===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING MINUTES SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, February 5, 2025 6:30 p.m. Town Hall - Hybrid School Committee Superintendent Brian Lehtinen, Chair - present 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: Tim Santry – LMHS Principal, Dr. Bookis – Director of Teaching and Learning, Julianna Hanscom – Special Services Director, Dr. Susan Gilson – Director of Administration and Finance, Amy Resnick – MTSS Specialist/Coach, Lisa Cantin – MTSS Specialist/Coach 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 Brian Lehtinen at 6:31 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Public Comment Mary Foyle 985 Flat Hill Road I'm here as the President of the Lunenburg Education Association, representing the staff, who do an excellent job in our schools. I'm commenting over comments made at the last school committee meeting, January 22, especially from Mr. Beardmore, in regards to what is happening in Lunenburg classrooms. I would usually do this as a one-on-one conversation or email but because the comments were public and recorded I feel like my comments have to be public and recorded. I'm going to start off with the two stories or adages . Because everyone went to school, I heard this once upon a time that everyone feels like they know how school is run. I've stayed in a hospital it doesn't mean I know how a hospital is run or how patient should be treated. I saw this other thing in a Reader's Digest about elementary school teachers. It was something like if I will believe 10% of what they tell me happens at home, if you will believe 10% of what happens at school. I'm concerned over some of the comments that were made in regards to specifically the essential classes and high school gym. What struck me was that the comments were in my opinion disparaging to the teaching professionals and also to the students and families who are involved in those classes , and though the words or what the words meant may not have been intentional comments like, “I failed to see what a varsity coach cannot cover that a gym class would” or: that high school gym class is not time well spent”. I was insulted on behalf of my peers. What bothered me more is those comments were more opinion and read as assumptions and asserts as leaving staff to disprove them instead of seeking for knowledge. Our educators have master's degree, do course work beyond their degree, professional development, a lot on their own time and dollars and I could go on with they do to stay highly skilled professionals. To quote Margaret Wheatley, in one of my favorite pieces my seniors just finished reading: Willing To Be Disturbed; “We have the opportunity many times a day, every day, to be the one who listens to others. Curious rather than certain.” I hope that we can all practice seeking to understand being cognizant of potential impact of our words and approach issues from a place of curiosity instead of certainty. Julia Callahan 24 Beal Street For those that don't know me, I teach English and I am the head of the English Department at Lunenburg High School. Like Mrs Foyle I'm here tonight to respond to some discussion that occurred at the school Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ===PAGE 2=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 committee meeting on January 22nd, and at that meeting our high school principal Mr. Santry presented the newly developed competency determination, that had to be created with the change in MCAS legislation. After his presentation the school committee members were invited to ask questions, at that time one member of the school committee, Mr. Beardmore said the following “let's focus on the essentials level, let's say ninth grade English, what is the standard and how do we determine the standard for 9th grade English? When I went to high school everyone knew if you needed to pass world history you would take this particular teacher, because, he walked out of the room when he gave a test that was standard practice . Not to pile on but I don't want that to happen. How do we ensure that there is a minimum standard for each and every one of these es sential levels classes?” Mr. Beardmore continued to qualify essentials classes as paths of lesser resistance. Then asked “how am I to be 100% sure that the student is demonstrating knowledge of the curriculum?” While Mr. Santry provided a sound response to the these questions ,I felt compelled to respond as well as the high school English Department Head and as the teacher of the essentials level English course. I'm here to inform the school committee, the town, and students who watch these meetings as part of their Civics coursework, that students, all levels Essentials, College Prep, Honors, and Advanced Placement are being assessed on the standards outline in the Massachusetts ELA curriculum framework, depending on level the curriculum may be at a different pace with different accommodations and supports but each student in English class at Lunenburg High School is being held to that curricular standard. There are no teachers leaving classrooms to allow students the opportunity to be academically a dishonest on exams or on other assessments. To be clear the essentials level course are no means a path to lesser resistance for our students, rather they are supported and are in challenging classroom environments that allow students access to a curriculum that might otherwise post challenges giving their learning needs. In closing while I take umbrage with the assentation that any teacher in my department may be giving students the opportunity to be academically dishonest, it is far more unsettling to hear a claim that we are offering some sort of path of lesser resistance to our learners. Students come into our classrooms at all levels with a diverse set of skills, ability, strengths, and area for growth far be it from any of us to suggest that any Lunenburg High School student at any level is getting anything but academically sound support to help them succeed. Mr. Sculimbrene I would like to thank both Mary and Julia for coming forward and providing context to things we talked about in the last meeting. I