2026-10-06 - School Committee

00:13Good evening and welcome to the Brockton

00:15Public School Committee meeting. Today

00:18is Tuesday, October 6, 2026. It's

00:20currently 700 p.m. and we are gathered

00:24at the George Rumlow Theater at Brockton

00:26High School 470 forest staff Brockton,

00:29Massachusetts 02301.

00:32Dear visitors, welcome to a meeting of

00:34the Brockton School Committee. This is

00:37the agenda that will be discussed this

00:38evening. Please note that hearing of

00:41visitors is included. If you have a

00:43statement or question, please give your

00:44name to the secretary. We have some

00:47people that have signed up. In addition

00:49to attending, the public can view this

00:51meeting via television on Comcast

00:54channel 8 and 1071 HD version and online

00:58via this link

00:59wwwd.youub.youtube.com/thebroton

01:02channels. I do call this meeting to

01:04order. I'll establish a quorum. Miss

01:07Santeo

01:08>> here.

01:09>> Miss Oliver

01:10>> here.

01:10>> Miss Azac

01:11>> here.

01:11>> Mr. Pina

01:12>> here.

01:13>> We do have a quorum. Um, we'll move on

01:16to agenda item two, which is the hearing

01:19of visitors. I'll read the following

01:20into record. Pursuant to school

01:22committee policy, each person requesting

01:24to speak shall be allotted a maximum of

01:27maximum of 3 minutes since this period

01:30is limited to 15 minutes. A total of

01:33five people shall be permitted to speak

01:35on first come first- serve basis. Um, I

01:38think we have a swap. So, the first

01:40person to come up is Matt Stanton. Good

01:42evening, chair, members of the school

01:44committee, superintendent, and members

01:46of the community. I'm here tonight not

01:48only as a parent, an educator, and a

01:50taxpayer, but also as someone who has

01:53the priv who's had the privilege of

01:55serving on this very school committee

01:56during difficult times such as COVID,

01:59the George Floyd era, and a significant

02:02district budget crisis. Having served in

02:05this capacity, I understand that public

02:07service is not easy. Governance requires

02:10difficult conversations, competing

02:12perspectives, accountability, and at

02:15times uncomfortable decisions.

02:17Disagreement is inevitable. However,

02:19what should never be negotiable is

02:22professionalism, integrity, and a

02:24commitment to the students and families

02:26we have elected to serve. And quite

02:28frankly, I am concerned about what I

02:30have been witnessing. There appears to

02:32be an increasingly troubling pattern of

02:34institutional intimidation,

02:36interpersonal conflict, and the use of

02:39positions of authority in ways that risk

02:41undermining the very institution you

02:43were elected to serve. Let me remind

02:46everyone in this room. The school

02:48committee is not a platform for personal

02:50agendas, political optics, or protecting

02:53individual reputation. Is a governing

02:56body entrusted with the education and

02:58well-being of our city's children. Our

03:01students should be at the center of

03:03every conversation. Our families should

03:05be at the center of every policy

03:07decision. Our educators be should be

03:10supported in their work. And our

03:12community should be able to trust that

03:14the people elected to represent them are

03:16operating with professionalism, sound

03:18judgment, and a shared sense of

03:20responsibility. When the focus shifts

03:22for governance to personal

03:24disagreements, public image, political

03:26positioning, or undermining one another,

03:29we all lose. And I don't know about you

03:30guys, but I don't like to lose,

03:31especially if we're calling ourselves a

03:33city of champions. Most importantly, our

03:36students and families lose. I also want

03:38to address accountability at the

03:40individual level. I have personally

03:42reached out to my elected school

03:43committee representative through direct

03:45communication and text messages and have

03:47been met with silence. This is

03:50particularly disappointing given that I

03:52had previously invested my own time in

03:54providing one-on-one coaching and

03:56support to this individual, giving them

03:57my time, my talent, and my treasure. Let

04:00me be clear. I do not believe that

04:02helping someone creates an obligation

04:05for them to agree with me, return a

04:08favor, or maintain a personal

04:09relationship. That is not what public

04:11service is about. However, when someone

04:13is elected to represent a constituency,

04:16communication, accessibility are part of

04:18that responsibility. Constituents should

04:20not have to question whether their

04:22elected representative is willing to

04:24acknowledge them, respond to their

04:26concerns, or engage in meaningful

04:27dialogue. Representation is simply

04:30occupying. Representation

04:32is not simply occupying a seat at the

04:34table. It is understanding that you have

04:37been entrusted with a responsibility to

04:39people beyond yourself. And that brings

04:42me to another point.

04:43>> Your time is up.

04:44>> Next up, we have Matt Stanton.

04:47>> Each of these position carries an annual

04:49stipen of approximately $20,000 funded

04:52by our taxpayers. According to the

04:54enterprise, it consists of a $15,000

04:56salary and a 5,000 stipen under city

04:59ordinance. That is a meaningful public

05:02investment. With that investment comes

05:04an expectation of accountability, prep

05:06um preparation, professionalism, and an

05:09understanding of the responsibilities

05:11associated with the role. Our community

05:13deserves representatives who are

05:15qualified, emotionally intelligent,

05:18capable of navigating conflict, willing

05:21to listen, and able to distinguish

05:23personal feelings from professional

05:25obligations. We need people who

05:27understand governance. People who can

05:30disagree without resorting to

05:31intimidation. People who can receive

05:33criticism without making it personal.

05:35People who understand that leadership

05:37requires self-awareness, emotional

05:40regulation, humility, and the ability to

05:42put the mission above the individual.

05:45Quite frankly, I believe it is time for

05:47a significant change in the composition

05:49and culture of this school committee. I

05:51want to see a table where students and

05:53families are the priority. A table where

05:55difficult conversations are welcomed

05:57rather than suppressed. A table where

05:59elected officials understand their

06:00authority, but more importantly,

06:03understand the limitations and

06:04responsibilities that come with that

06:06authority. And I want to see a table

06:07where the community's trust is earned

06:09through actions, not public appearances

06:11or carefully managed optics. To the

06:13members sitting before me tonight, I

06:16want you to leave with a few questions.

06:18Are you governing in the best interest

06:20of our students and families? Are you

06:23holding yourselves to the same standards

06:25of accountability that you expect from

06:27our educators, our administrators, and

06:29our district employees? Are you

06:31accessible to the constituents who

06:33elected you? And when you leave this

06:35room, can you honestly say that your

06:37decisions, your conduct, and your

06:39leadership have advanced the interests

06:40of the children and families of this

06:42community? Because that is the

06:45expectation. I did not enter public

06:47service to protect titles, egos, or

06:49political relationships. And I certainly

06:51do not believe that anyone should enter

06:53public service for those reasons. Public

06:55office is a public trust, is not a

06:57personal platform, a popularity contest,

07:00or an entitlement. You have been

07:01entrusted with the voices, resources,

07:04and educational futures of an entire

07:06community. Please start governing like

07:08it. Our children deserve that. Our

07:11families deserve that. Our educators

07:13deserve that. And our taxpayers deserve

07:15that. Thank you for your time. Uh that

07:18concludes the hearing of visitors agenda

07:20item number three, the report of sup

07:22superintendent of schools. Welcome.

07:24>> Hi, my name is Raina Cannon. I'm the

07:26executive director of Discovering

07:28Justice. Um and uh I just wanted to say

07:31thank you for having me tonight here. Uh

07:33so Discovering Justice has been

07:35partnering with the Brockton public

07:37schools uh for 5 years and we launched

07:40in 2021 with just one school. Um, our

07:44program, Mock Trial in the fall and mock

07:46appeal in the spring, pairs students

07:49weekly with legal professionals to

07:51analyze real cases. Um, and then they

07:53culminate in a final event at the

07:55courthouse where students argue a case

07:58before a real judge and a jury or a

08:00panel of judges in the spring. Uh for

08:02five years um the Massachusetts Civics

08:05Fund covered uh nearly 100% of the

08:07program costs and for the first time in

08:10five years uh Brockton School District

08:12did not receive that funding for FY27.

08:15Obviously, we all value the partnership

08:18and um determined that we would keep the

08:21program going this year um and that we

08:24would uh make sure that the students

08:26continue to have access in the program

08:28which is in all seven middle schools in

08:30Brockton. Um you know, the school

08:32district really stepped up and found uh

08:35money for teacher spins and buses to the

08:38courthouse. They were covered with

08:39district funds. So, we really thank uh

08:42the district for going through that

08:44process. um and really working hard to

08:46make that happen for the students. Um

08:48and then Discovering Justice committed

08:50to continuing to fund raise for the

08:53program and making it sustainable over

08:56time. Um and so that we can rely less on

08:59the programming. And so in order to keep

09:02this program going um we are you know

09:05really uh tapping into the Brockton

09:07community for support and asking for

09:09their help in ensuring that this uh

09:12program continues for the long haul for

09:14students in Brockton. Uh and so you know

09:16what we're doing at Discovering Justice

09:18is that we're continuing to commit to

09:21Brockton public schools and um we have a

09:23shared commitment and a partnership. Um

09:26and then we are also fundraising in the

09:29community and writing to grants um to

09:32foundations and other grant sources to

09:34replace the lost state funding. Uh many

09:36of you have been to this final event.

09:39Many of you have seen the program with

09:41your own eyes. Um, I do have to say that

09:43I think it's an amazing uh thing to

09:45watch a student uh over the course of 10

09:48to 11 weeks really uh gain the

09:51confidence and the public speaking

09:52skills and the understanding of

09:54constitutional law to stand up before a

09:57actual judge um and a jury of volunteers

10:01where they will deliver a verdict um and

10:04they argue their case and they do a

10:07phenomenal job. Brockton is one of our

10:09best partnerships. It's one of the

10:10partnerships that we point to whenever

10:12we start in a new district. We say we

10:14would like this partnership to become

10:15like Brockton. Um and so it's a really

10:18important program to many people in the

10:20community and it's a really important

10:22program to discovering justice. Um and

10:24my ask is just that you know please uh

10:27keep us in mind as you think about uh

10:30connecting connecting with funders who

10:31care about Brockton students. Um we're

10:34really looking to connect with local

10:35businesses, employers, community

10:37foundations, civics groups, um law

10:39firms, bar associations, legal partners,

10:42um and families and alumni of the

10:44program. Um we have our contact

10:46information here. My uh co my colleague

10:49Sarah Gil who is our director of

10:50development and people are always

10:52welcome to uh reach out to myself as

10:54well. Um but we are really committed to

10:57continuing this work. Um and we're

10:59thrilled to be here this evening um

11:01presenting to you. So, I'm happy to take

11:03any questions as well.

11:04>> Before I open it up to the floor, I'd

11:07just like to say um I believe we learned

11:10about this program, myself and Miss

11:11Oliver during our second year um of our

11:16first term and it's one of the many

11:18programs that our students here in

11:20Brockton are participate in and it does

11:24uh give them the opportunity for

11:26exposure and networking with real

11:28professionals in the field. um they have

11:30access to, you know, courtrooms, doing

11:32mock trials and really working um in the

11:36area that they're uh interested in. Um

11:39recently we learned that they have been

11:42defunded and they're trying to work to

11:44maintain and keep the pro the program

11:46going for as long as they can and they

11:49also entails, you know, fundraising

11:50support and whatnot. Uh I'll now open it

11:54up to the floor if anybody has anything

11:56to say. It's all over there. Mr. Ina,

11:58>> thank you um vice chair and I do

12:01appreciate it um getting this on the

12:03agenda um so quick as soon as uh Rhonda

12:08let us know via email the status of

12:10being unfunded. I was extremely

12:12disappointed because this is extremely

12:14important for our students. Um it's a

12:16great program. I've been um one of the

12:19juries on the mock trial and just to see

12:23how incredible our students can put a

12:26legal case um in front of a judge, it

12:31has left me like breathtaking every

12:33single time because they do incredible

12:36job. And the fact that we are finally

12:38able to do every middle school to find

12:40out that we are not funded is kind of

12:43heartbreaking. So, I definitely wanted

12:45to bring you on today to see how we can

12:47support you to make sure we do not lose

12:49this great program. Our students deserve

12:51it. I think it's a great um addition to

12:54the after school program. I truly

12:56appreciate all the mentors, the um

12:59attorneys that basically um you know

13:02participate and volunteer with our

13:04students and really give them the

13:05knowledge of how to you know do a court

13:07system works, how the judge works, how

13:09to fight a legal system, not and also

13:12making sure our kids are not so afraid

13:13of the legal system to see how other

13:15ways they work for the people. They

13:18protect the people too against criminals

13:20and how we can better serve the

13:22community, not always be afraid of the

13:24police, the judge, and the attorney. But

13:27I was trying to figure out how were we

13:30originally funding it? Is it to like a

13:32grant, a federal grant, a state grant?

13:34How do we how do we lose it? Like how

13:37can we basically reapply for the grants?

13:40>> Yeah. So, um the Massachusetts Civics

13:43Fund, that's a great question. Um, and

13:45I'm I I am thrilled that so many folks

13:47in this room have um been part of this

13:49program as jurors and just uh shown up

13:52for it. So, thank you for that. Um, the

13:56the program was funded through um

13:58something called the Massachusetts

14:00Civics Grant, which is about a million

14:02dollars that's that is distributed from

14:04the Department of Elementary and

14:06Secondary Education each year. Sometimes

14:09it's a little more than that. Um, but

14:11it's right around 1 million $1.1

14:13million. Um, the civics fund uh comes

14:18out the our the grant application comes

14:21out every spring. Um, and then uh

14:24districts find out in the summertime

14:26whether or not they received it. In the

14:29last five years, Brockton has applied

14:31for that grant and received the grant.

14:33Um, last year, last spring, we applied

14:36again. Everything went fine. Uh

14:39everything went perfectly. Um you know,

14:41we wrote the grant, we submitted it. Um

14:44and you know, I think that really what

14:47happened is that the priorities shifted,

14:50right? And so it wasn't just Brockton

14:53that we saw who did not receive funding

14:55from this. We saw actually several of

14:56our partner districts um uh did not

15:00receive funding for this program. Um and

15:03they prioritize different things. Now I

15:06have spoken uh with representatives at

15:09DESIE and they have told us that you

15:11know Brockton can apply again. Any

15:14school district that was turned down

15:16this cycle can apply again. And it is um

15:20and it is my uh we intend to support

15:23that application and you know uh partner

15:26and you know apply again in all of the

15:28districts where uh we were denied

15:30funding. um but I don't think it's

15:33something that we can rely on moving

15:35forward. And so I do think that shifting

15:38um the funding of this program um to uh

15:43other places and to find those funding

15:46streams um and the more people that we

15:49can you know we I think a large job we

15:52are a 501c3. We're a nonprofit

15:54organization and so we are allowed to

15:56fund raise and we always have and so I

15:58think the best thing um that you know

16:01can be done is really if you have ideas,

16:04if you have thoughts on people we should

16:06connect with foundations

16:08um or other funders in who you know are

16:13um you know are passionate about this

16:15type of work, civics education for

16:17students um and empowering students to

16:21understand and learn about the law and

16:24the legal system and the judiciary. Um,

16:26I think we would love to speak with them

16:28and a warm intro goes a really long way.

16:31I think once people see the program and

16:33once people understand what's happening,

16:35um, they really are thrilled by the idea

16:38of it. Um, but I think that, you know,

16:41people are inundated with information

16:43every day. And so if there's somebody or

16:46something that can happen that can cut

16:47through the noise a little bit um and

16:49give us a warm introduction, I think

16:51that is one of the best things that can

16:53uh that can come of this this uh this uh

16:57situation.

16:58>> Thank you, Ron. And I appreciate um

17:01giving us all the information and what

17:02we need to work u with. And I do think

17:05that this committee definitely needs to

17:06get together and have a conversation how

17:08we can support the program more and how

17:10we can basically get other, you know,

17:12lawyers or judges from Brockton that can

17:14support this program and also see if

17:16they can donate. But I think this is

17:18something that we do not want to lose at

17:20all. I definitely don't want to lose

17:21this program in the city of Brockton and

17:23I'm fortunate that other cities are

17:24going through the same thing. But

17:26hopefully we can work together and find

17:28a solution to it. I appreciate um all

17:30the work that everybody's been doing in

17:31the in the background and especially the

17:33judges at the courthouse. They do

17:35incredible job. They have gone and speak

17:37to our students at the school. I think

17:39definitely we need to work together and

17:41get this done. I appreciate it. Thank

17:42you.

17:44>> Thank you so much.

17:45>> Thank you, Miss Oliver. Let the record

17:47reflect uh Mr. Rodriguez is here. Uh Mr.

17:50Pina,

17:52>> good evening. Um I've also uh from the

17:56um invitation of member Rodriguez had

18:00gone to uh the event both the um the

18:03appeal and the trial and and was u

18:07really surprised how well some of these

18:09students were able to communicate and um

18:13and and get their points across and the

18:15feedback they got from the judges and

18:17the lawyers was great as well. I just

18:19had a a few questions. Um I I see some

18:22great value in this program. What is the

18:26cost uh for the program on a So it looks

18:30like it's broken up into two sections.

18:32So each section

18:38>> Sorry, can you repeat that? What is the

18:40cost of each program?

18:42>> Yeah, the cost of the program and I it

18:44seems as though it's broken into the

18:46trial section and then the appeal

18:48section.

18:49Yeah, absolutely. So, um, and it's a

18:53little bit dependent on the size of the

18:54team and the size of the district

18:56because there is a little bit of scale,

18:58but generally it costs us about $5,000 a

19:01semester per team to deliver the

19:03program. And so about $10,000 covers a

19:06full program year for a group of

19:08students. Um, and our average team size

19:11is usually about 12 to 15 students. Now,

19:13Brockton usually blows that out of the

19:15water. We have teams of 20 to 25

19:17students. um coming into the Brockton

19:20schools and it's incredibly uh it's an

19:22incredibly robust number of students. Um

19:25but it's about $5,000 a semester in

19:27terms of real costs. Um and that

19:30includes all of the you know uh

19:32curriculum and the materials and um you

19:36know the final event um and just making

19:39sure that all the logistics are taken

19:41care of. Um, and you know, our

19:43curriculum is vetted by teachers. It's

19:46vetted by attorneys. It's vetted by

19:48judges and volunteers who really look at

19:51it and say, "This is appropriate for

19:53middle schoolers. It's high quality."

