===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING MINUTES SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Town Hall Meeting Room 6:30 p.m. - Hybrid School Committee Superintendent Carol Archambault, Chair - Present Dr. Kate Burnham Brian Lehtinen, Vice Chair - Present Business Manager/ HR Director Anthony Sculimbrene, Secretary - Present Peter Beardmore, Member - Present Laura Brzozoski, Member- Present Recording Secretary Courtney Fuller Guests: Mrs. Lynn Radford In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being recorded and broadc ast live over the Lunenburg Public Access channel, on Facebook Live on the Public Access Facebook page. (http://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access-Cable-157427270975305/) and will be uploaded to the Lunenburg Access YouTube after the meeting. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and those reasonably anticipated by the Chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may be brou ght up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law 1. Call to Order by Carol Archambault at 6:30 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Public Comment - None 4. Chair’s Report Ms. Archambault reports Mr. Lehtinen wrote a letter to legislature in regards to funding emergency. Ms. Archambault read the letter out loud and the committee agrees the letter is well written and should be sent. Thank you to all that participated in the Tree Lighting. Thank you to Ms. Peterson for the work being done with the past classes and advisories, she has received an email from the President of the class of 2017, Brendan Tobin, Ms. Archambault read the letter out loud for the committee, and notes that Ms. Peterson is working with him on the request for funds. 5. Review & Approve Minutes a. Special Meeting 11/8/23 – Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to approve minutes, Mr. Beardmore seconded the motion, all approve 6. Review & Approve Warrants & Line Item Transfers a. Warrant Total 11/14-12/4/23 $206,275.16 No questions from the committee, Ms. Archambault has signed off, and the warrant will be processed. No line item transfers Mr. Beardmore requests that a link be included in the meeting folder for the warrants. 7. Superintendent’s Report Dr. Burnham shares that Mrs. Whittemore will have a start date of February 12, 2024. We also have a new Assistant Principal at the Lunenburg High School, Mrs. Burns and will begin work on January 1, 2024, a brief history of Mrs. Burns experience and education was given. There was a safer watch session held, we had 2 parents attend the meeting on Monday. Student meetings on safer watch will be happening soon. The District Safety team will plan a “test” of the new app in the late winter/early spring. The FBI has issued an alert to the Massachusetts Association of Superintendents, there are reports that unauthorized individuals have been gaining access to schools, there are no local cases of this and all Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ===PAGE 2=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 admin and secretaries have been informed. A resident in town has interest in some pictures and records of the old TCP dating back to the 1950’s and 1960’s, this will come in front of the school committee for a vote to release to the historical society. Upcoming Dates Annual Secretaries gift card drive ends this Friday December 8th Basketball Booster Craft Fair 9-2 in Middle School Cafeteria December 14 & 15 Music Concerts December 20, 2023 Next School Committee meeting 6:30 at MS Collab room December 25-1/1/24 Winter Break, All schools will be closed and reopen on January 2, 2024 We are beginning the holiday season, Happy Hanukah to all that celebrate. 8. Student Representative Report Our student representative reports all the students are looking forward to winter break, that is right around the corner. The Primary School officially has apparel for sale. Turkey Hill “Girls on a Run” won a 5K race . Emma Barooshian was chosen for project 351 in the Middle School. The High School student council is running a gift wrapping service starting next week, there will be a winter semi-formal dance on December 16th, and winter sports have started. 9. New Business Action a. Initial Spain Trip Approval Mrs. Radford presents her slide show for an anticipated approval for a trip to Spain in April of 2025. The trip would take place 4/18/25-4/26/25, there will be no school missed for the students that attend the trip. Ms. Brzozoski asked a few questions regarding vendor and fees and how it compared to the planned trip to Costa Rica. Mr. Beardmore thanks Ms. Radford for a great Itinerary, what is the timeline on how this will be marketing to students. Mrs. Radford shares, if she receives approval tonight, she will be sharing the information with students tomorrow, there is no official deadline for signing up, but Mrs. Radford prefers to cut off registration at the end of this school year. Mr. Beardmore comments about equity and all the conversations and meetings that have been based on equity, and because of that he will be voting “no” on approval. Mr. Lehtinen thanks Mrs. Radford for organizing this trip. Ms Archambault supports what Mr. Beardmore is saying about k ids wanting to go, but we really do not have a policy regarding this and we keep things fair. Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to approve the trip to Spain, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion. Mr. Sculimbrene - yes, Mr. Lehtinen yes, Ms. Brzozoski – yes, Mr. Beardmore – no, Ms. Archambault yes b. Donation The High school received a donation from Bright Funds, an employer of one of our students of $656.41, this will be put into the gift account. Turkey Hill, received $267 from Hannaford Helps, and will be deposited into the gift account. Turkey Hill was given $1500.00 from the PTO and will be entered into the gift account. The PTO also gave $1500.00 to the Primary Schools and this will go into Student Activities to help with future field trips. Mr. Lehtinen makes a motion to accept these donations with g ratitude, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion, all approve. Discussion c. Winter Sport Report A report is supplied from Mr. Bigelow regarding participation in winter sports. Mr. Beardmore comments that some sports are doing really well from a numbers perspecti ve. He has concerns about the numbers on the football team, and maybe we should consider a co-op like we do with Hockey. They discuss reasons could be low for any of the sports. As a school committee we do not make changes for sports as it would be left to the Athletic Director to make sure sports are running safely and with enough players. d. Francis W. Parker Essential Charter School Report The annual report is shared with the committee. This report is supplied to the committee because we have students from Lunenburg that attend the Charter School e. Capital Planning Mr. Beardmore and Dr. Burnham presented the capital plan to the Capital Planning Committee three weeks ago, since that committee has met twice. The committee will begin ranking the items on the 18 th. The members were unclear as to why we needed detailed engineered plans for Turkey Hill, but not the same for TCP renovations. However, we originally thought with MSBA that there was a 10 year commitment, it is actually a usage life expectancy. There is skepticism on window films and we don’t think Turkey h ill will receive support, however it doesn’t need the building design and could possibly move forward in February. The committee discusses MSBA and their requirements and troubles with communications, the MSBA is very clear on their requirements, but their requirements and parameters change often. Mapping out a 10 year plan is hard when MSBA’s guidelines can ===PAGE 3=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 change annually, along with town timelines being very different from MSBA timelines. Ms . Brzozoski asks if we submit a letter of interest, when do we have to make the commitment to the project. Mr. Beardmore thinks we should withdraw the windows now, but not the need, we just do not have enough numbers, Ms. Archambault agrees. Ms Archambault lists the main points of the conversation pull window request for this year, send communication to MSBA, and request for Turkey Hill schematics be pushed to FY26. Mr. L ehtinen asks Dr. Burnham’s opinion, and she would not be recommending to move forward with roof or windows if that means we commit to keep the building open for 25-30 years, but she is not opposed to bumping it. Mr. Beardmore offers to draft a letter to t he MSBA to the Executive Director and give to Ms. Archambault for committee approval. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to pull the window replacement from the Capital Plan, but not the safely film, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion, all approve f. Response to LEA Negotiations A draft letter has been provided in the school committee folder. Ms. Archambault reads the response letter out loud and proposes a meeting as possible in January. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to approve the letter, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion, all approve 10. Old Business Discussion a. Student Activity Class Account Reallocation Work is continuing to be done with these accounts. The secretaries at the High School have reached out to any class advisors, they have been able to track down, as of now classes 2003, 2007, 2010, 2016, and 2018, have no activity or communication with us with a total of $11,215.23. Dr Burnham reminds the committee of a line being created and used for High School field trip scholarships. These accounts have been inactive for multiple years and our policy states after 2 years it is a loss to the class of funds. Ms. Brzozoski, is not comfortable to vote on this. Mr. Beardmore appreciates the idea to create scholarships, but also is a big believer in multiple attempts in communication to really have exhausted all options and pathways to get ahold the class advisors. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to continue all communication, including Facebook and social media, inviting class officers to reach out as soon as possible, no later than the end of the fiscal year 6/30/2024, at that time all left over funds will be transferred to another account for future scholarships for travel abroad field trips. Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion. Mr. Lehtinen – yes, Mr. Beardmore – yes, Mr. Sculimbrene – yes, Ms. Brzozoski – no, Ms. Archambault – yes. b. FY Budget Development In the folder are some examples of the kinds of data that we are using pending our decisions on cuts. Information is broken out to social worker caseloads by bui lding, services including IEPs, and 504’s for current students. We broke down as our kids move forward how many classes we will need for K -6 to have approximately 25 students per classroom and 6-8 may have 28-29 students. There is a breakdown of classes offered at the high school and an expectation of how many levels of classes needed. 