know that the best things, the worst things, and the most true things that I can say about my knowledge of school is that I don't know certain things. I totally understand Peter's perspective from an anecdotal point of view when he was here but, as Mary said I just don't think that going to school makes us experts in teaching school. I'm also remembering back to what Mr. Santry said, and he said something to the effect of “As a special educator, I object to the idea that they are not doing the same work” and we should always be cognizant of what we don't know. I'm glad that you guys were willing to share with us how it really works and hope you know that the things that you say don't go ignored, the things that you educate us on even though we are not your students are still really important so thank you for making your comments Mr Beardmore I had a different public comment plan for tonight, but I feel compelled to respond to the comments that were made this evening. First I outlined during public comment at our last meeting the documents we received that evening I did not have the opportunity to pre-read. Secondly I want to apologize for my choice of words, they were poor. Further context I don't think there's anyone sitting here that's been a bigger cheerleader for the faculty and staff of Lunenburg Public Schools over the course of their term on the school committee, their life as a parent, or their entire life here in Lunenburg. I resent not having heard any of these comments until this evening, precisely two weeks after those comments were made. You could have come to me and you could have brought them to my attention. Frankly I would have preferred that you would have done brought them to my attention so that I could have addressed them with you personally, and you could have discussed those with your union members over the course of the last two weeks, rather than potentially having them fester. That said there's different types of discourse you've outlined, an inquisitive discourse tonight and I think there's a time and a place for that. I've made several inquiries over the course of the last two years pertaining to physical education and have not gotten a straight answer. For the first time two weeks ago I got the beginning of a comprehensive explanation for what the guidelines were and how we intend to go about addressing them. The dialogue that occurred that night was a two-way dialogue and I again apologizing for my choice of words, I took a provocative stand and an effort to understand. I think that our Educators can understand that sometimes that's what you're doing in an effort to understand. That applies to both topics the standards and the MCAS standards, and how we are planning to address our standards given what has occurred over the course of the last several months as well as our application of the physical education guidelines. My specific requests to look at the possibility of waiving physical education requirements for Varsity athletes, and while I appreciate the answers that I was given I still don't think sitting here today that I have received the level of answer to any of those questions that I've asked. I think there's more to do here, there’s more to learn, and I'm looking forward to that dialogue and the narrative. I also want to add one additional piece of context here which is there's a large contingent of our society that does not trust our educational syste m or teachers in general I am not a part of that, but there is a large contingent of our society who has those strong reservations and suspicions. I think that it is incumbent upon us when we are faced with approving proposals around standards to take those issues head on and to be a little bit provocative and to ask uncomfortable questions as I see it somewhat my role to do these ===PAGE 3=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 things, so again I apologize for my choice of words it was not my intention to offend anyone and I'm very sorry that I did. That being said I don't necessarily think that I can tell you that it won't happen again because you all know me. I do want to offer additional public comment tonight, we are going to hear the budget proposal and the news is not good. in fact it's really bad and there's going to be an outcry following this news, and we will discuss as a committee opportunities for the feedback and for discourse and dialogue about some proposed cuts that are coming, but I would like to offer to everybody first you are always welcome to contact me or any of the member of the school committee eithe r individually or in public. Please also contact your State Legislator, Representative Kushmerek, Representative Scarsdale, and Senator Cronin, and I can tell you that I personally have been in an email dialogue, and have copied the chair, for now over 2 months I have pushed, I have prodded, and I have chastised them a little bit for their unwillingness to come and meet with us in person. They have assured me that they are aware of the issue and are working on it but not one of them is file d the bill that made specific proposals relating to chapter 70, not one of them can offer timeline by which this issue and set of issues will be addressed. I appreciate their goodwill and their intentions, but this issue has been on the table for two years , we discussed it publicly in a meeting and in a joint meeting here in November of 2023. That was 16 months ago one full budget cycle ago, we passed an override late last year to deal with these budget issues, we expended an awful lot of time and political Capital to do that, and our partners at the state were not willing to file on their end. I would implore members of our audience tonight to directly contact our legislature and inquire to as when and how this problem will be solved. 4. Chair’s Report March10th at 7 pm at the LMHS auditorium is the Citizens Party Caucus. Back in 2022, myself and Carol were nominated and that allowed us to get onto the ballot. If you are interested in running for the school committee, we ne ed good people. Ms. Archambault will not be running again, so there is a seat available. There is also a seat on the Select Board available. 