19:55Um, and so we work really hard to make

19:58sure that students are getting not just

19:59like any experience, but a really high

20:01quality experience um where they can

20:04really thrive.

20:05>> And what was the number of teams?

20:08>> Uh, the number of teams in Brockton.

20:10Yeah, cuz you said it was 5,000 per team

20:12per semester. Semester. So, what is the

20:15>> It's all all seven middle schools have a

20:17team this year.

20:19>> So, each middle school had eight.

20:24>> Is that what is that what you said? So,

20:2548 teams.

20:27>> So, one one team per middle school.

20:29Seven teams in all.

20:30>> Oh, seven teams in all. Okay. Okay.

20:33>> And so, it's about 10,000 per um team

20:36with everything in. So, about $70,000.

20:38>> I went to Brockton. I got the math.

20:41[laughter]

20:42>> Um what are the what are the measurable

20:44outcomes that you get from this program?

20:48>> Yeah, so um the outcomes that we are

20:52really tracking towards are um we want

20:55to make sure that students are gaining

20:58um skills and dispositions. And so the

21:02skills that we're really targeting is

21:03that students are improving at things

21:06like public speaking, writing,

21:08listening, sharing their ideas. Um, and

21:12so those are all measured by surveys

21:14that we deliver over the course of a

21:18semester. Um, you know, and

21:20observational data that we also collect

21:22from teachers and legal mentors. Um and

21:25then we also want to make sure that

21:28students uh we also really focus on what

21:30we call dispositions, civic skills and

21:32civic dispositions. And so we want to

21:35make sure that students are feeling um

21:37like they are part of a community, that

21:39they can be proud of something that

21:41they've worked on, that they are maybe

21:43thinking about how they can continue to

21:46stay involved in civic life um and you

21:49know have options for that and

21:50understand that as um you know something

21:53that's available to them and also a

21:55responsibility of being a citizen.

21:58>> And this is a afterchool program.

22:01>> It is correct. It meets once a week

22:03after school for about 90 minutes.

22:06>> And then lastly, um when they graduate

22:10or rise or whatever we call it from

22:13middle school and go to the high school,

22:15um is there's no CRT program, I'm sorry,

22:19Cte program that um they go into. It's

22:23it just ends.

22:25>> We do not have a high school program

22:27with Discovering Justice. There are

22:30there is a statewide program that's run

22:32by the bar association that many high

22:34schools do participate in and I do

22:36believe Brockton students actually do

22:38participate in that. We also find that

22:40some of our students go into other

22:42similar type of programs debate model UN

22:47um things like that uh that but we don't

22:50continue into high school. We believe

22:52that, you know, when we started this

22:53program, we we chose middle school

22:55because we believe that, you know, there

22:57was a lot on for the older students and

23:00a lot for like really young students,

23:02but not a lot for those middle school

23:03students. And we thought it was um

23:05really important to focus in on those

23:07years.

23:09So, I guess the next question is to the

23:11uh superintendent as to uh why not just

23:15bring this inhouse and have this

23:16internally and then have a CTE program

23:19that goes up to the high school.

23:21>> So, that's certainly something that we

23:23could consider. We do have a mock trial

23:25program at the high school. It's just um

23:28run through I believe it's the Mass Bar.

23:30Um so, we we there is a program that is

23:34run. Um, as far as making it a CTE

23:36pathway, that's certainly something we

23:38could consider. And

23:39>> as we're as we're building a new high

23:41school, I believe that one of the things

23:43that we want to do is maybe put a a mock

23:46courtroom or something in there that

23:50I I guess I'll I'll look to you up

23:52there, Mr. Principal, as to some of the

23:55plans for the future of uh adding to the

23:56CTE program. But I think I think it's a

23:59it's a great program. I think it's I I

24:02understand that it's a it's a

24:05extracurricular activity. I don't know

24:07if that makes some of the kids that play

24:09sports um lose the ability to

24:12participate.

24:14Um so I I think I would like to see it

24:16brought in house and um and can and put

24:21into the curriculum inside.

24:24>> Good.

24:26>> Miss Azac,

24:27>> thank you so much. Uh, Miss Kanan. So,

24:30I'm actually I've had the pleasure of

24:32sitting um as a juror on some of these

24:35trials over the years, and it's always

24:37impressive to see our students and the

24:41amount of work that goes into this. So,

24:44you know, 5 years we've been partnering

24:46with Discovering Justice. Um,

24:50what's really impressive is 75 volunteer

24:53judges. Can you just let those that are

24:55listening,

24:57we have 75 volunteer judges and I

24:59remember um I spoke with someone a few

25:01years back and the amount of time that

25:04goes into this, isn't it like 90 minutes

25:06a week or something or 90 minutes

25:08bi-weekly? It's it's a lot of time that

25:11these volunteer judges are putting into

25:13this into our students and um that says

25:17a lot. you know, that's an hour and a

25:20half that someone is taking out of their

25:21workday to sit and mentor our students

25:24and and to give back to BPS. So, um,

25:28same with, you know, when we look at

25:30this and you break down the number and

25:32you have 350 plus students. When you

25:35break this down, that's 350 plus

25:37students. I mean, anywhere from 200 or

25:40under $200 a student that this is

25:42costing for an 11 10 to an 11week

25:44program. Um, but if you can can you just

25:48talk a little more about the volunteers,

25:50our judges, our attorneys. Um, I know

25:53that there's a cost to this, but 70K

25:55sounds like a lot of money, but when you

25:57break it down over 350 plus, and to know

26:00that a lot of our middle school, all our

26:01middle schools are participating.

26:06Um, so a lot of the um, middle schools

26:09are part of this and thank you. And um

26:14which is for those that have sat as a

26:17juror, you can see it builds confidence

26:20and it teaches our students um to get

26:23them comfortable and to get comfortable

26:25with our attorneys and the process as

26:28far as like public speaking, things like

26:30that. Um but can you just maybe um just

26:33speak a little bit about those that are

26:35volunteering that are actually take

26:36these are attorneys, judges, and others

26:39in our community that are taking their

26:41personal time to invest in our students.

26:44Um I just don't know the amount. Yeah, I

26:45don't know the exact time, but I do know

26:47I know it was a few years ago, a couple

26:49years ago, someone had mentioned I think

26:50it was like 90 hours um each session

26:53that they were they were putting in out

26:55of their time.

26:56>> Yep. Absolutely. Um so our volunteers

27:00are really amazing and the teacher

27:03coordinators who are school-based who

27:05also give their time are also phenomenal

27:08people. Um so each session lasts about

27:1290 minutes after school once a week.

27:15Each semester runs about 10 to 11 weeks.

27:18Um the legal mentors and the teachers

27:22are there for every single session. So,

27:24for every single 90minute session, they

27:27are there um and they're coaching

27:29students, they're working with them,

27:32they're teaching them, they're listening

27:34to them, they're helping them practice

27:37um and doing all of that work. Um our

27:39judges are uh and the judges in Brockton

27:43are phenomenal and every single person

27:45at the Brockton courthouse um they give

27:47their time and energy to run that final

27:50event. Um but also during the semester,

27:53judges go and they visit the students

27:55and the attorneys um a few weeks before

27:58the final event. They watch them

28:00practice. They talk to them about you

28:03know how their journey um and uh it's a

28:07really incredible thing to I think watch

28:10the students be mentored with the time

28:12but also build these relationships. We

28:14also find that many of our students

28:16actually come back year after year. So,

28:18they're in the program for two, three

28:21years and they develop these incredible

28:24relationships with the attorneys. Um,

28:26and look forward to the judges coming

28:29back every single year. Um, and

28:31Brockton's a really amazing community.

28:33Um, I think that, uh, we have seen these

28:37students like build these relationships

28:39and, you know, I think that it's

28:41something that is really special to

28:43watch. Um and it's really amazing that

28:46when you know last year I remember I was

28:48at the final event at the appeal and uh

28:51one of the students um you know got up

28:54and gave her oral argument and the judge

28:57who had visited her classroom a few

28:59weeks ago had a very pointed question

29:01and the student listened. She took you

29:04know she took in what the judge said and

29:06then she said her piece. She said it,

29:08the judge pushed and she pushed right

29:10back and it was an amazing exchange and

29:13I thought it was so impressive. Um, it

29:15was done in an incredibly like

29:17respectful, professional way. Um, and I

29:20had seen this student a few weeks before

29:22and I would not have told you that she

29:24could have done that and she did. And

29:26so, um, the volunteers, the teacher

29:28volunteers, the attorneys who volunteer

29:31their time, um, and the judges who come,

29:34um, and volunteer their time as well

29:36really make the program, um, an

29:39incredible experience for every student.

29:42>> Thank you. Um, so the 70k, um, can you

29:48break that down for us to see where

29:50where the cost is? Um because I mean

29:53maybe we can try I know you mentioned

29:54you can do fundraising. I'm sure um if

29:58there's ways to reach out to the

30:00different you know the Plymouth County

30:02Bar Association, the Bris like the the

30:04surrounding bars with with we're ask our

30:07attorneys um that are probably members

30:10to try to sponsor a student or at least

30:13sponsor a school um see how we can help

30:16you because this is a very important

30:18program for our kids. I mean, we have

30:19many important programs, but this one

30:21where it affects so many of them. Um,

30:24whatever we can try to do to help you,

30:26you know, I I wasn't sure is it is this

30:28something we can go under community

30:30schools, a portion of it. Um,

30:33again, it just if if if there's ways

30:35that we can try to help you. Um, we

30:37can't you've worked so hard to get to

30:40where we are. you have the judges

30:41because I know there was a time they

30:43were having a hard time getting judges

30:44and attorneys um given the uh commitment

30:47of time but now that you have that we

30:50need to help as far as the funding

30:52figure out how we're going to find the

30:53funding. So um

30:55>> yes thank you.

30:56>> So what is if if you can can you break

30:58down the 70k is um is it you know

31:02resources that they're using? I mean

31:04what is it that maybe there's something

31:06we can do to offset that a little bit?

31:09Yeah, absolutely. And I think that um we

31:12did have a we did recently receive a

31:14very generous grant from an anonymous

31:17donor in Brockton. We received $10,000

31:20uh towards the Brockton program. Um and

31:23we've had a few other funders step up

31:25and make smaller gifts, but we are

31:27making headway. Um, and we are applying

31:30to a state grant um that includes

31:34Brockton and we're hoping to uh you know

31:38um we're hoping that that will come

31:39through which would be a really large

31:41chunk um of the 70k. And so I think like

31:45we're making really good progress and

31:47we're making really good headway. you

31:49know, the thing that um the things that

31:51the the dollars pay for are really

31:54around um the curriculum materials, the

31:57curriculum development. Um you know, we

32:00develop the case, we develop every

32:02single lesson plan, we develop all of

32:04the materials so that the legal mentors

32:07and the judges can bring the legal

32:09expertise and they don't have to also be

32:11education experts. Um, we also make we

32:14have a staff member um who is really

32:18responsible for the coordination of the

32:21final events and all of the logistics

32:23and the training um of our volunteers

32:26because we want to make sure that it's a

32:28really high quality experience for

32:30students. Um, and so those are the types

32:33of things that the $70,000 the $10,000

32:36per team um is going towards. It's

32:39really around things like curriculum and

32:42um uh curriculum and materials,

32:45volunteer engagement, the f the

32:47training, the final events, things like

32:50that. Um and I'm happy to send like a

32:53more uh detailed budget if that's

32:55helpful. Um, and uh, you know, I think

32:58the community that we've reached out to

33:00so far, including tonight, has uh, done

33:03an amazing job of just saying like, yes,

33:06like let's, you know, make this make

33:08sure that students still have access to

33:10it and it's already showing gains.

33:12>> Thank you. I think those that have

33:14actually attended um, these mock trials

33:18see how how amazing they are. Um, you

33:22know, usually they're around this time

33:23that you have you have them. usually

33:25October, November. Um they usually have

33:28them. So again, um thank you so much for

33:31the presentation and uh we will do our

33:34best to try to keep this program going.

33:38Thank you.

33:39>> Thank you. Thank you for having me. I

33:41appreciate it.

33:42>> Um any other question, Mr. Sullivan?

33:47>> No questions.

33:49>> Mr. Rodri, uh Misso,

33:53>> um hello. Um so when I was doing my

33:56internship I at west I I actually was

33:59part of supporting students to practice

34:02for this debate. So this is definitely a

34:05program that do not want our students to

34:07lose. So and I am with Mr. Pina to

34:10figure out how we can keep this in

34:12house. um because grants is not

34:15guaranteed and we should not be

34:17dependent on people to donate money

34:19which we will always welcome that but I

34:23would like to figure it out um ways that

34:27we can at least fund a portion of it um

34:30because this is a program that I do not

34:32want us to lose. Thank you.

34:35>> Thank you. Uh Mr. Rodriguez.

34:37>> Thank you. [clears throat] This kind of

34:39feels like deja vu. Um when I first got

34:43on the committee I was I believe it was

34:44Lara at the time from Discovering

34:46Justice that reached out to me um in

34:492020 2021. Um and at the time we only

34:52had uh one school participating and

34:55there was a deadline of like two days

34:57and I'm calling Melinda to schedule a

34:59meeting u to make sure that this uh

35:01grant was applied so we can grow it. Now

35:03we have seven but now um we need some

35:06funding. Um, I don't want to be

35:08sarcastic to say, um, take it jokingly,

35:11but I I do believe I could identify just

35:13off the top of my head with the

35:14overpayment by the school school

35:16committee members, we can allocate those

35:18funds to this program, seeing fit if,

35:20uh, the superintendent can look into

35:22that so we can give a portion of that.

35:24Um and also uh you know with this

35:27program um when members uh Gomes and

35:31Oliver got on the committee um and you

35:34know informing them of how great this

35:36program is is to make sure that this

35:39program uh lives uh for quite some time

35:42in the district and we can just see how

35:44uh it's grown. Um it was eyeopening when

35:48I attended one of the events at the

35:50Mowley uh center. Um and at the time

35:54Mrs. Rivas who was actually in the

35:56audience uh accompany me and the former

35:59superintendent um and we actually kind

36:01of had to drag him along but the

36:03showcase was all about Brockton at that

36:06event and you had over 800 people in

36:08attendance um including uh you know

36:11channel 10 and all his news media that's

36:13been covering uh discovering justice

36:15program. So, thank you for all the work

36:17uh and everybody that's been involved in

36:19this uh endeavor with the school

36:20district. And I'm confident that this

36:23body will work together to make sure

36:24that we can identify some funds uh

36:27through the superintendent to make sure

36:28that you know we can play a small part

36:30uh in making sure that we maintain it.

36:32Thank you.

36:35>> Any other members?

36:37>> Okay, Mr. Gomes just stepped away for a

36:39couple of minutes. Um, thank you so much

36:42for the presentation. Uh, and I

36:47is when is your deadline? Do you have a

36:49deadline that you need this by

36:52the funding?

36:54>> I think the sooner that we know, the

36:55better off we'll be. I think we are

36:57going to continue to raise funds for

37:00this program. And so, I think that, you

37:02know, we're committed to having it this

37:04year. We're not we're not talking about

37:06making any changes to the program this

37:08year. um this school year. And so, but I

37:11think that, you know, the sooner that we

37:13know that we uh you know, what we can

37:16sort of rely on um the better the you

37:19know, more we can turn to um continue

37:23continuing to just run the program in

37:25the way that um you know, in a way that

37:27it benefits students.

37:29>> Uh not to put you on the spot, um so you

37:31mentioned you identified some funds. Um

37:34do you have a ballpark idea of what you

37:36what the remaining funds are needed? um

37:41>> if we got this if we we are applying

37:44right now for a major grant through the

37:46state. Um and I think that if we receive

37:49that we would be more than halfway

37:51there. So I think we'd have you know 30

37:5420 to 30 more to raise um if this grant

37:59comes through.

38:00>> Okay. Thank you so much. Um Vice Chair

38:03Commes is back. Thank you.

38:05>> Absolutely. And I'm happy to talk and

38:07follow up at any point. I'm happy to

38:09provide more data if it's helpful. Um,

38:11we have a lot of it. I just didn't know

38:13exactly how much time I had. And so, um,

38:16I'm happy to talk at any point, um,

38:18about further, you know, potential, um,

38:21ideas and, uh, really want to, you know,

38:23continue working with this community to

38:25ensure that the students continue to get

38:28the, um, program because, uh, you all

38:31have built it and, um, they deserve to

38:33keep it. And so I think um really uh

38:37excited about the momentum.

38:39>> So one last question. So Discovering

38:41Justice is applying for this grant. Is

38:44it something that Brockton public

38:46schools can also apply? one of us is

38:48bound to get the grant if if

38:50>> we are actually partnering with Brockton

38:52already and I spoke to um two folks at

38:56the district who they are uh we're

38:58talking about like a it requires like a

39:01fiscal sponsor and so Brockton is

39:03actually already involved.

39:05>> Okay. I just wanted to make sure if you

39:07needed our help as far as the grant um

39:09grant writing that we'd also step up and

39:11see what we can do on our end. But thank

39:13you so much.

39:14>> Thank you.

39:15>> Thank you. Any final questions,

39:17comments, concerns? No. Thank you, Miss

39:19Kennet. Appreciate you being here

39:20tonight. Uh feel free to reach out and

39:24uh if there's additional information

39:25you'd like to provide, um you can send

39:27that to us as well.

39:29>> Thank you for having me.

39:31>> Of course. Um we will now move on to the

39:35superintendent's report.

39:38>> Right. Thank you. Um so yes we have been

39:41working with discovering justice in or

39:43and so we did uh find some funds in one

39:46of our entitlement grants to support as

39:49uh Raina mentioned the the stipens and

39:52the transportation and we are continuing

39:54to advocate with DESIE um to secure

39:57those funds because um as Raina

39:59mentioned this is a grant that we can

40:01apply for every year but I do appreciate

40:03the fact that they are being forward

40:05thinking about the fact that we may not

40:07get the grant in the future and so we

40:08want to make sure that this is a

40:10sustainable um that we have a

40:13sustainable funding source moving

40:15forward. But I do appreciate that they

40:17have committed to continuing Discovering

40:19Justice and that we are in partnership

40:21with them and making sure that we're

40:23doing our part in both providing funds

40:26and advocating um for additional funds

40:29from the state.

