===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING MINUTES SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, October 4, 2023 Town Hall, Meeting Room 6:30 - Hybrid School Committee Superintendent Carol Archambault, Chair - present Dr. Kate Burnham Brian Lehtinen, Vice Chair - present Business Manager/ HR Director Anthony Sculimbrene, Secretary -present Michael Cassidy Peter Beardmore, Member - present Laura Brzozoski, Member - absent Recording Secretary Courtney Fuller Guests: 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. Requests those that can, stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance 2. Chair’s Report The Municipal Building Committee met last night and invited me to come, we were going to discuss phase 3 of the project, however they did not have quorum, that meeting has been moved to October 16. Unfortunately, this year I cannot attend Homecoming this year, Mr. Lehtinen cannot either, would either member present tonight like to ride and disperse candy? Mr. Sculimbrene and Mr. Beardmore agree at least one of them will be there and the School Committee is set to attend. Truck or Treat is October 28 and Mr. Sculimbrene will take care of our part. There is a Finance Committee public hearing regarding articles next Thursday, we should attend and be available to present our article. Ms. Archambault has availability and volunteers to take care of that. 3. Public Comment None 4. Review & Approve Minutes a. Regular Session 9-26-23 – Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to approve minutes, Mr. Sculimbrene seconded the motion, all approve, with Ms. Archambault abstaining. 5. Review & Approve Warrants & Line Item Transfers a. Warrant Total 9/11/23 to 9/29/23 $117,844.62 – Committee has reviewed and Ms. Archambault has signed off on this amount. Mr. Cassidy presents a document sharing line item transfers totaling $127,786 with an explanation of each transfer. Mr. Beardmore requests more details of transfer with Speech Pathologist. Mr. Cassidy provides a sufficient explanation. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to accept line item transfers Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion, all approve via roll call. 6. Superintendent’s Report Dr. Burnham, follows up on water testing, and reassure families and community members have access to water bottle filling stations with clean, filtered, and cool water. All students and staff should be using the water bottle filling station. Mr. Cassidy attended a recruitment fair today, as we continue to search for substitutes and paraprofessionals. We also have a flyer for volunteer opportunities posted on our website. MCAS student scores were just received yesterday and will be mailed soon. It does take up to a week to get from the post office to homes, and if iReady’s Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ===PAGE 2=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 are available those will be included. Special recognition, this past Monday October 2 was National Custodian Appreciation and Bullying awareness day, along with this Friday October 6 is National Coaches day! I would like to publicly thank our custodians and maintenance teams for all their efforts to maintain a safe environment for our staff and students. Also thank you to our coaches for providing a positive environment and good sportsmanship. Our students and school has been recognized over time for our positive sportsmanship. October Reminders 9th All schools and public offices will be closed for the Holiday 18th Early release for Middle and High School Only for Parent/Teacher conferences 18th School Committee Meeting Middle High School 6:30 19th Middle High School evening Parent/Teacher conferences 21st Homecoming parade, game, and dance 7. Student Representative Report Tatum Furman, reports things are moving smoothly as we have entered our 2 nd month of school, students are looking forward to a 3 day weekend. The Primary School will have a visit from the Fire Safety Trailer mid-October. Turkey Hill Elementary 5th graders recently attended Natures Classroom and will also be celebrating World Smile Day on October 6. Middle School students can start attending the NHS tutoring program. High School float making in in full swing for anticipation of Home Coming on October 21. Seniors are preparing their college applications and attending college representative visits. Blue Knights sports is going well for all teams. 8. New Business Action a. School Improvement Plans: A copy of all school improvement plans has been provided, Principals have updated details and actions to be taken. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to approve the School Improvement plan as presented. Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion, all approve. b. First Read Policy 6214 This policy is posted on the school website, if there are any questions please email lps@lunenburgschools.net. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to waive the first reading, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion. All approve. 