr. Clarke stated that requests have been coming in for new materials this year and they are trying to fulfill as much as possible. With the capital grant, most teachers will be receiving new desktop computers.
-Dr. Clarke has attended table top meetings with the local police and fire department, administration from MPS, and SRO Mayo. The team has also set a follow up meeting for Monday to set up the crisis manual for evacuations and emergencies.
-Professional Development days: one thing that will be focused on is AI. Dr. Clarke and Mrs. Watts attended a full day of training on AI, and on how to develop a School Committee policy regarding AI. Dr. Clarke and Mrs. Watts will be looking further into it to create a structure where both staff and students can use AI, and will also be meeting with the Collaborate to develop a schedule for the upcoming PD day regarding AI.
Public Session:
Mrs. Morgan opens Public Session @ 7:25 PM
Mrs. Morgan closed Public Session @ 7:26 PM
Motion by Mrs. Morgan to move up the PTSA update on the agenda: (second by Ms. Flynn)
Roll Call vote
Mr. Wiggins - Yes
Ms. Nothe-Valley - Yes
Ms. Flynn - Yes
Mrs. Murphy - Yes
Mrs. Morgan - Yes
Motion carries 5-0
PTSA - Denise Newland: President of the Monson PTSA
-Denise is looking to get more teachers and families involved with PTSA. She looks forward to collaborating with other groups, students, families and staff. Denise is looking to streamline the process for getting information out to families for upcoming events in hopes of giving everyone an opportunity to participate. Denise will be moving forward with getting rid of the “PTSA room reps” and encourages teachers and staff to utilize DoJo to keep in touch with families on what is needed (field trip chaperones, etc.) Denise encourages families to email the PTSA email directly should any questions or concerns arise.
-PTSA sent out letters to local community businesses for a “Direct Fund request approach” to help with the cost for families/guardians. Quite a few letters have already been received! PTSA wants the community to know that anything helps, and it goes towards teacher lunches, senior signing breakfast, field day (dunk tank, bounce houses), etc.
-Membership drive is up and running! Electronic link is posted, PTSA will be present to accept cash and check at open house- $10 a year for an individual membership.
-A PTSA meeting will be held October 2nd - it is the first real member meeting of the year.
-PTSA Tavern night is set for September 12th at Main St. Tavern.
-Reflections art contest begin for the fall: Accepting Imperfections is the theme. Mrs. Novak (GV) will be holding after school sessions for grades 4-6 to work on their projects - the due date for all grades will be December 13th. Denise wanted everyone to know that you don’t have to be participating in Mrs. Novaks after school help to join in on the art contest. It is open for all grades to participate. Projects will be displayed at GV in January and winners get sent on to the state level.
-Trunk or Treat is set for October 26th (rain date October 27th) MHS parking lot. Denise is looking for more trunk or treat volunteers and is very excited for the event!
HR/Negotiations Subcommittee
Dr. Clarke updated:
-Units A & C are ratified
-Units D & E are meeting tomorrow to be ratified
-Unit B is close to ratification
Facilities Subcommittee
-Ms. Flynn thanked Mr. DeMaio for facilitating the walk through of the 3 buildings earlier that night - the committee was very pleased to see the improvements and hard work over the summer.
-Mr. DeMaio updated the School Committee on the status of the air conditioning research and the projected cost of said project. Ms. Flynn recognizes the frustration for students and parents, but that it’s their job to be fiscal responsible and that these things take time. Mr. DeMaio stated that the window unit air conditioners worked well with the summer acceleration program and will have to upgrade air conditioners for next year to keep things moving, but recognizes that it’s not feasible. Mr. DeMaio looked at options for air conditioning with an electrician who suggested that Mr. DeMaio make a call to an electrical engineer to come out and check out the setup. Mr. DeMaio placed a call to Hitachi and had a rep come out to do a scope for the district to see what the cost is and how it can be done. Once all the research is done, the numbers will be handed over to the school committee for review. Mr. DeMaio has checked out grants and will continue to do so. Mr. DeMaio stated that a few years ago a quote was given for AC in the district and it was 4-5 million dollars. Ms. Flynn thanked Mr. DeMaio for the helpful information and reiterated that they are aware of the reality of the situation - it will take time and they are taking the proper steps to check it out.
Curriculum Subcommittee
-Mrs. Morgan touched base on AI but said that Dr. Clarke had pretty much covered it in the superintendent update with the upcoming AI PD day.
-HS courses in grades 9-12 will be published soon
-Mrs. Morgan has reviewed the curriculum mapping - it will also be going digital so everyone in the community has access to it.
-Upper elementary grades 6-8 all core academic courses will be published late August early September.
-Grades 2-5 will be published mid to late October
-PK-1st grade by December
-After that, special electives will then be looked at and published early in the year (January)
-Open SciEd & Appleseeds initiative - elementary field testing 9 teachers. There will be 2 units in the fall from one program, another 2 units in the Spring - and will be able to provide feedback to Mrs. Watts. Mrs. Watts has also applied for a grant to receive 50% back of this program.
-The Appleseeds grant is valued at $78,447 and the EOY data was at significant growth when reviewed. Mrs. Morgan thanks Mrs. Watts for all of her hard work.
-Summer Acceleration program: Mrs. Watts organized the program, the grant was valued at $211,000 - it was well attended.
