2026-09-16 - School Committee

00:05[music] Good evening everyone. I'd like

00:06to call this meeting to order. This

00:08meeting of the the Town of Auburn School

00:10Committee is being conducted in person

00:12and is being recorded by Auburn Cable

00:14Television. All are welcome to join us

00:16in person here at 5 West Street. All

00:19supporting materials that have been

00:20provided to members of this body is

00:23available on the town's website. The

00:25public is encouraged to follow along

00:27using the posted agenda. Could we please

00:29stand for the pledge?

00:32>> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

00:35United States of America and to the

00:37republic for which it stands, one nation

00:41under God, indivisible, with liberty and

00:44justice for all. [cough]

00:47>> Our vision, the vision of the Auburn

00:49Public Schools is to educate and prepare

00:51students for the opportunities and

00:53challenges of a changing world. our

00:55commitment. We will create, maintain,

00:56and support an environment that fosters

00:58a sense of belonging for all students in

01:00our schools, respecting race, color,

01:03sex, religion, national origin, sexual

01:05orientation, gender identity,

01:07homelessness, poverty, spoken language,

01:09and ability.

01:10>> Okay. And I see tonight that there are

01:13no special recognitions. I'd like to

01:16entertain a motion for the minutes for

01:1863 2026 and 92 2022. make a motion to

01:23approve the minutes from 63 2026 and 92

01:252026.

01:27>> I will second that motion.

01:29>> All in favor?

01:30>> I.

01:31>> Excellent. Thank you. And very excited

01:33to announce that we do have a student

01:35representative report this evening and I

01:37welcome Hunter Osborne.

01:39>> Hello. Um so I would like to say that um

01:42school is now in full swing. We are in

01:44our first full week and it is safe to

01:46say that um all of our classes are up

01:49and running and hitting the ground. Um,

01:51sports are also underway. All of our

01:53teams have at least had a couple of

01:55games, meets, and are doing quite well.

01:57We have our first home football game

01:59this Friday at 6:30.

02:02Um, as well as our fall musical has

02:04finalized their cast and are starting

02:05rehearsals for that. Um, we've also

02:08started putting in work for their new

02:09parking passes to make sure all of our

02:11students are parking properly. And we

02:13have finalized a date for homecoming,

02:15which will be October 24th.

02:17>> Awesome. Thank you, Hunter. Can I just

02:19ask a question? The um fall musical, is

02:22it announced what it is?

02:23>> Is you're in town.

02:25>> Okay. Awesome. Thank you so much. All

02:28right. You're welcome to stay or you can

02:29leave whatever is easier for you.

02:31>> Thank you for your time.

02:32>> Of course. Thank you, Hunter. Have a

02:33great one.

02:35>> All right. And we'll I'm going to hand

02:36it over to Dr. Scazif the

02:38superintendence report.

02:39>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you,

02:40Hunter. It's a tough fact to follow

02:42there.

02:43>> [laughter]

02:44>> Um,

02:46so we, like Hunter said, are getting

02:48into the swing of things here. Um, with

02:51some solid routines up and off the

02:52ground with this full, uh, first full

02:55week of school up and running. Uh, I've

02:58been visiting each school to see the

03:01arrival and dismissal routines, which is

03:03really important um, in terms of getting

03:05the kids in and learning as quickly as

03:06possible and, uh, working right up to

03:09the final bell and then home safely at

03:10the end of the day. So, I was very

03:12pleased to see that there are really

03:14consistent and uh [clears throat] firm

03:16routines in place that were already in

03:19place that are are really uh efficient.

03:22Um

03:24that's due to the staff. So, I I have to

03:26say we have such a a really strong and

03:28dedicated staff here. So, I' I've been

03:30visiting each school and you can just

03:32see the commitment um and you can very

03:34much feel the uh enthusiasm and passion

03:36for their jobs and for um being a part

03:39of education in general. So, I I'm just

03:41very grateful for that. I want to thank

03:43all our parents and guardians for their

03:45patience as we work through the issues

03:46with the bus routes and iron out the

03:49wrinkles. It's always challenging to uh

03:52get the bus routes running smoothly,

03:55efficiently, and on time with

03:57consistency as you start the school

03:59year, but we feel confident that we are

04:01going to get that addressed. Um, Jen

04:04Stanick has been doing a lot of work

04:05with individual families. We've been

04:07talking with our managers from a

04:10transportation to work through some of

04:11the matters. Um, we've already uh

04:16presented some solutions to some

04:18challenges that we've had that I think

04:20are helping with the greater good and I

04:23feel like we have a good working

04:24relationship with our bus company. So,

04:26I'm I'm confident that things are going

04:27to get better. But again, I I really do

04:29want to thank the community and our

04:31parents and guardians in particular for

04:32their patience because I know it can be

04:33very frustrating when buses are not

04:35arriving on time or there are matters on

04:38the buses um that are not expected. So

04:40we expect a level of service and we will

04:42get that level of service and we will

04:43ensure that. Uh I began my weekly

04:46standing meetings with each school site

04:49um with each school and through school

04:50site vis visits with the principles this

04:52past Monday. Um and my intention is to

04:55visit one school each day of the week.

04:57It's great that we have five schools, so

04:59[laughter]

05:00one each day. Um, I will consult with

05:03each principal, outline steps to address

05:05priority areas. Um, Mr. Keller and I

05:07have already started to look at some of

05:09the uh embargoed uh preliminary data

05:11that we have from um from Desi and then

05:15we'll we'll set some goals for

05:16principles or principles and I will set

05:18their goals and then um during these

05:20visits we'll be looking at specific um

05:23content areas or grade levels or

05:25instructional focuses as we uh head out

05:28into the classrooms. Uh to start though,

05:30I'm just looking to get into rooms to

05:33meet people, to see kids having fun,

05:35actively learning, um and just be part

05:38of the school system and in the

05:39classroom so I can really experience it

05:42firsthand. So that that started this

05:43week and I'm looking forward to visiting

05:46one school each day um every week and

05:49maybe some more in between because I was

05:51over at the high school for a great uh

05:53deal of time earlier this week working

05:55through a couple matters with principal

05:57the long champ and that was not

05:58scheduled but it was just nice to be

05:59over there and and seeing the high

06:01school in action. So I can attest to

06:03everything Hunter said. Um, I quickly

06:06want to just give a shout out to food

06:07services because uh, Brienne Fulmer

06:10alerted me that it was the turkey dinner

06:12today at the high school. It was

06:13unbelievable. I had two helpings of it,

06:16one for lunch and one right before this

06:18meeting. [laughter]

06:19Really impressed by um by food services

06:22here and you're going to hear a little

06:23bit more from Bri later. So, I want to

06:26briefly discuss just a couple of things

06:28before um turning it over to the

06:30unfinished business. And that is um I'm

06:32going to be creating goals um for the

06:35school committee to review very soon.

06:37Essentially, I'm going to focus on three

06:39priority areas. One is effective entry

06:42and direction setting. Two is

06:43maintaining momentum during my

06:45transition. And three is very simply

06:47completing the new superintendent

06:49induction program. So, these are kind of

06:50prescribed goals for new

06:52superintendents. Uh but in conjunction

06:55with these goals, I'll be executing an

06:58entry plan where I'll gather as much

07:00information as I can, use those findings

07:02to craft uh really tailored goals for

07:05the following school year. This year, I

07:06want to keep the momentum going from

07:08everything that Dr. Chamberlain um and

07:11staff did to turn it over to me. Um and

07:13then take all the information that I

07:15gather for priority areas to work on

07:17moving forward and set those for the

07:18following year. So, you will be hearing

07:21specifically about the key items for all

07:23of those goals very uh soon at an

07:25upcoming school committee meeting. And

07:27lastly, um I want to just

07:31uh mention that my superintendent coach,

07:33new superintendent coach, Marco

07:35Rodriguez, who many of you have met,

07:37will be joining us at our next school

07:38committee meeting to discuss the NIST

07:40program, the new superintendent

07:42induction program. Uh and I will also be

07:44presenting my entry plan outline so you

07:46can see exactly the steps that I plan to

07:48take.

07:50All right, great. And I don't think I

07:53see anyone for citizen comments this

07:55evening. So, I am going to begin

07:58unfinished business and hand it right

07:59back over to Dr. Scaza for the

08:01superintendent listening sessions.

08:03>> So, I [clears throat] announced this at

08:04our last meeting. I will be hosting

08:06listening sessions to provide an

08:08opportunity for parents and guardians uh

08:10and just members of our community in

08:12general to share their thoughts,

08:13questions, and feedback. That's part of

08:15the entry plan. And that's how I get

08:17really um honest, accurate, qualitative

08:21data, information that's really

08:22important. So, I hope that as many um

08:26people can attend as possible. We will

08:28be holding these two listening sessions

08:30on the same day, uh Thursday, September

08:3224th. We're going to do one in the

08:34morning. Um it will be here at 5 West

08:36Street. If we have a large turnout,

08:38we'll kind of use the superintendent or

08:40sorry, the school committee room uh in

08:42conjunction with my office next door. Uh

08:45and the morning session will be from

08:478:00 to 9:00 a.m. for any parents who

08:49the morning or guardians or community

08:51members who the morning works better

08:52for. So again, 8 to 9 that morning on

08:55the 24th. And then in the afternoon from

08:574:00 to 5:00, we'll have coffee, some

08:59refreshments available. And um I'm

09:01looking forward to speaking with people.

09:03I will have separate sessions with

09:05students and other members of our

09:07community, but this is primarily for our

09:09parents and guardians. Uh I encourage

09:11everyone to join uh whichever session

09:13works best for your schedule and we look

09:15forward to hearing from our families and

09:16continuing to strengthen our partnership

09:18with the community.

09:20Also, at our last meeting, we discussed

09:23um a policy and it is um coming from

09:26that the protect act from the governor's

09:29office. I met with a number of other

09:32superintendents through the Worcester

09:33County Superintendent Association

09:35earlier today and a lot of districts are

09:37following the same process that we are.