9. Old Business Action a. FY25 Draft Capital Plan: We have been postponing a finalization based on the fact that we have not had a full committee, however, we are out of time and need to make a decision. We discussed putting the playground into phase 1 in FY25 and the entry way driveway phase 1 in FY25. The proposed capital plan is being shared now for the public. Mr. Beardmore comments about a break out of the window film, prioritizing the front windows at Turkey Hill. Ms. Archambault agrees a breakdown of sectioning for window film as that may be likely to be approved. Committee agrees to accept this as proposed and come back with a prioritized list. Mr. Beardmore approves the Capital Plan as presented, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion all approve via roll call. b. FY24 Quarterly Budget Report: Mr. Cassidy presents the quarterly report and identifies deficits. Mr. Cassidy goes through each deficit on the report and shares the explanation. Mr. Beardmore comments that every year we discuss if we get a SPED private tuition and how it effects our budget, and we are currently facing this with a 125,000 tuition, and we really need elected officials to assist us when these situations occur. Ms. Archambault agrees and says we will continue to bring this to the representative’s attention. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to accept the FY24 Quarterly Budget Report, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion, all approve via roll call. c. FY Budget Report/ESSER Update: Mr. Cassidy presents ESER grant 2 balance was used an is now officially closed. Mr. Cassidy explains the current status of ESSER grant 3, we are on target to expend all funds by its expiration in a year. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to accept ESSER update, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds them motion, all approve. d. Strategy for Continuous Improvement Action Plan: There have been no comments on this through lps@lunenburgschools.net. Mr. Lehtinen makes a motion to approve the Strategy, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion, all approve. ===PAGE 3=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 e. Second Read Non-Discrimination Policies Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to waive second read, Mr. Lehtinen seconds the motion, all approve. Discussion f. School Committee Goals: Ms. Archambault explains to the committee how she came up with the list of school committee goals. Mr. Beardmore approves the goals with a slight language tweak, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion, all approve 10. Reports Mr. Lehtinen reports the Building Design Committee met Monday, but did not have quorum. The Finance Committee meets tomorrow Mr. Sculimbrene reports on the PTO, there will be grants of $1500 to each school for teachers can engage in experiential learning for the kids. There will be a fundraiser, Trolls 3 movie in November, the deadline to purchase Lunenburg “swag” is October 6. If you join the PTO prior to Homecoming, you will be enrolled for gift basket giveaway. Mr. Beardmore reports the HS Advisory met last Thursday the 28th, there was a discussion regarding the School Improvement plan along with a discussion on MCAS as the results are looking quite positive. Discussion on the bullying plan came up, a comment came up that seemed to be the consensus in the room was on the language in the document. This document was written by an attorney perhaps in the future we can have a “simpler, cliff notes” version of the document for the public to view and potentially comment on. There is a change in senior privileges, previously they were only allowed to use the privilege for first or last period of the day, and this year they can sign out anytime during the day. Currently we have 12 students in dual enrollment, 9 seniors and 3 juniors. We got a quick demo and explanation on Safer Watch. Ms. Archambault reports that the MS Council met on September 26, they discussed the smooth opening, and the School Improvement Plan. There was also discussion on putting Developmental Design groups together and having the program become important as a way they address SEL concerns and also using Trails to Wellness and relationship mapping in that area. MCAS results show that 5 out of 6 areas were higher than the state. Fifty random 8 th graders will take a National Test, this test compare state to state results, they will take either the English or the Math test, they will not take both. They are planning DC trip, still mixed review on plane vs bus, still waiting for final decision. The Middle School Barbie Dance was very successful, they had sold 110 tickets prior to the event. The next Master Planning Committee meeting is tomorrow 11. Public Comment - None 12. Topics for Future Discussion Prioritize Capital Plan, 13. 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. Mr. Lehtinen makes a motion to move into executive session at 7:45 and adjourn following. Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion all approve Respectfully Submitted Courtney Fuller