11. Reports Mr. Sculimbrene reports the PTO met on the 4th, Officer McNamara and Hank walked everyone through the safer watch program. They will be holding a craft fair on Saturday 9-2. The Trolls movie was sold out. The Special Someone dance was very successful last year, this year it is going to be on February 3 or 10 and will be held at two different times on the same day, this year the PTO will also be seeking sponsors for the dance. Mr. Lehtinen reports the Finance Committee met on November 30 th Chris Menard brought up capital planning, and mentioned previously as a town we rallied around parks, and now we need to rally around buildings The town manager went over funding and whether some items should be the operating budget versus the capital budget ie. Police cars or bulletproof vests. The treasurer will attend on 12/7/23 and the committee will meet again on 1/11. Third quarter preliminary tax bills will be the same as the 1st and 2nd quarter, the 4th quarter will be higher Green communities was brought up and how maybe each department should reach out to them with their 10 year capital plan, so Green Communities can get in front of some of the projects. Dr Burnham shares that Mr. Hevy has reached out to the state regarding Green Community Grants and the only item on our 10 year plan that would possibly be allowable are the mini-splits only if we use them for heat. Mr. Beardmore reports the Athletic Advisory met on the 27th and will be having two fundraisers, Ice Hockey will have be selling ads and will be distributed at their Alumni game on January 5th and subsequent home games. Boys and girls basketball will be doing raffle calendars, drawings to be held throughout the month of January. A presentation by Caitlyn Germain, the Athletic Director for Notre Dame Academy, was given during the meeting that shared new fundraising ideas, apps and sponsorships from businesses. The High School Advisory Committee will meet tomorrow at 3, I won’t be able to make it, but I will meet with Mr. Santry separately. ===PAGE 4=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 Ms. Brzozoski reports Pascal met via zoom on 11/16 there is a new format and platform for IEP’s and this will be significantly longer and more detailed. You can receive four free covid at home tests at covidtest.gov. We will be updating our bylaws Ms. Archambault reports Master Planning Committee has not met The Middle School Council met on Tuesday and had a general budget discussion, Middle School guidance position that has not been filled, however, they are using a substitute with significant training, NEAP assessment 1/30/24, 50 random 8th graders will be taking either the Math or English test. Registration for the DC trip is open, financial aid is built into the price. Also, some information about a 5 year grant to help with screening for substance abuse and mental health. The last discussion we had was how it’s hard for the students to have to make choices between Jazz band and basketball in the afternoon Dr. Burnham clarifies that there is a 5 year grant with ESPIRT, Mass General that helps us deal with substance use, trained coaches will be in to work with students. Parents are able to opt-out of the program. There was a presentation for staff at the middle high school staff, and coaches will be brought in to work with us through the partnership. 12. Public Comment Ms. Mary Foyle, 95 Flat Hill Road, as a teacher over the past 6 or 7 years I have been in three different departments I welcome you into my classroom anytime, to catch a glimpse of high school life. Years ago when we made a decision to not regionalize, that did mean that we would have to support some classes with low numbers, effectiveness does not always equal efficient. As a member of the LEA union and as we about to start negotiations for the contract that we do ask for flexibility on available times, 7 pm on one night as the only option, is really hard for us to be able to get all of our stuff together and also late for some serious conversations. As a class advisor of 2005, I did have a past student reach out to me regarding the funds, we have $1000.00 in our account and it has not been very easy to get this money, this process takes time. As a teacher I would like to comment regarding the possibility of a line being created for funding assistance for foreign trips, maybe instead it could have a broader use and include all field trips. Dr. Burnham states, The Primary School has an account to help defray costs of field trips and perhaps, when donations come into the high school, there could be opportunities for those monies to be used for more local field trips similar to the Primary School. As far as the process for class funds, we have recently learned that some banks are requiring quite a lot be done in order to open these accounts, and it might be worthwhile to explore banks and options. Mr. Lehtinen states he saw in The Gardner News that Murdock had a boiler explosion, Thanksgiving, and had to move students to different buildings and change of school hours for a period of time, it was an informative article, that also brought up some of the issues that we have discussed with Turkey Hill 13. Topics for Future Discussion Master Panning Liaison for Green Communities 14. Executive Session to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion at 9:31 to enter into executive session and adjourn immediately following, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion, all approve 15. Adjournment Respectfully Submitted Courtney Fuller