09:39So, I'm happy to say we are in good

09:41position with this. And what I have in

09:44your packet tonight are some draft

09:45guidelines that we put together um and I

09:48reviewed with principles earlier as

09:50earlier this week so they know um

09:54exactly what to do in the event that

09:56immigration uh enforcement does arrive

09:58at a school. So, the guidelines are very

10:02straightforward. It's uh they're all on

10:05one page front and back. Um, and they're

10:08kind of a uh summary, if you will, or a

10:12condensed version of the uh state

10:15guidance that you also have in your

10:17packet. So just quickly looking at those

10:20guidelines that we put together, it's um

10:22what to do, what any staff member should

10:24do in the event um outlining responses

10:28such as remaining calm and professional,

10:30how to interact with law enforcement

10:32agents, um where to conduct this

10:36interaction and how to keep um uh law uh

10:40enforcement agents in a area while they

10:43get information, gather information and

10:45seek consult from me. I have finer

10:48details that aren't in this um outline

10:51but will were shared with principles

10:53around like who to contact, what number

10:54to use, who I would contact um on our

10:57legal side, etc. And then what you look

11:00for um in terms of what's presented to

11:03the school personnel um so it would be

11:05the principal and then quickly myself on

11:08site uh whether it be a judicial or an

11:10administrative warrant um kind of

11:12constitutes the next step that we take.

11:15So you see that we review that. Then we

11:18do take some um steps on our point to

11:20make sure that we are protecting fura

11:22for our students that [clears throat]

11:23we're refraining from voluntary

11:25disclosure of information. Everything

11:27should follow the standard of the the

11:28law. Um who we are contacting uh during

11:33and after this event. And then finally

11:36how we document the incident al together

11:39uh logging the event exact time details

11:42um etc. And then finally following all

11:45of this up with a report to the AG's

11:47office. So this is like the again the

11:50condensed version of of how to handle

11:51it. Kind of like a onepage cheat sheet

11:54if you will and um other nuances that I

11:57will add and have reviewed with the

11:59principles are some um language that's

12:02been provided for staff to use um that

12:04is very straightforward as well as some

12:06sample examples of um what a judicial

12:09warrant looks like as opposed to an

12:10administrative warrant.

12:15Great.

12:16>> Does anyone have any questions for Dr.

12:18Stazza?

12:20>> Um, through the chair, I just had one.

12:22If we could back it up to your listening

12:23sessions. Is there going to be another

12:25one after September 24th? Like, are you

12:28going to continuous, you said you're

12:30going to continuously do this of the

12:32>> I have

12:33>> year or you just going to do September

12:35and

12:36>> I will probably offer up seasonal

12:40sessions. I would imagine September just

12:42to hear what people are thinking and

12:43like at the midpoint the the priorities

12:46and the the feelings might be a little

12:48different.

12:49>> So I think [clears throat] it it would

12:50be good to have like follow up around

12:52you know the winter months and then

12:54follow it up with an end of the school

12:56year um springtime uh gathering of

13:00information. But in terms of my entry

13:02plan, this September one is really

13:04what's going to drive a lot of those

13:05initial findings. I'm just wondering

13:07like is there going to be um like a Zoom

13:10option for those that would like to

13:12attend but let's say maybe can't get to

13:155 West Street.

13:16>> I will have to talk to my counterparts

13:18here about how we can make that Zoom

13:20work and I'm certainly h happy to do

13:22>> because I mean like if you work right if

13:24you work 8 to 4 or 9 to 5 the these

13:27hours are not going to necessarily be

13:30you want to come but maybe you could

13:32just take a 30 minute and just listen to

13:34the beginning or something like that.

13:36Yeah, that's a great point. And I, you

13:37know, now that you mentioned it and I'm

13:39thinking about it a little bit more, I

13:40could probably just offer a virtual

13:42session al together. Aside from that, it

13:44it's hard for me to manage the inperson

13:46and the Zoom together, right?

13:48>> Um, I'm just not good at it. But I'm I

13:50got pretty good at just the Zoom or the

13:53virtual session. So, anyone who could

13:55not make an in-person session, I could

13:56offer an alternative. It could be 7 to 8

14:00at night or something like that. Um,

14:02>> I'm just thinking for those of the

14:03parents where they everybody works, but

14:05they do want to meet you. They want to

14:07hear what you have to say. They want to

14:08see where they're going, what your plans

14:10are for the I'm just

14:11>> so a to be coming soon [laughter]

14:15virtual session outside of the day

14:18hosted by yours truly. I think it's a

14:20great idea [laughter] and uh um I'm very

14:22comfortable hosting those. It's it's

14:24managing that in person and Zoom that I

14:26just really struggle with, but I think

14:27it's a it's a it's a me thing.

14:28>> I don't think you're the only person

14:29that struggles with that.

14:31I know. All right. [clears throat] If

14:33there's no more questions, I'm going to

14:34turn it over to the hardworking Samantha

14:36Rayfield, who will present policy

14:38updates for a second read. Um, so we did

14:42not other than the policy that we uh ALC

14:45that we voted on last week. Um, we have

14:48not discussed any of these um JKA

14:52um JJH, KF, KFR, KFA, KF A, KH, Kh. Does

14:59anyone have any concerns or anything

15:01they'd like to bring up relating to

15:03those? Um

15:05JKAA was the um timeout seclusion

15:09physical restraint of students.

15:11>> Um and I'll just reiterate on that one.

15:14I literally took what the previous

15:18people services person gave me and took

15:21what MASC gave me and kind of melded

15:24them together. Um

15:27and it it's a long one. I apologize on

15:29that one. Um, and that would be a brand

15:31new policy. Uh, JJH, was the change

15:36relating to overnight trips may be

15:39permitted for students at Auburn High

15:40School and Auburn Middle School subject

15:42to the approval requirements and

15:43conditions of this policy. All overnight

15:45trips require priv prior approval of the

15:47school committee that was already in

15:48there. And the only other change that I

15:51made was

15:53on under number eight which said

15:55notwithstanding the foregoing this

15:56delegation of authority shall not apply

15:58to overnight trips involving Auburn

16:00middle school students which must

16:01receive prior approval. So that's

16:03basically if there's for example if the

16:08boys make

16:10states and they have to go overnight

16:12into Boston it that's high school only.

16:16That should never really happen at the

16:17middle school level. Um

16:21the KF [laughter]

16:24>> [clears throat]

16:24>> um that was the one that we just

16:29um kind of modified. It's community use

16:31of school facilities and grounds and

16:34then community use of school facilities.

16:37Um Miss Stanick and I kind of like were

16:40trying we were trying to figure out like

16:41how to change the title because they're

16:44very similar. So if anyone has any

16:46suggestions, but this is the school

16:48committee recognized that school

16:49facilities and then it continues on with

16:52buildings, grounds, equipment, and

16:53facilities. So it's kind of can't really

16:55change the title on those. So um and

16:59again, we had to separate those out. So

17:00if you were to go online and look at

17:02these older policies, some of them are

17:04mixed together a little bit. Um

17:08and then KHA was public solicitations in

17:11school just about like the public coming

17:14in and sending stuff out. It just

17:17there's the rules that follow along

17:19that's from also MASC

17:21and that is um KH KH A then aligns with

17:26that. So, if there's any questions on

17:28any of those, any concerns, comments, I

17:30can look into those or where we think

17:34they're fine, we can just do our third

17:36read next week. Um,

17:37>> next in two weeks, sorry.

17:38>> Through the chair and and correct me if

17:40I'm wrong, Sam, because I because we

17:42separated it out, I think one of them

17:45was the form, right? that that form that

17:48that um Jen did about outlining when

17:52it's like the community

17:55use of the field as opposed to the

17:56middle school as opposed to the high

17:58school teams, right? And there was no

18:00change to that.

18:02>> There was no change the

18:05>> no change to that one. This the one that

18:07we did KFA is I think what you're

18:09talking about is like when who can use

18:11it and who gets president that we just

18:14cleaned up. There was no change to that.

18:16Okay.

18:17>> Um, you know, we just it was set up like

18:20Auburn High School, Auburn Middle

18:21School, and then there were certain it

18:22was just too confusing. And then the

18:25other one we did not make any changes to

18:27either was when we put in the document

18:31here, Auburn Public Schools facility

18:32rental. That was no change. We're just

18:35it just belonged there.

18:36>> Correct.

18:37>> So, we like placed it there um because

18:40there was nowhere in it. This is C fee

18:42schedule and there was no fee schedule.

18:44So we're like, "Wait, where's where's

18:45the P schedule?" So,

18:46>> right. Right.

18:47>> We just put it in there. So, there's

18:48really it's just pretty much cleaned up.

18:52The old policy, if you look at it, is I

18:55I like named it the hot mess policy

18:57because I couldn't figure out where

18:58where anything went. Um, so Jen and I

19:01took two hours over the summer just to

19:02kind of review it. Um, we just cleaned

19:04it up, made it look nice, took out

19:05things that were redundant or not

19:07necessary. Like, what was one of them?

19:10One of them was weird. was like, um,

19:13anyone can use this and Jen's like, we

19:16that doesn't exist in Auburn. Like it

19:18was something like they can use the mini

19:20bus and we're like we don't have a mini

19:22like something like that that was not in

19:24the policy that we took out. So,

19:29but there's no major there's nothing in

19:31here that would give me like a oh, I

19:34should, you know, have highlighted that

19:36specifically that we need to pay

19:38attention to.

19:40That's for me.

19:41>> I was like, "Did you find a mistake?"

19:42Because I'm like, "Oh."

19:44>> Um, so yeah. So it's just it's just

19:46reiterating for community use like it

19:48goes school district use first

19:51>> and then it goes like and so if you

19:53could look on that page it's like then

19:54town meeting and elections then youth

19:57groups then youth groups combines a 50

19:59plus 50% plus then recck groups and out

20:02of town groups. So if there's a Auburn

20:05football game, they get precedent over

20:09an out of town two teams from Texas

20:12wanting to use the field,

20:13>> right? So we just felt like clarifying

20:15that clarifying like who gets to use the

20:19facility. Um you know like Auburn High

20:22School like authorized use is first high

20:25school teams then you know so just

20:29basically making it a little clearer for

20:32everybody.

20:33>> Yeah.

20:35And the nice part about these policies

20:37is that if we feel that there's

20:40something that pops up that we're like,

20:41"Oh, no." We can always come in and

20:43reread it and fix it. So just because

20:45it's we're fixing it now, doesn't mean

20:47that it's not perfect. As we saw with

20:49our field trip policy. So

20:52>> changes need to happen. We make them. We

20:54figure that out. We we you know, we make

20:57changes and we fix it. So

21:00>> Well, I think we say this every meeting,

21:01but I'm going to say it again. Thank you

21:03so much because that's it's a lot of

21:05work and we appreciate you doing it.