5. Student Representative’s Report February break is coming up the 17th to the 21st for all schools. The PTO held their Special Someone dance last Saturday, February 1st, and it went very well. Turkey Hill Elementary School MCAS testing is starting March 31 for grades 3 and up. The Lions Club is taking recycling at the Lunenburg Middle High School lobby for their recycling challenge. There are 84 students registered for the Washington DC trip. National Honor Society has started offering peer tutoring for student’s grade 6 through 12. 6. Review & Approve Minutes a. Regular Session 01/08/25 &01/17/25 Ms. Archambault makes a motion to approve the minutes for 1/8/25 and 1/17/25 meetings, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion all approve 7. Review & Approve Line Item Transfers, Warrants, & Donations a. Warrants 1/21/25 to 1/31/25 $159,787.33 Warrants have been signed, no questions, no transfers or donations. 8. Superintendent’s Report The 911 upgrade incurred about $60,000 for cabling to be completed. We cannot use AARPA money, because the project is completed. Dr. Gilson and I met with the interim Town Manager and they suggested we meet with FinCom to see if they can cover the cost. We will meeting on the 13th with them. Upcoming dates February 17 All offices and schools will be closed February 17-21 Schools are closed for February break February 26th School Committee Meeting LMHS 6:30 March 6th School Committee Meeting at Town Hall 6:30 9. Presentation none 10. New Business Action a. Grant Approval Dr. Bookis reports this is a grant that would help support Science teaching at Turkey Hill, the grant that is proposed by Mass Life Science center. This is aligned with the science standards, but also in anticipation of a new science test that is going to be piloted this year and next year and all students will be taking it in 2027. Also an update on the Prism Grant, we unfortunately did not receive the Pris m grant, however, we are continuing with some of the foundational work that was outlined in the grant and it brought to our attention as part of the process, so there is a memo in your packet about some of the work we are doing on the foundational program for literacy. Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to approve the application for the grant proposed, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion, all approve ===PAGE 4=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 b. Town Meeting Article In your packet you have an article that Mr. Beardmore requested Dr. Burnham submit for the warrant articles, it was decided we should submit the subject to the school committee approval that scheduled meeting tonight. Dr. Burnham advised the interim Town Manager, they were estimating the cost at $100,0 00, Dr. Gilson is working to determine if that is a reasonable cost estimate, the language of the warrant article to see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate, borrow, or transfer from available funds a sum of money necessary to design and prepare a bid solicitation for rehabilitation repairs and upgrades of the track and field complex at Lunenburg Middle High School. The committee discusses the options and positive and negative views of the article. Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to approve the warrant for town meeting, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve Discussion c. FY 26-FY28 Unaffiliated Salary Schedule The committee has been provided the salary schedule for review, this is primarily for the extended day staff, which is a self-sustaining program and has no budgetary impact. If you have any questions please forward them to Dr. Burnham d. New Legislation In your packet you have a memo from an email from the communication from Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools regarding the 211 project. We received notification and communication from Julie Kelly, Research Analyst with Massachusetts Association of Regional Schools. Mr. Lehtinen goes through the bills and shared the ones that are mostly related to Lunenburg, while others are for rural schools and regional transportation. The committee discusses a letter and details they would like to send to legislature e. Kids Kingdom Playground The interim Town Manager reached out that the Senior Center is going to be expanding their parking lot, and would like to the move the playground over. Dr. Burnham as assured the town that the extended day program would be moved out of TC Passios by July 15 th and the offices will be moved by August 1st. The town has also asked if we would continue to mow the lawn around the building for one more year. The superintendent will reach out to the Town Manager and let them know the School Committee is not ready to take action at this time. The conversation is also to include having a meeting between school committee, council on aging, town facilities director and the library to come up with a plan. 11. Old Business Action a. Assessment Report You have the report and if you have any questions send them to Dr. Burn ham and she will get you an answer. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to accept the report, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve. b. LHS Program of Studies At the last meeting you were provided a list of program studies, I have not received any questions or concerns regarding the program. A discussion regarding what we are offering and sharing with students and the effect it may have pending a reduction of staff, and having the disappointment among the students based on classes we aren’t ultimately able to offer. Mr. Santry shares that students are aware from the beginning of the registration process that these are always possibility. Ms. Archambault makes a motion to approve the high school course of study, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion, the motion passes with 3 approvals, 1 no and 1 abstention c. Facilities & Grounds Report The report has been provided to you in your folder. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to accept the report, Ms. Archambault seconds all approve. d. Capital Projects – Contracts Dr. Gilson is looking for approval to move forward with the final two parts of the Primary School Security system upgrades and Turkey Hill upgrades, I have been able to work with two contractors for the doors. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to award the contracts as explained by Dr. Gilson, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve. e. Competency Determination At the meeting on the 22nd we discussed this need for a new competency determination now that MCAS is not required. Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to approve the competency determination as provided, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion. The motion passes with 4 approvals and Mr. Beardmore votes no f. Superintendent Search On Monday the screening committee met, the screening committee made a chair, the chair wrote a letter to the school committee. Mr. Lehtinen reads out loud for the committee. The screening committee would like to request internal and external applicants be screened together instead. Ms. Brzozoski would like to reach out to MASC to with the superintendent search. The cost is $11,500. Mr. Sculimbrene makes makes a motion to approve the changes proposed in the letter from the search committee, Ms. A rchambault seconds the motion all approve. Ms. Archambault makes a motion to direct the superintendent to appropriately and legally procure a consultant for the superintendent search, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion, all approve Discussion g. FY26 Budget Dr. Burnham shares a presentation sharing information regarding changes from the last level service funding budget and changes. Dr. Burnham shares lists of expenses and supplies that will be cut in order to get to the ===PAGE 5=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 budget down to the Town Managers budget. A slide is shared that lists the Personnel cuts in order to get to the Town Managers Budget. This budget presentation is available online. h. School Committee Resolutions Mr. Lehtinen shares he does not need these resolutions to go out, the letter is sufficient, the committee agrees i. New Town Hall/School Offices The Lunenburg Municipal Design is getting closer, they met with the select board and architect last night. Feedback is still welcome. There was some concern about leaving TCP and going to Turkey Hill, citizens may feel that would be a fine move and no need to move again to the new building. Dr. Burnham explains this is not a long term solution. The space cannot be separated from the school 12. Reports Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to postpone reports, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve 13. Public Comment Mrs. Squier This took an emotional toll on the administration at the Primary School. The weight of the decisions that lie ahead for our community are extremely difficult. Today we were tasked with speaking and meeting with 11 dedicated staff members to inform them of the potential impacts on the upcoming staff cuts. Each of these individuals is a valued member of our community and it is never easy to deliver such news. These conversations are not merely about staffing numbers, they're about real people with families, passions, commitment to education, and the well-being of our students. The decisions we are facing will have a profound effect not only on their lives but, also the education of our students. We ask that as we continue to move through this challenging time we keep in mind the human element behind these difficult choices. These are not just positions on a chart, these represent individuals whose work and dedication have contributed to the success of our school. The impact of the potential cuts is far-reaching, I encourage us all to reflect on the personal and professional consequences this will have for the staff, families, and ultimately our students we serve. I trust that we will navigate this with care and thoughtfulness. TJ Laughlin 207 Rolling Acres Road The first big question for me is, and Peter said it, is the math isn't mathing, which it shouldn't be a surprise. It is common for me at this point, given how I interacted last year, you know 3.5 million is a big number, it's a really big number. I was trying to do some math behind the scenes, a 12% health insurance increase is in the hundreds of thousands. The fee increase for athletics was in the $40,000 range which is 1%. Of the 3.5 million and some of the numbers that were shared, including about $70,000 for transportation, it takes a lot of tens of thousands to make up millions. It would be nice to see absolute numbers. I saw last week’s presentation naturally, but those are percentage increases relative to the amounts for those line items. What are the absolute increases? What's causing the 3.5 million? I can't believe it is inflation. It would be nice to see some of those other numbers. I started hearing last year about state funding and Chapter 70 in a criticism of proposition two and a half, which are all valid and a valid source of revenue. I just can't get out of my head, what are we saying about our town? The only way to survive is to have the state support us and or increase the property tax. If proposition 2 1/2 wasn't there would we be saying we'd have to be increasing the property tax by a lot every year? That is not sustainable model moving forward Chris Sullivan 108 Highland Street I am going to echo what TJ said, for starters regarding the increases, it'd be great to see what those actually are. It is substantial, 3.5 million is obviously very substantial and it would be great to understand and have a greater transparency on what we are looking at as far as line items what those increases are. Laura made a point ear lier tonight and it really hit home; the fact that our newly re-elected officials are not stepping up to the plate, representing and addressing our concerns with any of the bills related to Chapter 70 funding. I appreciate the sentiment of sending a letter and so forth, but it is becoming apparent that our concerns of falling on deaf ears. They're aware of the concerns prior to going into election. Here we are now, and none of them have stepped up to the plate to attach their name to anything that will help us address the educational concerns of