===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING MINUTES SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, April 1, 2026 LMHS 6:30 – Hybrid School Committee Superintendent Anthony Sculimbrene Chair - Present Dr. Jodi Fortuna Laura Brzozoski, Vice Chair - Present Mandy Gilman, Secretary – Present Emily Young, Member - Present Member,TBD Recording Secretary Courtney Fuller Guests: Christopher McNamara – Business Administrator, Christopher Stevens – Director of Facilities 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 Ac cess 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 brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law 1. Call to Order at 7:00 by Mr. Sculimbrene 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Public Comment Eden Perrine 18 White Tail Crossing I am going to advocate about school sports counting as gym credits for high school students. I have multiple reasons behind why this would be beneficial for students and for the athletic department. The first supporting reason this would be beneficial is that it would increase the number of people involved in school sports. If students could free their schedule of a gym class and instead play an afterschool sport it would allow students to fulfill other credits while still being able to take classes they are interested in taking. An increase in the number of kids trying out for sports they would be interested in participating would be instrumental as the teams would be bigger. In the fall of 2025, the boys varsity and jv soccer teams barely had enough students to field a game. They resorted to a large number of players swinging for both teams. With more students on the team, they would be able to have two full teams, which would fill the field positions and still leave substitutions. There have been multiple studies showcasing that students who participate in after school sports have overall better mental health. A study published in the journal of adolescent health found that students who play an afterschool sport had less stress and better mental health as young adults. In a study, they surveyed 850 students from 10 different schools about participation in school sports and met up with them again 3 years after graduation and found those that were involved in school sports had lower depression symptoms, lower stress, and better mental health than those who did not play any sports. The study co-author Katherine Sabistston even made the statements “team sports offer a heightened emphasis on group goals, social support, and sense of connection that provides more opportunity for learning adaptive coping strategies that can be essential or long –term mental health” She explains that students playing after school sports had a good increase in mental health even as they Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Jodi Fortuna, Superintendent of Schools ===PAGE 2=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 got older. Another reason supporting the idea of after school sports counting for credit is that more people joining sports teams would increase the income as students would pay athletic fees and more parents/guardians attending these games would add to the interest fee revenue. We won’t have to worry about students not doing PE either. Those who don’t do any sports would still apply for gym credits and those who like it will continue. I asked 53 people from a mixture of grades, non-student athletes vs school athletes to get the students perspective. I created an anonymous survey and the results showed that 100% of students said they supported the idea and would be willing to join an afterschool sport if they didn’t already if this were to pass. Though one was concerned that they enjoyed PE and played an after school sport, I explained they were still able to choose gym as a class. My last point explaining why this would be beneficial is that students should be able to take classes they look forward to while taking other credit inducing classes. Kids could take two semesters of other credit gain classes while still being able to be in classes that they were interested in. This is why I think that income-wise, mental health wise, participation wise and schedule wise this would be beneficial if the school adopted the idea that after school sports could count as PE credits for high school. Dave Rogers, 82 Highland Street I have been a resident for 50 years, I am a concerned citizen about a whole bunch of different things. I don’t think I have heard anyone say if we do an override we will rid ourselves of this problem, I hear just the opposite, it may be a few years, how long? Who knows? So before I vote on something I’d really like the whole enchilada, as they say. What is the best projection that we can do so we can have a long range and short range ideas? I know I don’t have to tell you things are pretty tough today. Number 2 we talk about a lot of things, but not necessarily the building and the programs that we need as we go on, its scattered her or there and that plays a big role in costs. I’ve heard rumblings about, but no real discussion that centers around bleachers, turf, and the buildings and that all equates to money. The Lions Club started the food pantry at TCP, they take care of thousands of people a month, when this idea first came about and I was asked to help out if I could, I said yes, but I didn’t think there was a big demand, and I was wrong. Thanksgiving we gave out two big boxes of food to 125 plus families, this is a testament to the fact that things are not good right now. I was in CVS one time and there was an elderly lady in front of me talking to the pharmacist and said “well, you really really have to take these pills, twice a day” and the lady said, well I ran out to quick, and the pharmacist said let me see what I can do, he took her aside and told her there was a special on the prescription, but it is only good if you take it as it is prescribed. She said ok I will try. He said you can take two pills every single day for 90 days and we will see what we can do after that. And she said, oh thank you, I hope I will feel better. Can you imagine talking to your grandmother or your aunt? It happens and it happens around here. I went into my pocket and made sure that lady would be taken care of. For those of you that don’t know, we have had two tragedies in this town when young people had horrific accidents and we pulled together, we build houses, we bought houses, because one of the youngsters was accepted at the University of Florida on a doctorate and the other one needed some help, so we get it done. The point is we made it happen. I have confidence we will