School Committee, August 15, 2018

The town has published neither minutes nor an agenda for this meeting. The recording is the only record, and what follows is a guide to it.

athleticsbudgetcapitalexecutive sessionfacilitiesfeeshiringmsbapolicyprimary schoolpublic commentrecreationstaffingsuperintendent reporttechnologyturkey hill

Present: Dr. Burnham (superintendent); Mr. Londa (business manager); Jim Levesque (member); Tammy (presenter (extended day director)); Mr. Castle (presenter); Miss McGrath (interim assistant principal). Names are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 38:57Approve the extended day program update and handbook changesnot audible
2. ▶ 47:45Accept the Chromebook one-to-one initiative for eighth grade as a pilot for the school yearnot audible
3. ▶ 53:01Motion on policy/committee assignment (Jim Levesque) to revert to prior arrangementnot audible
4. ▶ 1:44:40Maintain the seasonal facility fee through fiscal year 2020 (no change); discussion concluded no vote was needed since not an agenda itemnot audible

And 2 procedural: accept the minutes of july 18 (▶ 15:46); enter executive session under mgl c.30a s.21(a)(2) for contract negotiation strategy with non-union personnel, not to return to public session (▶ 1:53:37).

The money

1. ▶ 21:30Open purchase orders

   Eleven open purchase orders were reviewed; the business manager said they are normal year-end carryovers and will be closed out.

   as heard:11

2. ▶ 22:57One open purchase order amount

   A member asked about one open order; it was explained the invoice came in lower than the original estimate.

   as heard:109$10,000

3. ▶ 31:35Extended day one-on-one staffing cost

   Town counsel advised the program cannot charge parents the extra staffing cost for a one-on-one aide, so the program absorbs it at the base rate.

   as heard:$5 an hour

4. ▶ 42:51Chromebook pilot budget impact

   Adding a grade to the one-to-one program affects the device replacement schedule and IT demand, so it is a pilot to test the budget impact.

5. ▶ 55:53Draft capital plan FY20-29: phone system

   Primary school phone replacement project was completed.

   as heard:thirty thousand

6. ▶ 56:13Asbestos abatement Turkey Hill FY19

   The abatement project was funded and a state source was found that may replace the capital expenditure.

   as heard:130,000

7. ▶ 57:17Asbestos abatement next phase

   Remaining hallway, stairwell and classroom work estimated as a large project.

   as heard:160

8. ▶ 59:59Primary school air conditioning

   Design and construction are scheduled in later years; the estimate may be high compared with a recent benchmark.

   as heard:$10,000 design300,000five hundred thousand

9. ▶ 1:01:25FY24 roof project and MSBA share

   A roughly million-dollar roof project would be MSBA-assisted with the town share around half.

   as heard:500,000million dollar50%

10. ▶ 1:06:05Boilers FY26

    Boiler replacement shown as a separate project; green community grant funds might offset it.

    as heard:120,000a quarter of a million dollars

11. ▶ 1:27:14Football association facility fee

    The reduced fee offered was rejected by the group, whose budget was lower; further cuts in access were offered.

    as heard:four thousand nine hundred ninety dollarsforty seven fifty$8,500

12. ▶ 1:28:59Revolving account and unpaid lacrosse invoice

    The fee reduction was to be covered from the facility revolving account using new revenue, but a lacrosse invoice from spring remains unpaid.

13. ▶ 1:35:25Bond payment funding

    A member noted part of the bond payment comes from the cell tower lease and part from facility user groups, so missing revenue must be made up.

14. ▶ 1:36:27Seasonal facility fee held flat

    The superintendent recommended no change to the seasonal fee through next year so groups can budget.

    as heard:$8,500

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 39:38Extended day director to return to update the committee in November.
• ▶ 1:46:08Committee agreed to reaffirm, without a vote, that the flat seasonal facility fee stays unchanged, and to put it in writing on the website.
• ▶ 1:42:57Superintendent to research stipended field-monitor positions in other districts and come back with a proposal.
• ▶ 1:39:23Committee will wait to hear from the football association before acting.
• ▶ 53:23Committee assignments (policy review) reverted to the earlier arrangement.

Documents and exhibits

State law asks minutes to list the documents and exhibits used at a meeting (M.G.L. c.30A §22(a)). Names from the recording are the caption model’s hearing; the two sides are matched by name, by script, so a document named two different ways can be missed. A place to look, not a finding.

Public comment

1. ▶ 0:08Was refused a ticket to his daughter's lacrosse banquet and asks the committee to address it; says he will keep coming back. — edwin ee, as heard, parent

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• athletics33 min · 29%
• fees22 min · 19%
• recreation22 min · 19%
• facilities20 min · 18%
• superintendent report18 min · 16%
• policy17 min · 16%
• capital16 min · 14%
• msba16 min · 14%
• primary school11 min · 9%
• public comment9 min · 8%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:08Public comment: banquet ticket complaintinformational · 9:21 long · public comment
2. ▶ 9:49Report on state accountability system workshopinformational · 5:36 long · curriculum
3. ▶ 15:25Warrants and July 18 minutesvoted · 0:41 long
4. ▶ 16:07Personnel update and new hires; athletics communicationinformational · 4:39 long · personnel, hiring, athletics
5. ▶ 21:07Budget update: open purchase orders; summer projectsinformational · 4:02 long · budget, facilities, turkey hill
6. ▶ 25:09Website update, bus contract, back-to-school eventsinformational · 4:21 long · superintendent report, transportation
7. ▶ 29:30Extended day program update and handbookvoted · 10:30 long · policy, primary school
8. ▶ 40:01Eighth-grade Chromebook one-to-one pilotvoted · 8:09 long · technology, middle school
9. ▶ 48:30Committee goals, policy review and assignmentsvoted · 6:58 long · policy
10. ▶ 55:28Draft capital plan FY20-29informational · 16:02 long · capital, facilities, msba
11. ▶ 1:11:52Superintendent's entry planinformational · 13:38 long · superintendent report
12. ▶ 1:25:38Football association field use and seasonal facility feeno resolution · 21:52 long · fees, athletics, recreation
13. ▶ 1:47:31Subcommittee reports, future topics, and executive sessionvoted · 6:27 long · executive session, athletics

What the captions could not carry

• Vote results for all motions are not stated in the captions.
• Speaker identities are mostly unclear.
• Several figures in the capital plan discussion are garbled.

Reports this meeting suggests

Our reading of the discussion: questions where numbers were in play and a page laying them out would have helped. Every meeting’s suggestions are merged into one register.

• ▶ 1:27:14School field-use feesWhat do outside groups pay to use school fields and gyms, and what is owed?already answered: topic:school-field-upkeep
• ▶ 59:59Primary school air conditioningWhat does air conditioning at the primary school cost and when is it planned?
• ▶ 1:01:25Turkey Hill capital needsWhat roof, boiler and building work is planned at Turkey Hill and how much would MSBA cover?already answered: thread:turkey-hill-rebuild

Written 2026-11-05 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/school-committee/2018-08-15-be57oVaq2iA.json — 2,262 caption segments, sha256 6abd9cecceee…. All recorded meetings.