our town or the town surrounding the area that they repre sent. I hope people will continue to take that into account as we continue to look forward Mr Passios 56 Whiting Street I'm still a registered voter in town for a little bit longer. First I'd like to say to Mr. Beardmore that as far as I'm concerned your comments over the years and the past couple weeks, although we get very passionate and sometimes our words don't come out the way we probably intended them to, I don't think there's any need for people like us that are volunteers to apologize if we hurt someone's feelings a little bit. Pull another tissue and move on, that's rather blunt but that's the way I feel after many years and many times what you did in the meeting. In regards to the budget I think it would be more transparent if someone goes through that list of cuts and somehow differentiates between reallocation of the funds for position versus showing it was cut. The janitor at TCP is a position that hasn't been filled for over a year, so you're not cutting a position, you're moving the dollars somewhere else. I think for transparency purposes that really needs to be identified and separated from the cut of an FTE. One other quick comment, for my years on capital planning committee and finance committee, the standard for engineering and design for a project to be brought (I'm going to call it shovel ready, but it doesn't even need to be that) to bid ready is 10% of the total expected cost of the project. That's where we've been getting in trouble for the past number of years, supposed experts telling us that 5% is enough is not. Dr Gilson, the example that she ===PAGE 6=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 brought forward of the two projects that you approved this evening they were not quoted properly , because we tend to do that we get low ball numbers, push them forward, and then lo and behold we either need to change the project or we need more money. The interim Town Manager insisted on a 10% contingency for the projects that he signed off on. In the 6 months or so that he was here, proved to be really prudent because in most cases that money was needed. Thomas Woodward 221 Leominster Road A couple things that Anthony and Carol said that we're a little alarming to me is the more obvious class size is going to go up at the Primary School and Turkey hill. I have a kid that has ADHD so it's a little bit gut-wrenching for me. He's already struggling, at that age making classes bigger is going to make it harder for him. As a parent you struggle, if it was actually the right pick of a town to actually move to. I moved here 3 years ago but you worry about your kids’ education. He struggles with paying attention and when he gets home we make sure he works with the programs available to him through his classes. His scores have gone up and it makes a real difference. It is alarming that some classes in high school have five, six, seven people and it just doesn't make sense to me. If we have low numbers in classes and we are taking resources away from our younger generation. When I was a student I wasn’t very interested in school and will shows and be reflected when you get to high school. I just want what is best for my town. Elizabeth Noyes 251 Holman Street my comment is brief and echoes some of the statements that were previously made but really just encouraging a little bit more scrutiny at the middle and high school level. I'm a former higher employee having worked in college admissions, so I know a little bit about high school curriculums, and I would just really encourage taking a look into those elective courses and seeing what is truly necessary. I have a daughter at Turkey Hill I have a child who will be going to kindergarten this year, we moved to the town six months ago. It's quite alarming to see that so much is going to be put on the backs of our young children Ms. Brzozoski I do want to assure people most of us on here, do have children in the school system and we do understand what the cuts are going to do. I definitely have the same worries that Mr. Woodward was expressing as a parent. I definitely hear the concerns. We are well aware of the humans and the staff members, the people and everyone behind this who's affected I think we are very well aware Mr Beardmore I appreciate everyone's comments tonight, I hope there's more of them in subsequent meetings. Please reach out to representative Scarsdale, Representative Kushmerek, and Senator Cronin. I will share with the committee my most recent email to them, which was less than complimentary, and I want to encourage members of the public to ask them difficult questions. They will respond to you- how hard they are working on this, but, the hard work isn't what is needed, it's the results. We're a long way away from results, and I think we need some creative thinking in some of our schools in terms of how we're running programs. I think we need some creative thinking when it comes to how our representatives are approaching Chapter 70. I'll give you a tidbit from that email- I believe, and most of the people that I've been speaking with recently, believe that the Student Opportunity Act was a scam perpetrated on towns like Lunenb urg, so was the millionaires tax. We've been promised all kinds of things over the course of the last several years and have done nothing to show for it. I am done with that and demand urgent action! Mr. Lehtinen I want you to remind you, as we have over 50 people still here at 10:35 at night, but I want to remind people that on Monday March 10th put that in your calendar at 7:00 p.m. the Citizens Party Caucus will be at the Middle High School auditorium. This is the opportunity where people can get on the ballot to run for a position the school committee. There will be two seats at this coming election I encourage people to run. I've decided that I will not be running for re- election, I've appreciated the time and the experience that I have had. 14. Topics for Future Discussion 15. Adjournment Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to adjourn at 10:37 pm, Ms. Sculimbrene seconds the motion all approve via roll call vote Respectfully Submitted Courtney Fuller