21:07>> I take breaks like the three reads. I

21:09take a little break and then I go back

21:11and then I go back.

21:12>> So, but we will have to have a policy

21:15meeting at some point. So,

21:16>> thank you Sam. All right.

21:18>> It's a new school year. I know.

21:20[laughter]

21:21>> All right. We're going to move along to

21:22new business

21:24and we're looking for approval of food

21:27service vendors and contracts and

21:29department updates.

21:32And here she comes. Come on, Brienne.

21:34>> I know. [laughter]

21:37>> 15 minutes.

21:38>> Hi, everybody. Um, so I had a

21:41PowerPoint. I tried to make it so

21:42colorful for you guys. You know, I'm

21:44always trying to impress you.

21:48>> You know, I came from a doctor's

21:50appointment.

21:50>> No, I'm just kidding.

21:51>> No, I want [laughter] to. I want to

21:53someday.

21:53>> We want you to snack.

21:56>> I need to feed the beast.

21:59Um, okay. So today um I have a few

22:03things. I have our the food service

22:06program is part of the Mass School

22:08buying group which is how we procure all

22:11of our groceries, paper, produce, ice

22:14cream,

22:16uh and milk. And so today I'm just

22:20looking for approval of the vendors and

22:23then I will send our signed contracts to

22:26the vendors to be signed and then we

22:28will be in compliance with all of our

22:29procurement for how we are um purchasing

22:33our food moving forward for the school

22:36year. um we have already started

22:37purchasing food. So we've been under the

22:39umbrella of the massful buying group,

22:41but um I provide to the town actual

22:45contracts um to just verify that we have

22:47done our due diligence for procurement.

22:50So it's kind of like just a good

22:51housekeeping. Um but everything has been

22:53done um on the back end and we've been

22:56receiving food for the last four weeks.

22:58So things seem to be going well. Um, so

23:02today I am talking about the meals

23:05served and upcoming events. Um, in the

23:08first eight days of school, we're off to

23:10a good start. We've served 63% of the

23:13enrollment lunch and 37% of the

23:15enrollment breakfast. Um, compared I

23:18would tell you the actual numbers, but

23:20I'm dyslexic and I don't want to

23:21embarrass myself cuz how many times has

23:23it been on the screen and you're like,

23:24Bri, it's not the right number. Um, so

23:26I'm doing in percentages because it

23:28seems a little bit more manageable. Last

23:30year in our 180 days, we served 65% of

23:34the enrollment um, lunch and 41% of the

23:37enrollment breakfast. So that's based

23:40off of enrollment. If we go off of

23:41average daily attendance, our numbers

23:44are significantly higher, but I always

23:46like to impress you at the end of the

23:48year with the average daily attendance

23:50opposed to the enrollment. Um, so based

23:54off of average daily attendance, we were

23:56closer to 73% of our average daily

23:59attendance and we were up to 47% um for

24:02our breakfast. Um, we're killing it at

24:04the high school. Um, we are serving

24:08[clears throat] um almost half of the

24:10students uh breakfast now, which is a

24:13huge deal. When I started, if we were

24:15serving 8% of the students breakfast, it

24:18was um

24:20remarkable. Uh we have been serving the

24:23preschool breakfast um in the classroom

24:26and doing lunch in the lunchroom now for

24:29a second year and it seems to be going

24:31really well. Um I had a child go through

24:34the Auburn preschool last year and this

24:36year she went into her preschool in my

24:39her kindergarten in my town and was

24:42like, "Oh, I know how to do this." And

24:44was able to just go in with her lunch

24:46card, knew what to do. um there wasn't

24:49as much of like you know the Sunday

24:52scaries going through the lunch line and

24:54we've noticed it uh year-over-year with

24:56our kindergarteners that are increasers

25:01that are going into kindergarten. It's

25:03not as

25:05scary for them to go through the lunch

25:08line and kindergarteners are scared.

25:10They're they're like

25:12trying to think they're like birds, you

25:14know? [snorts] You you go too close and

25:16they're just gone. [laughter] Um so we

25:19are trying to help with lifelong lunches

25:22and breakfast um for the kids. Um then

25:27we have our national school lunch week.

25:28So last year we did um meals around the

25:32lunchroom and we highlighted different

25:33countries throughout the uh school

25:36district each day and we used the

25:39international club here at the middle

25:40school and the high school to create the

25:42recipes. This year's theme is a circus

25:44theme and it just seems so appropriate.

25:46This is my circus. Um but [laughter] but

25:50this year we're going to be doing um

25:53have serving bulk popcorn. We're going

25:55to decorate the each lunchroom into a

25:57circus theme. And um we're going to have

25:59special menu options that are school

26:01specific each day. Um at Swanson and the

26:04elementary schools, they're going to put

26:06the food in boats that it looks like

26:09you're getting it from like a vendor. at

26:13um a fair or something like that. Um we

26:17ordered some cute like chachkis for them

26:20to have um stickers and things like that

26:22cuz everybody loves stickers. I mean,

26:25everybody's carrying around a 40 lb

26:26water bottle. [laughter]

26:28Least they can do is put a sticker on

26:30it. Um, so [clears throat] we're going

26:33to get notification of the Mass Fresh

26:36grant that I applied for um the end of

26:40October is the latest. They I followed

26:42up this week and um [clears throat] they

26:47had more applicants, so they need more

26:48time to go through all of the

26:50applications. They weren't able to meet

26:52their early September deadline. Um, so I

26:55had applied for $20,000 to send grades

26:582, four, and six on field trips to

27:00farms. Um, the middle school has taken

27:05it and ran with it. Um, Jill, uh, the

27:08assistant principal, she has been doing

27:10composting uh, in the classroom and in

27:14the cafeteria. So they will hopefully

27:18have a student spotlight coming up um

27:20with how we're kind of integrating the

27:22cafeteria into the classroom. Um and

27:26then we're in November we're going to do

27:28a harvest meal this year. So today we

27:30had a turkey dinner as Dr. Scaza had

27:33mentioned um at the high school. It is a

27:36crowd-pleaser. Um, so the

27:40sides will all be from uh local vendors,

27:44but the turkey is going to come from the

27:46US government. Sorry, but it's at least

27:49it's produced in the United States. Um,

27:52and then we're going to do the food show

27:54again sometime between February and

27:56April. It's probably one of our most

27:58successful

27:59um student activities that we do in the

28:03program.

28:05um we now have been doing it for three

28:07years and um now those kids are seniors

28:12and they're asking for it. So it's just

28:14nice to see that. Um so I wanted to do a

28:17highlight for my staff. Um and I don't

28:20know if you can see I said what does

28:21what doesn't a food service worker do?

28:24Um so I have five employees that will

28:26have been with us for under a year. I

28:29have nine employees that have been with

28:31us for one to five years. six um three

28:34employees 6 to 10 years, two employees

28:3811 to 20 years and one employee that's

28:40been with us for more than 20 years. Um

28:43so there is a lot of longevity, but

28:45there's also some new employees. Um

28:47their longevity goes off of when they

28:49start full-time. Um so we've had some

28:52subs that have been with us uh for a

28:54while, but now they're like official.

28:58So, um I have three subs that have been

29:02with us for three years, but they um are

29:05finally in their full-time worker era.

29:09So, I have some photos of the staff um

29:11over the last couple of weeks.

29:15Um, so as you may remember back in May,

29:19I showed you some drawings of what the

29:22cafeterias at Swanson Intermediate and

29:26um, Auburn Middle School could have

29:28looked like and the projects are

29:30completed. They were done the 28th of

29:33August. So, our staff were able to use

29:36them both at the middle school and at

29:38Swanson for their orientations. And um

29:41so it was nice to get a little bit of

29:42buzz from the staff before the kids

29:45arrived. Um and they were both done when

29:48the kids were picking up their schedules

29:50and doing their orientations as well. So

29:52there was a lot of just talk that we had

29:55redone the cafeterias. So here are some

29:57of the pictures. Um Swanson before

30:00previously needed seating um only had

30:03bench seating. Um there were no school

30:05specific graphics or whiteboards and we

30:07had outdated tables. Um they were

30:11original to when Swanson was changed

30:15from middle school to the intermediate

30:17school. So they've been around for a

30:18while. Um after we currently can seat

30:22204 individual seats, so each child has

30:26their own seat. It's not bench style. Um

30:30and it is hopefully going to help with

30:32behavior and just, you know, you don't

30:34want to have somebody on top of you

30:36while you're trying to eat. Um we have

30:39added new colorful tables. Um so the

30:41seats are different colors, the tables

30:43are different colors. Um we can now

30:45organize the children and recognize like

30:47okay you can go to the orange table, the

30:48pink table, the green table. Um we have

30:51colorcoded our allergen tables so our

30:54students that have allergens know that

30:56this table is a safe table for them to

30:57eat. Um we have galaxy themed graphics

31:01to kind of tie in with our um rockets

31:05theme. Um, so instead of just putting

31:07the Auburn logo everywhere, I tried to

31:10make it kind of fun and playful. And,

31:12um, we have fresh paint in the cafeteria

31:14and entryways. Um, I think the paint

31:17just really even even the paint helped.

31:20And then the graphics just kind of like

31:22sent it to a whole new level at um,

31:24Swanson. I think that it's a nice fun

31:26place for the kids to now eat their

31:28food. And it has really worked out to be

31:32a good space for the staff because we

31:34put in a whiteboard that they can put a

31:36projector to and now there's individual

31:39seating so the staff can also be

31:41comfortable when they're doing their

31:42professional development.

31:44Oh, the rest of the photos didn't show

31:47up. But anyway, before um at Auburn

31:50Middle School, it was a louder space.

31:52There was not enough seating for the

31:53students. If you might remember, we had

31:55uh seating in the hallway um

31:57[clears throat] previously and so now um

32:01there were limited decorations and it

32:03was crowded um that we had to the way

32:05the tables were all shaped, there wasn't

32:07enough space for students to pass by the

32:10register. They had to go around a table

32:13to get around the register. Um so now

32:17they have um university style seating.