40:32All right. So um oh so uh we'll move on

40:35to my report. And in my report, I'm

40:38actually including um my presentation

40:41regarding my upcoming evaluation since

40:44we are completing my current evaluation

40:46this evening um as long along with the

40:49superintendent update.

40:53So I've known I know you've seen these

40:55slides before. So just a reminder of the

40:57five-step cycle um for the

40:59superintendent evaluation process. So

41:02this evening we are doing number five

41:05which is approving the final evaluation

41:07and overall rating but I'm also starting

41:09with a preview of number one um so that

41:12you can get an idea of what I'm thinking

41:14for my goals. You will not be approving

41:16them tonight but you will hear about

41:18them tonight um and then I will send

41:20them to you so that you can provide

41:21additional feedback.

41:26As a reminder, there need to be three

41:28goals. a district improvement goal, a

41:29professional practice goal and a student

41:31learning goal and also uh there are

41:34several focus indicators and generally

41:37we choose uh six focus indicators to

41:39focus on. I'm evaluated on all of them

41:42um all 21 but there are six in

41:44particular that I focus on every year

41:46and those are the artifacts that you

41:48receive um in the book.

41:52So we'll be speaking about uh the

41:55evaluation later on but um as a preview

41:58for what I was thinking for my

42:00improvement goals for this upcoming year

42:02uh based largely on the um DESIE review

42:06that we received um and the uh and the

42:10evaluation the initial evaluation

42:12results that I've read. So the district

42:14improvement goal um and these will be

42:16words smmith and you will be able to

42:17provide feedback um is to implement an

42:20attendance improvement strategy that

42:22leverages family engagement and

42:23coordinated student interventions. The

42:26professional practice goal um that I am

42:28thinking of is providing access to

42:30consistent opportunities for families

42:32within the community to participate in

42:34school advisory and engagement

42:36structures. So that was an item that was

42:37mentioned in the Desi review as some as

42:40an area that requires greater

42:42consistency. And then the student

42:44learning goal is to cultivate

42:45opportunities for deeper deeper

42:47learning, higher order thinking and

42:49student driven dialogue.

42:53Uh for the focus indicators, again

42:55there's 21 indicators and so the six

42:57that I chose again were specific to the

43:00recent DESI review. So standard 1B on

43:03instruction, standard 2C scheduling and

43:05management information systems, standard

43:072e fiscal systems because I think that

43:10one has been in my evaluation one of my

43:12um focus indicators for the last two

43:14years and I think it should continue to

43:16be standard 3A family engagement

43:19standard 4A shared vision and commitment

43:21to high standards and standard 4D

43:23continuous learning.

43:27And so just as a reminder of where we

43:29have been this past year and where we'll

43:31be going this upcoming year, um last

43:34year the review of my goals and focus

43:38indicators, so this preview that I'm

43:40providing tonight was provided on

43:42October 22nd and then sent out to the

43:44school committee. Um they were then

43:46actually approved on December 2nd. Um,

43:50and then August 14th of this year, I

43:52sent you the report that you have. By

43:54September 18th, the evaluation forms you

43:57all submitted and uh, then it was

43:59compiled to be approved this evening um,

44:02on October 6th. So, tonight I'm doing my

44:05initial review of the goals and focus

44:07indicators. [snorts] Um, uh, a tentative

44:10schedule for approval of goals and focus

44:13indicators after you provide your

44:14feedback would be October or November of

44:16this year. Um and then I figure we will

44:20follow the same general timeline which

44:22was which is that the end of year report

44:24would come for me in August of next

44:26year. Um the evaluation forms would be

44:29submitted by school committee in

44:30September with the evaluation being

44:32approved by the school committee in

44:34October of next year. So this is the

44:36same cycle that we've followed um the

44:38last two years I've been here. And so I

44:40um figured that we would follow

44:42something similar this upcoming year.

44:46And so I would like to jump right into

44:48the update of some exciting things that

44:50have been happening around the district

44:52and we you will see that we are already

44:54um working towards some of these goals.

44:58So this year Brockton Public Schools is

45:00placing an intentional focus on

45:02strengthening family collaboration as an

45:05important part of supporting student

45:06learning and success. So our goal is to

45:09si move beyond simply communicating

45:11information to families toward creating

45:13more meaningful opportunities to work

45:15with families, valuing their knowledge

45:17of their children, engaging them in

45:19dialogue about learning, and seeking

45:21their perspectives and feedback when

45:23determining how best to support their

45:25students. Principles across the district

45:27are engaging with staff to identify how

45:30they currently cor collaborate with

45:32families and identifying ways in which

45:34they can deepen that collaboration. So

45:36here you see an example of this pictured

45:38where Downey educators are working

45:40collaboratively to dig into how making

45:42subtle shifts in practice can translate

45:45to more powerful partnerships with

45:47families.

45:51Also we launched our new parent

45:54engagement platform um and uh parent

45:57square. So many of you I'm sure have

45:59gotten your uh parent square

46:00notifications. Um and here you'll see

46:03that Mr. Kelly and I had the distinct

46:05honor of making a surprise visit to Miss

46:07Raposa's first grade first grade

46:09classroom at the Angelo School to

46:12recognize her as BPS's inaugural Parent

46:15Square champion because of all the

46:17incredible work she's done to make the

46:18most of this new platform for family

46:20outreach. Miss Raposa has done an

46:22amazing job using Parent Square early

46:24and often to keep her students families

46:27up to date on all that they're learning.

46:29She has also been a leader among her

46:30peers in helping them get the most out

46:32of parent square as well. The Angelo was

46:35our leading school through the first few

46:37weeks of the school year in terms of

46:39post for families and Miss Raposa was

46:41the leading poster at the Angelo which

46:43taken together earned her the

46:45distinction of being our first parent

46:46square champion. The championship belt

46:49she earned will be hers to display in

46:50her classroom until we identify our next

46:52champ. and the belt will then travel

46:54around the district throughout the year

46:56as we celebrate our educators and

46:58administrators who are doing an amazing

46:59job keeping families informed and

47:01engaged.

47:05Also, uh this past weekend, BHS girls

47:07sports teams welcomed 45 girls from

47:10grades 3 through 8 to Marciano Stadium

47:12over the weekend for the annual girls

47:14sports day. Students took part in six

47:17different sports stations, giving them a

47:19firsthand preview of the opportunities

47:20that await them in basketball,

47:22volleyball, softball, field hockey,

47:24cheer, and soccer, while also giving

47:26them the chance to get a feel for the

47:28brand new turf field that many of those

47:30sports now have the privilege of calling

47:32home. Thank you to Katie Baloni for

47:34organizing this growing tradition and to

47:36all of the amazing athletes and coaches

47:38who volunteered their time and made so

47:40many younger students feel welcomed and

47:42excited about the amazing opportunities

47:44at VHS. Thank you also to member Pina

47:47for helping to organize donated lunches

47:49from Bracks.

47:54Congratulations to the 30 BPS Middle

47:56School student musicians who have been

47:58chosen to represent the city of

47:59champions at the annual Bridgewater

48:01State University Honor Band Festival.

48:04They will be performing in a full-day

48:06festival this Thursday, October 8th,

48:08with peers from across southeastern

48:10Massachusetts. The day will be full of

48:13rehearsals and culminates with a concert

48:15at 3:30 p.m. at the Rondello Student

48:18Center Auditorium at Bridgewwater State.

48:23Last week, members of our finance team

48:25attended the Mass Buys Conference in

48:27Foxboro, joining public sector

48:29professionals from across the

48:31Commonwealth for a day of learning and

48:32collaboration. Through hands-on

48:34workshops focused on finance,

48:36procurement, and budgeting, our team

48:37works sidebyside to sharpen the skills

48:39they use every day in service of our

48:41students, schools, and community.

48:44Opportunities like this strengthen our

48:45fiscal practices, keep our team current

48:47on resources available to the district,

48:49and build teamwork. The team reported

48:52feeling energized after this opportunity

48:54and is looking forward to putting what

48:55they learned into practice each day.

49:00I'm also excited to share that the NFL

49:02foundation and the character playbook

49:04team have recognized BPS as a character

49:07champion district. The distinction is

49:09awarded to districts where students are

49:11actively engaged in character playbook,

49:13demonstrating a meaningful commitment to

49:15helping young people develop the

49:17character, leadership, and life skills

49:19that support success both inside and

49:22outside the classroom. Brockton is one

49:24of approximately a 100 districts

49:26nationwide to earn this recognition,

49:28which represents the collective effort

49:30of educators, administrators,

49:31counselors, and staff who work to foster

49:34student growth and achievement every

49:35day. Thank you to every member of our

49:37team who contributed to us earning this

49:40incredible milestone or reaching this

49:42incredible milestone.

49:45The free books for kids mo bookmobile

49:47has been making stops throughout

49:49Brockton during the school year with

49:50more to come as the school year goes on.

49:52It made its most recent stop at the

49:54therapeutic day school giving students a

49:56chance to select books of interest to

49:58keep them at no cost to them or the

50:01district. This is part of a regular set

50:03of stops the bookmobile is making across

50:05the district. This initiative is led by

50:08Margaret Burgess who takes this project

50:10on in addition to her work as a

50:12librarian in needm schools. Each year

50:15when Margaret reaches out about this

50:17program, our principles rush to sign up

50:18and there will be dates throughout the

50:20remainder of the year where Margaret's

50:22bookmobile will be paying a visit to

50:24schools serving grades K to 8.

50:28I also want to extend a big thank you to

50:30our partners at the Brockton Public

50:31Library for their continued support of

50:33our youngest students. This year, BPL

50:36generously helped put 1,200 copies of

50:39The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds into the

50:41hands of students, allowing us to

50:43provide a book to every incoming

50:45kindergarten student across the

50:46district. Each book included a special

50:49book plate recognizing the partnership

50:51between Brockton Public Schools and the

50:52Brockton Public Library and welcoming

50:54our students as they begin their school

50:56journey. This initiative is about more

50:59than just distributing books and sharing

51:00the joy of literacy. This initiative is

51:03helping to build a bridge that connects

51:04school registration to early literacy to

51:07family engagement and community

51:08partnership.

51:12And finally, National Custodians Day was

51:15last week, and I wanted to take a moment

51:17to thank our amazing custodians, some of

51:19whom are pictured here. Our custodians

51:21are an essential part of the team at

51:22every one of our buildings. And while

51:24their work often happens early in the

51:26morning or late in the day, it's always

51:28seen by our students and staff in the

51:29form of clean and safe buildings that

51:32allow them to focus on teaching and

51:33learning. So on behalf of myself, the

51:35leadership team, the school committee,

51:37and all of our students and educa

51:38educators, thank you to our wonderful

51:41custodians.

51:42>> Thank you, Superintendent. Um, Mr. Pin,

51:45and then Miss Oliver.

51:47>> Um, so the district has made some

51:52progress with the

51:55overwheling.

52:03bit closer.

52:12>> Test test test. There you go. All right.

52:14So, the district has uh made some great

52:17progress. Actually, I was just talking

52:18to Dr. Spalding about the literacy

52:20scores in the uh lower grades K through

52:23uh three and uh some of the the movement

52:26that we've made um in that area. My my

52:30concern is and I I wanted to bring this

52:32up is about the uh the higher grades. Um

52:37what do you what do you believe are the

52:39primary reasons for those schools

52:42continue that continue to struggle and

52:44what specifically are we doing

52:47differently this year than uh that we

52:49did um that you expect will materially

52:54uh improve student achievement?

52:56>> Yes. So I think this will be an ongoing

52:58conversation that we have throughout the

53:00school year and I think that the uh Desi

53:02district review certainly gave us some

53:04uh great insight as well. Um and so as

53:09you mentioned uh there you know our

53:11outcomes are remaining uneven but we do

53:13see that we have promising practices

53:15within our own school district and so

53:17certainly leveraging those promising

53:19practices and sharing them amongst our

53:21schools. sometimes um you know [snorts]

53:23our solutions are within our own walls.

53:26Um also some of the more uh the more

53:29focused support that we're going to be

53:31doing is our on our district data

53:34reviews, our learning walks and our

53:36ongoing work with DESIE um because those

53:40have helped us identify these areas and

53:42sharpen our focus. So when you look at

53:43our DESI review for example, they have

53:45in the appendices several of the

53:47walkthroughs and they've identified

53:48certain areas where we can provide

53:50additional support. So I think that

53:52gives us a good starting point. [snorts]

53:53Desi also has reached out to us because

53:55this is where we start partnering with

53:57them this school year on providing

53:59additional support. So, we are going to

54:02take a much more focused and intentional

54:04approach this year and we've established

54:05a clear uh dis district instructional

54:09priority um on ensuring that our

54:11students are actively engaged in grade

54:13level learning, talking, reading,

54:15writing, explaining, questioning, and

54:17responding with purposeful supports so

54:20that all of our students, including our

54:21multilingual learners and our students

54:23who are on IEPs, are participating uh in

54:25a successful way. We are also working to

54:28better align and leverage the tools and

54:30structures that we already have. So

54:32common planning time for example which

54:34um as you mentioned in the higher grades

54:37new this year we have expanded at

54:39Brockton High School. Uh learning walks

54:42again professional learning educator

54:44evaluation is a tool that we can

54:46leverage student data and targeted

54:48interventions so that they reinforce

54:50reinforce the same instructional

54:51priorities um rather than operate as

54:55separate initiatives. So I think that

54:57that that is something that we can also

54:59be doing better um and more

55:02consistently. Um we also have allocated

55:05grant funding to support each school

55:07that is designated as requiring

55:10additional assistance this year uh so

55:12that they have a professional learning

55:14community that's focused on research for

55:16better teachings making student thinking

55:18visible course. So we'll be doing that

55:20and that course will equip teachers to

55:23create environments where our students

55:25are talking more than um talking more

55:28and taking part in higher order level

55:31thinking and um academic student

55:35dialogue. Um so moving shifting that

55:38dialogue from our teachers to to our

55:40students. And so our hope is that and we

55:43will continue to report on it is that

55:46with um these more targeted supports

55:48coupled with stronger accountability and

55:50monitoring uh that we will be able to

55:52lead to measurable improvements in

55:54student outcomes.

55:55>> Just a followup with that. So you we had

55:58the promise school that scored

56:01much higher than our high school.

56:03>> What are we what did we learn from that?

56:05Is that what is that what you got this

56:08what you're saying? What you got that

56:09from? Is that what we're doing at

56:10promise that maybe made them a little

56:12bit um score

56:15>> planning time you mean? Um

56:17>> correct or actually the higher level

56:18engagement because I mean I'll be honest

56:20with you and I know you have a child as

56:22well in an ISL school and I do as well

56:24and so their curriculum is much

56:26different than ours and they do a lot

56:28more of that.

56:30>> Um and I believe they do that at the

56:32promise as well. So I'm just curious if

56:34that is that's why we brought it over

56:36and bring it over to the high school.

56:38So, I I that's a great question. I think

56:41I'd have to think about that a little

56:42bit more and look at the data. I mean,

56:43we are certainly expanding early college

56:46at um at the high school. And so, I

56:49think that early college is certainly uh

56:52uh a reason that I think our promise

56:53students are um excelling. And so, we

56:56are trying to leverage that more greatly

56:58at the high school. It it's hard it's

57:00hard to compare the two because it is

57:02sometimes apples and oranges. is I mean

57:04Brockton High is a much larger school

57:06and it provides a lot of different

57:08opportunities and you know um while

57:12accountability and I would never say

57:14that accountability is not important and

57:16assessment scores aren't important but

57:18it is interesting because when I go to

57:19promise one of the things that they

57:21mention is that they would like to have

57:22greater access to some of the

57:25opportunities that um and and they do

57:28have you know access to athletics but

57:30some of the opportunities even during

57:31the school day that are provided at

57:33Brockton High that they don't have some

57:34of the electives, some of the the the

57:37specialties. So, it really is it's

57:40different and it's hard to compare. So,

57:41I would have to think about that a

57:43little bit more um as far as what

57:46practices we could share. And actually,

57:48I would probably uh lean on the school

57:50leaders themselves. Like I was saying, I

57:52think we have promising practices at a

57:54lot of our different schools that can be

57:56shared and leveraged. And I think that

57:58actually goes both ways between Brockton

58:00High and Brockton Therapeutic Day. and

58:03uh promise and champion. So, I think

58:05that it's our job to make sure we're

58:08leveraging the opportunities that we

58:09have with our principles in order and

58:11our educators in order for them to share

58:13those practices.

58:14>> As a followup that I just thought about

58:16as you were speaking, um one of the more

58:18unpopular things that I said and

58:21obviously, you know, I say a lot of

58:22those, but um so does that not show that

58:26there should be two that we should split

58:27the high school up and maybe have a

58:29smaller high school? like why are we why

58:31are we asking the taxpayers to build

58:33this high school that's so large when

58:36now you're telling me the data is

58:38proving that a smaller high school would

58:40be better so why not build two separate

58:42high schools.

58:43>> So actually no that's not what I said

58:44because um I said that there are areas

58:47in um that where BHS has I think it it

58:50depends on what we're talking about.

58:52>> We could just get those to that to the

58:54school. We're just not giving them to

58:55them right now. Like they don't have a

58:57gym. They don't have um they should have

58:59I I believe they should have their own

59:01sports teams.

59:02>> I believe that they should be a separate

59:05high school completely

59:06>> and I think that's that was proven over

59:09uh how well they did in their scores.

