# school-committee — 13 documents, concatenated for reading and search # # This is a CONVENIENCE BUNDLE, not a source. Every document below is # published separately and byte-identically; cite the individual file, # whose path is given in each header, rather than this bundle. # Index of all boards: https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/minutes/INDEX.txt # The town's own scanned original is linked per document. ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-10-02-agenda-6798.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-10-02 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-10-02-agenda-6798.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10022024-6798 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING NOTICE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, October 2, 2024 6:30 pm, Town Hall HYBRID MEETING AGENDA School Committee Superintendent Brian Lehtinen, Chair Dr. Kate Burnham Anthony Sculimbrene, Vice Chair Carol Archambault-Secretary Laura Brzozoski Recording Secretary Peter Beardmore Courtney Fuller Guests: Lynn Radford-World Language Teacher ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being broadcast live over the Lunenburg Public Access channel. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85906741187 Meeting ID: 859 0674 1187 One tap mobile+13052241968,,85906741187# US +13092053325,,85906741187# US Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdujtUhVjm This meeting will be broadcast live through the local access cable channel , and on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access-Cable-157427270975305/) and will be found on the LunenburgAccess YouTube channel within 24 hours after the meeting.The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are 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 also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 12. Reports 2. Pledge of Allegiance 13. Public Comment 3. Public Comment 14.Topics for Future Discussion 4. Chair’s Report 15. Executive Session- to conduct strategy sessions in preparation 5. Student Representative’s Report for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective 6. Review and Approve Minutes bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion a. Regular Sessions 8/16/24, 9/4/24 personnel 7. Review and Approve Line Item Transfers, Warrants and Donations a. 9/16 to 9/28 $224,314.51 8. Superintendent’s Report 9. Presentation- Police SRO & Comfort Dog 10. New Business Action a. LEAF Representative Nomination Discussion b. TCP 11. Old Business Action c. Spain Trip Update d. Facilities & Grounds Report e. Third Read Policies-Facility Policies, Concussion Policy, Chapter 766 Policy Discussion f. FY26 Budget Priorities g. FY26 Budget-Health Care h. SC Goals Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-10-02-minutes-6798.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-10-02 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-10-02-minutes-6798.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10022024-6798 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING MINUTES SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, October 2, 2024 6:30 – Hybrid – Town Hall 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: Lynn Radford – World Language Teacher, Lt. Thibodeau – Lunenburg Police Dept 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 brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law 1. Call to Order by Mr. Lehtinen at 6:30 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Public Comment Ms. Archambault Mr. Passios had his last meeting with the Finance Committee last week. I want to thank him for his service to the town in all the different ways he has helped. I wish him the very best as he pursues the new adventure. Ms. Brzozoski I wanted to make a shout out at the top of the meeting that the Lunenburg PACSAL, which is the Parents Advisory Council Supporting All Learners, this is for parents for children on IEPs or 504s there is a meeting tomorrow night October 3, at 6 p.m. in the Middle School Project room. Mr. Beardmore Echoes’ the comments regarding Mr. Passios, Dave and I frequently disagreed but it is always good conversation, he makes you think. He did remind me that the Green Community Committee does not have a residency requirement and he is not really going anywhere. During our last meeting I did recognize the football cheer leaders, who continue to do an extraordinary job. I wanted to take a moment to recognize the Lunenburg High School band, and to quote the football announcer “is a small but mighty organization” They are a small band or outstanding musicians and are really courageous bunch to go out there and take the field at our home football games, thank you and congratulations. 4. Chair’s Report The Chair reports Representative Scarsdale reached out, she has a follow up zoom meeting planned of the coalition that we had from our meeting, this is going to be a larger coalition to look at revamping the Chapter 70 funding formula, and it is Tuesday October 8. I will be in attendance. There has been some talk on social media about the Snack Shack that has definitely been an issue that has been covered in the past. In early February this was part of our meeting an d district policies, you can look at 3701.03 which is in regards to snack shack and is covered on our website under Food Services page under the policies and procedures. You can also look at the Nashoba Board of Health, which is in charge of the food safety, the district has made many investments and improvement to the snack shack and also there has been a lot of support through the boosters especially the King Family. You can reach out to the Superintendent, the High School Principal, as well as the PTO. If anyone is looking for Lunenburg gear, the PTO is selling some Lunenburg merch, Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ===PAGE 2=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 sweatshirts, sweat pants etc., you have to order by October 18 th and it supports the PTO, Lunenburg schools and students. You can find the Lunenburg PTO website by googling it. I also wanted to give a shout ou t to Dave Passios, who is moving to New Hampshire, I did serve on the TC Passios Design Committee with him as well as the Capital Planning Committee, he was a strong presence at the school committee meetings and town meetings, always appreciated his feedba ck and dedication to the town. He is also being awarded the Lunenburg Alumni Award on October 20 at the alumni reunion banquet, there are four days left to register. There will also be a table at homecoming, their email address in lunenburgalumni@gmail.com. I also reached out to the DPW director in regards to a public comment about the trucks. Mr. Bernard responded and the response was read out loud 5. Student Representative’s Report Tatum Furman reports the district has no school on October 14th. The yearbooks are available to order for the Lunenburg Middle High School and lunches are free for the 24/25 school year for the district. The college reps have started visiting at the High School. The Fall athletics are in full swing for both high school and middle school. The PSAT registration is now open for 10 th and 11th graders. There is a meeting on October 8 about the Washington DC trip for the 8th graders. There was a Western Dance last Friday September 27th for middle school. Turkey Hill have started penny wars this Monday. Natures Classroom for the 5 th graders is from October 8 to October 11. The Primary School world smile day is October 4, students are encouraged to wear smiley faces to school that day. 6. Review and Approve Minutes a. Regular Sessions 8/16/24 & 9/4/24 Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to approve minutes for 8/16/24 & 9/4/24, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve 7. Review and Approve Line Item Transfers, Warrants & Donations a. 9/16/24-09/28/24 $224,314.51 No line item transfers, warrants have been signed. 8. Superintendent’s Report I would like to announce that our Director of Facilities and grounds Mr. Hevy has given his notice that he will be leaving Lunenburg. We have reached out to previous applicants and the position has been posted. We will be looking to fill this critical position as quickly as possible. I would like to thank Mr. Hevy for all the good work he has d one for Lunenburg over the last year with us. The administration is grateful for all of his efforts attending to multiple urgent and competing priorities over the last year. Upcoming Dates PACSAL Meeting October 3, LMHS at 6 p.m. PTO next Monday 7 p.m. LMHS School Committee Meeting October 16 6:30 Hybrid LMHS October 14th All Schools and offices are closed October 22 LMHS afternoon conferences October 24 LHMS evening conferences October 22 ½ day for LMHS only October 19 Homecoming, the float Parade will leave Turkey Hill at noon, the theme is Disney, the Lions Club will hold their annual cookout immediately following the parade. Our football game against Clinton begins at 1:30 9. Presentation Police SRO & Comfort Dog Lieutenant Thibodeau, introduces our second SRO Officer Kam Munroe, he will work a lot with the younger kids at Primary School and Turkey Hill. A presentation on our comfort dog Hank, Mr. McNamara volunteers Hank to the district but he is moving toward retirement age, he is almost 9, he still loves coming to work, but their will come a time where Hank will not want to be around all the kids all the time, and at that time he will stop working. Discussion is held with the committee, thanking Hank and Officer McNamara and the benefits the school receives having Hank. We are very lucky to be able to have two SRO’s. 10. New Business Action a. LEAF Representative Nomination Ms. Brzozoski volunteers to be part of the LEAF. Ms. Archambault makes a motion to nominate Ms, Brzozoski as the school committee representative for LEAF , Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion, all approve Discussion b. TCP Mr. Lehtinen reached out to the interim Town Manager after hearing at the Finance committee that there was a $90,000 debt for the building. There is a memo from the interim Town Manager in the folders of the school ===PAGE 3=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 committee members. The committee has a discussion regarding the response and TCP building. Mr. Sculimbrene explains the building is in such bad shape, it is not suitable to meet our needs, the Brooks House is also in bad shape and small, I think we need to tell the town it is your building do what you want with it. Ms. Brzozoski agrees we should not have staff or students in TCP building. Mr. Beardmore shares we really need to start having conversations of alternatives of locations we can use instead of TCP. Ms. Archambault thanks Mr. Lehtinen for going to the interim Town Manager and receiving some clarification and agrees we need to work on a way to get out of this building. Dr. Burnham shares a move to Turkey Hill cannot happen at this time due to t here are not phones in every classroom, however it is part of the 911 upgrade. Once the lines are installed and phones are set up, Turkey Hill would be an option, however, it’s not ideal that Central Office be in the school, as it’s not possible to have i t separated from the school, as we have people in and out every day all day. But we can explore options if that’s what the committee wants. If ACE moves, our Special Services need to go with them which holds 3 people, but also we collaborate daily with everyone in the offices. Mr. Lehtinen shares we need to be working on a way to get out of TCP, and leave it to the Superintendent to know her staffing and space needs. 11. Old Business Action a. Spain Trip Update Ms. Radford is asking the committee to be flexible with the dates of our trip. The company we are using separates the airfare billing to be as accurate as possible for families. Well this year the airfare has gone up significantly, however if we leave a day earlier, to leave on April 16 th which is a Thursday and a night departure and returning on April 24th, so students would miss the Friday prior to April vacation. This would be approximately a $350 savings Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to approve the change, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion, Mr. Beardmore abstains, the motion is approved. b. Facilities and Grounds Report A report is provided to the committee in their folder. Dr. Gilson shares where they are at in the process of Turkey Hill ADA compliance work Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to accept the report, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the report, motion is approved c. Third Read Policies – Facility Policies, Concussion policy, Chapter 766 Ms. Peterson confirms there has been no feedback on any of the policies. The committee members take turns reading out loud each policy. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to approve policies 1408, 5717, 3503, 3506, 3503.02, 3501.01, 3501, & 3503.01, Mr. Beardm ore seconds the motion all approve. Discussion d. FY26 Budget Priorities Dr. Burnham is looking to initiate conversation amongst the committee as we will be digging into FY 26 Budget soon and looking to see what your priorities are. Ms. Archambault believes curriculums and instruction needs to still be our driving force, and I would not recommend any kind of cuts in the area of curriculum instruction. Mr. Sculimbrene would like to see more BCBAs in a way to stabilize a cost, Dr. Burnham shares at this time the two we have, we believe is supporting the students needs as of now. Mr. Beardmore also shares we haven’t seen any reports on MCAS scores and what our perspective of our overall approach, are we looking at needs based, vs level services etc. Ms. Brzozoski shares she doesn’t want to cut, but we don’t know what our budget is looking like for next year, however, we are the same board, and also our community made it very clear last year, what their priorities are. Mr. Lehtinen also thinks it’s very important we have discussions with the finance committee. e. FY26 Budget – Health Care Mr. Sculimbrene reports at the Budget Task Force meeting and Mr. Watters did a presentation on a comparison of our town and Maynard, and the question came up as to why is the heal th care part of the school budget if it is town wide. So would it be better to take that chunk out of our budget and give it to the town, as we have not control or say over those numbers. This would allow the school committee to get their budget in earlier. The committee discusses positive and negative impacts of removing the health care expense from the school budget and also suggesting other town departments add the health care into their budget, and we will be able to compare on a more “apples to apples” basis. Proposal was made a presented to the Finance Committee on a high deductible health care plan that is in process and sent to the Interim Town Manager. Mr. Sculimbrene will bring this topic up at the next Budget Task Force meeting. f. SC Goals Mr. Lehtinen created a document on goals and feedback, and sent them to the superintendent, these have been added to the folder for review. Ms. Archambault felt as though there were many areas where we were overstepping our charge, as we have to stay out of day to day operations. The committee discusses and revises their goals. ===PAGE 4=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 12. Reports Ms. Brzozoski reports the Turkey Hill Elementary School met on 9/23, the door is being replaced, the film is on, except we are waiting for few cracked windows to be replaced first. The phone replacement project was given the “ok’ for the 911 compatibility. Natures Classroom is leaving next week. Mr. Beardmore The High School Advisory met last Thursday, it was very brief, Mr. Santry requested some feedback relating to the school improvement plan, I did reply via email. The Town manager screening committee will be meeting on Monday, we will review the community profile that is being drafted by the consulting firm, Community Paradigm Associates, they are completing interviews with department heads this week and other stakeholders. The Capital Planning committee will meet next Wednesday. Ms. Archambault reports the Middle School Council met on September 24, they had a great start to the year, they have a very big 6th grade class. They have had a lot of turn around due to budget cuts and bumping positions but it has been a successful start to the year and everyone is working their way through it. We also looked at the school improvement plan and will be getting back to Mr. Santry on that. They talked a bit about the ALICE plan is changing to ALERT and it is an updated drill and we will learn more about that through the year, the next meeting is on October 15. FinCom met on the 26 th of September, there are two vacancies now, if anyone is interested, it is a great place to learn about the town. They will be voting on recommendations for Special Town meeting warrant by October 13 th. There was a discussion of the proposed financial plan which led to discussion on how the town barely scraped by last year and Mr. Watters mentioned overrides would probably be needed again this year. There are personnel issues all over town, as far as low pay goes, the Budget Task Forces is looking into that. There was discussion about a budget presentation template but it was not completes. MART update, they currently give rides for a few miles with different prices, because of the closure of Nashoba, they will now transport to Emerson, and it will have a fee, but very great. Possible split tax rate discussion, this would benefit residents but increase commercial rates, including farms. There was the discussion on consolidation of town departments and the Special Town meeting is at 5 p.m. on November 12th. Mr. Sculimbrene reports the Budget Task Force had a presentation this week by Mr. Beardmore, we talked a lot about capital planning process, and possible reform, including mandating Town Manager to produce a fiscal forecast. We are asked for spending priorities but are not aware of the amount we can spend. Carter pointed out was one of the problems we have is we have to mail out warrants via mail, which takes time and expensive, it costs $2,000-$5,000 a year. Also making proposals to Municipal Design and Capital Planning Committees, about having project funds matched or anticipate inflation. We are also going to be making a presentation at special town meeting. Mr. Lehtinen The Primary school met on September 23, open house went well, opportunities for parents and stu dents to have choices and move around the building, gym wasn’t accessible due to picture day, they are looking for Paras, substitutes, and the nurse is out until November 23. They went through the testing and are now looking to give the necessary supports for the students. They also did a staff survey on culture and they are going to survey the parents as well. The Lunenburg Municipal Building Design Committee met on September 23, will continue to meet on first and third Mondays on a more consistent basis. The RFP was finalized and should be going out shortly. 13. Public Comment None 14. Topics for Future Discussion Discussion to repair or replace Turkey Hill with presentation by Mr. Anthony Sculimbrene Sr. 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. Sculimbrene makes a motion at 10:03 to enter executive session and adjourn immediately following, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion all approve Respectfully Submitted Courtney Fuller ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-10-04-agenda-6799.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-10-04 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-10-04-agenda-6799.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10042024-6799 ======================================================================================== 695433140564Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools MEETING NOTICE SCHOOL COMMITTEE POLICY SUB-COMMITTEE MEETING Friday, October 4, 2024 9:00 a.m., Room#12, T.C. Passios Building Regular Meeting Agenda P olicy Sub-Committee: Anthony Sculimbrene, Dr. Kate Burnham, Laura Brzozoski G uest: Liz Petersen 100330012573000 Call to Order 101282514922500 Public Comment 100330014414500 Discussion: IT policies; Hiring policies 100330014033500 Public Comment 100330014160500 Adjournment 100330016319500 ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-10-16-agenda-6830.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-10-16 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-10-16-agenda-6830.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10162024-6830 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING NOTICE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, October 16, 2024 6:30 pm, LMS Collaborative Room #D132 HYBRID MEETING AGENDA School Committee Superintendent Brian Lehtinen, Chair Dr. Kate Burnham Anthony Sculimbrene, Vice Chair Carol Archambault-Secretary Laura Brzozoski Recording Secretary Peter Beardmore Courtney Fuller Guests: Tim Santry-LMHS Principal, Norman Yvon-THES Principal, Carla Squier-Primary School Principal, Julianna Hanscom-Director of Special Services, Dr. Deborah Bookis-Director of Teaching & Learning, Lisa Cantin- MTSS Literacy Specialist/Coach, Amy Resnick-MTSS Math Specialist/Coach, John Palumbo-School Psychologist, Dr. Susan Gilson-Director of Administration & Finance ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being broadcast at a later date over the Lunenburg Public Access channel. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85906741187 Meeting ID: 859 0674 1187 One tap mobile+13052241968,,85906741187# US +13092053325,,85906741187# US Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdujtUhVjm This meeting will be broadcast at a later date through the local access cable channel , and on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access-Cable-157427270975305/) and will be found on the LunenburgAccess YouTube channel within 24 hours after the meeting.The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are 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 also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 12. Reports 2. Pledge of Allegiance 13. Public Comment 3. Public Comment 14.Topics for Future Discussion 4. Chair’s Report 15. Adjournment 5. Student Representative’s Report 6. Review and Approve Minutes a. Regular Sessions 9/18/24 7. Review and Approve Line Item Transfers, Warrants and Donations a. Warrants 10/1 to 10/9/24 $361,064.94 8. Superintendent’s Report 9. Presentation 10. New Business Action a. Assessment Report b. FY25 School Improvement Plans c. SEL Grant d. PTO Liaison Discussion e. Superintendent’s Goals 11. Old Business Discussion a. PowerSchool/New IEP Implementation b. Strategy for Continuous Improvement c. School Committee Goals Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-10-16-minutes-6830.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-10-16 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-10-16-minutes-6830.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10162024-6830 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING MINUTES SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, October 16, 2024 6:30 – LMS Room D 132 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, Norman Yvon-THES Principal, Carla Squier-Primary School Principal, Julianna Hanscom- Director of Special Services, Dr. Deborah Bookis-Director of Teaching & Learning, Lisa Cantin- MTSS Literacy Specialist/Coach, Amy Resnick-MTSS Math Specialist/Coach, John Palumbo-School Psychologist, Dr. Susan Gilson-Director of Administration & Finance 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 brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law 1. Call to Order by Mr. Lehtinen at 6:30 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Public Comment Ms. Archambault takes a minute to thank Evan Watters for his time on the Finance Committee, his leadership was invaluable for putting together our override las spring. He thinks outside the box, he is careful about what he does and is very committed. I thank him very much for the time he spent on the board. Ms. Brzozoski takes a minute to thank our retiring police chief, Chief Gammell, his last day is Friday in Lunenburg, we thank you and appreciate all you did, especially for the schools, because he always put school safely and the safety of our kids as a priority. 