Health & PE framework - PE teachers will be attending a DESE training.
Mrs. Watts will also attend a leadership network program on September 19th to discuss the changes. The process will be taken very slowly and Mrs. Watts will meet with the health and PE teachers. There will be no changes mid year, it will slowly be implemented for next year and will start in grades 9-12 and then trickle down in order. Everything will be submitted to the committee and will be a long process.
Finance Subcommittee
-The finance subcommittee met on August 1st and discussed the differences on the budget that was voted on at the present time. In the working budget they are $22,000 above the operating budget. The PK revenue increased by $25,000 due to enrollment. There are 5 PK classes and 3 K classes, for the additional PK class added there will need to be an additional aid hired.
-The trash bill historically has not been in the operating budget but is included with the $21,000 bill for FY 24. Mrs. Zippin stated that the bill is taken care of.
-HR functions for school employees: Ms. Nothe-Valley said that the process was discussed regarding HR functions and the HR assistance will be granted to have additional hours regarding HR duties.
-Transportation budget is over, $100,000 - $75,000 is due to one time costs.
-Mrs. Zippin has closed out the operating budget of FY24, with the exception of utility bills. MPS budgeted $41,545 for utility bills as recommended. Mrs. Zippin had to attend a special town meeting where Jamie Farnum then suggested putting in another $150,000, which the town approved bringing the total up for electricity to $191,545. The entire budget for gas and electricity was $354,045. We paid a total of $357,928 - approximately $3,800 above that was budgeted. There is still an existing $84,191 that is prior year bills.
-Mrs. Zippin created a warrant article and submitted it to the Town Administrator and will be on the warrant for the special town meeting for the $84,191. Ms. Flynn asks what / where is the disconnect from the suggestions made by the town finance director and MPS? Mrs. Zippin stated that they were going based on their recommendations from the town. Ms. Flynn asked if they think we are on target for FY 25 - Mrs. Zippin stated that she met with Jamie Farnum and an energy rep, and is doing everything that was recommended to her by them.
-Transportation: Mrs. Zippin stated that they are short on the transportation budget due to indirect costs that had to be covered - unemployment at $25,000 - when negotiated with the end of the van contact severance (one time), etc. At this time they are not asking for additional funding.
Policy Subcommittee
-Public Involvement at School events: Ms. Flynn has an issue with the definition of appropriate and is not comfortable with moving it forward until that is a better detailed definition of what “appropriate” means. What is and what’s not “appropriate”
Therapy Comfort Dog:
Mrs. Morgan had a few questions regarding the therapy dog and wondered if Dr. Clarke was able to get the clarification. - Dr. Clarke confirmed the changes are made in red. (Third Read on policy)
Motion by Ms. Flynn to move forward with the therapy dog - (second by Ms. Nothe-Valley.)
Roll Call:
Mr. Wiggins - Yes
Ms. Nothe-Valley - Yes
Ms. Flynn - Yes
Mrs. Murphy - Yes
Mrs. Morgan - Yes
Motion carries 5-0
Old Business:
-Regarding the Student & Families Handbook: With the feedback provided all changes have been made; spelling errors, district calendar updated, middle school consistency.
Motion by Mrs. Morgan to approve 24/25 Student & Families Handbook - (second by Mrs. Murphy)
-Ms. Flynn did have one question, as she was not in attendance at the previous meeting. Ms. Flynn asked Dr. Clarke, if the School Committee could receive hard data regarding cell phones and how it is going at MHS and GV? There was discussion regarding the pouches and with the results of the data - if it appears to be negative will that be the next step for next year to use the pouches? Ms. Flynn also brought up reviewing the expectations and having students “in the know” with the policy and the future possibility of the pouches?
Mr. Wiggins asked what the Yondr pouches actually consist of? Ms. Flynn was able to give Mr. Wiggins the breakdown of the pouches and the use of them in a school setting.
-Ms. Nothe-Valley asked about the edit of the zoom option in the handbook.
Mrs. Morgan wants to amend her motion to approve the 24/25 handbook for students and families, with the revision of adding a zoom option for school and committee meetings - (Seconded by Ms. Flynn)
Roll call
Mr. Wiggins - Yes
Ms. Nothe-Valley - Yes
Ms. Flynn - Yes
Mrs. Murphy - Yes
Mrs. Morgan - Yes
Motion Carries 5-0
Action Items:
-Mrs. Morgan reached out to Tracy Novak from MASC regarding scheduling a training for the members to have a refresher. Mrs. Morgan will confirm with Tracy Novak on a date and time and contact the members.
-Ms. Nothe-Valley inquired about the summer working meeting, to better communicate with the public what came out of the June 5th working meeting - will be discussed at the Wednesday, September 11th
-Regular School Committee scheduled meeting for Tuesday September 11th.
-Regular School Committee scheduled meeting for Thursday October 10th
-Regular School Committee scheduled meeting for Wednesday October 23rd
-Policy Subcommittee meeting scheduled for September 11th @ 6PM
-At the scheduled meeting in September the Curriculum meeting will be scheduled.
Mrs. Morgan made a motion to adjourn the executive session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining to return to open session (Second by Mrs. Murphy)
Motion Carries 5-0
Documentation for this meeting:
August 21, 2024-Working Meeting Agenda
Distributed at meeting:
Approved by Committee:
________________________________________
Ms. Nothe-Valley, Secretary
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