59:10>> They are a separate high school

59:12>> but but then they

59:13>> Oh, you mean having their own play in

59:14the majorettes. They play football. They

59:18>> And then Yes. And then

59:22so well let me start with the MSBA

59:24question. Um, when we were applying to

59:26the MSBA, uh, you only get funding for

59:29one school, right? So, if we got funding

59:32for a new school, it would have to be

59:34split. So, we would have some students

59:36who stayed here and then we would have

59:38um a new high school where other

59:39students would go. And we did, when we

59:42were going through the process, exhaust

59:45every single exploration of one school,

59:48two schools, where would they sit? And

59:49so, um, there was a lot of work that

59:52went into determining that it should be

59:54one school. Uh, and that included, uh,

59:58not just the education and the CTE

1:00:00programs, um, and the economies of scale

1:00:02that were able to provide here at

1:00:03Brockton High. Um, [snorts] but it it

1:00:06did include like geography and transfer.

1:00:09Like there were all myriad of um

1:00:12[snorts] factors that were included in

1:00:14that decision to to build one uh,

1:00:17Brockton High. Honestly, if we were to,

1:00:19let's say we're we were to split it in

1:00:21two, I think we would all still agree

1:00:24that we would want a new building here.

1:00:26So ultimately, we would still be

1:00:27building two buildings, two new

1:00:29buildings, paying and potentially paying

1:00:31more in the long run, right? Um because

1:00:33then we'd be paying for one now, tearing

1:00:36this one down, break building another

1:00:37one later and when it costs are higher.

1:00:40So I think all all in all I while I know

1:00:43it is an incredibly large investment, I

1:00:46think that the one large Brockton High

1:00:49School was the right way to go. And and

1:00:51just for me um as somebody coming to

1:00:54Brockton, one thing that I will say that

1:00:55I really uh have loved and appreciated

1:00:59about Brockton is the level of spirit

1:01:01and and and that culture of having it,

1:01:04you know, um one large high school that

1:01:07sometimes, you know, um can suffer when

1:01:10you have two different high schools and

1:01:11you've seen things like that like

1:01:13Newton, like Newton North and South and

1:01:14they have this big rivalry and and at

1:01:16times that can be nice, I suppose, but

1:01:18there is something to be said, I think,

1:01:20for uh for the camaraderie and the

1:01:23culture and the the community coming

1:01:25around one large high school. Um so

1:01:28that's the MSBA question, but then you

1:01:30asked another question about smaller a

1:01:34smaller high school. I think honestly

1:01:37what we've done here in Brockton is the

1:01:39best of both worlds because you're

1:01:40right, there are some um programs and

1:01:43there are some students that are going

1:01:44to flourish more greatly in a smaller

1:01:46environment and then there are some who

1:01:48are going to be better in a larger

1:01:49environment and I think the fact that we

1:01:51are offering both of those opportunities

1:01:53is actually the best case scenario. Um

1:01:56so in my opinion and obviously it's not

1:01:59my opinion that um is the one that you

1:02:02know guides everything but I I actually

1:02:06uh believe that we're we're doing it

1:02:08well and we're doing it right and that

1:02:10we um what all we are looking to do is

1:02:13make sure that we are improving and

1:02:14building upon the foundation we have. So

1:02:16I mean a few years ago, five years ago

1:02:18there was not a promise academy. So even

1:02:20just the development of that school and

1:02:22the fact that we you know that I think

1:02:24demonstrates that Brockton is um is not

1:02:29just married to like the one large high

1:02:30school but isn't just thinking about it

1:02:33so um in such a like concrete linear way

1:02:37of like it's either two high schools or

1:02:38one high school like we're thinking

1:02:40about it in a more nuanced way that I

1:02:42think is more individualized to the

1:02:44student population we have.

1:02:45>> Yeah. I I would just ask that we think

1:02:47more about outcomes, student outcomes

1:02:50than financial. Uh I know we have to

1:02:52think of both, but I think obviously the

1:02:55student outcomes are important. Um we're

1:02:57lucky that we have uh the promise school

1:02:59and uh I have two more two more

1:03:02questions that were actually from what

1:03:04you were uh from your report.

1:03:06>> Uh do you have the metrics on that

1:03:09parent square? I know that there's and

1:03:12just so that I fully understand because

1:03:14I got conflicting information. So

1:03:18>> obviously I get the text a lot of them

1:03:21which is good. Um but at the same time

1:03:23so if you download the app is it like

1:03:26like a social media platform where the

1:03:28teacher is now because I know in the in

1:03:31the last um I just totally forgot the

1:03:33name of it. The last uh product that we

1:03:35had

1:03:36>> school messenger.

1:03:37>> Yes.

1:03:38>> Um they they could do pictures. they

1:03:40would send the pictures and stuff. So,

1:03:41is that what you're measuring

1:03:43from what you're

1:03:43>> measuring posts, newsletters? Yeah. So,

1:03:46and we do get and I actually get um a

1:03:49weekly feed of who was the the top

1:03:51poster and what kind of posts were

1:03:53provided, what kind of interactions

1:03:55happen because it is um a two-way

1:03:58communication. Um, and so I can bring um

1:04:02to our next meeting uh the analytics uh

1:04:05for the full month of September um

1:04:08because I was actually uh talking about

1:04:11them with um Jordan today and he was

1:04:14letting me know sort of like the

1:04:15percentage of the families that are that

1:04:17are utilizing it and I was able to meet

1:04:19with DPAC yesterday evening and and

1:04:22there are definitely still kinks that we

1:04:24need to work out and and areas that we

1:04:26know need improving um for parents

1:04:29parent square. So, we're still working

1:04:30those out, but one of the parents

1:04:32actually said that they were able to get

1:04:34a newsletter um from the district from

1:04:38that was specifically she has a sixth

1:04:40grader and it was specifically came a

1:04:42sixth grade newsletter to her, but that

1:04:44was district level. So, she was very

1:04:46excited to have that kind of targeted um

1:04:50uh communication um that came from the

1:04:52district. So, not simply just from, you

1:04:54know, within your school, you're getting

1:04:55it from the the district as well.

1:04:58um but in a way that kind of tells you

1:05:00what's happening around the district in

1:05:01in grade six. So I think it offers us a

1:05:04lot of different opportunities and we're

1:05:06still trying to figure out all of the

1:05:07functionalities. We're actually being

1:05:09trained next week um on their attendance

1:05:13module which is something we may want to

1:05:15utilize or leverage. So we're going to

1:05:17be exploring that as well. Um but I can

1:05:20certainly bring more information about

1:05:22um how how it's going so far. And is the

1:05:25principal at each uh facility are they

1:05:27like the moderator of that or is it

1:05:32>> Yeah. Yes. I mean different um different

1:05:36folks have different permissions. So for

1:05:38example, the principal can communicate

1:05:40with everybody. Teachers have the

1:05:42permissions to communicate with their

1:05:44students. Um, and that's sort of one of

1:05:46the things that we're working on right

1:05:47now is making sure that

1:05:50we all have the correct permissions to

1:05:52communicate with who we want to

1:05:54communicate and to to change it when we

1:05:56want to because sometimes I may want to

1:05:58communicate with this group but not this

1:06:00group. So that's what we're working on

1:06:01now.

1:06:01>> Is that is there anything in there where

1:06:03the um the school committee would be

1:06:05able to have access? I have it just

1:06:07because obviously I have my kids uh one

1:06:08of my kids two of my kids in schools.

1:06:11Um, but is it something that the school

1:06:13committee would then be able to like if

1:06:15there were

1:06:16>> post? Um, so it would

1:06:17>> not really post but just like you know

1:06:18if there was something that um that it

1:06:22kind of keeps me informed a lot more

1:06:24than I mean I talk to Mrs. Paul all the

1:06:26time anyway but

1:06:28>> um keeps it would keep everyone else

1:06:30informed. That's all.

1:06:31>> Absolutely. And that is our hope is that

1:06:33we'll be able to utilize it to um

1:06:35communicate out the DPAC meetings to

1:06:37communicate out um Yes. So absolutely.

1:06:40So if there are school committee

1:06:41functions or even the meetings that we

1:06:43want to utilize uh parent square to

1:06:45communicate. Absolutely.

1:06:47>> One last question. So the honor band

1:06:49festival at Bridgewwater is that open to

1:06:51the public or is that um

1:06:52>> I believe so. I mean I I actually don't

1:06:55know. Um I hope so. I'm going. So uh

1:06:58hopefully they'll let me in but I can

1:06:59find out.

1:07:00>> Okay. Thank you.

1:07:02>> Yes.

1:07:02>> Thank you Mr. Pina. Uh any other

1:07:04members? Uh Miss Oliver.

1:07:05>> I'm sorry. Can I can I just add one more

1:07:07thing?

1:07:08>> Go ahead. I I I had to I had to say

1:07:09thank you to the um custodians. Um they

1:07:13are they are literally the backbone of

1:07:15this uh community of ours and the

1:07:18schools. Thank you for what they did in

1:07:19the hallway cleaning up uh after that

1:07:22really bad storm. Um our schools are not

1:07:25uh in bad of shape as what you might

1:07:27think. Uh and that's because of what

1:07:29they do and what facilities does. I

1:07:31don't know if Ken's up there, but he

1:07:33would have just heard me compliment him.

1:07:34Thank you.

1:07:36>> Thank you, Miss Oliver.

1:07:37Thank you. Um just a few questions with

1:07:40the MCCAST scores. Do you have the data

1:07:43for different grades and like what how

1:07:46we scored for like math, science, and

1:07:49English?

1:07:49>> Yes. So the the MCCAST presentation that

1:07:52um you all get every year. Uh we will be

1:07:54doing that again this year. Um and so

1:07:57you will be receiving the full

1:07:58breakdown, the comparison of us from

1:08:01last year um and us from surrounding

1:08:04districts. so similar to what you've

1:08:05received in the past.

1:08:07>> And also if you actually go on the the

1:08:09DOE website, you can kind of look

1:08:11through and play around with the

1:08:13accountability. You can see it for every

1:08:14school.

1:08:15>> Yeah. Because I'm extremely um proud

1:08:17that Brockton did an incredible job

1:08:20compared to the state how low they went.

1:08:22But we increased our um score level and

1:08:25I just wanted to see like how we

1:08:28improved from last year to this year and

1:08:30is and then see what we did differently

1:08:32this year, right? to basically increase

1:08:34our score. I just want to I can't wait

1:08:35for that presentation just to basically

1:08:37say thank you to the leaders and

1:08:39educators who has worked really hard to

1:08:41basically get us where we where we at.

1:08:43But definitely it's something to be very

1:08:45proud of that we're seeing on the

1:08:47newspaper that Brockton did an

1:08:48incredible job. Um also another thing

1:08:51that I saw recently is that we're um

1:08:53competing very strongly with

1:08:54Southeastern when it comes CTE program.

1:08:56Thank you to uh Mr. Macascco for doing

1:08:58an incredible job bringing a lot of um

1:09:01programs to the CTE program. So I think

1:09:04we're finally giving competition where

1:09:07to certain cities and towns. So I'd like

1:09:09to see I love to see that. Another thing

1:09:11also I do like Parent Square. I think

1:09:13it's perfect. I like the fact that it's

1:09:16very um multilingual. a lot of bilingual

1:09:19parents I open house at South that a lot

1:09:22of parents that were bilingual was being

1:09:24um you know helped to like sign up to

1:09:27and they liked it. I like getting all

1:09:29the message. I like getting all the

1:09:31posted because sometimes that's how I

1:09:32update what's going on in the city with

1:09:34the school district. But I do like it

1:09:35and also when you know teachers send me

1:09:38emails and different message about my

1:09:41kids. But I think it's very personal. I

1:09:42do like this better than the old system.

1:09:45And the last thing I want to say is um I

1:09:48do want to thank um coach Baboni for

1:09:51this past Saturday um event. It's

1:09:54definitely the second annual. The

1:09:56numbers of students that attended has

1:09:58totally increased. Um and also to all

1:10:01the coaches that went out on Saturday to

1:10:03participate and help out all the um

1:10:06student adviserss that's also was there

1:10:08helping and playing with the young kids.

1:10:11Just watching like our future Brockton

1:10:13High boxers on the field. They were so

1:10:15happy. They were laughing. They were

1:10:17giggling. They were playing with each

1:10:18other. I think we had over 50 or more

1:10:20stu um kids and they really really

1:10:23enjoyed themselves and and I do

1:10:25appreciate partic um appreciate that

1:10:27they're putting more spotlight on girl

1:10:29sports. So Saturday was really really

1:10:31great. Thank you for the donation. The

1:10:33kids did love eating their sandwiches.

1:10:35We made sure they didn't eat on the

1:10:37field. So that was a good thing. But it

1:10:39was a good day. It was hot. It was nice.

1:10:41And um continue the great work every

1:10:42year. Thanks. Thank you. Any other

1:10:45members?

1:10:48Seeing none, I have a few things I'd

1:10:50like to say as well. Um, I'll start with

1:10:54the high school. Um, since Mr. Pina

1:10:56brought it up, um, I have a few

1:10:59constituents of mine that have always

1:11:01asked, why don't we build two high

1:11:04school, break it down in half, and give

1:11:06more individualized, more focused

1:11:09attention to our students. Um I I used

1:11:12to say that sounds good to me cuz you

1:11:14know smaller classrooms, more staffing

1:11:17and so on and so forth, but there's a

1:11:19lot of um other aspects that we have to

1:11:22consider. And one of the things that the

1:11:25superintendent said that I think um is a

1:11:28good perspective to take is every

1:11:31student has their own ways of learning.

1:11:35Some do well in smaller spaces, some do

1:11:37well in larger spaces, but I do like the

1:11:39idea of having a separate high school.

1:11:40I've thought about it a couple times.

1:11:43Um, even though there's other things

1:11:45such as transportation, you know, access

1:11:47and whatnot that comes into play. Um,

1:11:51also I lost my access, not access, I

1:11:53just got rid of my parents square cuz my

1:11:56kid is not here anymore. So, I won't be

1:11:58able to see all the great um news and

1:12:01information shared um through the

1:12:04system, but I think picking up um from

1:12:07that conversation, it would be a good

1:12:09way for us to utilize it for information

1:12:12sharing um not just with parents, but

1:12:14with the whole community. if there's um

1:12:18a different access for other people that

1:12:22don't maybe don't have kids in the

1:12:23district but want to stay informed, want

1:12:25to participate if we are able to do

1:12:28that. Um that came to mind as Miss Pina

1:12:31was talking about it utilizing it as

1:12:33information sharing and you know a way

1:12:36of keeping people updated. Um similar to

1:12:39how we share things on our website

1:12:41having an app that you'll get a

1:12:43notification, hey there's an event going

1:12:44on. we're doing a, you know, high school

1:12:47project uh conversation this day or

1:12:49there's a um after school going on and

1:12:53what not. So, if that's something we

1:12:55could do um or have available and

1:12:59accessible to other folks, not just

1:13:00parents for their kids, that would be

1:13:02great. Um any other comments? Okay,

1:13:07seeing none, we'll move on to

1:13:10item 3B. Any items to refer to

1:13:14subcommittees?

1:13:16No.

1:13:17>> Oh, I'm sorry. Yes. I thought we were

1:13:19just on A.

1:13:22That's C you're talking about, right?

1:13:23I'm sorry.

1:13:25>> We got A and B. So, we just went

1:13:27>> the the bullet points messed me up. I'm

1:13:28sorry. So, that's not one, two, and

1:13:30three.

1:13:31>> Not necessarily. No.

1:13:33>> Oh, my [laughter] bad then.

1:13:34>> Do you have more questions?

1:13:35>> Yeah, I

1:13:35>> Okay, Mr. Pino.

1:13:36>> Um, and and I I'll be totally

1:13:39transparent. I did let you know about

1:13:41these because I I don't want to catch

1:13:43you off guard and uh make it seem as

1:13:46though I'm trying to play the gotcha

1:13:48game. But um as as we establish your

1:13:52goals and indicators, what specific

1:13:55measures uh student outcome targets are

1:13:58you willing to be evaluated against this

1:14:01year particularly in literacy um

1:14:04mathematics attendance and or lowest

1:14:07performing schools? I know that you had

1:14:08mentioned attendance and that was

1:14:10something that was also brought up in

1:14:12the in the report as well. Um but I I

1:14:16guess the purpose of this question is

1:14:18just because of how poorly our high

1:14:21school um scored and how um you know we

1:14:26we we're doing well in the lower grades

1:14:29and I I I have some ideas as to why

1:14:33we're not doing as well in the upper

1:14:34grades. Um and I believe it's across the

1:14:38state that that's happening for the same

1:14:40reason. Um so I I guess

1:14:45as as we identify the issues, is that

1:14:49something that um we can look at to

1:14:52improve? Um I know it's going to cost a

1:14:55lot more um because it is mostly the ESL

1:14:59students that are coming in and then

1:15:01they are not performing at the same

1:15:03level. Um,

1:15:06so is is and I'll just leave it at that.

1:15:09>> Um, and so yes, and I appreciate so much

1:15:12you sending the questions ahead of time.

1:15:14Um,

1:15:17my answer to that is I would certainly

1:15:19be open to um what the committee

1:15:24thinks would be good metrics. Um, and so

1:15:27I'm certainly, you know, interested in

1:15:29the feedback. So, if you have um

1:15:31specific smart goals or metrics that you

1:15:34wanted to send me that um we could think

1:15:37about, that's absolutely um that would

1:15:40be great. I think certainly demonstrated

1:15:43academic growth in the schools that have

1:15:46been identified by DESIE as requiring

1:15:48targeted assistance um I think would

1:15:52be a natural um

1:15:56you know one to look at. So may maybe

1:15:59more holistically just improvement at

1:16:01the targeted assistance schools. Um I we

1:16:05or we could do something more specific

1:16:07to grades. Grade three I know is one

1:16:09that you've mentioned before. So

1:16:11thinking about grade three across the

1:16:13district and our lit literacy um scores

1:16:16could certainly be one or um another

1:16:19high leverage point could be grade eight

1:16:21mathematics because we know that grade 8

1:16:23math and algebra are often a predictor

1:16:26for graduation rates and and and high

1:16:29school completion and um high school

1:16:31course taking uh college enrollment STEM

1:16:34pathways etc. So, I'm certainly open to

1:16:37whatever the committee would be

1:16:39interested in

1:16:41evaluating me on.