4. Chair’s Report Mr. Lehtinen reports he had a follow up with Representative Scarsdale on the Chapter 70 funding. There was a zoom on the 21st for Regional Schools and other schools that were in “hold harmless status.” Tom Gray from finance was also in attendance. There was a lot of information given about where a lot of districts fell, they gave a lot of examples and I will forward the presentation slides to the superintendent, who can share with the members. There is also an excel document of a potential bill for January, the specifics bill is Senate Bill 303, this would potentially help a lot of the districts, it was nice seeing it wasn’t just a transportations help, but it was actually a bill to change the contribution rate by 5% to make the state contribute more. This would be adjusted from 41% to 46%. I will also forward this information to the superintendent, so it can be shared with members. The Finance Appointing Committee will be meeting next week to appoint at least one person, there are still some openings for more people to join the Finance Committee. I also wanted to congratulate Chief Gammell as well on his retirement and thank him for his service also to the schools and the strong relationship with the schools and making sure our children are safe. I also want to congratulate Interim Chief Thibodeau, and I look forward to having him work with the schools. The North Middlesex superintendent reached out to me about potentially sharing resources as we have done in the past. Professional development with north Middlesex, they were looking for other opportunities to share resources, I gave him permission to talk to the superintendent and see if we can find ways t o Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ===PAGE 2=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 save both districts money in sharing resources. I even gave the example of facilit ies, sometimes it just doesn’t work to share, but it is at least worth exploring. The homecoming parade is coming up this weekend. 5. Student Representative’s Report - None 6. Review and Approve Minutes a. Regular Sessions 9/18/24 Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to approve the minutes for 9/18/24, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion, all via roll approve with Mr. Lehtinen abstaining. 7. Review and Approve Line Item Transfers, Warrants & Donations a. Warrants 10/1 to 10/9/24 $361,064.94 Warrants have been signed b. Line Item Transfers i. $1,100 from High School Office Supply to Phys Ed to renew software subscription Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to approve line item transfer, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion all approve via roll call vote. c. Donations Mr. Bigelow presents a donation from the Szocik foundation in the amount of $1200 to be earmarked for something that will benefit all athletes – we’ve chosen a brush to help maintain our turf field. The second is part of a T-Mobile contest, we were selected for a $5,000 check, to be presented at the homecoming rally. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to approve both donations, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve via roll call. 8. Superintendent’s Report Dr. Burnham shares an update regarding a medical emergency that occurred on the sidelines at a football game, where one of our coaches collapsed. She goes over the plans going forward determined necessary with school administrators, athletic director, fire and police chief, fire lieutenant, fire captain, and school resources officer to ensure safety for everyone at our games, as well as making sure to the best of our ability any services needed can be rendere d as fast as possible. We will have a PD day in collaboration with North Middlesex on Novembe r 5th. Dr. Beth Ann Cormier, the Assistant Principal at Turkey Hill has officially started. An update on the Director of Facilities, we have done intervi ews and have made an offer, we are awaiting the response from the candidate. I will be having a me eting with the superintendent of North Middlesex on November 5 th to talk about the potential for collaboration. The Turkey Hill ADA study proposals were due today at 2 p.m. we received seven proposals, if any member of the school committee is interested i n reviewing bids and helping to make the selection please send me an email and we will coordinate times. The finance committee will be reviewing warrant articles at their meeting next week, our interim Town manager has asked department heads to provide information relative to a variety of questions connected to different warrant articles, we have been asked to provide information relative to how we would spend the additional Chapter 70 money that we are requesting. I would also like to congratulate Chief Gammell on his retirement, I will miss working with him very much, he has been a tremendous partner to the schools, and we wouldn’t have two SRO’s without that partnership. I am very grateful to him for the collaborative way in which we have worked for many years and I wish him well in his next adventure. The committee has a discussion about the protocols for safety plans for athletic events going forward. The committee discusses the Chapter 70 money going into salary reserve, with a portion of it going toward the Director of Facilities salary. Upcoming Dates November 6 at 6:30 School Committee Meeting Hybrid – Town Hall November 20 at 6:30 School Committee Meeting – Hybrid – LMHS November 12 at 7:00 Special Town Meeting Middle High School October 22 Early Release for LMHS due to parent teacher conferences November 5th PD day – All Schools Closed October 19th Homecoming Parade and Football Game October 18th Shrieks and Krieks at the Boys and Girls Club 6:30 pm – 9:30 p.m. October 20th Miles for Myles Road Race – Sponsored by LMHS Cross Country Boosters October 26, 12-3 Trunk or Treat LMHS parking lot Hosted by Lunenburg Business Association ===PAGE 3=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 9. Presentation - none 10. New Business Action a. Assessment Report Dr. Bookis our Director of Teaching and Learning, Ms. Resnik our Math Specialist, and Ms. Cantin our Literacy Specialist Instructional Coach. This team has created slides of data to share with the committee regarding our Fall Assessment reports and MCAS results. b. FY 25 School Improvement Plan Mr. Santry Principal of the Middle High School, Ms. Squier Principal of the Primary School, and Mr. Yvon Principal of Turkey Hill Elementary, each go over the goals, how they will achieve them and how they will be measured for their individual schools and their plan for the upcoming year. Ms. Archambault makes a motion to accept the FY25 School Improvement Plan, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion all approve via roll call c. SEL Grant reporting an update, after more research, we do not qualify for this d. PTO Liaison Currently Mr. Sculimbrene is the PTO liaison, however he is also on the Budget Task Force committee which typically meets on the same day, wanted to open discussion to either add a secondary liaison, a new liaison, or to make no changes. Ms. Archambualt will cover the meetings until Mr. Sculimbrene is done with the Budget Task Force. Discussion e. Superintendent Goals Dr. Burnham has brought forward the goals for discussion by the committee, there is some overlap between school improvement plans and my goals. Dr. Burnham shares goals, activities, and ways to measure the goals. The committee has a discussion to question and comment on the goals and shares their input. 11. Old Business Discussion a. PowerSchool/New IEP Implementation Julianna Hanscom reports for the most part the new implementation is going well, staff has been amazing taking on the new IEPs as well as Power School change over with Frontline. We have a spreadsheet that is used for questions on PowerSchool that I check daily to get back to staff with answers and resources as soon as possible. The new IEP’s really seem to be a much better document than the old IEP’s. One of the best changes is the ability for families to sign the documents digitally, it has really made it faster for us to be able to put services in place. b. Strategy for Continuous Improvement Dr. Burnham reviewed the status of the strategy and action plans that were in place a year ago with her leadership team. We felt that the work that we need to continue still falls under this cultivating culture and climate umbrella and still fell within either priority one, two, or three. We had a conversa tion late last spring about the need to revisit the core values when I gave an update, and I am happy to say that we have been able to partner with Dr. Warnum to facilitate work on the core values, we have had conversations with her about what that process is going to look like and it’ll be a bit organic as we move through the process, she was highly embraced by our staff when she came last year. Initially we are going to start with small groups on leadership and work our way out from there. c. School Committee Goals Currently in the committee member folder the school committee goals, how they will achieve the goals and how it will be measured. A discussion between members of topics to add to the details of goals. 12. Reports Mr. Beardmore reports the Capital Planning Committee met to hear a presentation from Acting Chief Thibodeau on the police department, we will be meeting on Monday and Wednesday of next week. The school department is on Monday. The Town Manager Screening Committee met and adopted the community profile and posting for the position, which is now posted and applications are open, until early November, we are expecting to begin interviewing in December. The High School Advisory committee is meeting tomorrow. Ms. Archambault reports the Middle School Advisory met yesterday and discussed MCAS results and school improvement plan. There was lots of discussion regarding the Washington DC trip and whether or not it is equitable, and what to do about it as the cost of the trip has increased quite a bit, they are anticipating the cost to be $1400, an idea was brought up to start fundraising in the 6th grade. The PTO is willing to help out, there was some discussion about maybe changing the trip, ===PAGE 4=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 someone suggested New York, but that may be just as expensive. The parent teacher conferences, discussing possible different formats, while the need for zooms is known, there wasn’t a consensus for any other format. FinCom me t the chair person has resigned, Chris Menard was voted the new chair, Gene Russell the vice chair and Tom Gray the clerk. The committee is down people if anyone is interested please join. The next meeting will have a Parks presentation regarding thei r warrant article, to borrow $5 million dollars for Marshall Park, their public hearing will be on the 24th. They did ask what we will use the additional Chapter 70 money for. They are working on MART program and they reinforced that they will allow you to go to Emerson Hospital. Article 4 is the Prudent Investor Rule which could make a huge difference in our school budget. Article 8 the Architectural Preservation District Commission was talking about what to do with the Brooks House and said discussion would have to move forward in consultation with the schools. Ar ticle 9 has to do with the challenge of recruiting and retaining on the town side, noted because it is obvious the town is having the same issues as we are. Article 12 was the budget task force and the municipal building committee need us to vote to a llow them to report. Article 13 is the Marshall Park improvement. Mr. Sculimbrene reports the Budget Task Force met, we had a presentation to understand especially split taxes, we talked about the presentation we hope we are allowed to do at the special town meeting, I am hoping to keep it at 3 minutes. One of the issues we are looking into is the ways to go through the process of reducing expenses on both sides of the ledger by consolidating certain groups and certain functions within the town, for example snow removal and grounds stuff between the school and the town. We talked about the option for a proposal for the high deductible health insurance plan and suggested we talk to Mary Foyle to discuss ways of cost saving, possible buy outs and incentivizing e mployees to take insurance if offered through a spouse. Lastly we discussed the points for our presentation and it is just over 1 page. Ms. Brzozoski reports the PACSAL met here in person for a support group, I do encourage parents to join us, every other month we do a meeting and on the months in between do a parent support group. Mr. Lehtinen The Finance Committee now has 7 members, we did have someone fill out a talent bank form, so the Finance committee appointing committee will be meeting next Tuesday to hopefully appoint Ms. Tanya Dall, who is a new Lunenburg resident and is interested in getting involved. The Lunenburg Municipal Design committee met and bids are due on November 4th for the RFP and then we will meet again this coming Monday Dr. Burnham The PTO are starting to look for sponsors for their special someone dance and they are in process of putting out their request for funds for teachers to ask for funding for special projects. Their swag sale ends on Friday . They worked on a letter to the school committee from the PTO relative to the roles of the PTO versus the LEAF organization. 