December 19, 2024

Minutes of the

Monson School Committee

Regular Meeting

December 19, 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; Acting Superintendent Katherine Watts and Recording Secretary Haley Ketterman

Note: This meeting was video recorded.

Mrs. Morgan called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM.

Mrs. Morgan read off the MPS mission statement.

Mrs. Watts announcements and updates :

ECC

-record attendance for the Holiday Concert this year over 300 people attended

-Trout eggs have arrived at GV and are thriving in their tanks grade 4 is working with maintenance to ensure that the eggs flourish and will be released in the Spring behind the Police Station.

-Recieved a MTSS grant (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support), in the amount of $143,000 to build and strengthen tiered supports at GV. With this they will also be able to have a family outreach coordinator for the remainder of the year and will be able to host community events throughout semester two as a result of this grant. It additionally provides teachers and aides with an incredible professional development - MPS is very thankful for the grant.

MHS

-Received a grant from PLTW (Project Lead The Way), in the amount of $10,000 to launch the Engineering Pathway at the High School. Mrs. Watts stated that they are also looking into another grant through the One8 Foundation. But this grant is specifically from PLTW.org and is a starter grant. In past years in other schools they have applied for an expansion grant, Mrs. Watts stated that they have already told them (PLTW) that is their intention and hopes with their support to build out the program within the next four years.

-Reminder of Spain trip in 2026 - sign ups are now open and can reach out to Mrs. Garces for more information.

-Class of 2025 fundraiser 2nd of January at the Tavern

Exploring the World

-8th grade Civics class recently went to the Springfield Armory over a period of 2 days for an interactive field trip.

-The VIP class went on a field trip today to the Holyoke Mall and were able to purchase items, spend time in the community, practice money control, etc.

-The Community Service Club went to the Senior Center this past week with 15 students in attendance (more to come in the student representative report)

-Project 351 Mass State Project - one student from all 351 towns & cities in the Commonwealth is selected to participate in a community service project specifically for an 8th grade student. Mason Murphy has been selected to complete the project for Monson this year, we will be hearing the details on his project in the future.

-Pre-K students went to Ket Tree Farm where they tagged trees and families that purchased the tree took a picture and sent in a letter to the student that tagged it. Once they received the letter from the customer, the tree tag went on a map to see where they all ended up at. The furthest family away that has purchased a tree was in Medford MA.

Inviting the Community in MPS

-An Hour of Code (grades 1&4) hosted by Liberty Mutual & facilitated by Rachel Jagodowski came out to GV for a student event.

Grade 1 learned liberation through dance and grade 4 learned how to build their own code. It was a great turnout and enjoyed by the students.

The ACT Program (Achieve, Contribute & Thrive)

-The ACT program had their Holiday party today. Students created their own decorations, baked and cooked a variety of international dishes, enjoyed music and company. Shout out to the ACT Life Skills Program!

Holiday events & activities

-ECC, GV & MHS all held Holiday Concerts

-Each school held spirit week

-Grades 1 & 4 are reading buddies (Grade 4 got to bring in a book of their choice and head down to read it to a 1st grader.)

-MHS gingerbread house challenges

-District wide toy drive - partnership with the Town of Monson and Main St Tavern to support families in need, shout out to Colette Bidus and Lauren Brin for organizing this. There are some items left over, Dr. Trivisonno will be sending out an email regarding the items and if families are in need.

-Report Card update: starting semester 2 report cards will be switched to electronically / parents can still request a paper copy if needed but they will be delivered to the PowerSchool portal. You’ll receive a notification, click on it and it will generate the report card.

-Holiday break - school will return on 1/2/25.

Student Representative report:

Julia Royce- ECC

-Holiday concert

-Winter spirit week

-Welcomed new school nurse, Jenna Sherman

-Next school wide PBIS incentive coming up in January. They are hoping for snow so this can be an outside event.

GV - Mya Bridges

-Dec 12th Holiday concert grades 1-3

-Dec 18th grades 4-6 band & chorus - shout out to Ms. Rapacki for supporting the students and conducting this wonderful event, and Mrs. Novak for the artwork!