1:16:43>> Awesome. And I think uh as as we've

1:16:46discussed previously that third grade is

1:16:48is most important and and eighth grade

1:16:51for math as well. I think those would be

1:16:53u great measures and I hope that we can

1:16:55discuss that further. Uh the last

1:16:57question that I had um I know you didn't

1:17:00want to discuss this but uh regarding

1:17:02the 2026 transportation

1:17:05uh deficit.

1:17:07Um what was originally budgeted? Uh what

1:17:11was actually spent? What specifically

1:17:14caused the variance? And uh was this

1:17:18operational overrun or was this

1:17:20transportation budget established below

1:17:22the uh reasonably anticipated cost to

1:17:26providing those services? So, we've

1:17:29actually ended the year about where we

1:17:31thought we would as far as the

1:17:32transportation costs at around 22.3. And

1:17:35I'll be bringing the final numbers um at

1:17:38our next meeting. So, we will have our

1:17:40fiscal up. Well, we're going to have a

1:17:42transportation subcommittee meeting, I

1:17:43believe, um and then we're also going to

1:17:46have a fiscal update during our regular

1:17:48meeting. Um where the interim CFO for

1:17:51the city, Jay Condan, will be coming as

1:17:54well. Um and we have been working

1:17:56collaboratively with him. So we did end

1:17:58around on the nonn net school spending

1:18:01about where we had imagined but as you

1:18:03know um it was underfunded from the

1:18:06start. So we said we would need I think

1:18:10we actually said we needed more than

1:18:11that like 24 and 26 the same as we did

1:18:13this 25

1:18:15budget

1:18:16>> and then this year we asked for more as

1:18:17well. Uh but last year I believe we

1:18:19received 19. This year we received 17. I

1:18:23and now I'm forgetting but I will have

1:18:24all those numbers for you when we

1:18:26present them. So we were underfunded for

1:18:28that and that is an area where I very

1:18:31much appreciate that um Mr. Condan is

1:18:36looking at that looking at how we're

1:18:38using circuit breaker wants to be

1:18:39collaborative doesn't want it to be a

1:18:42situation where we're simply

1:18:43underfunding to figure it out later. Uh,

1:18:45so I very much appreciate that and uh

1:18:48we'll be bringing our final numbers

1:18:50because the books close um this Friday

1:18:53and and we're figuring out sort of um

1:18:57how the city is going to uh fund that

1:19:00deficit. Um,

1:19:03so yes,

1:19:05>> just to be clear because I know and I

1:19:07wasn't on the committee um back when

1:19:09there were some overruns

1:19:11uh but just to be clear so um we

1:19:14expected these this deficit, we expected

1:19:17this to happen and um we fully

1:19:22anticipate to fund it. So on the non-net

1:19:26school spending side, it's it's

1:19:28interesting because

1:19:30what ends up happening is it hits the

1:19:33city treasury anyway.

1:19:35>> Correct.

1:19:36>> So on one hand it's a deficit because

1:19:39they haven't reclassed it to us to rec,

1:19:42you know, but at the end of the day it

1:19:44still hits their lines. It hits their uh

1:19:47budget. So as long as we're not paying

1:19:49it out of the net school spending. So,

1:19:51there was an area where we had spent

1:19:53some out of the net school spending, but

1:19:54we again as we're closing the books,

1:19:56we're classing exactly where we're

1:19:59allowed. Um, but we're reclassing those

1:20:01expenses. So then now now it'll be all

1:20:03on the net school non-net school

1:20:05spending side. Um, so at the end of the

1:20:09day, it doesn't end up being a deficit

1:20:11on our end.

1:20:13>> It ends up being one they have to take

1:20:15care of either way.

1:20:16>> It's a city deficit then.

1:20:17>> Correct. and understanding that non-net

1:20:20spending is the city's responsibility

1:20:22anyway.

1:20:22>> Correct.

1:20:23>> Um Okay. All right. Yeah. Thank you.

1:20:26>> Any other uh Miss Oliver?

1:20:28>> I just wanted u Mr. Peina to clarify the

1:20:31ESL comment you made. I'm not sure the

1:20:34numbers like what was the question if

1:20:36you can repeat.

1:20:36>> So if you look at Desi uh Desi has all

1:20:38the numbers. Uh you can look at uh where

1:20:41we dropped. Uh we dropped in certain

1:20:44areas. Um and so it's factual data

1:20:48that's on the DESIE website.

1:20:50>> Okay. Thank you.

1:20:51>> Mhm.

1:20:52>> Um yes, go ahead.

1:20:54>> So um I can certainly look at that data

1:20:58point, but one data point that I think

1:21:00is important to to note just in general

1:21:04is that English learners obviously they

1:21:06do perform not as well on MCCAST when

1:21:09they're within their first few years of

1:21:10being in this country. I mean, I think

1:21:12any of us who went to another country in

1:21:13the first two years are not going to do

1:21:15great on a standardized test. Um,

1:21:17however, our former English learners,

1:21:19and I believe this is a statistic in

1:21:21Massachusetts overall, but former

1:21:22English learners actually outperform

1:21:24their native English-speaking peers once

1:21:27they

1:21:28become once they fle or become a former

1:21:31English learner. So, and and this is for

1:21:34all of the reasons that we know like

1:21:36bilingualism and dual language. And

1:21:38that's why we have um a global studies

1:21:41school. And that's why it would be

1:21:42amazing if we could expand dual language

1:21:44because we know that the uh bilingual

1:21:47brain works a little differently and is

1:21:49able to once catching up it in the

1:21:52language is able to demonstrate

1:21:54proficiency. So when they're not when a

1:21:56student who is an English learner is not

1:21:58performing well on a test, it is not

1:22:00simp it's not because they are not able

1:22:03to. It's because they just have not

1:22:04reached that level of academic English

1:22:06to be able to demonstrate what they

1:22:08know. So

1:22:09>> thank you.

1:22:10>> Thank you for that clarification. I

1:22:12think that no matter what country you

1:22:13go, if you speak a different language,

1:22:15you're not going to score high on a

1:22:17MCAST or any other um screening they

1:22:19have because it's very difficult because

1:22:21that's not your, you know, native

1:22:22language. But I think that we need to

1:22:25look also the other aspects of like a

1:22:26math science how we're new um comers in

1:22:29the ESL um second language or scoring

1:22:32because that would be a good thing to

1:22:33say yeah we might know not know the

1:22:35English language but we are able to also

1:22:39succeed in science and math. So I think

1:22:41that's something that we need to look at

1:22:43what the data is what the scores are.

1:22:45But I do appreciate that you clarify

1:22:48that cuz a lot of it after you learn the

1:22:50language and able to know your skills of

1:22:52writing and you know you are able to

1:22:55basically score higher and I do apprec

1:22:58appreciate the the clarification. Thank

1:23:00you, Mu. And then Miss Zach.

1:23:03>> And

1:23:03>> oh,

1:23:07go ahead.

1:23:09>> And as someone that was in the bilingual

1:23:12program, um I would like that as a

1:23:16district we continue to support them in

1:23:18the classroom. Uh meaning like can we

1:23:21have extra teachers there to support

1:23:23them? Can we um offer more reading

1:23:26opportunities for them to read? So I

1:23:28hope that that will be a continuing area

1:23:30we will continue to um invest because

1:23:34like I said as someone that was in those

1:23:36classroom we do need that support. So we

1:23:39might be able to do well in math when we

1:23:41come from our home country but again for

1:23:44me I didn't know anything. I couldn't

1:23:46even say the single word in English. So

1:23:49for me that that boost or that extra

1:23:52support I think would have um would have

1:23:55gave me faster to learning the English

1:23:57language. So thank you.

1:23:59>> Thank you. Um two point of information I

1:24:03would like to share before we move on.

1:24:05Um as far as the transportation aspect,

1:24:08this committee did request an

1:24:10appropriate amount. It just was not

1:24:12funded to that level. Uh and the other

1:24:15thing is we have not yet voted for the

1:24:17new focus indicator. So as uh the

1:24:20superintendent said, if anybody has, you

1:24:23know, suggestions or recommendations,

1:24:25send them over before when we have to

1:24:28vote to accept the new focus indicators.

1:24:30That way it's all incorporated. If she

1:24:32needs to go over any of those, she can

1:24:34with us and we can have a final

1:24:35discussion.

1:24:37Um now we can move on to uh 3B which is

1:24:41items to refer to subcommittee.

1:24:46>> Oh also Mr. Sullivan are you still with

1:24:48us?

1:24:50>> Yes I am.

1:24:51>> Any questions?

1:24:53>> No.

1:24:56>> All right. Um seeing none we will move

1:25:00on to agenda item four which is the

1:25:02consent agenda. What's the will of the

1:25:04committee? [clears throat]

1:25:11Mr.

1:25:12>> Oh, go ahead. Nope. If you had

1:25:14questions.

1:25:14>> Uh, can I pull out uh D?

1:25:20>> Okay. Uh, is there any other items that

1:25:23folks want to pull out?

1:25:26>> We I'd like to just recognize um letter

1:25:29B and letter C. Um, so we don't really

1:25:32need to pull them up, but I just wanted

1:25:34to recognize them and recognize those

1:25:36two donations.

1:25:37>> Okay. We'll start with Mr. Pin and then

1:25:40um let's say Zach, you can recognize

1:25:42those and then we'll take them all

1:25:43together. So motion to take um D out of

1:25:49out of order and discuss it now.

1:25:52>> Yeah. Um

1:25:54so again I I sent this to the

1:25:56superintendent beforehand so that she

1:25:58would uh be not surprised by the

1:26:01question. Um so the question is who

1:26:03currently performs the functions

1:26:05assigned to the uh proposed benefits

1:26:08coordinator? What is the fully loaded

1:26:10annual cost of this position? And what

1:26:14analysis uh demonstrates that adding

1:26:17another position

1:26:19uh is

1:26:20>> D is not um it's acceptance of donation.

1:26:24>> Oh no.

1:26:25>> Are you looking at the right

1:26:27>> we're on you're looking at agenda

1:26:30>> new business.

1:26:31>> You want to new business?

1:26:32>> My bad.

1:26:33>> All right. So in that case we'll

1:26:34[laughter] go back.

1:26:35>> My bad.

1:26:36>> No worries. Uh Miss A.

1:26:38>> My eyes they're burning.

1:26:40>> Thank you. Um so letter B is acceptance

1:26:43of donation for back to school teacher

1:26:45appreciation event from AJ Deansa

1:26:48Foundation and World Vision. Um let me

1:26:51see if I can find it here.

1:26:54I think my book is a little out of order

1:26:56so I apologize.

1:27:02So um it's our pleasure to accept a

1:27:04generous donation of backpacks, lunch

1:27:06bags, school Hold on one second. I think

1:27:09this is out of order. military.

1:27:10>> That's it. Um, school supplies, um,

1:27:13classroom supplies, cups, coffee makers,

1:27:15fans, and SEI kits from AJ Debansa, the

1:27:18AJ Debansa Foundation, and the World

1:27:20Vision as a back to school teacher

1:27:22appreciation event for the for the YMCA

1:27:25in the Brockton public schools. Um,

1:27:28again, you know, this is one of our

1:27:30students that has um is very successful

1:27:33right now and he is doing what we're all

1:27:36doing, we all try to do is you give back

1:27:38to your community. So, you know, we just

1:27:40wanted to acknowledge that and thank him

1:27:41and thank the foundation for remembering

1:27:43our school. Um, and then the second one

1:27:48is the

1:27:51this one um Angela School. So, I happen

1:27:54to be talking to the principal that day.

1:27:56So, that one we have acceptance of

1:27:59donation for Angela School from Mr.

1:28:01James Wade of Costco wholesale. So,

1:28:04thank you to Costco. Um, again, local

1:28:06businesses remembering our students. So,

1:28:09it's um it is our pleasure to accept a

1:28:11generous donation of $500 along with 160

1:28:14backpacks from Mr. James Wade of Costco

1:28:18wholesale which will be used to support

1:28:20our Angelo school students. The

1:28:21backpacks will help students or student

1:28:24organization and help strengthen the

1:28:26homeschool connection and the money will

1:28:28go towards activities and events to

1:28:30continue continue to strengthen our

1:28:32positive school culture. Um, and this

1:28:34donation was made possible through the

1:28:35generosity of Costco Wholesale. Um, so

1:28:39thank you to Costco again. Um, you know,

1:28:42it's wonderful to always see whether

1:28:44it's our alumni or whether it's local

1:28:46businesses giving back to our students

1:28:48and our community and even our staff.

1:28:49So, this is awesome. So, we definitely

1:28:51always want to acknowledge them.

1:28:52Hopefully, I I caught everyone, but

1:28:55thank you.

1:28:56>> Thank you. Um, anyone else? Mr.

1:28:59Rodriguez.

1:29:00>> Um,

1:29:02superintendent, just on the uh on the

1:29:03approval of the grants. I know we've

1:29:05discussed this um prior to you and also

1:29:07when you first arrived, if we can just

1:29:10get a breakdown of the grants online

1:29:11item, you know, as far as what's being

1:29:13spent on salary and supplies. I know

1:29:15we've we we have done it, but it's uh

1:29:18not on this one. So, just want to make

1:29:19sure that

1:29:20>> Oh, to send it to every

1:29:22>> Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

1:29:23>> Um, thanks.

1:29:24>> What's the will of the committee?

1:29:27>> Mr. Pina,

1:29:28>> I'm sorry. I just had one question. I

1:29:30found the question. Yes. I apologize for

1:29:32my issue with my eyes. Um as as uh as we

1:29:36approve these grants and and we end up

1:29:40approving uh I mean getting a lot of

1:29:42grants. It's a a great deal.

1:29:44>> Um I believe the city comm city council

1:29:48uh was surprised that we got the amount

1:29:50in grants as I remember watching that uh

1:29:54that happen. So, as as we get this money

1:29:57and we get these grants, what student

1:29:59outcomes um are attached to the spending

1:30:03and and will the committee uh get those

1:30:06reports and to determine whether these

1:30:07programs actually work uh before we

1:30:10continue to expand them?

1:30:11>> Yes. So, when you um write a grant or

1:30:14apply for a grant, establishing goals is

1:30:18part of uh the grant process and it's

1:30:21actually in our grant manual as well. Um

1:30:23there's a step-by-step framework um

1:30:25regarding our expectations for grant

1:30:27application, grant management. And so

1:30:29each grant that we receive um carries

1:30:32outcome and reporting requirements uh

1:30:34set by the funer and the administration.

1:30:36And it aligns each program to our

1:30:38district's priorities. So depending on

1:30:41the grant's purpose, programs are

1:30:43measured on student achievement and

1:30:44academic growth, attendance and

1:30:46engagement, English learner progress and

1:30:48language acquisition, access to

1:30:50specialized services and interventions,

1:30:53college and career readiness indicators

1:30:54or program participation and completion

1:30:56rates. So those are the major areas. So

1:30:59before recommending that any grant

1:31:01funded program continues um the

1:31:04administration will review their the

1:31:06outcomes against uh the program's

1:31:09targets whether or not the program was

1:31:11implemented as it was designed uh the

1:31:13participation levels and the alignment

1:31:15with again our district strategic

1:31:17priorities and pro programs that are not

1:31:19meeting those targets are adjusted or

1:31:21not recommended for renewal. Um and so

1:31:25uh I can give you some examples of that.

1:31:27So for example, last year we received a

1:31:29grant from Massachusetts Afterchool

1:31:31Partnership or MAP to run afterchool

1:31:33programming for students at Champion.

1:31:36And so from the first day, uh there was

1:31:39tracking on if students were attending

1:31:41the program and if they were continuing

1:31:43to return to the program. That was one

1:31:45of the items that we were looking at. As

1:31:47the year went on, more students joined

1:31:49and attendance kept climbing. Um so that

1:31:51told us that students wanted to be

1:31:53there. Um [snorts] then there was survey

1:31:56data. Um so they surveyed the students

1:31:59about what they enjoyed and what they

1:32:01wanted the um the program to do better.

1:32:04And then they we use those answers to

1:32:07plan the next round. um parents and

1:32:10families actually also started to join

1:32:12uh in the afterchool activities and so

1:32:14that was actually an unanticipated um

1:32:17result but that was great and so that's

1:32:19how we knew that the program was working

1:32:21was based based on the students u

1:32:23participation and their survey results

1:32:26um another example uh would be the prism

1:32:29grant which includes goal setting action

1:32:31planning and monitoring as a regular

1:32:33part of the work so one of our k3 goals

1:32:35for prism for example is By June 2027,

1:32:39at least 73% of students in grades K to

1:32:421, up from 53% in June of 2026, and at

1:32:45least 67% of students in grades 2 to

1:32:48three, up from 47.5%

1:32:51in June of 2026, will meet or exceed the

1:32:53end of grade level benchmarks. So again,

1:32:56we look at um so we'll set the goals and

1:32:59then we'll measure the prog measure the

1:33:01grant against those goals. Um so for

1:33:04this one in particular, they'll be

1:33:05looking at composite scores of Dibbles

1:33:07assessment um

1:33:10on and and looking at the individual

1:33:12student groups as well.

1:33:14>> Are are we able to um I know there's a

1:33:16dashboard for the money side of this,

1:33:18but is are we able to see as the

1:33:21committee how those are performing? And

1:33:23when you said administration, do you

1:33:25mean like do you have a a subcommittee

1:33:27within your administration that reviews

1:33:29the grants or are you part of that? So

1:33:30it's the grants director who supports

1:33:33the those who are applying for the

1:33:35grants and then who are implementing the

1:33:37grants and we do have a a and she comes

1:33:39and does a quarterly report. So what we

1:33:42can do for her next quarterly report is

1:33:44she can certainly provide um that

1:33:47information on because I know in the

1:33:49past few she's been providing here are

1:33:50the number of grants we've applied for,

1:33:52here's how much we received, um here's

1:33:55sort of what they were uh supporting um

1:33:58and and things like that. And so what we

1:34:00could do for the next one is talk more

1:34:02about the goal setting.

