===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING MINUTES SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, September 18, 2024 7:30 – Hybrid – Town Hall School Committee Superintendent Brian Lehtinen, Chair - Absent Dr. Kate Burnham Anthony Sculimbrene, Vice Chair - Present Carol Archambault, Secretary - Present Peter Beardmore, Member - Present Laura Brzozoski, Member - Present 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 broadcast 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 brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law 1. Call to Order by Mr. Sculimbrene at 7:30 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Public Comment Ms. Archambault would like to thank Mr. Stevenson’s civic engagement class for inviting her to speak with the class on ways to be involved in your community and what it means to be a member of a public board. The class was very attentive and interested 4. Chair’s Report None 5. Review and Approve Minutes a. Regular Sessions 8/7/24 Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to approve minutes for 8/7/24, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve 6. Review and Approve Line Item Transfers & Warrants a. 9/3 to 9/13/24 $377,997.08 No line item transfers, warrants have been signed. 7. Student Representative Kara Harunkiewicz reports for the district all students receive lunch for free this year, homecoming is October 19th, back to school forms are due, Chromebook insurance needs to be bought by September 20th, after school music lessons are now open, the Music Gators and the PTO need volunteers. At the High school picture day was today and they had a good open house last week. The 2028 class still needs a class advisor. The trip to Spain in 2028 has two spots l eft to fill. Currently we have classrooms remaining at under 60 degrees at times throughout the day. The Middle school has a Washington DC meeting on October 8 th for parents at 6 p.m. in the auditorium. Picture day was yesterday. Turkey Hill had their open house earlier today and they have a book fair that is open until the 20th. The Primary school has their open house tomorrow. Mr. Sculimbrene comments that he attended the open house at Turkey Hill tonight and it was the best one he had been to. We had a scavenger hunt and the kids were able to introduce their parents to the teachers and the music teacher sang Peaches with the kids, it was a great time, and a huge turnout. Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ===PAGE 2=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 Ms.Brzozoski comments she went to the open house as well for the 5 th grade it was well attended and having the kids seems to have increased participation. It was fantastic, it was a nice scavenger hunt, it’s a great way to get the kids excited to show us around their environment. 8. Superintendent’s Report Dr. Burnham reports PTO is always looking for new members, their next meeting is October 7 th at 7 p.m. at the Middle School. There has been a water main replacement project underway on Mass Ave, the work has been focused in the area of the driveway entrance at the Primary School, Friday we did experience loss of water pressure due to flushing they hydrant, there were slight delays with busses, however, and there has been excellent communication between the water department and our office. In the near future they will be ready to convert the water flow from the temporary line to the new main that will require that the water be shut off, they will keep us updated as to when that will happen, we did advise them we will need advanced notice in order to alert families if there will be any impact to the school day. There hav e been some road paving projects around town the DPW director Bill Bernard has been excellent about providing us advanced notice, and we have been able to communicate with Dee Bus in case some routes needed to be adjusted. The Green Community, Dr. Gilson, and I have been working with the members of the green committee in town and Unitil regarding the mini-splits, that were installed this summer, and they are eligible for a rebate. The Green Committee will be working with us to submit a grant proposal to fund phase two of the mini-split project at the Primary School, we are hopeful that we will be able to secure satisfactory energy savings assessment documentation in time to submit by the October 18 deadline, if we are a recipient of the grant we would be able to install in the summer of 2025. We would then submit a proposal for mini-splits for Turkey hill and if we are awarded the grant that would be done in the summer of 2026. Fall iReady benchmark assessments will be completed this week, we plan to do zoom calls as we have the last few years. We have received access to the spring 2024 MCAS results, we are looking at that data, and an initial review shows movement in the right direction, particularly in math, we look forward to sharing those results on October 16. Upcoming Dates September 19 & 20 Picture Day at Primary School September 20 Primary School Open House September 27 early release day for students October 2 School Committee Meeting at Town Hall 6:30 October 16 School Committee Meeting at LMHS 6:30 9. Presentation – None 10. New Business Action a. Grant Authorizations Dr. Burnham brings forward a request to pursue two grants, the first is a Cyber Resilient Improvement Grant for $25,000. The second is Prism One Grant, this is a multi -year grant. Dr. Bookis, the Director of Teaching and Learning goes through the details and how this grant has the ability to help us supplement spending we will be doing in regards to stipends, personnel, leadership team, substitutes, etc. Ms. Archambault makes a motion to approve both grants, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion, all approve b. THES Engineering assessment RFQ Dr. Gilson has developed the document provided for review before we solicit for service. She documents all of her contacts including the Town Manager, MSBA, Assistant Town Manager and also other local schools that have pursuing their own studies. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to approve the posting of this request, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion all approve c. FY 25 Quarterly Budget Report There is a report that has been provided to the committee in their folder. Ms. Archambault makes a motion to accept this reports, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion, all approve. d. Personnel Report A report has been provided to the committee in their folder. Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to accept the report, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion all approve. e. Fall Athletics report A report has been provided to the committee in their folder. Mr. Sculimbrene gives a shout out to Ms. Tousignant regarding the great invitational event for the cross country team at Martha’s Vineyard, it’s a great morale boost. Mr. Beardmore notes our cheerleading squad is substantially up in numbers this year and they are doing a great job. Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to accept the report, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion all approve. ===PAGE 3=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 f. Keystone Report A report has been provided to the committee in their folder. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to accept the report, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion, all approve g. Donation None 11. Old Business Action a. Second Read Policies – Facility Policies, Concussion Policy, Chapter 766 Policy there has been no questions or concerns from the public Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to waive the second reading of the policies, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion all approve Discussion b. FY 26 Budget Timeline and Priorities a report of timeline and benchmarks for the town and finance committee along with the school committee. Our meeting with the finance committee will be March 13, 2025. The committee discusses the struggles of having a budget they can balance and vote on, because they have to wait until the health insurance number comes in. Perhaps it is time to move that item off our budget and onto the Towns budget, as the rest of the town departments do. c. SC Goals - Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to table this topic until the full committee is available, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion, all approve 12. Reports Mr. Sculimbrene reports the Budget Task Force met on Monday, we were soliciting information form the different stakeholders in town, I think every single union showed up, Paras did not, but were well represented by the teachers. We are either at the bottom or second to bottom rung among comparable towns, and for the first time the privilege of working in Lunenburg is not out-weighing the fact that we do not pay them enough. The police department is maid in the middle of the pack of their comparable towns, and they are losing people to those other towns, Brad noted that Chief Gammell is retiring on October 19th, my experience is that he is an extraordinarily good chief and they currently do not have a chief selected, so there is going to be a lot of uncertainty as they have contracts coming up. One thing the fire department added was the current proposal for work week hours for them is among the worst in the state, the problem we have is there is no full time person on Sundays, and at times our chief is out doing hospital runs instead of doing chief duties. There was a lot of good information from the secretaries’ rep as well as Mary Foyle. Chief Gammell gave a really heartfelt speech about the people in town being the biggest asset. Ms Archambault put her full finance committee report in the folder, an update included the MART grant is running out but the committee voted to transfer $5,000 into the account, so they would be able to continue serving some of our kids. Most of our current capital plans running in Lunenburg are underfunded and the interim Town Manager is hoping to have a short- term plan to protect the building envelopes. There was a comment TCP is running $90,000 in the red. There will be a warrant article at the special town meeting to appropriate $31,000 to the schools as a supplementary appropriation over the amount of Chapter 70. Also Ms. Tavares has stepped down from the committee so there is a vacancy on the finance committee. Mr. Beardmore The town manager screening committee met last week and we formerly hired Community Paradigm Associates, which is a consulting firm that will assist us in the search and selection of a town manager, they are building a community profile which will be part of the advertising, they are currently in the process of contacting department heads for their input. Our goal is to be screening initial candidates’ mid-October and potential interview by late October. Ms. Brzozoski As of June 6th Cheri Cordella is the new chair of PACSAL, she hosted a meet and greet for member s to connect, it was our first in person meeting in 2 years, she left attendees inspired for future meetings. Prior to the Middle School open house a new Facebook page created called Parents Advisory Council for all Learners, this is compiled for parents and guardians of children who receive special services, 504, ESL, Title 1, IEP’s etc., I recommend joining as it is a good way to network with other parents. On September 5 th PACSAL had a table in the gym during the Middle school and will also be at Turkey Hill and Primary School providing information. PACSAL will be held the first Thursday of every month a combination of support groups one month and official business the next month. The official business meeting will be a combination of in person and zoom. Our first in person support group will be Thursday October 3 at 6 p.m. it is for adults only in the collaborative room at the Middle High School. ===PAGE 4=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 Dr. Burnham reports there is a full PTO report in the folder, briefly they will be doing their request for funds again where teachers can submit grant proposals, the total amount awarded will be $20,000 ($5,000 per school) A few fundraiser ideas were offers such as a Little Caesars pizza night, a movie night at the cinema, a fundraising calendar, and also talked about penny wars in two weeks. Additionally there is another report from Green Committee. 13. Public Comment Mr. Sculimbrene I am always impressed by how our different knowledge bases and experiences in life make this committee better and as we approach budget season I am confident we will do what we did last year, which is we stuck together we used everyone’s strengths. Carol and Peter gave a really compelling presentati on at town meeting, but you know I think we do a pretty good job as a committee, so I am confident that the budget even if it is stressful and difficult it will work out because we all really do have different complimenting skills, so I am glad that we are going to this together as a unit. 14. Topics for Future Discussion 15. Executive Session – to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiation with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel 16. Adjournment Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion at 9:08 to enter executive session and adjourn immediately following, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion all approve Respectfully Submitted Courtney Fuller