32:21We have high tops, we have round tables,

32:24we have bench seating. Um, it gives them

32:27kind of a variety of different places to

32:30eat their meals. We have increased the

32:33seating to 232

32:36seats. And we've included ADA um seating

32:40as well. So, students that have

32:42wheelchairs or have broken legs or

32:45anybody that just needs a real seat now

32:48have that option. Um, we put s sound

32:51absorbing decals on the wall. Um, so the

32:54space was originally designed to be like

32:57a cafeters

33:02would echo very loudly. Um, so we were

33:06trying to figure out a creative way to

33:08dampen the sound. So we put sound

33:11proofing uh graphics up. So if you ever

33:13take a look at them, they're like 2inch

33:15thick foam sound absorbing um things.

33:19And we painted the walls a nice fun blue

33:22to kind of tie into the auburn blue. Um

33:25so if you look here, we have some of our

33:28composting champions as well. Um at the

33:31bottom photo, um we have some student

33:33photos and just photos of the cafeteria.

33:40Then what I'd like to do this year. So,

33:44um the goals for 2027 are [laughter]

33:48composting [clears throat] in grades 3

33:50through 12. We are currently very

33:52successfully doing it in um the middle

33:55school and um we have started at Swanson

33:59and we have all of the equipment to

34:01start at the high school. We're just

34:03waiting to figure out the best way to

34:05approach the kids to make sure that they

34:06respect the process. Um, we are going to

34:11be moving [clears throat] to compostable

34:13pro products districtwide, reducing

34:15styrofoam and hard plastic cutlery. Um,

34:18so we are now using the biodegradable.

34:22We're we're [clears throat] trying to go

34:24into biodegradable bowls. We're having

34:26trouble with our vendor providing us.

34:28It's very

34:31it's a hot commodity right now and they

34:33can't quite meet the demand. Um, so if

34:36you see styrofoam, it's not going to

34:38change overnight, but we are trying to

34:40have enough in stock that we can carry

34:42over week over week without doing um

34:46weekly orders. We can do more monthly

34:48order style. So, we're just trying to

34:50rearrange the kitchens to be able to

34:52handle a larger quantity of compostable

34:54products. So, then that way when we run

34:56out, we're not seeing the styrofoam and

34:59we're getting concerned. Um, we have

35:01[clears throat] started the tower garden

35:03seeds for the middle school

35:05>> and the high school. So, I have some

35:07staff that have championed that. And,

35:09um, so hopefully within the next month,

35:12you'll see the gardens alive and well.

35:15Um, I usually start it in March, but I

35:18thought it would be fun to kind of make

35:19it a whole year round process.

35:22Um, we [clears throat] I'd like to help

35:25with the Auburn Middle School community

35:27garden. So, there are five of us that

35:30are trying to use the garden space out

35:33back. Um, the guidance counselors at the

35:36middle school are applying for a grant

35:38and then I'd like to use some of the

35:39food service funds to supplement any of

35:41the shortfalls that their grant would

35:43have to try and tie in um the

35:48uh cafeteria to the classroom type um

35:51education.

35:53um continuing being an active community

35:55partner, um participating in SNAP

35:58outreach, continuing our donations to

36:00Auburn Youth and Family, um the Mass

36:03Farm Fresh grant and a in the classroom

36:06initiatives, and um to show food shows

36:10and student engagement, um

36:12[clears throat] and then my goals for

36:14this year are to do some more

36:16renovations, do the service lines at

36:19Auburn Middle School and Swanson.

36:22um Auburn Middle School. We would like

36:24to um their service line is out of date

36:28in the sense we cannot get we cannot

36:31make repairs to it. The technology is so

36:34out ofd since we had purchased some of

36:37the the building of the school that our

36:41vendors can't find products to replace

36:44the electrical and the lighting. And so

36:47we're looking into a more generic

36:50user-friendly service line that um can

36:53be fixed by the vendors that we have um

36:56access to. And at Swanson, we have been

37:00fighting with the water. Um and they are

37:04water- fil wells and we are only using

37:07them for, you know, an hour and a half a

37:10day and the water is actually eroding

37:12the wells. So now the water is leaking

37:15to the electricity that's underneath it.

37:18So we are um we've been working with the

37:21board of health to make sure that we're

37:23heating and doing all of the food

37:25appropriately, but they're just not

37:27functional anymore. I just got the

37:30quotes in and hopefully we'll have them

37:32delivered sometime in January.

37:35Um Auburn Middle School, we'd like to

37:37have a combi oven. We donated a kettle

37:41this past year and a combi oven would

37:44give us some versatile um cooking

37:46options so we could air fry, we can

37:48steam, we could um reheat uh more

37:53appropriately. Um so just to kind of amp

37:55up the type of food service that we're

37:57providing to the middle schoolers. And

37:59then [clears throat] I would like to do

38:01a graphic update at Auburn High School,

38:04similarly to what we just did at the

38:07middle school and Swanson um inside the

38:12service area and then work with the

38:14principles to see if there's anything

38:15that they'd like to see happen um out in

38:18the cafeteria. because it's not a true

38:21cafeteria, it makes it a little

38:23difficult about like what kind of

38:24graphics do we really want to be in

38:27every single photo and activity. Um, so

38:30we're going to start with in the

38:32cafeteria, the kitchen space, and then

38:34venture out into the cafeteria and then,

38:37um, I would love to finally figure out a

38:40great way to [cough] have the dishwasher

38:43fixed at Auburn High School. So that is

38:45another um school that we struggle with

38:48water and it is eating the equipment at

38:51a rate that we are having a hard time

38:54keeping up on for preventative

38:56maintenance. Um, so the goal is to find

39:00a filtration system that we can use or

39:04um

39:05something because we have replaced three

39:08heating elements in 18 months um because

39:11there's so much sediment in the water.

39:13It's eroding the heating element and

39:16then it's blowing the breakers. So it's

39:18turning into a bigger project. Um, so

39:21we've been using disposable

39:23plates um this school year because we

39:26can't quite figure out a great way to

39:29utilize the dish machine. Um, which puts

39:32a damper because we have our rise and

39:33shine students that were running the

39:35trays through the dishwasher and we are

39:38now adding to the trash count which the

39:40town does not uh appreciate. So I'm just

39:43trying to find some great ways to work

39:46around that for the dishwasher in the

39:47high school.

39:49That's it. I tried to make it super

39:52fast. I just have a lot of things to

39:53cover in [laughter] amount of time.

39:56>> You did great.

39:56>> Yes. And then I leave for maternity

39:58leave in a week. Um so Kim Domain is

40:02going to be she's our assistant

40:04director. She's a fabulous woman. Um I

40:06hired her and her and I have been tag

40:09teaming the department for the last

40:10three years. So she's going to step into

40:12my role. Um, we have kind of delegated

40:16some responsibilities back to our

40:19managers that are within their rights

40:21that we just have taken from them just

40:23for ease on our part. Um, so I will be

40:27back in December.

40:29>> Awesome.

40:30>> Yay.

40:31>> Congratulations.

40:32>> Thank you. Yeah.

40:33>> We wish you all the best and we can't

40:34wait to see pictures.

40:35>> Oh yeah, I'll make sure to send

40:36something.

40:37>> But thank you for your time. I

40:38appreciate it.

40:39>> Thank you.

40:40>> Anybody have any question? I was just

40:42going to say, does anyone have any

40:43questions or comments?

40:44>> Have any questions?

40:45>> Just through the chair, if you uh want

40:47to figure out a way to fix that

40:48dishwasher, you better move that

40:49dishwasher out of Auburn. [laughter]

40:51>> Yeah.

40:51>> And we all have the same problem

40:52everywhere.

40:53>> Everywhere.

40:54>> We just put in a steamer in May. It

40:56doesn't even have 40 washes on it. And

40:58it as far as 40 cycles on it and it

41:01already needs warranty work because the

41:03water has eroded the sensor. The

41:06>> water needs to

41:08>> um and so yes. So, even with filtration

41:11on the units, we're running into a

41:13problem and it doesn't seem to be

41:15getting any better. So, if you have any

41:17suggestions,

41:18>> move it out of office.

41:19>> They're all [laughter] all ears. But

41:21yeah, so we have like brand new

41:23equipment that isn't even being able to

41:25be broken in before it's getting

41:27warranty work because of the water.

41:29>> Yeah. Through the chair, it might just

41:30it might we might need a filtration

41:32system to in order to like filter that

41:34out cuz it is so metallic. But the

41:37problem is is that it's I have hot water

41:39coming to all of my equipment and water

41:41filtration systems are designed for cold

41:43water. So Glenn and I have been reaching

41:45out to every kind of filtration company

41:49to figure out what to do and I can't

41:51have cold water come to the equipment

41:53because I don't want to have to put a

41:54booster that the electricity in the

41:57schools can't handle.

41:58>> Yeah.

41:59>> So I'm kind of between like a rock and a

42:00hard place.

42:01>> Yes, you are.

42:02>> There's got to be somebody.

42:04>> Yeah, I know. I don't have them yet, but

42:06[laughter] Hopefully whoever's

42:07listening, they'll give me a ring.

42:09>> I have faith in you and Glenn. So,

42:11>> so we'll figure it out.

42:12>> We'll put it out there.

42:13>> Any questions? Any other questions?

42:16>> Through the chair. When you find out,

42:17let us know because I would like to be

42:19able to not [laughter] a lot of people

42:21that I hear like have to change their

42:23hot water and hot water heaters and

42:25things like that. I'm very sorry. Need a

42:28whole new 5year warranty anymore.

42:29>> Earlier this summer, three.

42:31>> Yeah. Yeah. He ate my pipes.

42:33>> Makes sense. I didn't.

42:34>> Good luck. No.

42:35>> All right. Well, we do need to um get

42:38approval for the service vendors and

42:40contracts. So, I am entertaining a

42:42motion.

42:43>> I'll make a motion to approve the

42:45Massachusetts School Buying Group

42:46contracts for the 2026 2027 school year.

42:50>> I will second.

42:51>> All those in favor?

42:52>> I.

42:53>> Okay. Excellent. And now we're moving on

42:56to student enrollment updates. So, I'm

42:58going to hand that back over to Dr.

42:59Scaza.

43:00>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh in your

43:03packet tonight, you have our official

43:06enrollment by school and grade. Thank

43:08you, Bri.

43:09>> Thank you.