13. Public Comment Ms. Brzozoski thanks the fifth grade teachers and staff at Turkey Hill for Nature’s Classroom that is a lot of work and terrifying endeavor to take so many students on a 3 night away from home, many of them for the first time, it is a great tradition and they had a lot of fun. Mr. Beardmore echoes the thanks to Chief Gammell, he has always been a pleasure to work with, he and I have had a number of difficult conversations over the years about a number of different things and we’ve always had a great working and cordial relationship despite some difficult conversations. I personally am going to miss him and his sense of community and teamwork and dedication to all things Lunenburg, including our schools for all the reasons outlined earlier, he will be sorely missed. To Evan Watters, he stepped up to the Finance Committee and has done a stellar job. Mr. Lehtinen I talked about the chief already, but wanted to say that Evan Watters was a great supporter of the Lunenburg Public Schools and with the override and did an amazing job being the finance chair and also a supporter of the school Mr. Sculimbrene My son is in the 9th grade and for the first time he is participating on the homecoming float, and cannot get over what a great experience this is for all kids from different social groups and different parts of the school coming together to work on the float. Thank you to all the teachers, parents, and families that donate their time, and their garages, tools, and barns etc to make this possible. 14. Topics for Future Discussion 15. Adjournment Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion at 9:38 to enter executive session and adjourn immediately following, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve via roll call Respectfully Submitted Courtney Fuller ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-11-01-agenda-6854.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-11-01 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-11-01-agenda-6854.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11012024-6854 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools MEETING NOTICE SCHOOL COMMITTEE POLICY SUB-COMMITTEE MEETING Friday, November 1, 2024 9:00 a.m., Room#12, T.C. Passios Building Regular Meeting Agenda Policy Sub-Committee: Anthony Sculimbrene, Dr. Kate Burnham, Laura Brzozoski Guest: Liz Petersen 1. Call to Order ________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Public Comment ________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Discussion: a. Reconsideration of Instructional Resources b. Audio/Video Recordings c. Social Media Policy d. Hiring Policies-4202.01, 4202.02, 4202.03, 4202.04 ________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Public Comment ________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Adjournment ____________________________________________________________________________ ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-11-06-agenda-6866.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-11-06 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-11-06-agenda-6866.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11062024-6866 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING NOTICE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, November 6, 2024 6:30 pm, Town Hall HYBRID MEETING AGENDA School Committee Superintendent Brian Lehtinen, Chair Dr. Kate Burnham Anthony Sculimbrene, Vice Chair Carol Archambault-Secretary Laura Brzozoski Recording Secretary Peter Beardmore Courtney Fuller Guests: Anthony Sculimbrene Sr.-Architectural Preservation District Committee ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being broadcast live over the Lunenburg Public Access channel. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85906741187 Meeting ID: 859 0674 1187 One tap mobile+13052241968,,85906741187# US +13092053325,,85906741187# US Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdujtUhVjm This meeting will be broadcast live through the local access cable channel , and on the Public Access Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access-Cable-157427270975305/) and will be found on the LunenburgAccess YouTube channel within 24 hours after the meeting.The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are 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 also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 12. Reports 2. Pledge of Allegiance 13. Public Comment 3. Public Comment 14.Topics for Future Discussion 4. Chair’s Report 15. Adjournment 5. Student Representative’s Report 6. Review and Approve Minutes a. Regular Sessions 7. Review and Approve Line Item Transfers, Warrants and Donations a. Warrants 10/11 to 11/4/24 $427,970.03 8. Superintendent’s Report 9. Presentation: Brooks House 10. New Business Action a. Facilities & Grounds Report b. ARPA Requests/Updated Capital Plan c. Special Town Meeting Warrant Articles d. Secretary Negotiation Rep Appointment e. 2025 Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program 11. Old Business Action a. LEA Contract Ratification b. School Committee Goals c. Superintendent’s Goals d. Strategy for Continuous Improvement Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-11-06-minutes-6866.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-11-06 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-11-06-minutes-6866.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_11062024-6866 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING MINUTES SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, November 6, 2024 6:30 – 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: Anthony Sculimbrene Sr. Architectural Preservation District Committee 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 brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law 1. Call to Order by Brian Lehtinen at 6:30 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Public Comment 4. Chair’s Report Home Coming was a great success. Next Tuesday there is a Special Town Meeting at 7 p.m. Mr. Lehtinen reads a letter out loud from the PTO and is entered into the record and is also available online. Congratulations Representative Scarsdale and Kushmerek, we extend our respect. 5. Student Representative’s Report Homecoming went very well. There will be no school on November 11 th. 6. Review & Approve Minutes None 7. Review & Approve Warrants, Line Item Transfers, & Donations a. Warrants 10/11 to 11/4/24 $427,970.03 Warrants have been signed b. Line Item Transfer i. $105 from HS office supplies to accreditation line, because NEASC membership has increased ii. $80 from HS office supplies to Phys Ed, some items cost more than expected Ms. Archambault makes a motion to approve line item transfer, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion, all approve c. Donations i. PTO Penny Wars donations of $5,316.98 to go into gift account at Turkey Hill, earmarked for shade structure outside ii. PTO Scholastic Book Fair $2,408.38 to go into the gift account at Turkey Hill, earmarked for Library Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to accept both donations, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion, all approve 8. Superintendent’s Report Yesterday was our full day PD day, joint conference with North Middlesex district, hosted at the North Middlesex High School. We will be surveying staff for feedback about their experience during the day. An update on Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ===PAGE 2=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 our Director of Facilities position, unfortunately the individual we offered it to has declined the offer, and we have repost ed the job. Article 2 requesting the Chapter 70 funding will be brought up for a vote at the Special Town meeting and needs a 2/3 vote for approval. I would like to express gratitude to all the veterans in our community for their service and their sacrifice. Upcoming Dates November 7th PACSAL Meeting 6 pm LMHS November 11 All schools and offices are closed due to Veterans Day November 12th Special Town Meeting 7 pm LMHS auditorium November 12th Report Cards are Available November 14th Family Zooms for Assessment Data 6:00 -6:30 Primary School, 6:45-7:15 Turkey Hill, 7:30-8:00 LMHS November 20, 2024 School Committee Meeting 6:30 Hybrid Town Hall December 4, 2024 School Committee Meeting 6:30 Hybrid LMHS 9. Presentation – Brooks House Mr. Sculimbrene Sr. shares the history on the Brooks House and how it became a part of Lunenburg property. As part of the Lunenburg Building Design Committee there have been many discussions on what to do with this property. The Brooks House always falls to the bottom of the list as far as spending money. Th e Architectural Preservation District Commission have been evaluating how we can move forward with preservation of the house in mind. The article contains 6 parts. We would like to create a lot that does not infringe on the library or extend into school property. We will only move forward with this, if we have support of the library Board of Trustees. It seems the community does not want the property sold, but perhaps long term leases, but if it does not work out the property comes back to the town. We want to create a better value and benefit for the town, while saving this building. The committee discusses benefits, concerns and possibilities. 10. New Business Action a. Facilities & Grounds Report The report consists of updates on Turkey Hill ADA study, the bid has been awarded to CSS Architect Inc. Turkey Hill and Primary School security system updates, along with the Turkey Hill exterior door replacement, and the Turkey Hill fire alarm project, will be going out as a combined bid and posted tomorrow. Bids will be due November 26, with projected completion assuming funds are available is August 15. We are making headway with custodial positions that are open, the director position is open, 3 gro unds and maintenance have been filled, and almost all custodial positions in all schools have been filled, we have 1 full time evening position at the Primary School. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to accept the report, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion, all approve b. ARPA Requests\Updated Capital Plan We need to look at projects that do not need bids, these need to be committed and contracted by the end of the year. For consideration the 911 compliance upgrade, some classrooms at Turkey Hill do not have phones, in order to be 100% compliance we need phones in every room, this costs $59,920 more than we budgeted. The generator at the Primary School is $172,000, pick -up truck with plow, window film, mini split phase 2, Turkey Hill door replacement included a vestibule addition, will be $82,000 additional money. Fire alarm needs to be upgraded to code is $100,000 over what was allocated. Ms. Brzozoski would like to advocate for the fire alarm, Dr. Burnham responds the fire alarm is currently working, just nee ds to be upgraded. Ms. Archambault states the cabling project is a quick thing, the generator would be good and a potential savings for the town in case of cold weather and frozen pipes. Dr. Burnham shares, that if all the prior committed funds are not expended, we do not want to have to return the funds, so the Town is looking for potential options that could be purchased quickly if we have left over money. Mr. Beardmore recommends filling the gaps, with existing approved capital items that have already been approved by town meeting if at all possible, while also recognizing the time constraint. Any item of the items on the list would be ideal. Also any item you can cross off the capital item requests. Dr. Burnham recommends the cabling to complete the 911 compliance. Ms. Archambault agrees with Peter, the projects that have started, but had to stop because we didn’t have the funding, this would also help to clean up the capital plan. Mr. Beardmore also suggests that if there is an amount of money that cannot fund a project, using the left over money on office supplies for all the schools, as it is generally underfunded. Dr Burnham shares that she met with Mr. Jeffries and there was conversation regarding field trips and how they are becoming harder and prohibitive because of the costs. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to use any amount of money to be used for office supplies, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion all approve. c. Capital Planning Mr. Beardmore brings up the change in the amount on money the generator has come in now at $172,000. Do we as a school committee want to review our capital plan priorities? The committee discusses if ===PAGE 3=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 priorities change based on costs. Mr. Lehtinen states based on conversation, no action is needed we want to keep our list as is. d. Special Town Meeting Warrant Articles The committee discusses articles they want to support. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to support Article 2, Mr. Sculimbrene seconds the motion, all approve. Mr Lehtinen reads article 10 out loud. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to support article 10, regarding The Brooks House, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion, all approve e. Secretary Negotiation Rep Appointment the secretaries are requesting to enter into bargaining. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to nominate Mr. Lehtinen and Ms. Brzozoski, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion, all approve. f. 2025 Municipal Cybersecurity Awareness Grant Program Dr, Burnham shares this is a grant we applied for last year and would like to apply again this year. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to allow the team to apply for the grant, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion, all approve. 11. Old Business Action a. LEA Contract Ratification Mr. Beardmore steps out of the meeting due to conflict of interest, the Interim Town Manager is included in the action. Mr. Sculimbrene reports this is the first time doing this on the management side and that he learned a lot and hopefully this is the first step in a multi-step process to get them compensated. Ms. Archambault shares this was a deep dive, and also learned quite a lot. Some items included in the new contract are teachers on leave due to children and being able to hold their position. Teachers would like to extend their time out, although unpaid, but also have their position held open. This will be in effect 7/1/24 -6/30/27. We did increase in the event of death of spouse or child to 10 bereavement, close family member 1 extr a day, with potential of a 2nd day if travel was significant. Parental leave for either parent had an increase, they can use some of their accrued time, the rest could be up to a year of time off. Sick bank, membership is mandatory and upon accrual of the required days, members can donate, but also draw from it. The pay is 2.5%, 3.5%, 4.5% increases per year. If you have been employed with the Lunenburg Public School have worked for 30 years, there will be a longevity payment added to base payment and be paid regularly of 4%. Those that have worked within the school district for 20 years and have accumulated 100 sick days could have a one-time payment of $8500, based on the daily amount of $85 per day for 100 days. Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to approve the LEA contract, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion, all approve via roll call. b. School Committee Goals All goals are provided to the committee in their folder, there has not been any changes since the last meeting. Mr. Lehtinen reads out loud each goal, action steps, and benchmarks. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to approve the goals as written, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion all approve. c. Superintendent’s Goals All goals are provided to the committee in their folder, There has been an added plan for moving from TCP, all over goals have no changes Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to accept superintendent’s goals, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion, all approve. d. Strategy for Continuous Improvement There have been no changes. Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to approve the plan as proposed, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion, all approve 12. Public Comment Mr. Sculimbrene Sr. I was recently involved in a NEASC audit for accreditation purposes and I can tell you, NEASC is worse the money that the town spends on it. NEASC accredits private schools as well as public schools. It was a really good process for the board that I was on for the private institution. Mr. Beardmore comments that a women he went to Lunenburg High School with, a grade behind him, posted a picture on Facebook of the “I voted” sticker and posted above it, my responsibility, my privilege, my vo te, with the American flag and under it said Thank you Mr. Lamoth, mom and dad for teaching me these things. I have mentioned Mr. Lamoth in our meetings many times, Mr. Lamoth was my sophomore Civics teacher and junior year was my US History teacher , and Mr. Lamoth had an enormous impact on my life, as did Mrs. Brockman and the many dozens of other teachers in Lunenburg in the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s and they make up a very large part of who I am today. If you take that and multiply it over 15 00 students that we have in our schools today, and it carries forward, it might not be in the way of service on a school committee or joining the military, but the examples that our teachers set for us are everlasting. Mr. Lamoth was the head of the Democratic Party in Lunenburg and when he retired he was Select Board member for a few years, he died while in office, we ===PAGE 4=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 are so privileged that those traditions continue and we are so well served by our teachers. I am really proud of my fellow members and our faculty for coming to an agreement and finding a way forward to continue to serve our students. 13. Reports Ms. Brzozoski reports the Turkey Hill Advisory committee met on 10/28 and at that time the wiring was mostly done, and has since been completed, we went over the strategy for improvement plan and also the MCAS scores specific to Turkey Hill. On November 14 there will be an MCAS zoom meeting to go over the results for families at 6:15 and will also be recorded for parents to review at a later date. LEAF met last week, they reviewed bylaws and upcoming website Mr. Beardmore reports the Capital Planning Committee met Monday night we heard presentations from the fire department, IT department, and the DPW, we have completed hearing our request presentations and will be meeting next Wednesday remotely to discuss our evaluation process and timing, we will meet again in early December to finalize our priorities and submit the list to the Town Manager. The town manager screening committee will be meeting on the 18 th to go over applications with our consultant, we will then meet in the beginning of December for two nights to conduct interviews, and will be executive sessions. Hopefully our work will be done mid- December Ms. Archambault reports FinCom met on October 24th, there is a new member Tanya Dall there are still two vacancies if anyone wishes to get involved in your community, fincom is a great place to learn. The said there would be a municipal building update at the special town meeting. The parks said the new design group led them to a 14 million estimate, they do not have enough funds for phase 1 and will not be moving forward with their article. Mr. Menard discussed how everyone is having difficulty getting accurate estimates. The voted 5 to none to recommended approval of the $31,000 in Article 2. Article 5 affects everyone it has to do with the Prudent Investor and how funds can be moved to higher yields the voted to support. They talked about article 10 The Brooks House and voted no financial impact. Gene Russell will be the school liaison. The next meeting will be in the beginning of December and there will be a special town meeting before they meet as a group again. PTO met on Monday night, they made $95 at Shrieks and Krieks, but they had a lot of fun. Lunenburg gear will ship out this week or the beginning of next week, they were able to sell 170 items, but the total they made was not available yet. The sophomores are also going to do a gear sale, but they delayed theirs for the PTO. The PTO will also be doing a December 21st at 10 am in Leominster, they will be showing Sonic 3 and will be capping at 500 seats. They will also be having a fundraiser at Launch on March 20th. They will also have a fundraiser in collaboration with the elementary school to go to Worcester Railers and that will be on the 28 th of February as some of our students will be singing the National Anthem. The special someone dance is on February 1 st, they made $11,000 last year. They have put out requests for funding, they have received 11 responses and are willing to do $5,000 per school. The principals approve that the items requested are not in the budget, there is a zoom meeting on December 2 for all that have applied and the week after they will be notified. There was a lot of discussion on expensive field trips, ie Washington DC and trips abroad and coming up with ideas for funding and donations. Mr. Sculimbrene reports the budget task force met Monday and had a discussion with the head of the assessor’s board and examining the idea of a split tax rate, this would have a really high impact on business and a relatively low impact on citizens. But also the high impact would be the same for a large company as it would a small garage, there really is no way this would be allowed or beneficial. Mr. Lehtinen The Lunenburg Municipal Designer committee has been meeting regularly, first and third Monday of the month, we went over the RFP, we had one proposal that was submitted and another one that was submitted late, so that doesn’t count, they gave out three tours over 2 days. We went over scoring with Taylor and Burns and they have done some similar projects and rated them advantageous, we will gather some interview questions, and will be meeting off cycle on the 14th, potentially interviewing on the 18th. After the fact it came out that it was under bid by $44,000. The Finance Appointing Committee met and approved Ms. Tanya Dall as a new member, there is still an opening on the Finance Committee 14. Topics for Future Discussion : 15. Adjournment Mr. Sculimbrene makes a motion to adjourn at 8:35, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve. Respectfully Submitted Courtney Fuller ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-11-20-agenda-6888.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-11-20 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-11-20-agenda-6888.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11202024-6888 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== MEETINGNOTICESCHOOLCOMMITTEEMEETINGWednesday, November20,20246:30pm,LMSCollaborativeRoom#D132HYBRIDMEETING AGENDASchoolCommittee SuperintendentBrianLehtinen,Chair Dr. KateBurnhamAnthonySculimbrene,ViceChairCarolArchambault-SecretaryLauraBrzozoski RecordingSecretaryPeterBeardmore CourtneyFuller Guests:Mr. Michael-RayJeffreys-LunenburgMunicipalBuildingDesignCommitteeChair_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________InaccordancewiththerequirementsoftheOpenMeetingLaw, pleasebeadvisedthatthismeetingisbeingbroadcastatalaterdateovertheLunenburgPublicAccesschannel.JoinZoomMeeting:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3020039690?omn=83958633296MeetingID: 3020039690Onetapmobile+16469313860,,3020039690#US+19292056099,,3020039690#US(NewYork)Findyour local number:https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcq8PDj2OT Thismeetingwillbebroadcastatalaterdatethroughthelocalaccesscablechannel, andonthePublicAccessFacebookpage(https://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access-Cable-157427270975305/) andwillbefoundontheLunenburgAccessYouTubechannelwithin24hoursafterthemeeting.TheagendalistsallthetopicswhichmaybediscussedatthemeetingandarethosereasonablyanticipatedbytheChair. Votesmaybetakenasaresultofthesediscussions.NotallitemslistedmayinfactbediscussedandotheritemsnotlistedmayalsobebroughtupfordiscussiontotheextentpermittedbyOpenMeetingLaw. 1. CalltoOrder 11.Reports2. PledgeofAllegiance 12.PublicComment3. PublicComment 13.TopicsforFutureDiscussion4. Chair’sReport 14.Adjournment5. StudentRepresentative’sReport6. ReviewandApproveMinutesa.RegularSession10/2/247. ReviewandApproveLineItemTransfers,WarrantsandDonationsa.Warrants11/5/24to11/15/24$290,529.318. Superintendent’sReport9. Presentation:LMBDCUpdate10.NewBusinessDiscussiona. StudentCompetencyDeterminationsb. CellPhonePolicyc. 