-Basketball buddies program has started with the help from the boys and girls basketball teams.

-Festive sweater day to end the week along with their PBIS initiative - students will have the choice to join the snowball group or the chill zone.

MHS - Sophia Galanerau

-Semester 1 is coming to an end with midterms and finals approaching. Blocks 1 & 4 will be on January 16th, blocks 2 & 5 on January 17th and blocks 3 & 6 on January 21st.

-Winter spirit week is coming to an end - pajama day closing it up on Friday.

-Gingerbread house making was a huge hit! Shout out to Ms. Perreault and the PTSA for helping with this event.

-The Community Service Club took a trip to the Monson Senior Center to help out with the Holiday lunch. Students got to help prepare and serve food, while also chatting with the seniors.

-Winter sports are now underway.

-College acceptances are starting to roll in.

Minutes approval

December 4, 2024 minutes approval

Mrs. Morgan makes a motion to approve the December 4, 2024 regular business meeting minutes.

Mrs. Murphy seconds

Line #51 correction - Capital S in the Monson Public Schools

Line #73 correction - Krispy Kreme

Line #75 correction - Hot Cocoa spelling correction

Line #104 correction - Instead of saying to the utilities - correct to say including the utilities

Line #106 correction - add in “Special circumstances of this particular year”

Line #107 correction - Instead of utilities bill make that prior bills

Line #123 correction - language presented with the therapy dog - eliminate the following sentence: “ So because of the language that was presented when they announced the policy it could be used as an attachment to fight liability.”

Line #129 - Correct spelling in counsel (from council to - school counsel)

Mrs. Morgan amends motion to approve December 4, 2024 minutes with stated revisions.

Roll call was placed:

Mr. Wiggins - Yes
Ms. Nothe-Valley - Yes
Ms. Flynn - Yes
Mrs. Murphy - Yes
Mrs. Morgan - Yes

Public session opened @ 7:22 PM

-Ms. Karen O’Toole - Town resident read off personal statement

Closed public session @ 7:29PM

Subcommittee and Liaison reports

-Ms. Nothe-Valley reported that the Finance Subcommittee met tonight for continued discussion for the 2026 fiscal budget and 2026 transportation budget. Thank you to Kate and Leah for the status of all of the moving parts - and including some new pieces of - adding in new line items and factoring in being truly responsive to the town's ask and accounting for everything. Talked about ways to save money with software usage, duplications of programs, etc.

Transportation budget - a lot of moving pieces there in terms of the special considerations that come with transportation. Also talked about sports transportation being added to the transportation budget and refining staffing placements. Moving towards the Town's timeline for the Tri Board meeting on January 13th. Mrs. Morgan added that when they do submit the draft budget they will also submit a document explaining the changes in the budget, McKinney-Vento for example - just the things that are unpredictable costs that we have to endure and want it outlined to the town.

New Business

Sub pay rate for teaching:

Mrs. Morgan stated that she would like to move forward with increasing the sub pay rate - had discussed $95 a day with a degree and $85 without a degree. Still not as competitive as the surrounding towns but getting us up there.

Ms. Flynn asked what degree would you need? - Mrs. Watts stated that the degree would be a Bachelor degree.

Currently at Monson Public Schools the sub rate is $80 with a degree and $70 without.

Mrs. Morgan makes a motion to increase sub pay rate to $85 without a degree and $95 with a degree effective January 6th, 2025.

Ms. Flynn seconds - moves to discussion.

A lengthy discussion was held regarding sub pay in the surrounding districts and our current. The committee discussed the hiring aspect and the pay rate for subs - possibility for a middle tier for an associates degree. The building principals touched base on what their sub coverage typically looks like should it be teachers, paras, or outside subs.

The committee wants to see a better competitive pay for subs.

Mrs. Morgan amends her original motion - $90 w/out degree & $100 w/ a bachelor's degree

Ms. Flynn seconds.

Mrs. Morgan amends her motion to add that it is not retroactive - pay rate change starts on 1/6/25.