1:34:03>> And lastly, I would just add that um to

1:34:06put our um colleagues and the council's

1:34:09mind at ease and we uh ensure that it's

1:34:14we can show what these funds are being

1:34:16spent on

1:34:17>> and that they're not being um mismanaged

1:34:19or misused, which I'm not saying they

1:34:21are, but I'm just saying

1:34:23>> um that they're actually have a a

1:34:24purpose and and why we're using them and

1:34:26that we need them.

1:34:28>> Yes, absolutely. I mean, yes, our grant

1:34:30funding is really important and we see

1:34:32what happens, right, when a a grant or a

1:34:34funding source like for Discovering

1:34:36Justice doesn't return. So, they do have

1:34:38actual impacts on our programming and

1:34:41our students. So, thank you. Yes.

1:34:44>> Any other questions?

1:34:46>> No. What's the will of the committee as

1:34:48far as the consent agenda?

1:34:52>> Motion to approve um as a whole. Is

1:34:56there a B CDE E FG?

1:34:58>> Seconded.

1:34:59>> Motion has been properly made and second

1:35:01to approve consent agenda. I'll read it

1:35:03into the record. A approval of minutes

1:35:06accounts review subcommittee meeting

1:35:08July 7, 2026. B accept acceptance of

1:35:11donation back to school teacher

1:35:12appreciation event from AJ Debasta

1:35:15Foundation and World Vision. C.

1:35:17Acceptance of donation Angelo school

1:35:18from Mr. James Wade of Costco wholesale.

1:35:22D. Acceptance of donation BPS athletic

1:35:24department from Franklin Cummings Tech.

1:35:27Uh F approval of community schools

1:35:29advisory board. F E I'm sorry. F is

1:35:34approval of Reed's collaborative

1:35:35quarterly report overview September

1:35:372026. G request for authorization to

1:35:40accept proposing expenditures of funds

1:35:42FY27 21st CC continuation and

1:35:46enhancement grant in the amount of

1:35:49$678,720.

1:35:52Uh FY27 Commonwealth Preschool

1:35:54Partnership Initiative grant in the

1:35:56amount of $671,695.

1:36:01FY2721st

1:36:03CCLC continuation and enhancement grant

1:36:06summer in the amount of $190,000.

1:36:10FY27 coordinated family and community

1:36:13enhance engagement grant CFCE in the

1:36:16amount of $158,573

1:36:20and FY27 CTE frameworks in competency

1:36:24based implementation grant in the amount

1:36:26of $25,000.

1:36:28A motion has been made improperly.

1:36:30Second, Miss Inte,

1:36:31>> I actually have a question

1:36:32>> on the motion.

1:36:33>> Yes. Um, I wanted more clarification on

1:36:37E and F. I just thought we was only

1:36:39talking about donations.

1:36:41Um, can I just have can I just ask you a

1:36:44question

1:36:45>> on the motion? Can I ask a question?

1:36:49for so for the community advisory school

1:36:51board.

1:36:53>> Um

1:36:55I wanted to know like what was the

1:36:57process

1:36:58for for creating this this revision?

1:37:01>> Yes.

1:37:02>> And also who was part of it?

1:37:04>> Yes. Um so it was a multi-step process

1:37:07that um where we actually had to look um

1:37:11and it was guided by uh Dr. um Sariah

1:37:15Daros. Um, so the community schools

1:37:18advisory board, the the the bylaws and

1:37:22the way it was structured before, I

1:37:23believe was somewhat outdated. That was

1:37:25actually something that was brought up

1:37:26here at this committee. Um, and so we

1:37:30she was um wonderful in being able to

1:37:32provide a lot of institutional knowledge

1:37:35and old documents for how community

1:37:38schools was actually established in the

1:37:39first place, how it evolved over time.

1:37:42um she actually provided some

1:37:43information that Kathy Smith uh had

1:37:46provided regarding like again the

1:37:48genesis over time. And so basically the

1:37:50advisory board

1:37:52served a community schools that no

1:37:54longer exists like in the format that

1:37:57it's in. And so in updating it, she

1:38:01wanted it to be a more meaningful

1:38:03process with more meaningful engagement.

1:38:05Right. Right now I believe some of you

1:38:07have participated in those meetings. Um

1:38:09I believe Miss Oliver and Mr. Rodriguez

1:38:11have gone to those meetings. They're

1:38:12more um reporting out and there's 11

1:38:16members and there's not it's a little

1:38:18bit unclear what the selection process

1:38:20is. Um but we worked on and she went

1:38:24through several revisions of figuring

1:38:25out what would be best um ser what would

1:38:28best serve the community schools model.

1:38:30So it's very it's similar to what we

1:38:32already have but is just updated um and

1:38:35would be uh more supportive of her

1:38:37process. So she worked with her

1:38:38supervisor, worked with Dr. Labilwa, um

1:38:42got feedback from her stakeholders and

1:38:44put together uh this revision um that

1:38:47she would like to put into place

1:38:48immediately. Uh so she normally does

1:38:50have four quarterly meetings, I believe,

1:38:52that um y'all would be invited to. You

1:38:54would still continue to be on the the

1:38:57board. It's just it would go from, I

1:38:59believe, 11 or 13 members down to seven.

1:39:01and she's very specific about who would

1:39:03be part of that because I believe there

1:39:06were there the membership um uh yeah

1:39:09didn't serve our current needs

1:39:12>> and I'm all about trying to be

1:39:14transparent to our community. Can you um

1:39:17can you explain to the community the

1:39:19seven members that that should be part

1:39:22of this um this board?

1:39:26>> Absolutely. And so I'm happy to read it,

1:39:28but also if it would be okay. Um, Dr.

1:39:30Daris couldn't be here with us tonight,

1:39:32but Matt Campbell is here and so he may

1:39:34be able to shed some light on some of

1:39:36these uh on the the change in the

1:39:39advisory board if that's okay. But I am

1:39:42happy to um

1:39:45sorry

1:39:48um

1:39:49>> ask questions.

1:39:54Thank you.

1:39:55>> Okay. Well, what do you guys want?

1:39:57>> You can sit right here.

1:39:58>> We are a team.

1:40:01Put them on the spot.

1:40:03>> I do have additional questions, though.

1:40:06>> Well, I'll do the best I can to answer

1:40:07them.

1:40:07>> I appreciate that.

1:40:09>> Uh, super. Uh, hi.

1:40:12>> Hello.

1:40:13>> I'm Matt Campbell. I'm a coordinator at

1:40:14the community schools. Uh, what's

1:40:17happened in the past is we have a very

1:40:18large advisory board committee that has

1:40:22it. it's very very difficult to schedule

1:40:24the quarterly meetings because when you

1:40:26have a lot of people a lot of people

1:40:28have a lot of stuff going on. So what's

1:40:31happened really all through last year

1:40:34and off and on through the I think eight

1:40:36years I've been part of the community

1:40:38schools

1:40:39uh we you schedule a meeting the

1:40:42invitations go out as it currently

1:40:44stands there's members of the city

1:40:45council there's community members people

1:40:49who used to be parents the it has been a

1:40:52very it's it's very difficult to get

1:40:54everyone in the same spot at the same

1:40:57time I know we've run up against a

1:40:59couple years ago

1:41:01you guys and it wasn't necessarily all

1:41:02of you but the school committee had

1:41:05subcommittee meetings you know at

1:41:097 6:30 we would have a meeting at 6:00

1:41:12which okay you're not that's that's

1:41:14difficult thing so we've had a lot of

1:41:15scheduling problems uh as the

1:41:17superintendent said this community

1:41:19schools was founded eons ago when this

1:41:22building opened and for those of you

1:41:25that don't know it is the deal that got

1:41:27this high school made

1:41:30This high school was controversial when

1:41:32it was open because it was moving from

1:41:34downtown over to the west side. And the

1:41:38one of the things that got this high

1:41:39school approved and built was the

1:41:42agreement that the community school all

1:41:44the other elementary schools and over

1:41:46time it's grown into the junior highs

1:41:48will be open for the community

1:41:52at night many nights during the week.

1:41:55Now obviously over time the community

1:41:57schools has evolved. Uh what's Dr. De

1:42:00Barrow is trying to do is get a workable

1:42:03group to kind of be a steering committee

1:42:05for what we do. Uh and what we do is I

1:42:09think as all of you know and I think

1:42:10most people that are watching at home

1:42:13know we have a very wide and varied sort

1:42:16of platform and you know the British

1:42:19would say our brief is extensive. Uh

1:42:24Dr. Dr. Dearis has outlined she would

1:42:25like a s a designate from the

1:42:27superintendent. In the past, we've

1:42:29always had an administrator outside the

1:42:31community schools on it. Uh one city

1:42:33counselor at large or a mayor's

1:42:36designate. We've have ward counselors

1:42:38before, but if that represents one ward,

1:42:41it would be helpful if we had somebody

1:42:42who sort of is responsible for the whole

1:42:45city. And if they're unable, I think the

1:42:47mayor's designate sort of covers that.

1:42:50uh a school committee member which would

1:42:53obviously be you all of you uh the

1:42:56director of the community schools sort

1:42:57of chairs the meeting and runs the

1:42:59meeting not not dissimilar to what uh

1:43:01Dr.

1:43:03does in front of all of you. Uh and

1:43:05three community members uh ideally

1:43:09people that are in the school system

1:43:11that are have children in the school cit

1:43:14system reside in Brockton. So they kind

1:43:17of get the idea of people being inside

1:43:20the schools but also in the community

1:43:23have kids coming up or in the school

1:43:26system. So they're sort of, you know,

1:43:28rather than just doing the same thing

1:43:29every year, they provide a little bit

1:43:31more insight as to what parents want,

1:43:34what the kids want, what people need,

1:43:36and how we are going forward.

1:43:41>> Um, well, thank you for clarifying the

1:43:44community members because when you say

1:43:46community members, I'm just thinking

1:43:49um parents that's not working in the

1:43:52schools or caregivers. And I think in

1:43:56order for us to allow a voice to be

1:43:59heard, um I guess my question to you is

1:44:03uh why are we specifically well prefer

1:44:08someone that's working in our school to

1:44:10be part of this? The reason why is

1:44:13because we also have that they can get

1:44:15compensated.

1:44:16Um

1:44:18which is great, right? Like we don't

1:44:19want anyone to work for free. Uh but I I

1:44:23do want more clarification first on

1:44:25paying them. But why not allow this

1:44:28opportunity to be for those that's not a

1:44:32someone that works within our schools?

1:44:34>> We are a school I can answer that

1:44:36actually. Hopefully it's an acceptable

1:44:38answer. Uh we are a school program.

1:44:43There is a lot of people that would you

1:44:46know that feel the community schools is

1:44:48outside of the Brockton public schools

1:44:50or that we're on or that we are run by

1:44:53the city or we are a nonprofit that is

1:44:56existing and there are some fine

1:44:58nonprofits. We are run by the schools.

1:45:00What we have found over the course of

1:45:02time is the best advice we get is when

1:45:05with a smaller group of people is to get

1:45:08people who sort of understand how the

1:45:10school system works and also have

1:45:14children in the school system. So they

1:45:17sort of bridge both you know the school

1:45:19system because there's a lot of stuff

1:45:21that parent you know internal workings

1:45:23and processes that you know

1:45:28need to be followed. They have an

1:45:30understanding of that. They also have

1:45:31all the parent perspectives of, you

1:45:33know, going to little league on a Friday

1:45:35night or going to youth soccer on a

1:45:38Saturday morning, going to the play,

1:45:41going to the art, you know, whatever art

1:45:43program here. So, what we're trying to

1:45:45do is hit as many different groups

1:45:47because a lot of our a lot of people in

1:45:51the community schools that use the

1:45:52community schools are

1:45:57part of the community, but they're also

1:45:58working here as part of the school

1:46:01system. They're also working as part of

1:46:03the the city. and we're trying to get as

1:46:06many different perspectives and as many

1:46:08different ideas

1:46:10while still sort of maintaining our

1:46:12presence as a school department.

1:46:16>> I'm still struggling with that part.

1:46:18Well, um, can we try to figure out if we

1:46:21for the three community members? I guess

1:46:23I understand where you're coming from,

1:46:25right? like the that we would like

1:46:26parents that are teachers to be part of

1:46:30this, but I also don't want the ones

1:46:33that wants their voice to be heard that

1:46:36not in our school um that's not inside

1:46:38of our schools to miss this opportunity.

1:46:42So like for example, I do have a lot of

1:46:44parents that's part of the DPAC and they

1:46:47have been asking how can they be

1:46:49involved? How can they um voices be

1:46:52heard? Um, are we open to instead of

1:46:56three community members to only be

1:46:57people that work in our schools, can we

1:46:59allow two to be two of them to be part

1:47:03of the school system and one from a

1:47:09parent advisory group that is invested.

1:47:11I do understand about the scheduling

1:47:13because it happens here with us too,

1:47:15right? Scheduling with multiple people

1:47:17takes time and a lot of times things

1:47:19don't get done. But we do have a lot of

1:47:22invested parents like I said the one

1:47:24that's part of um a parent advisory

1:47:28group. Can we start tapping into them to

1:47:31see is this something that um they want

1:47:34to be part of? And now if they are not

1:47:37and we can't find anybody of course I

1:47:39want us to move forward. So is that

1:47:41something that you can think about and

1:47:44explore even if it's not this year is

1:47:47that something that we can start? I'm

1:47:49not in a position right here to approve

1:47:52or disapprove anything. Certainly

1:47:54something I can bring back to the

1:47:55superintendent and Dr. Dearos for

1:47:58consideration. I don't have the

1:48:00authority to sit here and say yes, we're

1:48:02going to have somebody from the uh

1:48:04special education pack or you know the

1:48:07George school or any other pack or any

1:48:09of the other packs beyond the community

1:48:12schools. In the past, I know going back

1:48:16several years, I used to go to a lot of

1:48:18the pack meetings. When I first got this

1:48:20job, one of the things that I was asked

1:48:22to do was this actually predates Dr.

1:48:24Deberos. I was assigned to go to a lot

1:48:27of the pack meetings to try and re, you

1:48:29know, that is something that I think we

1:48:32could revisit as well. And I can, you

1:48:34know, I'm sure we could all do that, but

1:48:36I can bring that to Dr. Dearos.

1:48:38>> I appreciate that. Uh again um I am a

1:48:42parent but I'm also I do try to make it

1:48:45a priority to attend these pack

1:48:46meetings. Uh and one of the ongoing

1:48:50concern is how can they voice be heard

1:48:53and I think this would be a great start

1:48:55in a um and a great opportunity. Um, so

1:48:58I don't have any more questions for this

1:49:01for today, but I also don't I'm not sure

1:49:04if we're ready to vote if I feel like

1:49:06there's some pending

1:49:08clarification as far as the three

1:49:11community members. I mean, I'm open for

1:49:14a discussion from you guys and to see

1:49:16how we can go about this.

1:49:18>> Um, Mr. Rodriguez,

1:49:21>> thank you. um you can pull it out um for

1:49:25further review or um recommendations and

1:49:27take it up on the next committee

1:49:28meeting. Just need to make the motion

1:49:30put on the floor. But this is I believe

1:49:32this is the second time that we're

1:49:35restructuring community schools advisory

1:49:36board. I remember when I first got on

1:49:37there was about like 20 something to 30

1:49:39members

1:49:40>> since I've been in I started in I think

1:49:432019.

1:49:45This is the second restructuring. We

1:49:47went from over 20 people at the first

1:49:49meetings down to 13. And it is still a

1:49:53struggle to get

1:49:55we at that point when we had 20 we had

1:50:00a wide variety of people and it was very

1:50:03difficult to schedule a meeting. So we

1:50:05are trying to hone down.

1:50:07>> Yeah. Um my my only recommendation would

1:50:10be I know the committee we've added uh

1:50:13second members to some of the you know

1:50:15through save our sports and um

1:50:19uh other committees. So I I would like

1:50:21to see two members of this committee uh

1:50:23remain on uh community schools and I do

1:50:26agree with um member CentO to uh look at

1:50:30other options of how we want to

1:50:31structure it because that you know we're

1:50:32the final approval on it. So any

1:50:34recommendations uh we could forward it

1:50:36to the superintendent um to get

1:50:38something teed up. So

1:50:41>> Miss Isak,

1:50:42>> thank you. Um actually, [clears throat]

1:50:44um Mr. Rodriguez touched base on two of

1:50:47the items I was going to mention is um

1:50:49the way this was written, I read it as

1:50:52three community members, not BPS

1:50:55employees.

1:50:56>> Yeah. So that's how I understood it

1:50:58because I do agree we should have the

1:51:00community and if you want to have

1:51:01employees that's fine but I read it as

1:51:05community members within our community

1:51:07parents or those that want to advocate

1:51:09for our students. And then in our

1:51:12subcommittee assignments we do have two

1:51:14members. So that is part of our

1:51:16subcommittee. So we do have the two

1:51:18members there. And one other

1:51:19recommendation I would make because it

1:51:21kind of is contradicting but um we all

1:51:25serve different wards and I think we

1:51:28shouldn't just limit it to city

1:51:29councilors because that's only four. We

1:51:31should also just um city councils at

1:51:33large. I think it should be rewarded and

1:51:35have it be city counselor um because we

1:51:40I get phone calls for all the schools

1:51:42but if there's an issue I will reach out

1:51:43to that school committee member first

1:51:45and work with them and bring it to their

1:51:46attention. So, there was some rewarding

1:51:49here. Um, that was a little different,

1:51:51but I thought it was going to be

1:51:52community members. The way this was

1:51:54written, I didn't realize it was just

1:51:55going to be based on our, you know,

1:51:58employees. Um, and I do remember cuz I

1:52:00served that was the the year I served on

1:52:02community schools and there was always

1:52:04scheduling conflicts and it was just I

1:52:06don't think we ever met to be honest

1:52:07with you. Um, because it just kept

1:52:09getting cancelled. So, it is hard to

1:52:10coordinate. But, do they have to have a

1:52:13quorum? I mean, I do they have the

1:52:15bylaws as far as community schools,

1:52:17>> you have to have a quorum.

1:52:18>> Yeah. What is their quorum? The way that

1:52:19the bylaws are written, can we see a

1:52:21copy of the bylaws?