2025-2026SchoolCalendard. TopicsforDelegation 1025MassachusettsAvenue,Lunenburg,Massachusetts01462978582-4100~fax978582-4103 ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-11-20-minutes-6888.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-11-20 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-11-20-minutes-6888.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_11202024-6888 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING MINUTES SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, November 20, 2024 6:30 – D132 LMHS - 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: Mr. Michael- Ray Jeffreys – Lunenburg Municipal Design Committee Chair 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 brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law 1. Call to Order by Brian Lehtinen at 6:39 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Public Comment – Mr. Sculimbrene would like to thank the town for voting to support the warrant, which allowed for town investments to be invested pursuant to the prudent investor rule, I think that is a modernization step that needs to happen. It is something that will hopefully put the town on better financial footing and hopefully it will be good for the schools. Ms. Archambault would like to mention the Master Planning Committee is holding a town wide meeting on December 4 th at the Lunenburg library from 6:30 to 8 p.m. to continue the discussion of what direction we would like our community to move in. Also there is a third survey available on the town website and the superintendent has sent it home to all families 4. Chair’s Report Mr. Lehtinen reports we had a very successful town meeting. The town did pass the additional Chapter 70 funding to the school budget and the study was approved for the Brooks House. We also had a great presentation by Mr. Sculimbrene. The annual tree lighting is December 5th. I also want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and hopefully a successful winter tryouts for all sports athletes. 5. Student Representative’s Report - None 6. Review & Approve Minutes a. Regular Session 10/2/24 Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to approve minutes for 10/2/24, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve 7. Review & Approve Warrants, Line Item Transfers, & Donations a. Warrants 11/5/24 to 11/15/24 $290,529.31 – Warrants have been signed Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ===PAGE 2=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 8. Superintendent’s Report Dr. Burnham reports the select board approved AARPA funds for the truck with plow and the middle high school safety window film. An update on the position of Director of Facilities, we have completed round 1 of interviews and round 2 will be starting tomorrow and we are hopeful to have the position filled after Thanksgiving. We had our school specific assessment forums for families on November 14 th, the meetings were not highly attended through zoom, however, they were recorded and posted on the district website on the main page under back to school. The Thanksgiving food drive to benefit the Lunenburg Food Pantry ends tomorrow, so if anyone was interested in contributing and hasn’t yet still has time, each school is collecting specific food items, so make sure to check the school website for the specific information. The 7th annual gift card drive that is organized by our Lunenburg Public School secretaries has kicked off. We have received gift card donations from members of our very generous community and thanks to all who contribute we have helped numerous families over the last six years, the collection with go through December 6 th, they can be dropped off an any of the schools, through the mail, or electronically to mbowen@lunenburgschools.net We welcome gift cards from Walmart, Target, Visa, Dollar Tree, grocery stores, anything that can be donated is greatly appreciated. I’d also like to offer wishes to everyone for a Happy Thanksgiving. Upcoming Dates December 2 – PTO Meeting LMHS 7 p.m. December 4th 6:30 Hybrid Town Hall School Committee Meeting December 5 – PACASAL meeting at 6 – support group via zoom December 5 – Annual Tree Lighting 6p.m. at the Gazebo December 18th 6:30 Hybrid LMHS School Committee Meeting December 23-January 1- All schools are closed for Winter Break 9. Presentation – LMBDC Update Mr. Michael – Ray Jeffries gives an update regarding the Lunenburg Municipal Building Design Committee work that they have been working through. He shares a history of the town of Lunenburg trying to resolve building concerns. Initially they were tasked with looking to repurpose TCP, after lots of research and working with architectural designs and updates, the pandemic we were hit with a price tag of close to $30 million, which about $14 million was for code upgrades. We then also had to make a plan for the Town Hall and the Ritter Building and also the Brooks House was all brought under one umbrella. We worked together as a committee to come up with three plans of what you can do with the buildings, three distinctively different concepts and ultimately came up with a 4th hybrid option. The select board endorsed it and that is where we are moving forward. Our concept is to be cost effective and how to maximize the usage of the municipal buildings. The vision for the town hall is to stay a town hall, but more like a meeting house, the vision is to remove what is now the town manager and HR office to get back to the original footprint to have a larger meeting room, the first floor would have three meeting rooms, the assessor’s office would become a smaller meeting room, the area that was the town clerk and copy room would become an additional meeting room. This would also provide an opportunity for groups that need to meet whether AA. AL anon etc., it provides community space. The Ritter building will become the primary location for the Lunenburg Public Schools, there is adequate space in the building to accommodate all of the current staff, future staff, and also the ACE program. The concept then would be to build a new town hall, which would be to th e right of the current building, this would be an administrative building. We preserve TC Passios for another day. We would keep this on the horizon as we recognize it’s the central location of our school district, we recognize a potential need for more sports fields, and also the conversations of the Turkey Hill Building. The LMBDC previously recognized that Turkey Hill would make a wonderful community center, it is well located on a separate parcel with separate entrances and egresses. The committee discusses ideas in relation to the district being “campus like” vs spread out around the town. Sharing support for the committee to move forward and get the projects done…to keep moving forward. 10. New Business Discussion a. Student Competency Determinations An update to the committee on the impact of the vote to eliminate MCAS as a requirement to graduate. We are awaiting additional guidance from the state regarding any impacts this decision will have. The committee along with Dr. Bookis discus the MCAS. MCAS are not optional, students must participate in the exam, and the change is that a required passing score to graduate high school. A discussion of how we maintain receiving the data to make sure we continuing to improve, and will students continue to give the test the same participation effort if it is no longer required b. Cell Phone Policy The committee discusses cell phones in school, use in classes. Mr. Sculimbrene reached out to many different resources and community members regarding thoughts and concerns on the cell phone in schools. Is there a centralized policy or is by classroom. Are there different rules for different grades? Zero tolerance policies ===PAGE 3=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 in classes, but allowed during recess/lunch etc. Parents wanting to be able to contact students in case of emergencies. Surveying the teachers was brought up as an option, as is it a “problem” in their classrooms, surveying administration, students, and parents. c. 2025-2026 School Calendar A draft of the calendar is brought forward, we are still in the process of gathering input from many different groups, if anyone has suggestions or concerns with the calendar please reach out to your schools. One of the conversations is our winter break and possibly having a two week break, bringing up concerns for those special education students being out of school can result in learning loss, our food insecurity students, this is a long time to be without food, along with our mental health students and having the access to our counselors. d. Topics for Delegation Mr. Lehtinen has reached out to representatives and the senator, representative Scarsdale got back to me and would like to have the delegation do a private meeting to start before we do a public me eting, they believe they would be able to get more done and have conversations about potential options, constraints and insight. I invited the chair of the select board as well as Mandy, who has been very involved. I wanted to put this out for everyone to brainstorm their thoughts so I could bring them forward to Representative Scarsdale. Mr. Beardmore is not in favor of a private meeting at this point, we need this brought forward publicly and the more public we can be the more we can speak face to face. We have offered many times for them to meet with us and it’s time for them to be in the public. Mr. Sculimbrene says take any opportunity you can to meet with them. Mr. Sculimbrene wants them to focus giving us some indication that they will fix the problem we are all having with busing cost increases, these increases are going to make it impossible for us to operate. Ms. Archambault agrees meet with them with any means possible, however, echoes Mr. Beardmore, they need to come and meet with us public ly. They need to straighten out the Chapter 70 funding. They need to stop making mandates that they do not fund. We need more help either through the community or the schools and getting mental health help faster. Food insecurity is so huge, we need school food to continue to be free and anything else they can do throughout the Commonwealth to give people food. Health Insurance assistance, and help or insight they can give on the large increases in health insurance costs. Ms. Brzozoski speaks about Chapter 70 inflation adjustment, also the current focus on the electric busses, however, that is not helping us now. Rep Scarsdale really focused on regional schools, and that does not help us specifically. Mr. Beardmore says we need to apply pressure, and we keep an open invitation on each agenda for delegation to attend our meetings. Mr. Sculimbrene would like the opinions of the delegates, first, what happens if the Department of Education seeks the legislative repeal of title one because that would have tremendous impacts on us, our kids, and the school district. What would happen if they seek the legislative repeal of Title 9? Likely the head of the Department of Education and the audience she will be are not the people that understand how the funding mechanisms work and how the laws work, we need to be prepared that if that happens our only other protection is the state of Massachusetts and I don’t think they are going to be able to have any policy commitments, but I think they need to be aware that local towns and school boards are concerned about this. 11. Reports Ms. Brzozoski attended the Massachusetts Association of School Committee Annual Conference there were approximately 850 people in attendance on the cape. They had a keynote speech by Tim Shriver, he talked about dignity the foundation of a new patriotism If you are interested in it you can google the Dignity Index. Also attended School and Municipal Collaboration Supporting Common Goals which discussed informal vs formal governments. Th ere were discussions of how other towns worked together to save money, whether DPW took over some of the town or school tasks, school bus leasing options, and budget task forces. Collaboration between school committees and superintendents and how culture is set by the interaction communication relationship and trust and it is a common goal working together. Making sure the school committee has the most amount of information is important. We are very lucky to have Dr. Gilson, tons of school districts are trying to hire a Finance Director. I also wanted to take a