43:09>> Um as of September 8th, and thank you to

43:13uh Mandy Roco for putting this together

43:15for me. And if you look at this graphic

43:19or this graph um or this table rather,

43:22you can see uh the numbers by grade for

43:25each school are male and female um

43:28separated by the um by the dash there.

43:32So uh for our high school in that right

43:36column you have a comparison between

43:382025 and 2026 where we are down 19

43:41students with a total enrollment um for

43:442026 as of the 8th of uh 727.

43:48Uh at the middle school we are down

43:51seven um students as opposed to last

43:55school year with for a total of 605.

43:58At Swanson Road, we are down 23 students

44:02from the previous year uh for a total of

44:05519.

44:06At PAC, we have increased by 15 students

44:09for a total of 246.

44:12And then finally, at Binmar, we are down

44:14nine students for a total of 219. Uh and

44:17then overall, uh the I'm sorry, the

44:19preschool, you have at the bottom there,

44:21we have 11 um additional students at the

44:24preschool for a total of 96. So if you

44:27look at that final number, we are

44:28altogether down 32 students from 2025

44:32which is a a decrease but not a

44:34significant decrease in comparison to a

44:36lot of other school districts. Um

44:38enrollment uh has decreased across the

44:41state. Some school districts have uh

44:43experienced enrollment in you know the

44:45form of uh fewer hundreds of students.

44:49So, um, I think with a total enrollment

44:51right now of 2412, we're we're in a

44:54pretty good place as opposed to last

44:56year with 2444.

44:59>> And then finally, um, Mandy put together

45:02some new enrollment numbers for us at

45:04the bottom. So, if you look last year at

45:06this time in 2025, we had 265 new

45:10enrollments and this year we have 229.

45:13Um we were talking earlier that number

45:16is going to change and just as recently

45:18as today uh Mandy has approved three new

45:21enrollments. So you you'll see uh that

45:23number rise as we go through the school

45:25year.

45:26>> Okay.

45:30>> And then moving along right to satellite

45:33and galaxy enrollment. [clears throat]

45:35So, um, we have such a great before and

45:38after school, um, program in Auburn

45:41public that I actually have taken

45:42advantage of for many years now. Um,

45:44sending my daughter there. Uh, so here

45:47are some numbers for the overall

45:48enrollment for Satellite and Galaxy.

45:50Satellite being at the primary grades in

45:52Galaxy at at Swanson Road. um 100 uh

45:56total before school students are

45:59enrolled in our before and after school

46:01programming and 180 total afterchool

46:04students. And um I should just mention

46:05that Robin Robin Grady does a great job

46:08managing all of the administrity of this

46:10program. She's wonderful. Uh if you look

46:12by school um and I did not even realize

46:14that our preschool offered before and

46:16after school program, which I think is

46:18wonderful. Um we have nine before school

46:20students and 18 after. These are our

46:23total and current numbers. At Brin, 24

46:26for before school and 41 after. At PAC,

46:2925 before and 52 after. And then finally

46:32at Swanson, we have uh 42 for before

46:35school programming and 69 um after.

46:40Uh and just a final mention here, I've

46:42created some GA draft guidelines for

46:44emergency tuition waiverss that I will

46:46present at an upcoming meeting. That's

46:48in the event of a financial or a family

46:51hardship where we can help out um for a

46:53temporary um period of time.

46:56>> Great. Thank you.

46:59>> All right. And did you want to talk

47:01about the CPAC meeting?

47:02>> Yes. Thank you.

47:05Uh I am so excited about our upcoming

47:07CPAC meeting for a number of reasons.

47:09It's on September 22nd and it will be at

47:114:30 p.m. here um in my office. And if

47:14it is standing room only, we'll move

47:17over to the school committee room. All

47:19are welcome. Uh I'm excited for a number

47:21of different reasons. It's it's a really

47:22strong group that's growing. Um we had

47:25more uh parents present at the uh most

47:30recent CPAC meeting than the one prior.

47:33I think this will be the fourth one if I

47:34recall um

47:37for this year. and our new director of

47:41student services will be present at this

47:43next CPAC meeting. Um she is also going

47:46to join us at the September 30th uh

47:49school committee meeting for a formal

47:51introduction to the school committee. Um

47:53but parents uh and CPAC parents in

47:55particular uh have an opportunity to

47:57meet Kristen Campion at our CPAC meeting

48:00on the 22nd.

48:04>> Awesome. Well, we're going to let you

48:05take a little breather now and we're

48:07going to move right on over to Alan for

48:09a teaching and learning report.

48:10>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Good evening,

48:11everyone. Um, so, uh, what I have So,

48:14first and foremost, in your packet,

48:16there are four different items, uh,

48:18tonight. The first is, uh, a one pager

48:20of the PowerPoint that I would have

48:22presented had our display worked. Um,

48:24the second is a note from Melanie

48:27Manares from the Department of

48:28Education. uh she was our uh support

48:31lead on our tiered focus monitoring

48:33review uh or report rather. And the

48:36third is the actual uh targeted and

48:39focused monitoring report that is dated

48:42December 17th, 2024. And the last piece

48:45is um a procedure document that I put

48:47together based on all that. So just

48:49that's a little orientation to a bunch

48:51of stuff that's in front of you. Uh I'm

48:53going to go through um because this is

48:55somewhat old news and new and new news.

48:57I uh presented to you previously about

49:00the um targeted and focused monitoring

49:03review. It started um back in uh

49:06December of 2024.

49:09Lost all the stuff that I threw at you.

49:11Um okay. So um so in the year in the

49:15school year 2024 2025 uh is when this

49:18process started. Every district in

49:20Massachusetts goes through it. Uh it

49:22occurs every six years. Um and every

49:25district is rated on 12 criteria in in

49:28how we are teaching our students who are

49:30learning English. Uh the process started

49:33with a self- assessment. So we had to

49:34upload uh a bunch of reports, a bunch of

49:37documents, uh student uh samples.

49:40Um the second step then is um the

49:43department of education, the office of

49:44language acquisition uh Melanie uh being

49:48one of the people on that team uh

49:49reviewed all the information that we

49:51submitted. Uh they also uh conducted

49:53surveys of parents. They uh interviewed

49:56staff members. Um and then as a result

49:59of that they produced this p this uh

50:01stapled packet which is uh which was the

50:04date of the final report was February

50:067th of 2025. Um from there they rated us

50:10on 12 criteria uh that are determined 12

50:14uh e criteria. Um and of those 12

50:18criteria they um noted that uh six of

50:22those criteria we have fully implemented

50:24here in the district and six were

50:26partially implemented. And so what

50:27happens is districts uh which is very

50:31typical uh in districts. Um and I will

50:33say one of the things that the

50:34department of ed talks about is that u

50:37this is not a gotcha. This is not a um

50:40you're doing things wrong. This is

50:41designed to have districts work with the

50:44Department of Education to remind them

50:46to introduce new um policies and

50:49procedures that they have instituted uh

50:51since the previous six-year review and

50:53make sure that we're all in place. And

50:54so those six partially implemented

50:57criteria

50:58uh we worked with and over the course of

51:00the past year and a half uh we've had

51:02progress updates that I've had to submit

51:04additional information. And so finally,

51:06and that's what the uh email that was uh

51:10the second document on here from Melanie

51:12Manares, which I received on uh

51:14September 9th um 2026, uh shows that uh

51:18we've we've satisfied all the um items

51:22that needed to be done as part of this

51:25very lengthy process. It's a very

51:27beneficial process, but it is uh it was

51:30a very consuming um um review. [sighs]

51:35So uh so let me just kind of talk

51:37briefly about some of the things in

51:38here. And the other thing I want to

51:39point out too is that um we are a low

51:43incident district which means that we

51:45have less than 100 students who are uh

51:47who are English learners. Um however um

51:52when this review took place we had a

51:54shelter as you may recall in in our in

51:57our district. And so some of the

51:59information that you'll see in this

52:00review that I'm going to touch on um was

52:04were were were comments based on us no

52:07longer being a a low incident district

52:08because our numbers have increased so

52:10dramatically. Um you know you'll see a

52:12comment in here about not having enough

52:14staff um to work with uh English learner

52:18students. And that uh is something that

52:20we addressed over the course of the year

52:22um to bring on new people because we did

52:24get money from the state to address the

52:26needs of those students. But uh that is

52:29that was happening while we were um

52:32approaching 100 students and as an

52:34example uh in the current year we have

52:3666 students who are identified as

52:38English learners. So

52:41um that's a little bit about that. I'm

52:42going to go through um the the

52:44PowerPoint and just talk about some of

52:46the things that we did over the course

52:48of the past two years. I mentioned so on

52:50that on on um if you're looking at the

52:53slide titled desi targeted and focused

52:55monitoring review I mentioned that uh we

52:58were partially implemented across six EL

53:01criteria

53:02that second square there in the middle

53:04talked about the English learner program

53:06growth makes the identified deficiencies

53:08more urgent because we did have

53:10significant growth going from um in the

53:13previous year we had I think um 58 uh

53:16students and we went up to 96 if If I

53:19remember correctly, it's on one of these

53:21pieces of paper. Anyway, um and then

53:24that third square talked about uh we

53:27needed to improve in three functional

53:29areas. Staffing and lure, curriculum and

53:31instructional consistency, and

53:33administrative and compliance

53:34procedures.

53:36Um so if you flip the page, I'll talk

53:37about curriculum and benchmark tracking

53:39deficiencies. Um so, um we did not have

53:43standardized procedures uh in place.

53:45Well, let me back up a second. Uh we had

53:49uh we have a really dedicated,

53:50incredibly um caring staff at all of our

53:54schools. Uh we are led by Ashley Isgrow,

53:57who is a social studies teacher at the

53:58high school. She is also our EL

54:00department chair. Um she um does

54:04incredible work, but she is a full-time

54:07teacher uh and and department head. Um,

54:10so a lot of the things that we had were

54:13occurring in our schools and for our

54:15students but were not systematized. And

54:17so one of the things that I worked with

54:20uh Department of Education is to make

54:21sure that we're documenting these things

54:23these things. And the last thing I'm

54:24going to go over with you tonight is the

54:27um the procedures that we put in place

54:29as a result of some of these things. And

54:30this is something that we're going over

54:32with the department making sure that all

54:33the schools u are aware of every step

54:36along the way. So anyway, back to

54:38benchmark tracking. So st we're missing

54:40standardized procedures for EL's missing

54:44proficiency benchmarks, setting

54:45personalized goals for students,

54:47involving parents, and tracking

54:49progress. Um the next uh box is

54:53curriculum consistency. There wasn't a

54:54consistent ESL curriculum across grade

54:56levels. Instructional content and

54:58approach varied by school and by

54:59educator.