1:52:22>> I don't have it in front of me. I I

1:52:24think right now there's either 11 or 13

1:52:27people on the committee and I want to

1:52:30say the quorum is well be more than 50.

1:52:32It's either six or seven. It's more than

1:52:34seven.

1:52:35>> Yeah, I would definitely like to um I

1:52:37would, you know, with Miss Inte, Mr.

1:52:38Rodriguez and any other member, I would

1:52:40make a recommendation to remove this for

1:52:42further discussion just so we can get

1:52:44some clarification, review the bylaws

1:52:46because again it was one member for

1:52:48school committee and we did make we did

1:52:51uh a revision and add an additional

1:52:54school committee member um to make sure

1:52:57there was representation at the

1:52:58meetings. So whatever you know the will

1:53:01of the committee but I [clears throat]

1:53:03definitely would would prefer a little

1:53:04more info on this. With that in mind,

1:53:06then we would need to withdraw the

1:53:08motion on the floor.

1:53:09>> I will withdraw the motion.

1:53:11>> Who second it?

1:53:13>> Mina. Second it.

1:53:14>> Um,

1:53:15>> withdraw. Um, now I'll take a motion to

1:53:19remove and postpone item E, approval of

1:53:22community schools advisory board, if

1:53:24that's the will of the committee.

1:53:26Did Miss Antio have a second question or

1:53:29was it just a

1:53:30>> It's for um the reads collaborator but

1:53:33if you want to take a motion on this

1:53:35>> we can take a motion post

1:53:36>> and then come back to my question. Yes.

1:53:38>> Yes. What's the will of the committee?

1:53:41>> She has to put a motion on.

1:53:42>> Yes. I need a motion

1:53:46>> the motion to take out

1:53:49>> item E and postpone it to next meeting.

1:53:52>> You just said it

1:53:53>> motion as stated.

1:53:55>> Thank you. Second.

1:53:56>> Motion has been properly made in second.

1:53:57Miss Conteo,

1:53:59>> yes.

1:53:59>> Miss Oliver,

1:54:00>> yes.

1:54:00>> Mr. Rodriguez,

1:54:01>> yes.

1:54:01>> Miss Azac,

1:54:02>> yes.

1:54:02>> Mr. Pina,

1:54:03>> no.

1:54:04>> Mr. Sullivan,

1:54:06>> yes.

1:54:07>> I'm a yes. As well, it carries. Um, now

1:54:09we can go into the

1:54:11>> Thank you.

1:54:12>> F.

1:54:14>> Um, my question is for the Ree

1:54:17Collaborative. Um, thank you for

1:54:19bringing this um forward. I know that we

1:54:22spoke about this um and I understand

1:54:24this is our third year that we are

1:54:28partnered with them um and I'm sure this

1:54:30business this has been a a critical uh

1:54:34partnership. So my question for you is

1:54:38um

1:54:39my understanding is that the rea was

1:54:41chosen from several collaboratives um

1:54:45years ago and my question to you is have

1:54:48you been happy with them? Um and two uh

1:54:53would you would there ever be a reason

1:54:55for us to switch? So if you can educate

1:54:57us on that.

1:54:58>> Yes, absolutely. So uh mo many school

1:55:01districts do um choose to be part of

1:55:04collaboratives because it does provide

1:55:06us the ability to have services that we

1:55:10can't provide um within the school

1:55:12system and also provides us with

1:55:14additional you know uh services and

1:55:17testing that we wouldn't be able to

1:55:19provide. And so I actually recently um

1:55:23went back and watched one of the I think

1:55:25one of the meetings where Dr. Labila was

1:55:27presenting on some different

1:55:28collaboratives and and the committee

1:55:30chose the Reeds collaborative. Um and so

1:55:32I think we are starting our third year.

1:55:34Um and you do receive these quarterly

1:55:36reports just to you know um keep you all

1:55:39a breast of what is going on. They have

1:55:41board meetings very similar to this uh

1:55:44where superintendent and special

1:55:45education directors will uh go to the

1:55:48meetings um and you know they they we

1:55:52vote on their uh approvals for new staff

1:55:55and hiring and again very similar to

1:55:58this board. Uh we have been very happy

1:56:01with uh the reads collaborative and the

1:56:03services they provided. In fact, we have

1:56:05actually uh expanded sort of um the

1:56:08testing support that we get from them.

1:56:11So, it certainly and there is because

1:56:12we're a collaborative board me uh member

1:56:15um it it does end up being um

1:56:20being more financially uh viable for us

1:56:24to be able to provide these services

1:56:25because we're part of the collaborative.

1:56:27Um so, yes, we are very happy uh with

1:56:29the collaborative. They're very uh

1:56:31professional and organized. they address

1:56:33issues in a timely manner. They actually

1:56:35recently built a new facility. Um, and

1:56:38so it's it's been a great collaboration.

1:56:41It's that's a great question about if

1:56:42there were ever a time we wanted to

1:56:44switch collaboratives. Absolutely. I

1:56:46believe that would be within our purview

1:56:48if we were for some reason not happy

1:56:51with our collaborative. Uh, but um, it

1:56:53has been an extremely positive

1:56:55experience and they have been very

1:56:57responsive to our needs and they have

1:56:59served our students very well. I'm happy

1:57:01to hear that the partnership continues

1:57:04to be strong and that it is supporting

1:57:06our district. So, it sounds like for

1:57:08right now, no changes needed. We're just

1:57:10going to keep going, which is great.

1:57:12Thank you. I don't have any more

1:57:14questions now. We can get back to

1:57:17>> any other members. See none, I'll take a

1:57:19motion.

1:57:21>> Motion to approve agenda A B C D FG.

1:57:26>> Our motion has been made. Is there a

1:57:27second?

1:57:28>> Second. Motion has been properly made

1:57:30and second. Um, I've already read the

1:57:33same into the record. Miss Conteo,

1:57:36>> yes. Miss Oliver,

1:57:37>> yes.

1:57:37>> Mr. Rodriguez,

1:57:38>> yes.

1:57:38>> Miss Azac,

1:57:39>> yes.

1:57:40>> Mr. Pina,

1:57:40>> yes.

1:57:41>> Mr. Sullivan,

1:57:43>> yes.

1:57:44>> I'm a yes as well. It carries. We will

1:57:46move on to agenda item five, unfinished

1:57:49business. Is there any unfinished

1:57:51business?

1:57:54Seeing none, we'll move on to agenda

1:57:56item six, new businesses. We have items

1:58:00A, B, C, D, and E. Um,

1:58:04there's a few that we actually will be

1:58:06taking out of this uh list, but I would

1:58:10like to take a motion to approve the

1:58:12ones that Miss Azac,

1:58:14>> I'd like to remove um letter B

1:58:19for for discussion if possible.

1:58:20>> I was going to give it to you anyways.

1:58:22Um

1:58:24in that case, you can go ahead.

1:58:26>> Okay. Um so earlier this evening around

1:58:29six o'clock uh myself, Mr. Gomes um and

1:58:32Miss Contento met for the building

1:58:34naming subcommittee meeting and um we

1:58:37had uh councelor Shirley Asac um

1:58:41attended and so did uh Nancy Tucker and

1:58:44a few others that um spoke about uh Dr.

1:58:48Appling and um the recommendation to not

1:58:53change the name of the street but to add

1:58:57a memorial plaque um and name it Dr.

1:59:00Appan. Believe it was Dr. Apple M her

1:59:04middle initial. Um

1:59:06>> so recommendation was made. It was

1:59:08wonderful. We got to hear from um you

1:59:10know sorority sisters uh part of but

1:59:13there's a chapter that's here um in

1:59:15Brockton. We heard from friends, family

1:59:18and it was wonderful to acknowledge Dr.

1:59:20Appling and um the leg the legacy that

1:59:24she left behind. We do have many many

1:59:26educators, many many staff over the

1:59:28years that you know will be remembered

1:59:32down the road but you know tonight was

1:59:33about Dr. Appling and you know the

1:59:36committee made a recommendation uh Mr.

1:59:38Gomes made a motion and it was seconded

1:59:40by Miss Centeo to move this to the

1:59:41committee of a whole to make a

1:59:43recommendation to um

1:59:46name Memorial Drive which is the

1:59:49entrance off of Forest A. So it's

1:59:51Memorial Drive to name um put a plaque

1:59:54at the Memorial Drive signage um reading

1:59:58um

2:00:01Dr. Claire M. Appling Way and if the

2:00:05committee if we could vote on that this

2:00:07evening. Um if anyone has any questions

2:00:11or um

2:00:14you know it was it was favorably moved

2:00:16to the committee of a whole for further

2:00:18discussion and for potential vote. And

2:00:21we would if if it passes tonight then we

2:00:25would like to have this uh taken care of

2:00:27before the end of the year. have the

2:00:30have the memorial plaque put out

2:00:33>> any uh Mr. P

2:00:34>> make a motion to um to pass uh making

2:00:38that the memorial memorial way whatever

2:00:41she said over there

2:00:42>> Dr. Appling Mr.

2:00:44>> Claire M. App

2:00:46>> second if I can.

2:00:47>> A motion.

2:00:48>> I feel like it would be nice if some of

2:00:51the members here can hear one thing or

2:00:53two about her. I think for me the

2:00:55takeaway was that she was the first

2:00:58woman in leadership role here at

2:00:59Brockton Brockton High. And I feel like

2:01:03we all should hear that piece um because

2:01:05that's important. It's also important

2:01:07for us women um to continue to take

2:01:11bigger lead bigger role in all settings.

2:01:14So um like you said there was many

2:01:17friends and families that was here some

2:01:20of them were colleague

2:01:22>> um so just wanted to make that statement

2:01:26before we um say yes and I'm ready.

2:01:30>> Absolutely. I will um I'm going to try

2:01:32to see Miss Tucker had uh emailed me her

2:01:36presentation and I actually I just

2:01:38logged off so give me two seconds. Um I

2:01:42will go on. You know Dr. Appling um was

2:01:4552 years of service at Brockton public

2:01:47school system. Um you know she was

2:01:50appointed to appointed one of the four

2:01:53original house masters back then. That's

2:01:55what we called them as housemasters. So,

2:01:57she served she was with us from 1970 to

2:01:591999.

2:02:01Um, you know, she she moved through the

2:02:03ranks. Um, she was over at West it was

2:02:06West Junior High School back then. Then

2:02:08she went to the high school. It says

2:02:10that she transferred in 1962 to Brockton

2:02:12High School. Um, but just hearing about

2:02:15um I would really love to

2:02:18read some of the items here, but again,

2:02:20those can watch it at the previous

2:02:22meeting. I mean they talked about you

2:02:24know we saw many of us saw Dr. Ablin and

2:02:27I'll be honest it was intimidating um

2:02:30she was a very strong strong um

2:02:35you know principal here and to hear the

2:02:38soft side of Dr. Appling was was amazing

2:02:41and I just and I I mentioned it during

2:02:43the meeting when I first [clears throat]

2:02:45came on to the committee I just remember

2:02:46I I was sitting next to her and I'm like

2:02:48who would have ever thought here's me

2:02:50class of 91 sitting Dr. next to Dr.

2:02:53Appling and and I was like so

2:02:55intimidated like I was nervous and then

2:02:56I just looked over at her and she's like

2:02:58she was so excited that Brockton public

2:03:02schools still reaches out to her. They

2:03:04were reaching out to her, inviting her

2:03:06to the events and she was just so

2:03:08honored to still have this welcome uh

2:03:11invitation to the events and to be there

2:03:13for our students. And I I believe it was

2:03:15the superintendent's um you know they

2:03:17they for the seniors they have the book

2:03:19awards and I remember sitting next to

2:03:21her for that and after just leaving

2:03:23there I was just like oh my god she's

2:03:25like the sweetest thing ever and then

2:03:26listening to some of the um some of the

2:03:30people that were here and just talking

2:03:32about

2:03:34her legacy and what she has left um for

2:03:37Brockton. Yes, we have many many people

2:03:39that need to be acknowledged but to

2:03:41today was about her. So, I mean this I

2:03:44can read it quickly. It's it's about a

2:03:46page and a half. Um, you don't want me

2:03:48to read it? [laughter]

2:03:50>> Come on.

2:03:50>> They can go watch the meeting if

2:03:52>> they can go watch it. But she went

2:03:53everything from, you know, uh helping

2:03:56out the kids in in in her neighborhood

2:03:58in the community through the holidays

2:03:59and stuff and camps and it was just a

2:04:02different side of her. So, I would

2:04:03definitely definitely

2:04:05>> recommend that people just go watch the

2:04:07um building naming subcommittee and

2:04:09listen listen to some of the

2:04:11>> um statements people were making cuz you

2:04:15know this is her legacy and honestly she

2:04:17would be she'd be in awe you know having

2:04:19[clears throat] this. So,

2:04:20>> thank you Miss Azac.

2:04:21>> Thank you.

2:04:22>> Um a motion has been properly made in

2:04:24second. Miss Inu,

2:04:26>> yes.

2:04:26>> Miss Oliver,

2:04:27>> yes.

2:04:27>> Mr. Rodriguez,

2:04:28>> yes. Miss Azac,

2:04:29>> yes. Mr. Pina,

2:04:30>> yes.

2:04:31>> Mr. Sullivan.

2:04:33>> Yes.

2:04:33>> I'm a yes as well. It carries. Uh be I

2:04:37do apologize. I missed item A, which is

2:04:39discussion potential vote bid review

2:04:41subcommittee meeting uh September 22nd

2:04:44which was an off day. So we didn't get

2:04:47to bring that to the whole committee.

2:04:48Did we?

2:04:50>> No.

2:04:50>> No. So Mr. Rodriguez, my apologies.

2:04:53>> Don't worry. Um on Tuesday uh September

2:04:5622nd the bid review subcommittee met and

2:04:59there was approval of uh two bids. Uh

2:05:02the first one was um awarded in the

2:05:05amount of 100,000 for one year to Hatch

2:05:07Landscape and Design uh for paving

2:05:10services and the second bid uh was up to

2:05:14uh $150,000 for three years to Buckley

2:05:19um elevator for elevator services uh for

2:05:21the district. Um, I'll put a motion on

2:05:25the floor for approval of the FY27

2:05:28school bids. Um, bid BPS-2026-031

2:05:34for paving services of up to $100,000

2:05:37one year hatch landscape

2:05:39>> in design.

2:05:41[laughter]

2:05:42>> Hold on.

2:05:43>> He's reading into the record. Go ahead.

2:05:45reading uh with both bids uh and also

2:05:48bid uh BPS 2026-036

2:05:52up to 150,000 uh for 3 years to Buckley

2:05:56Elevator.

2:05:57>> Now you can second it.

2:05:58>> Seconded.

2:05:58>> Motion has been properly made and

2:06:00second. Misso,

2:06:01>> yes.

2:06:02>> Miss Oliver,

2:06:02>> yes.

2:06:03>> Mr. Rodriguez,

2:06:04>> yes.

2:06:04>> Miss Azac,

2:06:05>> yes.

2:06:05>> Mr. Pina,

2:06:06>> yes.

2:06:06>> Mr. Sullivan,

2:06:08>> yes.

2:06:09>> And I'm a yes as well. It carries. Um

2:06:12item C, discussion, potential vote.

2:06:15Superintendent's evaluation approval. Um

2:06:18you guys have my slideshow.

2:06:21All right. Perfect. So every year the

2:06:24school committee has the privilege and

2:06:27um

2:06:29obligation of doing the superintendent's

2:06:31evaluation. Usually in the beginning of

2:06:34the fiscal year superintendent presents

2:06:35her uh indicators and goals for the

2:06:38whole fiscal year as she did earlier

2:06:40today. And towards the end of the fiscal

2:06:43year, this body goes over all those

2:06:46indicators and we rate her um from

2:06:50unsatisfactory, needs improvement,

2:06:52proficient to exemplary. And those

2:06:55scores are then uh combined and put

2:06:57together for us to present for this

2:06:59committee to accept and approve. All the

2:07:01evaluations from each individual me

2:07:04individual member will be um are usually

2:07:07uh uploaded to our website. people can

2:07:09go review and read what we said and how

2:07:11we um evaluated her and the work that

2:07:14she's been doing. So for this past

2:07:17fiscal year the um progress towards goal

2:07:20there were three major items as she

2:07:22presented earlier that we are required

2:07:25for uh implementation improvement. One

2:07:27of those is student learning goal. The

2:07:29second one is professional practice goal

2:07:31and the third one is district

2:07:33improvement goals. As far as performance

2:07:36uh indicator, we have those four

2:07:38standards. The first one is the

2:07:40instructional leadership. Second one is

2:07:42management and operations. Uh third is

2:07:45family and community engagement. Fourth

2:07:47is professional culture. And based on

2:07:50everybody's evaluation, uh myself,

2:07:53member CentO, member Pina were

2:07:56designated to um meet and put all the

2:08:00results together so we can average

2:08:03average average out the um the scores

2:08:05and how she performed for the uh three

2:08:08goals. Professional practice, she met

2:08:12for the district improvement, she met

2:08:13the goal. And for student learning,

2:08:15there were significant progress. As far

2:08:17as the standards uh for instructional

2:08:20leadership, she performed in the

2:08:22proficient range for management and

2:08:24operations proficient as well. Family

2:08:27and community engagement proficient as

2:08:29well and professional culture

2:08:31proficient. The overall summitive rating

2:08:34was a proficient score. Uh this is based

2:08:37on every individual member scoring

2:08:39subcategories of each one of these

2:08:41standards saying how did she do as far

2:08:44as curriculum? how she should do as far

2:08:46as uh instruction in the classroom. So,

2:08:48you know, evaluating our teacher, so on

2:08:50and so forth and the average of those

2:08:53will tell you the overall score for each

2:08:55of these standards and she was

2:08:57proficient on all of them. I believe in

2:08:59past year what we did when that was my

2:09:02first time doing the evaluation uh we

2:09:06took some a few of the comments from

2:09:08each member under each one of these

2:09:10standards and put it with the whole

2:09:12evaluation packet and then the overall

2:09:14comment we use everybody's um evaluation

2:09:18comments for this year um myself and

2:09:22Misso I know unfortunately Mr.