Roll call was placed:

Mr. Wiggins
Ms. Nothe-Valley
Ms. Flynn
Mrs. Murphy
Mrs. Morgan
Motion carries 5-0

Sub pay rate for Food Service:

-Tracy Blanchard (Food Service Director) would like to raise the sub pay rate from $14.25 to $15.25 an hour - her employees work about 4 hours a day.

Ms. Flynn makes a motion to approve raising the food service sub pay rate effective to $15.25 effective 1/6/2025 with no retroactive pay.

Mrs. Morgan seconds

-Mr. Wiggins questioned recent negotiations with this unit: Ms. Flynn stated that the subs are not union employees they are just covering.

Roll call was placed

Mr. Wiggins
Ms. Nothe-Valley
Ms. Flynn
Mrs. Murphy
Mrs. Morgan
Motion carries 5-0

Local Graduation Plan and MCAS:

The new Competency Determination removes the requirement of passing the MCAS test and requires the Board (School Committee) to certify that our Graduation Requirements meet the state academic standards and curriculum frameworks that is outlined within the MCAS test.

Students will still be administered the MCAS test in Grade 10 for ELA, Math and Science (Biology).

Mr. Fontaine has spoken with Bob McGregor at the State level and he said that it is up to local control whether or not to keep it as a Graduation requirement.

In addition, students who may have previously not graduated due to not passing the MCAS, have the opportunity to meet the new Competency Determination. As of today, we do not have any students that meet this criteria.

Mr. Fontatine stated that when it comes time for the decision of the Committee we will have to ensure that the current program of studies meet the standard and requirements that MCAS had previously assessed, and that we continue meeting a high quality curriculum.

Mrs. Morgan stated that the policy subcommittee will be meeting to discuss the Competency Determination and Graduation Requirements at the next meeting.

Current Mass Core Requirements for Graduation:

ELA 4 Years / Math 4 Years / Lab Based Science 3 Years / History 3 Years / Foreign Language 2 Years / Art Program 1 Year / 5 additional “core courses”: Business Education, Health & Technology, PE, etc. - Mr. Fontaine discussed what courses we currently offer at Monson Public Schools and how classes are typically offered to achieve the credits.

Old Business

-Interim Superintendent Mr. Joyal will be starting on January 6th.

-Advocacy letter for transportation costs: Mrs. Watts presented to School Committee with a letter for Governor Healey, Mrs. Watts talked to the committee about how exactly vocational transportation works and that if a student gets accepted the home district is financially responsible to transport the student to the Vocational School for the entire 4 years (as long as the student does not leave the program.) We do have a student in 8th grade who has asked for the option to attend a Vocational School. Mrs. Watts has signed a form to allow him to put in an application for that district and if that student gets accepted it will be roughly $20,000 per year to transport that student.

Mrs. Watts took the letter that was created by the Town of Cummington - edited it to reflect changes for Monson Public Schools and confirmed that it would be ok by the Town of Cummington to use their letter. The Town of Cummington did not ask for credit in the body of the email to just include them within the email mailing.

Mrs. Morgan makes a motion for Ms. Roche to look it over - and submit to Governor Healey office on behalf of the Monson School Committee.

Ms. Flynn seconds

Mrs. Watts will send the letter to Ms. Roche.

Roll call was placed:

Mr. Wiggins
Ms. Nothe-Valley
Ms. Flynn
Mrs. Murphy
Mrs. Morgan
Motion carries 5-0

Scheduled Meetings

-January regular business meetings week of the 8th and the 22nd @ 7PM

-January 8th policy subcommittee meeting @ 6PM

-Triboard meeting, January 13th @ 7PM location @ the town hall

-January 22nd curriculum subcommittee meeting @ 6pm

Mrs. Morgan makes a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:18PM (Second by Mrs. Murphy)
Motion Carries 5-0

Documentation for this meeting:

Agenda December 19, 2024

Distributed at meeting:

Meeting minutes for approval: December 4, 2024

Approved by Committee:

________________________________________

Ms. Nothe-Valley, Secretary

December 19, 2024

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