55:01Uh and then the last box was um we did

55:04not have dedicated newcomer or Slife.

55:06And so sife stands for students with

55:08limited or interrupted formal education.

55:10So that is a student who uh has a gap of

55:13um three years in their education over

55:15the course of their of their time. Um

55:18and we were at times placing those

55:20students in general EL student EL

55:21settings without specialized intensive

55:23support that their profiles require.

55:26And I'm going to talk to you uh in a

55:28moment once I go through all the things

55:29that we were struggling with or didn't

55:31do consistently about um some of the

55:33things that we did do. Um the next um

55:35slide is staffing capacity building

55:37action plan. Um and so um so uh again we

55:43went up significantly in terms of the

55:45number of students. So we had to conduct

55:46a comprehensive analysis of our

55:48enrollment data to make sure that we

55:50were meeting the appropriate staffing

55:51ratios. Uh the next square was um having

55:55a developed having a structured pathway

55:57for our current EL tutors um to obtain

56:00full ESL lensure. So, in some cases, we

56:03had um people that were hired as

56:06instructional assistants that were

56:07working with our English language

56:09students. And so, we wanted to make sure

56:10that those those educators uh were

56:13licensed um to be um providing that uh

56:17um experience for students. And lastly,

56:21uh the box you'll see on here was

56:23something that uh you know, Desi talked

56:26about a lot. It's something that Dr.

56:28Scoz and I have talked about. That's

56:30something that Ashley Isgrow and I have

56:31talked about is that we do not have

56:33somebody like many districts who is uh

56:36exclusively dedicated to uh coordinating

56:38the efforts of our English learner

56:40students. So Ashley is the department

56:42chair. Uh I am the director of the of

56:45the program and you know we both have

56:47other jobs. Uh and so uh at times that

56:51has um you know has made things kind of

56:53difficult because we don't have the time

56:55or energy to devote to leading this

56:58program and making sure that all these

56:59pieces are imp um implemented.

57:03Um and then the last uh sorry not the

57:06last slide but then the next piece is

57:07curriculum and instructional materials

57:09action plan. Um did I do this one

57:11already? Sorry no I did not. Um so uh

57:15adopting a a comprehensive ESL

57:17curriculum by late 2025 was identified

57:19as a an action plan.

57:22Um and the department of ed has done a

57:24lot of research around what is an

57:26appropriate um um curriculum to

57:29implement uh making sure that we

57:31implement specialized supports for

57:33newcomers and the previously mentioned

57:35slave students. Uh and then that box at

57:38the bottom talks about some of the key

57:40things that need to be present in a

57:41curriculum. Uh and then the final slide

57:44that I'll mention is the compliance and

57:46data management action plan. So, Slife

57:48identification protocol and SIMS coding.

57:51Um, we had to work with um Randy who is

57:54our data uh person who works at the high

57:56school to make sure that we are giving

57:59her the right information so that she is

58:00identifying students who are SLE because

58:02there were students who were identified

58:04as English learners but we did not

58:06properly identify them in our SIMS data

58:09as Sly as having that uh limited inter

58:12interrupted formal education. uh and

58:15making sure that we establish uh

58:16procedures around that. Um and then uh

58:20and I this was mentioned already um in

58:22the previous slide, but making sure that

58:23we are tracking our students and making

58:24sure that they're meeting goals uh and

58:27that we are providing um 100% of the

58:30time consistently communicating with

58:32parents.

58:34So [clears throat] those were the things

58:35that we needed to get better at and

58:36improve. Um, so I'm going to um um talk

58:40about a couple of the things and then

58:42I'll get to this um placement procedures

58:44document and uh I'm going to I won't

58:47read the entire thing to you. I was

58:48going to make a joke that I will read

58:50that to you word for word but um

58:52>> it's been a long day.

58:54>> No, I won't. I'll just cover over some

58:56of the highlights. Um it was a lot of

58:57work so I want to make sure that I share

58:59it. Um

58:59>> can I ask a quick question? Of course.

59:01Yeah. Sorry. No, no, don't be sorry. And

59:02I may be naive to this. um over here

59:05design to designate qualified EL

59:07director or district EL coordinator.

59:10Yep.

59:11>> Are we looking to designate someone from

59:13to that position or we looking to we'll

59:16be creating a position a salaried

59:18position is that

59:20>> well so that is a recommendation from

59:21the department of education that that

59:22there should be um a qualified EL

59:25director and um which ultimately is

59:28saying that somebody who is doing this

59:30and designated their time 100% to

59:33leading this department making sure that

59:34these students needs are being met. Um I

59:37I'm not you know that you know obviously

59:39budget season's coming soon and that's

59:41something that um I've talked about with

59:43Dr. Chamberlain over the years, but it's

59:45just something that um

59:48you know it's it's all positions are are

59:50difficult and so to create a position

59:51that uh wouldn't necessarily be um

59:54working with students um that's you know

59:56something we need to discuss but that

59:58that was the recommendation from the

59:59department of education.

1:00:00>> All right. Thank you.

1:00:01>> Not a requirement but a recommendation

1:00:03and again I want to remind that this is

1:00:05a time when we had hundreds or

1:00:07approaching 100 students uh versus now

1:00:09where we're back to a low incident

1:00:11district.

1:00:12Thank you.

1:00:13>> Of course. Um, so, um, you may recall,

1:00:17uh, by the end of 2025, we require we

1:00:19were required to have a a textbook and a

1:00:22curriculum. And so, we were able to work

1:00:24and look at multiple textbooks over the

1:00:26course of that year. Uh, we ultimately

1:00:30uh, selected a program called English 3D

1:00:32that is um, it's very complicated. It

1:00:36the curriculum itself isn't complicated.

1:00:37What's complicated is having a

1:00:38curriculum for students who could be in

1:00:40seventh grade but are brand new to

1:00:43learning English compared to a student

1:00:44who's in second grade and brand new new

1:00:46to learning English. So you want to make

1:00:47sure that you're not showing that

1:00:49seventh grader babyish stuff and you

1:00:51know the illustrations in there are very

1:00:53immature. Um, so they have done a really

1:00:56nice job of having different levels at

1:00:59each at each school that we can

1:01:01distribute and and it requires a lot of

1:01:04communication uh between schools to know

1:01:07that the student that's going up to

1:01:09Swanson Road from Packachog has

1:01:11completed this unit. And so the the the

1:01:14EL tutors at um Swanson Road can know

1:01:17what program to start them in because

1:01:19you might have five kids in the same

1:01:21classroom working in different books

1:01:23based on where they are in their

1:01:25progression to learn English.

1:01:27So we were able to uh accomplish that.

1:01:30Uh we also purchased um a program called

1:01:33Elevation which is um a remarkable tool

1:01:36that we're able to use uh in our schools

1:01:39both for communicating with parents uh

1:01:42all the forms that um DESIE has approved

1:01:44for utilizing with parents are in there.

1:01:47It translates uh into that child and

1:01:49that parents home language. Uh it is

1:01:52also a place where we as staff can

1:01:54monitor how students are progressing

1:01:56toward their standards uh on the on the

1:01:58on the weed of benchmarks. Uh it is a

1:02:01place where we have now entered goals

1:02:03because that is something that you may

1:02:05have noticed in there that I talked

1:02:06about as well is that we were not good

1:02:08enough about setting a uh specific

1:02:10goals. So we can enter those in

1:02:12elevation. We can share them with all

1:02:14staff who work with uh that teacher,

1:02:17excuse me, who work with that student.

1:02:19Um and finally um another piece about

1:02:23elevation

1:02:24um that I wanted to mention was I think

1:02:27I mentioned parent notification um

1:02:31um and it is also a place where you I

1:02:34mentioned Slife multiple times our

1:02:36students with limited or interrupted

1:02:37formal education. It is a place where we

1:02:39able to house their uh goals as well.

1:02:42Um, and English 3D is also a curriculum

1:02:45that works for our Slife students.

1:02:48>> Um, sorry. Do you and you might this you

1:02:52might not know this off the top of your

1:02:53head, but what what um type of EL

1:02:57students do we have? Do we have like a

1:03:00more Spanish speakers? Is there like a

1:03:03is that is that knowledge that is open

1:03:05to the public of what we have or no?

1:03:07>> Uh, yeah. Yeah, I think actually I mean

1:03:08I think if you look at our um pro our

1:03:11profile on the DETI site it will tell

1:03:13you um the different languages I believe

1:03:16if I'm not mistaken but um yeah so I

1:03:18mean there is um a variety of languages

1:03:21Spanish, Portuguese um there is um

1:03:24>> yeah a variety those are without

1:03:27question I would say are

1:03:28>> I'll look I'm just curious.

1:03:29>> Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry. I don't I didn't

1:03:31u bring that in my vast um [laughter] uh

1:03:35amounts of paperwork that I brought. I

1:03:36did not expect you to.

1:03:38>> I I wish I had could answer that

1:03:39question.

1:03:41>> Uh okay. So, next I'll just quickly uh

1:03:43breeze through or relatively quickly.

1:03:44Please stop me at any point, but so the

1:03:46the last document in your packet was the

1:03:49student identification and placement

1:03:50procedures. Um this was a again you know

1:03:55I I will I would say that by and large

1:03:58we were following Desi's procedures um

1:04:03to a tea u but we didn't have them

1:04:05documented anywhere. So this is this is

1:04:06something that uh we worked on put

1:04:09together. We're going to post on the

1:04:11website um to make sure that um families

1:04:15can see this um but also just and and

1:04:18staff is aware of what the procedures

1:04:20are. So, first and foremost, uh when a

1:04:22student registers uh to the to Auburn,

1:04:26uh we have a district staff member who

1:04:27will administer a home language survey

1:04:29with the parent or guardian or caregiver

1:04:31to determine the dominant language in

1:04:32the household. Based on that

1:04:34information, if we learn that any

1:04:36language besides English is spoken at

1:04:37the home, that student will then be

1:04:40screened for English language

1:04:41proficiency using a WEDA screener. That

1:04:43is for um students um kindergarten

1:04:46through 12. We also have a pre-K

1:04:48screener that we use as well, though we

1:04:50do not currently give services to our

1:04:52pre-K students. Um, if there are some

1:04:55inconsistencies in that screener, they

1:04:57we will then interview that student's

1:04:58parents or guardians to give us more

1:05:00information. And then from there, the EL

1:05:03director or an EL licensed EL teacher

1:05:05will determine whether or not a student

1:05:07will be um further screened.