moment to appreciate our SRO’s because in talking to other districts, I didn’t realize how blessed we are to have the SRO’s we have, it is really a fine line to walk, it comes down to relationship and the culture of the town’s police department and the school. Every district is having the same issues with bussing and increased costs. Mr. Beardmore reports the Capital Planning Committee has not met yet, is scheduled to meet on 12/2 we will be consi dering all of the proposals that have been made to all of the departments. One topic I am going to recommend that we remove the items that have been funded by AARPA. My preference would be to remove the truck and plow and the window film for the middle high school. The Town Manager Selection Committee met in executive session on Monday night this week and will be meeting on December 11 and 12th to conduct interviews and hopefully report out finalists for consideration to the select board. Ms. Archambault The Master Plan Steering Committee met on November 14 th, I was unable to attend and the minutes aren’t available and the meeting was not recorded. However, I did receive a spreadsheet from the consultant to put my personal thoughts of critical needs of the community and the school, I do not feel comfortable doing this on my own and instead ===PAGE 4=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 would like the input from the committee, if you could fill this out and get it back to me by December 2 nd so I can bring forward at the next meeting on December 4th Mr. Sculimbrene reports the Budget Task Force gave a very brief presentation at Special Town Meeting on Monday about ideas we have on the table for recommendations to other Town committees and a request for help. We then met on Monday and discussed a bunch of different solutions, we went through a punch list that we generated throughout the process in anticipation of writing a very brief summary of the budget task force finding and our recommendations. One of the things we considered and talked about extensively was community preservation and funding. Mr. Lehtinen reports the LBDC presented at special town meeting. We also met on Monday to go over questions we wanted to ask to the one candidate for the interview we had tonight before this meeting. The Primary School will meet on Monday 12. Public Comment - None 13. Topics for Future Discussion 14. Adjournment Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to adjourn at 9:31, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion all approve Respectfully Submitted Courtney Fuller ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-12-04-agenda-6907.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-12-04 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-12-04-agenda-6907.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12042024-6907 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== MEETING NOTICE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, December 4, 2024 6:30 pm, Town Hall HYBRID MEETING AGENDA School Committee Superintendent Brian Lehtinen, Chair Dr. Kate Burnham Anthony Sculimbrene, Vice Chair Carol Archambault-Secretary Laura Brzozoski Recording Secretary Peter Beardmore Courtney Fuller Guests: Dr. Susan Gilson-Director of Administration & Finance In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being broadcast live over the Lunenburg Public Access channel. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85906741187 Meeting ID: 859 0674 1187 One tap mobile +13052241968,,85906741187# US +13092053325,,85906741187# US Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdujtUhVjm This meeting will be broadcast live through the local access cable channel and on the Public Access Facebook page (h ttps://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access-Cable-157427270975305/) and will be found on the Luenburg Access YouTube channel within 24 hours after the meeting. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are 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 also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order e. LMHS Student Activity Close out Class 2. Pledge of Allegiance Accounts 3. Public Comment Discussion 4. Chair’s Report f. Legislative Delegation 5. Student Representative’s Report 12. Reports 6. Review and Approve Minutes 13. Public Comment a. Regular Session 14. Topics for Future Discussion 10/16/24 & 11/6/24 15. Adjournment 7. Review and Approve Line Item Transfers, Warrants &Donations a. Warrants 11/19 to 11/26 $130,437.25 8. Superintendent’s Report 9. Presentation 10. New Business Action a. Winter Sports Report & Fees b. Sizer & Parker Schools Annual Reports Discussion c. LHS Master Schedule Development 11. Old Business Action a. FY25 Quarterly Budget Report b. Personnel Report c. Facility & Grounds Report d. Keystone Update 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-12-04-minutes-6907.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-12-04 KIND : minutes OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-12-04-minutes-6907.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_12042024-6907 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 MEETING MINUTES SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, December 4, 2024 6:30 – Town Hall - Hybrid School Committee Superintendent Brian Lehtinen, Chair - present Dr. Kate Burnham Anthony Sculimbrene, Vice Chair - absent Carol Archambault, Secretary - present Peter Beardmore, Member - present Laura Brzozoski, Member - present Recording Secretary Courtney Fuller Guests: Dr. Susan Gilson – Director of Administration & Finance, Mr. Kevin Bigelow – Athletics Director, Mr. Tim Santry – LMHS Principal 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 6:30p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Public Comment – Mr. Beardmore states at our last meeting we had a discussion about our invitation to our legislative delegation to discuss Chapter 70 among other topics. I have received some feedback from the public regarding my comments, all of which were supportive. I remain convinced that the narrative has got to be a public narrative. We have got to have the conversation on Chapter 70 and the states obligation to fund public schools in public and we need to rally our constituents to see that this issue is solved. In roughly two months from now we are going to be discussing serious cuts once again, largely as a result of predicted health insurance rates which is a roughly 12 – 15% increase as well as the contractual obligations we have taken over the course of this last year. We don’t have the official math yet, however, it is not hard to see the condition we were in a year ago and what happened and the condition we are in now and what is going to happen. Nothing has changed with the state! Over the last couple weeks I’ve been in discussion with our Chair, and I believe the meeting was scheduled yesterday with our delegation and I look forward to hearing how that went. I also engaged in an email with Representative Scarsdale, to which the chair, the superintendent, chairman of the select board, and a member of the public were also copied, what I learned from the exchange is that there is definitely work going on and I am hopeful that the work will lead to real change in the coming year. But there is not going to be any change in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts if there isn’t a public mandate to demand that change. Right now our Governor, Senate President, and Speaker of the House are completely focused on housing and to a slightly lesser degree, transportation. They are not focused on Chapter 70, they are not focused on education, and the only way we are going to change the narrative of the dialog is to force it to change and that requires a public discourse on this topic. I am thankful for the work our legislat ures are doing particularly Representative Scarsdale, but we have got to make this a public discussion Once again I call on our Chair, both of the School Committee and the Select Board to put conversation with legislative delegation on every agenda until the time comes that we are satisfied with that conversation. 4. Chair’s Report Congratulations to all fall sports teams on a successful season. Winter sport try outs start tomorrow good luck to everyone trying out. Tomorrow is the tree lighting at 6 pm Lunenburg Public Schools Dr. Kate Burnham, Superintendent of Schools ===PAGE 2=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 5. Student Representative’s Report Overall for the district Thanksgiving break is over, we are now in the weeks leading up to our holiday break. There is a district wide gift card drive being run by the school secretaries that ends on December 6 th. For the Primary School, they need book donations for the first annual book swap, books are needed by December 13 th and their goal is 400 books. There will also be a book fair December 2 – 6. Both the Primary School and Turkey Hill had Turkey Trots the day before Thanksgiving break and they both went very well. The Middle High School had a National Honor Society induction that went very well. Winter sports will be starting soon. We also had our powderpuff game, teachers’ vs students and junior girls vs senior girls which also went very well. 6. Review & Approve Minutes a. Regular Session 10/16/24 & 11/6/24 Ms. Archambault makes a motion to approve minutes for 10/16/24 and 11/6/24, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion all approve 7. Review & Approve Warrants, Line Item Transfers, & Donations a. Warrants 11/19/24 to 11/26 $130,437.25 – Warrants have been signed b. Donations A check for $401.04 from Hannaford Helps to be deposited into the gift account at Turkey Hill Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to accept the donation, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion, all approve c. Line Item Transfers $24.50 from High School Office Supplies to High School Math Dues and Fees because of the Bridgewater State AP class cost more than expected. This is for our teachers to go to learn how to be Advanced Placement instructors of a particular course. Also, $243 from High School Dues and Fees to High School Music Supplies for a Flugelhorn trumpet, the first one was discontinued and the new o ne was $243 more. A request from Turkey Hill to transfer $1822.80 from Elementary Workbook line to Contracted Services, to pay for an increase in curriculum associated with K-8 English and Math at the elementary level. A request from Primary School to transfer $210 from the workbook line to contracted services due to the increase in curriculum associated with K-8 English and Math. Ms. Brzozoski makes a motion to approve the line item transfers, Ms. Archambault seconds the motion, all approve. 