continue to do that, but we need to keep our heads on straight Laura Brzozoski May 2, Saturday is town meeting, you need to come and vote and then Saturday May 16th is the election. The override has to pass at both town meeting and the ballot box, you need to sign up for both. Mandy Gilman I took 3 students, 2 seniors and 1 junior, from Lunenburg High School yesterday to testify at the state house in support of more school funding. It was a great day, Jason, Jade, and Kara were thoughtful and interested and I hope they enjoyed it. I had a great day, but I do want people to know although depressing listening to all the schools, it is not just a Lunenburg problem, this is a statewide problem. I am always going to hopeful that Margaret Scarsdale, our state rep is working incredibly hard to push though changes to Chapter 70 formula. I am hoping we will get the override and limp through a few years and that the Chapter 70 formula changes. ===PAGE 3=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 4. Chairs Report – I spoke with Capital Planning this morning and can confirm that there are three things that capital plan proposed on our behalf that were approved by the town manager and were the two feasibility studies for the primary school, one for driveway and playground, also the cameras system for the entrance 5. Student Representative Report – None 6. Superintendents Report Dr. Fortuna highlights our students and the why behind our work, she shares some recent experiences in the classrooms. We have had a busy week with many committee meetings and to ensure the community remains fully informed we have officially launched the districts FY27 budget and FAQ web page that can be found on our main website. 7. Review and Approve Minutes a. Regular session 2/4/26 & 2/25/26 Ms. Gilman makes a motion to approve the minutes, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion all approve. The minutes are approved for 2/4/26 by the full committee. The minutes on 2/25/26 are approved with 1 abstention , 8. Review and Approve Line Items, Transfers, Warrants a. Line Item Transfers b. Warrants 3/18/26 to 3/27/26 $368,414.29 c. Donations – Betsy B. Parker Scholarship – funds were accepted, at the time the transfer from the estate to the executor, the funds were not available, once this is resolved we will bring back to the committee. 9. New Business Action a. Congressionally Directed Grant Funds seeking $300,000 in one time funding to address increasing student needs. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion that the committee authorize the superintendent to submit an FY 27 congressionally directed spending proposal titled Lunenburg Districtwide Instructional Implementation System Development Initiative in the amount of $300,000 to work with our legislative delegation to advance this request, Ms. Young seconds the motion all approve. b. Monthly Spending Report Chris McNamara has shared an updated monthly spending report Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to accept the report, Ms. Young seconds the motion all approve. c. Spring Athletics Report The committee has received an updated spring athletics report in their folder. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to accept the report, Ms. Young seconds the motion all approve. d. Food Exemption – ATM Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to approve the waiver for the food and covered beverages in the LMHS auditorium for the boards during the town meeting, Ms. Gilman seconds the motion all approve. e. Buss Fee Decision Ms. Gilman makes a motion to accept the bus fee, Ms. Young seconds the motion all approve f. Life Long Learning Program Decision After a discussion of the program, including costs and participation it is decided to discontinue this program for the time being. Ms. Gilman makes a motion to sunset the Life long learning program effective June 1 2026, Ms. Young seconds the motion all approve g. Draft letter for Legislature Ms. Gilman drafted a letter to the Senate Ways and Means and House Ways and Means chairs and our legislators regarding the budget situations Mr. Sculimbrene ===PAGE 4=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 makes a motion to approve the letter and have it sent out, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion all approve. h. Vote to cosponsor the warrant article for Kids Kingdom with the Select board To ensure this goes on the agenda at Town Meeting the committee votes again. Ms., Gilman makes a motion to cosponsor the warrant for Kids Kingdom with the Select board, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion all approve 10. Old Business Action a. Facilities and Grounds Report Mr. Stevens shares an update on the Facilities and Grounds Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to accept the report, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the report, all approve 11. Public Comments for issues discussed tonight Ms. Young I am struggling with the unified sports, I would like it to be a bigger conversation at some time. I don’t want it to be swept under the rug. I’d like to look at it again and see what we can do for kids with disabilities. 12. Reports from Sub-Committees Ms. Brzozoski the school advisory committee for the middle school met and talked about the grade 8 world language and the override, middle school sports being in the restoration budget, one of our students is doing the Project 351 with cradles to crayons clothing drive, Julia Melvin is representing Lunenburg. Ms. Young April 2, PACSAL will be meeting at the Middle High School at 6 pm and they will be doing a planting project. Ms. Gilman The PTO raised over $15,000 at the Special Someone Dance. I want to thank everyone. We had our Great Wolf Lodge fundraiser that went really well. There is a movie night on Saturday to see the Super Mario Bros. at 10 am The Primary School Advisory Board met we talked about the changes in schedules. The MCAS is happening at Turkey Hill Mr. Sculimbrene The High School advisory is meeting on Thursday, we need to do one policy subcommittee before the end of the year Dr. Fortuna The committee should start thinking about my evaluation and also I have an announcement that the principal at Turkey Hill next year will be Mr. McGrath from the Middle school. You will see two postings Dr. Beth Anne Cormier has announced her retirement, we will have an entirely new administrative team at Turkey Hill 13. Topics for Future Discussion contract negotiations, HR report 14. Adjournment Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to adjourn at 8:50, Ms. Gilman seconds the motion all approve. Submitted Respectfully, Courtney Fuller