1:05:10I'm going to turn to page two and um and

1:05:13again please stop me if uh you have

1:05:15questions based on the stuff that I'm

1:05:16reviewing. Um the next piece talks about

1:05:19the initial language proficiency

1:05:21screening procedures. Um so every newly

1:05:25enrolled student uh whose home language

1:05:27survey indicates there's a language

1:05:29other than English must um have that

1:05:31must take part in that screening. The

1:05:33screener that we use is the WEDA

1:05:34screener for K to 12 students.

1:05:39Um and then on the next page I'll jump

1:05:41down to initial identification of

1:05:43students with interrupted or limited

1:05:44formal English are students. Um these

1:05:48students between the ages of 8 and 21

1:05:50are designated as Slife students if they

1:05:52have have had at least three years of

1:05:55educational gaps or little and or little

1:05:58to no formal education comparable to

1:06:00what you'd find in the United States.

1:06:03M chair can a parent can I believe when

1:06:06initial language proficiency screening

1:06:08even if it comes back is like an access

1:06:10score is a fell or or an L they can um

1:06:14refuse to opt out.

1:06:14>> Yes they can. Yes. Yep. That was

1:06:17>> slice.

1:06:18>> Uh uh um I believe so. Yes. I believe

1:06:22anybody is entitled to opt out.

1:06:24>> Okay. Just curious.

1:06:24>> Yeah.

1:06:27Um so then we ultimately make a decision

1:06:31about um their grade level placement and

1:06:33that is based on their age based on

1:06:35birth date um when they transferred in

1:06:38uh previous academic grade placement

1:06:40amount of prior schooling and then of

1:06:42course there's specific high school

1:06:44considerations.

1:06:46Um,

1:06:48one of the things that, uh, you'll also

1:06:50find in that initial report is there

1:06:53were times, and again, uh, not to say

1:06:56that everybody else was doing it, but,

1:06:58um, there were times as a district that

1:07:00we would exit students from EL services

1:07:03um, because we heard from the teacher

1:07:05that they're doing well, that they're

1:07:06succeeding, that they are keeping up

1:07:08with things, and it it gives them more

1:07:10opportunities, particularly this would

1:07:12be happening at the high school. Um

1:07:13however um we are we're told and that a

1:07:17student must obtain uh a score of a 4.2

1:07:20overall and a 3.9 in literacy on the

1:07:23WEDA. So despite the fact that we might

1:07:25have everybody saying this kid is doing

1:07:27amazing uh we want him to be able to out

1:07:31have more options available to him and

1:07:32pull him out of uh English lang English

1:07:35learning. We cannot do that unless those

1:07:37scores are there or as you mentioned

1:07:39unless that parent chooses to opt out.

1:07:42Um, the next thing I want to mention is

1:07:44once a student is reclassified as a

1:07:46former English learner, so once they uh

1:07:48are able to exit from our program

1:07:49obtaining that 4.2 overall or that 3.9,

1:07:53uh, we monitor them for four consecutive

1:07:54academic years to make sure that they're

1:07:56continuing with that if they experience

1:07:58academic difficulty during that window.

1:08:00We would assemble a school team to look

1:08:02at, uh, what we might need to do. Um,

1:08:06and then I think the last thing I'm just

1:08:08going to mention is the parental

1:08:10notification. Um, and I apologize. They

1:08:12don't have page numbers on here, but

1:08:14it's it's later.

1:08:18[laughter]

1:08:19>> Later.

1:08:20>> Sorry, I get so irritated when somebody

1:08:21gives me something I don't have page

1:08:22numbers. And

1:08:23>> it's three pages from the back.

1:08:25>> Thanks. Um, so um we are required to um

1:08:30provide notice to parents of anybody

1:08:32newly enrolled within 10 days of their

1:08:34enrollment into the program. So, they're

1:08:35going to be uh informed of the content

1:08:38available in our EL program, the right

1:08:40to choose or opt out as we talked about,

1:08:43um their right to request a new language

1:08:45acquisition program. Um and then

1:08:48conferences. Um and so that's again one

1:08:50of the things that um we need to get

1:08:53better at is working with our parents of

1:08:55our students in our EL program.

1:08:57Elevation has helped us a lot with that.

1:08:59Um, parent square has also helped us a

1:09:01lot to be able to communicate in in the

1:09:02child's home language and increasing

1:09:04that repetition. And we've also talked

1:09:06about um having some uh formal

1:09:09gatherings at the schools. Uh, and one

1:09:12of the things also one of our EL tutors

1:09:15uh mentioned last year and suggested

1:09:16that we are moving forward with as a

1:09:18department is recognizing when a student

1:09:20does exit having kind of a formal um

1:09:23process where we celebrate for being

1:09:25able to uh exit our EL program.

1:09:27>> I love that.

1:09:28>> Yeah. Yeah.

1:09:30>> Um, so sorry that was a lot questions. I

1:09:34>> think it always is. [laughter]

1:09:35>> Thank you.

1:09:36>> Does anyone have any questions or

1:09:37comments?

1:09:39>> All right. Well, we'll let you sit back

1:09:40now.

1:09:41>> Yeah, I was I will tell I told Dr. Scaza

1:09:44um I was relieved, so excited to get

1:09:46this email. I'm not sure that I've uh it

1:09:48doesn't look like a major

1:09:49accomplishment, but it was like having

1:09:51received this email.

1:09:53>> Uh I was pretty excited. So, it was a

1:09:55lot of work. I

1:09:55>> was wondering if they could hear you

1:09:56from the other officers. like, "Yes,

1:09:58>> I I went back and forth with Melanie

1:10:00quite a bit after I got this email and

1:10:01thanking her for all of her support and

1:10:03um but um it was quite a relief not to

1:10:06be able to talk to her for a while."

1:10:07>> Well, like you said, it's not a bad

1:10:08thing. It's just out where we need to

1:10:10improve. So, for the kids, you know.

1:10:12>> Exactly. At least for the kids.

1:10:14>> All right. We're going to move on to

1:10:15business and financial report, which

1:10:17means Mrs. Stannic is up.

1:10:19>> My turn. All right. Well, I have

1:10:20provided you first with the year-to-

1:10:22date budget report dated September 10th,

1:10:242026. I'd like to draw your attention to

1:10:27the last page, page 20, that just has um

1:10:30what is available

1:10:31>> showing off the page numbers. [laughter]

1:10:33>> That was a dig.

1:10:34>> That was a little dig right there.

1:10:36>> 100%.

1:10:38>> Um just to bring your attention to that

1:10:40we have now encumbered salaries and so

1:10:44our available budget is just about $2

1:10:46million at this point where we have used

1:10:4994% of our budget.

1:10:54Okay. Next, I have provided you with the

1:10:57student activity sub account listing.

1:10:59Um, all of the sub accounts have

1:11:03remained the same as unlet with the

1:11:06addition of the class of 2030 at Auburn

1:11:09High School, which will um require your

1:11:12vote to approve the addition of the

1:11:14class of 2030.

1:11:17>> And I'll entertain a motion for that.

1:11:19I'll make a motion to approve the

1:11:20addition of the class of 2030 student

1:11:22activity club at Auburn High School.

1:11:25>> Do I have a second?

1:11:26>> I have a question.

1:11:28>> I'm sorry. I am It's really hot in here

1:11:31and it's it's okay. I'm very sorry

1:11:33[laughter]

1:11:34if I look red. It is I'm trying to like

1:11:36I'm like trying to keep it down and it's

1:11:38like coming up like this. Um the one

1:11:41question that I had for the for these

1:11:43accounts, if I remember correctly, we

1:11:46were closing out accounts. remember the

1:11:48ones that were inactive

1:11:51>> for three or more years or whatever. Um

1:11:55the they are they have been removed. We

1:11:57are we are on to 2026. We can leave that

1:12:00all in 2025. I love that story. That's I

1:12:03just wanted to make sure.

1:12:04>> Yes.

1:12:04>> That we had Okay.

1:12:06>> Yes. So this is the class of 2030 are

1:12:08our freshman. So each year we will be

1:12:10adding and then the others will drop

1:12:12off.

1:12:13>> Yeah. Okay.

1:12:15>> Yes.

1:12:15>> Can we make that motion again? I'll make

1:12:17the motion to approve the addition of

1:12:18the class of 2030 student activity club

1:12:21at Auburn High School.

1:12:22>> I will second.

1:12:24>> All those in favor?

1:12:25>> I. Okay.

1:12:27>> All right. Next, I've provided you with

1:12:28a copy of the Auburn Public Schools

1:12:30student activity accounts, policies, and

1:12:32procedures manual um for your review and

1:12:35acceptance. I do want to just point out

1:12:38a few um of the changes. So first the

1:12:42first change would be on page number

1:12:44four with the listing of the town and

1:12:47school officials. We have a new

1:12:48secretary at Bidmar Elementary. So um

1:12:52Nicole Gallagher Lever is the student

1:12:55activity account treasurer for Binmar

1:12:57and Jillian Taylor is the town treasurer

1:13:00at this time.

1:13:03Then the next would be on page six um

1:13:07the bonding section and so we had done

1:13:12the insurance bonds and at this time we

1:13:16just updated that and at this time we

1:13:18are paying for the insurance bonds for

1:13:21our

1:13:23Auburn Middle School at Auburn High

1:13:25School.

1:13:29On page eight,

1:13:32um just six, seven, and eight are

1:13:34additions. We have added that monthly

1:13:37statements will be prepared by the

1:13:38treasurer who will obtain advisor

1:13:40agreement. Uh start of the school year

1:13:43balances will be verified by the

1:13:45adviserss, building principal,

1:13:47treasurer, and school business manager

1:13:49on the form SA6.