8. Superintendent’s Report the Superintendent updates on the position of Director of Facilities and Grounds, we had a few candidates to move to round two and references checks, unfortunately, at this time we have not found the right choice and the position has been reposted. This is last call for gift card donations four annual secretaries gift drive, they are being collected through this Friday the 6th. We have recently gone through a Food Services Administrative Review, these reviews are conducted on a 3 year cycle, and there are two parts – offsite portion which is done online through a security portal and also the onsite review, which includes inspections, observation, district policy, administrative documentation. We have had our exit interview and will receive the feedback and once we have more details of anything we need to correct and how we plan to address it we will bring that information to the committee. Also we are due for our OLA(Office of Language Acquisition) tier review will be happening during the week of 12/16, which will include review of ELE program, parent outreach, and onsite reviews. This occurs every 6 years to ensure federal and state compliance. We also wanted to make you aware that The Supporting Arts and Cultural Vitality grant we applied for last year, this is a continuation grant, so there is additional money coming to us this year, we were awarded $7,225. The seven teachers that conducted a review last year using rubric provided by the Dept. of Ed, the work continues and they will now focus on any action plan and address any thing they think we need to improve. The goal is to ensure students have the opportunity to participate in art every year. ALICE training – The Middle High School will be a host site for the updated ALICE Training that is provided through Navigate 360. By being a host site we receive a couple of free seats for the training. Thank you SRO Brad McNamara for spear heading the district safety team to ensure training hear in Lunenburg. Upcoming Dates 12/18/24 School Committee Meeting 6:30 Middle High School 01/08/25 School Committee Meeting 6:30 Town Hall 12/5/24 PACSAL meeting 6 pm 12/5/24 Annual Tree Lighting at the Gazebo at 6 pm 12/23/24-01/02/25 Schools will be closed for Winter Break 9. Presentation –None 10. New Business Action ===PAGE 3=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 a. Winter Sports Report & Fees Kevin Bigelow and Susan Gilson discus money coming and the expenses that are all incorporated in our sports programs. We do not have official numbers yet for Winter sports b. Sizer & Parker Annual Reports Haven’t received the updated data Discussion c. LHS Master Schedule Development Mr. Santry gives a detailed summary of the scheduling process at the High School via Slide Presentation 11. Old Business Action a. FY 25 Quarterly Budget Report Dr. Gilson presented a report and explained the process of how it is created and how it tracks expenses, and how she identifies and remedies variances. b. Personnel Report Dr. Gilson shares the personnel report of new hires and resignations since the beginning of the year and discusses a few positions that have been difficult to fill. The report has been supplied to the committee c. Facility & Grounds Report Dr. Gilson shares an update on facilities in grounds projects in the district and has supplied the committee with the report. d. Keystone Update There is a quarterly and annual report in the school committees’ folder Ms. Archambault makes a motion to accept the FY25 quarterly budget, personnel report, facility and grounds report, and the Keystone update, Mr. Beardmore seconds the motion, all approve. e. LMHS Student Activity Close out & Class Accounts Student activities accounts for the Middle School is proposing to close out the photography account with $1506, and the cross country track club with $3272.89, we would like to use the excess in the Science Olympiad account and GSA account to offset the stipends and resolve the deficit. After the accounts are cleared we are left with $682.03 which we would like to split between New, jazz and Washington DC Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to dissolve the accounts listed and use to clear up deficits and use leftover funds to split between new, jazz, and Washington DC. Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve. Work has been happening on our class accounts we can no close the class of 2001, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022. The class of 2003 ($19) and 2010 (5,135) do not want the funds and we would like to transfer them to a scholarship account totaling $5154. There is still work happening for the class of 2005, 2007, and 2015 they have been advised they need to move to close in January. Class of 2023 has 2 years to claim their money and they are aware. Ms. Archambault makes a motion to close 2001, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2022 and to transfer $5,154 to scholarship, Ms. Brzozoski seconds the motion all approve. Discussion f. Legislative Delegation Mr. Lehtinen shared that Representative Scarsdale, Kushmerek and Senator Cronin have been invited to the school committee meeting in December. Representative Scarsdale reports they are interested in private meeting and at the same time Mandy Gilman was also reaching out in trying to set up a meeting. For the meeting I also invited Dr. Burnham, Dr. Gilson, Mandy Gilman and the Select Board Chair. I believe the meeting went exceptionally well, it was more of a round table discussion fostering a productive discussions on key challenges facing the district, and we focused solely on Lunenburg Public School, not on Lune nburg as a whole. I do feel like it was an important step in opening up the communication and dialogue. The legislatures focused on understanding the challenges, so they are able to align the bills. We started talking about inflationary costs for the district, health care costs was number 1. Senator Cronin recommended a GIC (Group Insurance Commission), he said North Middlesex is changing over to a GIC. A GIC is able to negotiate and provide administrators with a high quality insurance options, there are lots of eastern districts that are using this. We also talked about transportation, Senator Cronin brought up potential options that could be a long term goal. We discussed unfunded mandates and how that affects the staff, we talked about mental health support, and we were encouraged to look into nonprofit options for some assistance. We discussed strategies to address immediate financial needs. We talked about trying to get Lunenburg back into smart growth. We discussed how some reimbursements for exa mple mental health, goes to the town not to the school, so there was mention of a bill that could potentially help the reimbursement would come directly to the school. The committee discusses topics and benefits of the meeting, however, we still need the push for public mandates and constituents having conversations to make change. ===PAGE 4=== 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103 12. Reports Ms. Brzozoski reports the PACSAL met in November they had a great turn out at first meeting, we heard from Camp Starfish which is a New Hampshire based camp that offers a genuine camp experience for children that may experience behavioral or intellectual disabilities. They discussed the new IEP format, digital signatures all seem to be working well and Wilson training among staff. A brief commentary on the leadership building team for parents to provide input on the school calendar for next year. There was a Parents Rights night that was offered on zoom, which is also availabl e on the website. The next meeting is December 5 at 6 pm zoom only. LEAF met and discussed bylaws and planning timeline, incorporation and nonprofit status and set dates for future meetings. Mr. Beardmore Capital Planning met on Monday and discussed all items that have been proposed and polled member for high, medium, and low. Relative to the schools, the two items I think have the greatest support are the Primary School projects related to the playground and entry and parking design. The interim Town Manager spoke about his projection how the capital plan is likely to unfold from funding perspective. The projection is just above $1.1 million for capital plan, which is much lower than past years. We had a very good discussion at what we can look at to construct guidance around for a report at town meeting or advice to the select board around capital planning policies, along with post plan and how we can track projects to make sure they are actually happening. The next meeting is December 18. We will be interviewing for the Town Manager position on December 11 and 12, during executive session and hope to have a finalist. The HS Advisory will meet on Thursday the 12th at 3 pm, I cannot attend but I will meet separately with Mr. Santry and Ms. Tousignant to catch up on the outcome of the meeting Ms. Archambault Middle School Advisory will meet on Tuesday, Fin Com will meet next week. Master Planning is having difficulty reaching quorum, their last meeting I was not able to attend, it was not recorded and there are no minutes. PTO met on Monday and discussed the requests from the school, they have $20,000 and will be giving $5000 to each school. They will be meeting with the teachers that made requests and then making their decisions. The school calendar was discuss ed and recommends next year Christmas holiday to go to school on Monday and either a full day or half day on Tuesday and not to take the two weeks off. They will be holding a fundraiser for the movie Sonic 3 in Leominster on the 21st, they have sold 160 tickets and would like to sell 500, everyone is invited as long as they have a grown up with them. They are looking for sponsors for the Special Someone Dance on February 1. The committee is undecided if they will do the Railers fundraiser as we aren’t receiving any discount on ticket prices and last year our seats were scattered throughout. Mr. Lehtinen Myself, Ms. Brzozoski, Dr, Burnham and Dr. Gilson met with the secretaries union for the initial negotiation meeting and will be meeting with them again next Tuesday. Primary School is collecting b ooks to do a book swap and are looking for volunteers. Between the 23rd and the 10th they are looking to get library cards to all kids, the library will also be doing a scavenger hunt. The Turkey Trot went very well, they are trying something new, they are having breakfast now in the cafeteria instead of the classroom. On January 30 there will be parent teacher conferences via zoom and in person. Handbook layout was discussed and they were thinking about doing it differently however, there are concerns about consistency among all the schools. There is also concern that it is a large document, 54 pages, so to expect the parents to read all those pages and know where everything is, maybe add FAQ or hyperlink website. Also a recommendation of Lunenburg getting a website or a PR person to deal with all the website issues and to make the website better and more efficient. The school nurse is back. There was discussion of upgrading the boards in the classrooms to touch boards and those run about $2500 each. A full time custodian has been hired. Lunenburg Municipal Design Committee met with the architects and engineers over map layout of the center of town. Mostly focused on Ritter building and the town hall. There is concern for where PAC will go. We will be meeting on the 16th, the 6th and by the 3rd or 4th of February we will be done. 13. Public Comment- None 14. Topics for Future Discussion 15. Adjournment Mr. Beardmore makes a motion to adjourn at 9:19 Ms. Archambault seconds the motion all approve Respectfully Submitted Courtney Fuller ======================================================================================== DOCUMENT : 2024-12-18-agenda-6933.txt BOARD : school-committee DATE : 2024-12-18 KIND : agenda OUR COPY : https://lunenburgbudgetproject.org/docs/minutes/text/school-committee/2024-12-18-agenda-6933.txt TOWN PDF : https://www.lunenburgma.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_12182024-6933 ======================================================================================== ===PAGE 1=== MEETING NOTICE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday, December 18, 2024 6:30 pm, LMS Collaborative Room #D132 HYBRID MEETING AGENDA School Committee Superintendent Brian Lehtinen, Chair Dr. Kate Burnham Anthony Sculimbrene, Vice Chair Carol Archambault-Secretary Laura Brzozoski Recording Secretary Peter Beardmore Courtney Fuller Guests: Dr. Susan Gilson-Director of Administration & Finance; Nadine Lorenzen-Food Service Director In accordance with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law, please be advised that this meeting is being broadcast lat a later date over the Lunenburg Public Access channel. Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85906741187 Meeting ID: 859 0674 1187 One tap mobile +13052241968,,85906741187# US +13092053325,,85906741187# US Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdujtUhVjm This meeting will be broadcast at a later date through the local access cable channel and on the Public Access Facebook page (h ttps://www.facebook.com/Lunenburg-Public-Access-Cable-157427270975305/) and will be found on the Luenburg Access YouTube channel within 24 hours after the meeting. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are 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 also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by Open Meeting Law. 1. Call to Order 13. Reports 2. Pledge of Allegiance 14. Public Comment 3. 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. 4. Public Comment 15. Topics for Future Discussion 5. Chair’s Report 16. Adjournment 6. Student Representative’s Report 7. Review and Approve Minutes a. Regular Session 11/20/24 8. Review and Approve Line Item Transfers, Warrants & Donations a. Warrants 12/3/24 to 12/13/24 $217,821.91 9. Superintendent’s Report 10. Presentation 11. New Business Action a. School Food Service Administrative Review b. FY24 End of Year Report 12. Old Business Action a. Secretaries Memorandum of Understanding b. Winter Athletics Report Discussion c. LMHS Activity Fees d. Legislative Delegation e. School Committee Resolutions 1025 Massachusetts Avenue, Lunenburg, Massachusetts 01462 978 582-4100 ~ fax 978 582-4103