1:13:52And when a student activity sub account

1:13:54wills funds to another student activity

1:13:57sub account, the transfer record must be

1:13:59completed which is form SA7

1:14:02which are in the appendix and we can

1:14:04look at in a minute. Some of these um

1:14:09just the start of the school year

1:14:11balance is huge now. Now that we have

1:14:13gotten to a point of reconciliation,

1:14:16we're sharing that with the adviserss.

1:14:18They will sign off on that. So um to

1:14:24make sure everybody is in agreement

1:14:27um if we go to the appendix nothing else

1:14:30has changed in the policies and

1:14:33procedures they are the same. If we go

1:14:35to the appendix um the first form we did

1:14:38do an update on was SA2 which is the

1:14:41profit and loss sheet and um just who is

1:14:46completing the profit and loss sheet.

1:14:48Now, this form is going to be completed

1:14:50by the treasurer at the end of all the

1:14:51fundraising and activities and will be

1:14:54submitted to the principal at the close

1:14:56of the fundraiser or student activity

1:14:58and then they send those on um to

1:15:00myself, the school business manager for

1:15:02review. Before it was the adviserss, but

1:15:05they don't have access to the accounting

1:15:07system on a daily basis to ensure that

1:15:09all the bills and invoices have been

1:15:11paid. So the treasurer will do that and

1:15:14um have that

1:15:17and then we can look at

1:15:20form SA6 and again this is just the form

1:15:24that we have added for the start of the

1:15:26school year balance verification. So the

1:15:29club advisors um have been given these

1:15:32forms and we're working on just getting

1:15:33everybody's signatures at the high

1:15:36school.

1:15:37We will do it again at the middle school

1:15:39once we have our annual training date.

1:15:42And then on the back side is just the

1:15:43transfer record. At um what typically

1:15:46happens is a graduating class will will

1:15:49funds to the incoming freshman. They may

1:15:52start them off with um a gift of $500.

1:15:55And we just want to make sure we have a

1:15:56nice trail of that and that everybody is

1:15:59signing off on that for the transfers.

1:16:01And then the only other thing is um last

1:16:04year the some of the school committee

1:16:07policies that affect student activities

1:16:09were updated. So those have been put in

1:16:11here. Um however

1:16:14once JJH

1:16:18um has the third read, we will share

1:16:22that with um all of the student activity

1:16:25advisors.

1:16:27So, any questions or concerns about

1:16:29that?

1:16:33>> And if not, I need your um approval for

1:16:36the policies and procedure manual.

1:16:39>> Well, I will entertain a motion.

1:16:42>> Um I'll make a motion to approve the

1:16:43Auburn Public School student activity

1:16:45accounts policies and procedures manuals

1:16:47presented by the business manager.

1:16:49Do I have a

1:16:50>> Can I just ask you? Should we put

1:16:52pending JJH approval

1:16:55because it's not in this policy because

1:16:58we're reading it right now. JJ J

1:17:01>> just through the chair. It is in It is

1:17:02in here.

1:17:03>> Oh, it is the old one.

1:17:04>> It's the older one. The old one.

1:17:06>> So, that's what we typically do. And if

1:17:07there's any policies that are updated,

1:17:09every time a school committee policy is

1:17:11updated, it is shared out. Um, and so

1:17:16what happens most each year is that we

1:17:19approve this with the policies that are

1:17:21in effect and then we'll share out any

1:17:23school committee policies that are

1:17:25updated throughout the year because we

1:17:26did that with a couple last year.

1:17:28>> Okay. I just wanted to make sure where

1:17:30it's I we need 100%. I'm not we're not

1:17:32doing this again. Okay. [laughter]

1:17:34>> I can only imagine your trauma. Okay. Um

1:17:37I just I want to make sure that we

1:17:40recommend that it is even though and

1:17:42then you'll share out. So it this is

1:17:45everything is in here. We are going to

1:17:46be able to send this. This is going to

1:17:48be available for anybody to peruse.

1:17:51>> Okay.

1:17:51>> Well, it's available for the staff.

1:17:54That's what I'm saying. Yes. All the

1:17:55class.

1:17:56>> So any training and everything they all

1:17:58>> we have already started the trainings

1:18:00with the adviserss because some of the

1:18:02clubs start up right away. So this has

1:18:05been shared but with the caveat that

1:18:08anytime school committee policy is

1:18:10updated they will receive the new

1:18:11policy.

1:18:12>> Okay,

1:18:13>> perfect.

1:18:13>> I love that.

1:18:14>> Through the chair, I just have one

1:18:16question and this is really I guess up

1:18:18to all of us. Um do we feel like we

1:18:23want to wait for our team chair to come

1:18:25back to approve this or do we feel

1:18:27comfortable doing this tonight?

1:18:30I think Megan is in agreement with

1:18:32because we we've already done the

1:18:34policies. There's only one that's in

1:18:36process and we have the old one. So,

1:18:38this is 100% and then the their

1:18:41procedure is that they will share out

1:18:44the new one

1:18:45>> and we are doing the three reads. So, I

1:18:47mean I don't

1:18:48>> Okay. All right. Just making sure.

1:18:50>> Yep. I don't foresee Dr. McGro is having

1:18:52an issue. So I will

1:18:55re motion to approve the Auburn public

1:18:58schools student activity accounts

1:18:59policies and procedures manual as

1:19:01presented by the business manager. We'll

1:19:02second.

1:19:03>> All those in favor?

1:19:04>> I. Great.

1:19:06>> All right. And the next item on the

1:19:09agenda is in regards to our um student

1:19:12activity checking accounts. The only two

1:19:14schools that have a checking account

1:19:16still are Auburn High School and Auburn

1:19:18Middle School. and we have been working

1:19:21to

1:19:22put everything through the warrant

1:19:24process and not have to utilize the

1:19:26checking accounts. However, um they do

1:19:28still exist and I need um approval to

1:19:31set the maximum balance. This is an

1:19:33annual vote. Um so I am seeking your

1:19:37approval for Aburn High School to have a

1:19:39maximum balance in the checking account

1:19:42of $15,000 and Auburn Middle School a

1:19:45maximum balance of $12,000.

1:19:48And we do that in two separate votes.

1:19:50>> Yes.

1:19:51>> Does anyone have any questions, sir?

1:19:53>> Because I'm the policy person.

1:19:56>> JJF, it says for accounts the maximum

1:19:58balance limits that exceed 25,000. Are

1:20:01we referring to those checking accounts?

1:20:03>> I am referring to the checking accounts,

1:20:05but that's a maximum balance. We have we

1:20:08do not go up to $25,000. We've set our

1:20:11limit differently.

1:20:15So,

1:20:17do we need to modify our policy or no?

1:20:19Do we

1:20:19>> Well, it's it says a maximum. It doesn't

1:20:22[clears throat] state a minimum.

1:20:24>> And I think MASC says that you can go up

1:20:27to that amount. We have just designated

1:20:30a lower amount.

1:20:31>> Yeah. And just please note our bonding

1:20:33that we did and we voted on last year is

1:20:35for these amounts.

1:20:37>> Oh, no. No, that's not that's I'm not

1:20:39questioning those amounts. I just want

1:20:40to make sure that like,

1:20:43you know, like if we put maybe we make a

1:20:45change for accounts with maximum balance

1:20:46limits that exceed $25,000 or unless

1:20:49otherwise stated by the school

1:20:50committee.

1:20:51>> If you continue to read that piece about

1:20:53the maximum $25,000, that's talking

1:20:56about an the audit. It's not

1:20:58>> Yeah, that's why I was I was just

1:20:59checking that. Okay. So, I read it.

1:21:01>> We do do that audit every 3 years.

1:21:03>> Sounds good. Just making sure. I saw

1:21:0525,000. I was like, whoa, wait.

1:21:06>> No, it was a great question. Anyone else

1:21:08have any questions, concerns? All right.

1:21:10I'll entertain a motion.

1:21:12>> I will make a motion to approve the

1:21:13maximum balance in Auburn High School

1:21:15student activity checking account at

1:21:16$15,000.

1:21:18>> I will second.

1:21:19>> All those in favor?

1:21:20>> I.

1:21:21>> All right. And now, can we I'll

1:21:22entertain a motion for the middle

1:21:24school.

1:21:24>> I'll make a motion to approve the

1:21:25maximum balance and the Auburn Middle

1:21:27School student activity checking account

1:21:28of $12,000. I have a

1:21:30>> second. No. No. No. All those in favor?

1:21:34I [laughter] like I'm the new girl.

1:21:39It's my turn.

1:21:40>> All right.

1:21:41>> The next thing in your packet, I have

1:21:43provided you with a copy of the sub

1:21:45account listing for the athletic gift

1:21:46accounts for Auburn High School. Um, and

1:21:50just so you know that the athletic

1:21:52director has done a great job

1:21:54reestablishing the booster club. So, as

1:21:57these funds in the athletic gift account

1:21:59are depleted, the booster club will be

1:22:01handling those requests moving forward.

1:22:04So this is um these are the revenue

1:22:06sources are actually the historic

1:22:08sources. However, um they will continue

1:22:11to utilize these funds until they are

1:22:14depleted.

1:22:15And that's for your information. And the

1:22:18last thing um is the utility contracts.

1:22:21Um we had shared last year during budget

1:22:24season that we would be going out to

1:22:25bid. We do um partner with the town for

1:22:29electricity and gas pricing and that

1:22:31actually does help um [laughter]

1:22:34with the contract bidding. And so our

1:22:37electric our electricity contract has

1:22:40gone from.1267

1:22:44to.14504

1:22:46per kilowatt. And that's a 4-year

1:22:48contract that they have locked in. And

1:22:50then the gas contract has gone from

1:22:530.8990

1:22:56to 0.9590 per therm for 30 months. So

1:23:01our utility prices we knew would

1:23:03increase. Um and this is just the

1:23:05information uh for you. It is executed

1:23:08by the town manager uh Jory Veu.

1:23:13>> Anyone have any questions?

1:23:16All right. And with that I'm just going

1:23:18to ask Dr. Scaza, do we need executive

1:23:20session this evening?

1:23:21>> We do not, Madam Chair.

1:23:23>> Okay, then I will entertain a motion to

1:23:25adjurnn. I'll make a motion to adjurnn.

1:23:29>> I will second that motion.

1:23:31>> All those in favor? I.

1:23:33>> Excellent. Thank you all so much

1:23:35everyone. Have a good night.

1:23:41>> [music]