2:09:25uh was unable to attend due to um

2:09:28outside of his control uh circumstances,

2:09:32but we used everybody's evaluation for

2:09:35every uh standard and every indicator.

2:09:38So, the packet that you guys have and

2:09:40they will be uploaded to our website has

2:09:42everybody's comments, everybody's

2:09:44evaluation for every indicator. Um I

2:09:47thought it would be fair and transparent

2:09:48that we put everybody's comment for each

2:09:50section so the public has the

2:09:52opportunity to read. Either way, we were

2:09:54going to upload all these um all the

2:09:56evaluation from each member. But a few

2:09:58things that I wanted to highlight. Uh

2:10:00these are comments from different

2:10:02members. Uh I subdivided them into

2:10:05strengths and into each standard. I put

2:10:08a few um a quick sentence paragraph if

2:10:11you will uh from you guys and some of

2:10:14you will recognize your comments. I hope

2:10:16you do. Um for instance from

2:10:19instructional leadership uh an area of

2:10:22strength uh from one of the members they

2:10:25said maintaining a clear focus on

2:10:27teaching learning and continuous

2:10:29improvement across the district. This is

2:10:31what they have seen for operations. Uh a

2:10:34member said I believe this is the

2:10:36superintendent's strongest standard and

2:10:38the year's work is exceptionally well

2:10:40documented for family and community. Um

2:10:45the comment reads as her collaborative

2:10:47approach and accessibility have helped

2:10:49foster greater trust and partnership and

2:10:52for culture has de demonstrally rebuilt

2:10:56professional and intergovernmental

2:10:58relationships. This district's recovery

2:11:01required as far as uh growth. Obviously

2:11:05uh there's always areas for growth. For

2:11:07instructional we have demonstrate to

2:11:10demonstrate whether interventions are

2:11:11producing results not simply whether

2:11:13programs were implemented. Uh for

2:11:16operations uh fiscal systems especially

2:11:19require stronger transparency planning

2:11:22monitoring and accountability for family

2:11:25and community um engagement. A more

2:11:28visible and consistence presence

2:11:29throughout the community. And for

2:11:32culture, we heard that areas that we

2:11:34need to continue working on,

2:11:36particularly communication and

2:11:37continuous learning. Uh these are just a

2:11:40few of some of the comments that were

2:11:41submitted by uh members of this uh

2:11:44school committee. Uh the full

2:11:47evaluation packet will be uploaded so

2:11:49members of the community can go and take

2:11:51a look, read some of the feedback and

2:11:53some areas of strength and growth that

2:11:55uh were provided. If members have any

2:11:58question, comments, concerns, more than

2:12:00happy to take them. Superintendent if

2:12:02you have anything as well. Uh, Miss

2:12:04Oliver,

2:12:06>> thank you. I appreciate that. Um, I do

2:12:08like the whole evaluation process. Um, I

2:12:12get great joy of doing it even when I do

2:12:15it for my nursing my nurses and clinical

2:12:17supervisors. Um I think the take um away

2:12:21is just basically the growth that I've

2:12:23seen since you've been here and the

2:12:26recovery that you have implemented with

2:12:28your team and how we're moving forward

2:12:31and we're not so much looking at the

2:12:33past. You walked into a a disarray, a

2:12:37mess, a disaster, a chaos, and I was

2:12:39part of that when you walked in. Um, and

2:12:42now I see a whole different um, school

2:12:46district since you walked in and all the

2:12:48work that you have done with your lead

2:12:50with your team. I appreciate each one of

2:12:52them because I think it's been a team

2:12:54work. It hasn't been just a solo person.

2:12:56hasn't just been I I I there's

2:12:59definitely been a team and just working

2:13:01to figure out and also the the ability

2:13:04to work with every each one of us

2:13:08different personality um and taking back

2:13:11what we're asking individually and

2:13:13respecting our opinions and to and bring

2:13:16it back to your team and say okay how

2:13:18can we do this better I do appreciate

2:13:20that because some of us are very

2:13:22stubbornheaded and we want certain

2:13:24things to go um certain way like

2:13:27tomorrow not giving you enough um you

2:13:30know area of improvement and taking time

2:13:33cuz nothing is done overnight especially

2:13:36after everything that we've been through

2:13:39the deficit the deficit and everything

2:13:41else I think it's um it's uphill battle

2:13:45and I see it every day and I see how

2:13:47sometimes we had our conversations we

2:13:49have spoken and I see how

2:13:51[clears throat]

2:13:51you are trying your best and I do

2:13:54appreciate that Um, and I do see

2:13:56sometimes you you're tired, you're

2:13:58exhausted, but you keep moving. And

2:14:01that's all we can ask. I think we ask to

2:14:04build a a team and a relationship

2:14:06between this all members and with you

2:14:09and your team to respect. At the end of

2:14:11the day, we have to be professional. We

2:14:13got to respect and give you room to grow

2:14:16and to make those improvement. We can't

2:14:18just expect it to be tomorrow that you

2:14:20get it done. But I do see the grace. I

2:14:23do see your professionalism. I do see

2:14:26the love that you have for the city and

2:14:28the students and educators and that's

2:14:30what all we ask is for you to continue

2:14:32showing that and when I see um different

2:14:36post of you going to different

2:14:37activities and how the students just get

2:14:40to you and and the educators and some of

2:14:43them are speak very highly of you and

2:14:44this is what we wanted. It was totally

2:14:46not like that when we when I first

2:14:49started with the old superintendent, but

2:14:51I do see the growth and I do appreciate

2:14:53that you do take all the feedbacks. You

2:14:56allow it to sink in and you do your job.

2:14:58At the end of the day, you basically

2:15:01turn off the noise and you silent it all

2:15:03and you do what we asking you to do is

2:15:05continue moving the school district

2:15:07forward. Thank you.

2:15:08>> Thank you. Uh Miss Cinte followed by

2:15:11Miss Azac.

2:15:14>> Hello. Thank you for all the work. Um so

2:15:18as someone that was um

2:15:22elected or chosen to kind to help you um

2:15:26to help with the with preparing this

2:15:29material.

2:15:31I was kind of shocked at how some of us

2:15:35how how some of our comments was very

2:15:38broad. So like I am someone that

2:15:40supervise a team of seven and I also do

2:15:43yearly reviews. Um for me as a

2:15:47supervisor cuz we always want to make it

2:15:49very clear that we are your boss. Um

2:15:53that when I am supervising my folks I do

2:15:57get I I do provide feedback to them in

2:15:59the moment allow them for them to grow

2:16:02or not. Um and when I do make my yearly

2:16:08review with them, they will never be

2:16:11surprised about what was said because

2:16:13throughout the year I was able to

2:16:15provide feedback. So for example,

2:16:18um some of the comments that was there

2:16:21was greater transparency,

2:16:24better communication,

2:16:26and strong accountability.

2:16:29like we did not explain what was missing

2:16:32or what do we wanted to change. Um so

2:16:35for me those statements was very broad.

2:16:38Um

2:16:40if we need if we if we expect

2:16:42improvement we need to give specific

2:16:45examples and explain um how like how how

2:16:49can that be success? Um

2:16:53and I also think I think from being in

2:16:57this role from January to now um I do

2:17:00see that we as a committee really need

2:17:04to see which one is our job role and

2:17:06which one are the superintendent. So for

2:17:08example like um school committee

2:17:12calendar um meeters agenda

2:17:15um communication responsibilities like

2:17:19we also need to take ownership of that

2:17:21because I've been in this seat here

2:17:24where when we talk about communication

2:17:26we have said that you know you did not

2:17:28share with us on time or that you did

2:17:31not do it when in fact you did provide

2:17:34it to us. You also and you also email

2:17:37this information. So, some of us are not

2:17:40taking the time to check our emails or

2:17:42read and then we come here and kind of

2:17:45put the blame on you. Um, as one of your

2:17:48seven boss, like we always like to say

2:17:51it and throw it at your face. Um I

2:17:54always said right like make sure you're

2:17:56having a healthy work um and family

2:18:00balance um self-care because

2:18:04you have seven seven of us with seven

2:18:07expectations and seven work style. Um

2:18:11you're not going to be able to please

2:18:13all of us at the same time. And I think

2:18:15what um member Oliver was saying um you

2:18:18can't respond to us right away because

2:18:20that is not realistic. Um, so like I

2:18:24said, I just hope that moving forward we

2:18:27will pour into you so you can continue

2:18:30to move the district forward and not

2:18:32constantly bringing you down and

2:18:34constantly critic criticizing you when

2:18:37we're not doing our part. So again, I'm

2:18:40I'm I'm speaking from someone that's

2:18:42super that is currently supervising

2:18:44teams um and how some of the comments

2:18:48that was made um I really wanted to send

2:18:51them back and said this is not

2:18:53acceptable. We need to be more specific.

2:18:56Um, as a new school committee member, I

2:18:58took the time to attend a training on

2:19:02how to do this. And per mask, uh, we

2:19:05should be given specific we there's

2:19:08clear goals and none of the goals was

2:19:11about how do you feel about the

2:19:12superintendent. It was about what are

2:19:14the facts

2:19:16and we know what facts are, right? So

2:19:18facts is about what is documented and

2:19:20what is our crime and our observation.

2:19:22So, I just hope that moving forward that

2:19:25we do a better job with pling for you,

2:19:29supporting you, and if there is areas

2:19:32that we feel like you're not doing well,

2:19:34that will will be there to support you

2:19:36and not bring you down every time. Um,

2:19:40so thank you for doing the work. Um,

2:19:42I've even though I was not part of the

2:19:44hiring, I feel like I did reach out to

2:19:46you and kind of give you a second

2:19:48interview to ask why you invested in

2:19:50Brockton. Um, so please continue to be

2:19:54here, continue to pour into our

2:19:56students, but most important, which is

2:19:59to move the district forward. Um, and

2:20:01I'm here to support that growth, but

2:20:03also to support this city and our

2:20:06student deserve a superintendent like

2:20:08you that represents the community. So,

2:20:12thank you,

2:20:13>> Miss Azac.

2:20:14>> Thank you. Um, actually

2:20:18reviewing this this evening, I have to

2:20:21admit I was not satisfied with the

2:20:23format that we were using. Um, I didn't

2:20:27like the format last year and I had

2:20:28mentioned it to the vice chair at the

2:20:30time. So, I was surprised we were using

2:20:31the same format because

2:20:34the thing that's on here that I'm

2:20:36disappointed in is yes, I did put needs

2:20:39improvement, but I did see progress and

2:20:41I did give her an overall proficient.

2:20:44that's not on here. It looks like I just

2:20:46gave her needs improvement and I

2:20:48explained why I put needs improvement

2:20:50because I compared it with the with the

2:20:52evidence with the book and with the Desi

2:20:53report. So, I would prefer that this is

2:20:57corrected because it's making it look

2:20:59like I put needs improvement, but I did

2:21:02give you an overall proficient. I should

2:21:04hope you see those ratings because it's

2:21:07an evaluation. We're all going to be all

2:21:09over the place. Some of us really went

2:21:12through this and put a lot of time into

2:21:14it. Um, it is an evaluation. You you

2:21:18will probably evaluate us. I mean, it

2:21:20just it's this is how we're going to be

2:21:21able to work better. Um, you know, we do

2:21:24we do have our strengths and we have

2:21:25areas we have to work. Um, but I would

2:21:29prefer that this be corrected is I do

2:21:31not feel comfortable voting on this this

2:21:32evening because this makes it look like

2:21:35I put needs improvement as my overall

2:21:38rating for that. um

2:21:41for that standard and it just my overall

2:21:44if you go back was proficient.

2:21:47>> It didn't say that

2:21:48>> where because it says needs improvement

2:21:50next to

2:21:51>> your overall was

2:21:55no my overall for standard three misso.

2:21:57So vice chair overall yes you have the

2:22:00proficient but again you have needs

2:22:04improvement next to our names in

2:22:06parenthesis so it doesn't show that my

2:22:10overall for for standard three was

2:22:12proficient for the superintendent it

2:22:14wasn't needs improvement

2:22:19because I believe the other areas that I

2:22:21did put needs improvement I did state

2:22:23the positives our strengths and our our

2:22:25weaknesses Um,

2:22:27>> you tell me the page. Sorry.

2:22:28>> Yes. Cuz

2:22:30>> so if you if you go on here, I mean

2:22:32overall I did give her proficient,

2:22:34>> but when we look at for example like

2:22:36standard I mean honestly this doesn't

2:22:38look like

2:22:41how we had it. So I mean it doesn't show

2:22:44how many proficient she got, how many

2:22:46needs improvement.

2:22:47>> Yours says proficient

2:22:49>> where I'm looking.

2:22:50>> So which one are you?

2:22:51>> I'm looking on the standard three vice

2:22:53chair. You're you're saying in your

2:22:55comment area it says

2:22:56>> yes in my comment but yes it says needs

2:22:59>> overall proficient these are the um

2:23:02because remember it's overall comments

2:23:04and overall um rating for that standard

2:23:07for standard three your overall rating

2:23:09was proficient

2:23:10>> okay as long as you're

2:23:11>> talking about the subcategories where

2:23:12you give a few yes these are the overall

2:23:15ratings so for instance if there was

2:23:17five and you said for one that was needs

2:23:19improvement the other four were

2:23:20proficient

2:23:21>> I mean you have some that are exemplary

2:23:22I mean This is the same one.

2:23:24>> Yeah, we are all over the place. I mean,

2:23:26reviewing this, it's

2:23:27>> this is the same thing as last year

2:23:29>> and last year's format was not

2:23:32>> we needed to work on it. I I I would

2:23:34have hoped.

2:23:35>> Absolutely agree.

2:23:36>> Got recommendations prior to this going

2:23:38out to the committee. Um

2:23:39>> well, I'll say this. You and I had this

2:23:41conversation. I agree. And I have those

2:23:43feedback from you from member CentO

2:23:46because she also wanted boxes for each

2:23:48subcategory. So, if she had something to

2:23:50say to specific one. So those are

2:23:52recommendations that I will be able to

2:23:54provide for the next evaluation.

2:23:56>> Yeah. Because I mean you go from

2:23:57>> if last year you gave those

2:23:58recommendations to our former vice chair

2:24:01that should be something that we should

2:24:03have implemented then for now or should

2:24:05have been communicated to all of us so

2:24:07we could have implemented it.

2:24:09>> So for instance the feedback you gave me

2:24:10this year after this evaluation will be

2:24:13submitted so we can update it and do

2:24:16better next time.

2:24:18>> Does that make sense? Um, it does, but

2:24:19it just I I'm trying to look on here

2:24:21because our, you know, you go from

2:24:24unsatisfactory to needs improvement to

2:24:26proficient to exemplary. And I know in

2:24:28years past we've had seen significant

2:24:31progress. Um, you know, you go from one

2:24:35one extreme to another and it's just

2:24:36like we really need another category

2:24:38there.

2:24:38>> Absolutely. But I just want to make

2:24:40sure. I mean, I'm reading this and it

2:24:42just says, you know, needs improvement,

2:24:43but it doesn't show that my overall,

2:24:45even though the majority overall was

2:24:48proficient for her, but doesn't show

2:24:49that I gave her a proficient overall, me

2:24:51specifically. Where am I on here? Me

2:24:54specifically.

2:24:56>> Hold on. I'm confused.

2:24:57>> So, you know, when you do the evaluation

2:24:59in each one, so standard number one, I

2:25:01gave her an overall proficient. Yes.

2:25:02>> But there were areas that I put needs

2:25:05improvement.

2:25:05>> Yeah. Um,

2:25:09>> we we can discuss. I mean,

2:25:11>> I I know I hear what you're saying. This

2:25:13is just for the overall for each

2:25:15standard.

2:25:16>> Yes.

2:25:16>> So, she will be able now to get all the

2:25:19other ones. She can review it and it

2:25:21will be posted on our website. Your

2:25:23individual evaluations

2:25:24>> as long as the individual ones are

2:25:25posted so they can see that

2:25:27>> similar to last year. This is just for

2:25:30the overall because the options you have

2:25:32here, it doesn't have an option to say

2:25:34category 1 A, 1 B, 1 C. Otherwise, this

2:25:38is going to be a thick packet.

2:25:39>> Usually, it is a thick packet. This is

2:25:41an Yes. Don't say never. Never.

2:25:44>> Last year, this is what we had.

2:25:45>> You can't base this off of last year,

2:25:46vice chair.

2:25:47>> But this is what I'm saying. previous

2:25:48years, we we

2:25:51every every school committee member

2:25:54>> takes time to do an evaluation and the

2:25:56superintendent deserves a complete

2:25:58evaluation from each one of us. And

2:26:00>> as long as the complete evaluations are

2:26:02online because the way that I'm looking

2:26:04at this

2:26:06>> um doesn't show that my overall

2:26:09>> even for each individual standard was

2:26:11proficient because you only gave

2:26:13proficient or needs improvement. there

2:26:15was no so that's why when I based my uh

2:26:19recommendations is I have seen progress

2:26:21I'm not going to say I haven't but you

2:26:23know given given the um obstacles we've

2:26:26hit we we do have work to do um you know

2:26:28you compare it to the DESI report you

2:26:30compare it to her exhibit book um so

2:26:34again

2:26:35>> no no I I understand what you're saying

2:26:36but this is exactly as it was last year

2:26:39just to say you know I haven't seen it

2:26:40in the way that you're describing

2:26:42>> yes I when I worked on it miss uh Dr.

2:26:45Spalding had worked on it with me.

2:26:47Previous um vice chairs had committees

2:26:50that worked on it.

2:26:51>> Totally understand.

2:26:52>> Um

2:26:52>> um but also you did give me feedback

2:26:55this year. So my job as the vice chair

2:26:58this year is to make sure for next year

2:27:00those feedbacks are incorporated to the

2:27:02new evaluation form.

2:27:04>> Definitely.

2:27:05>> If you said this last year,

2:27:07>> I did.

2:27:08>> Our former vice chair was here. So those

2:27:10are feedback that you probably provided

2:27:12to him which is great. It's fine. uh

2:27:14these are the feedback you're providing

2:27:16to me which again yourself miss you also

2:27:19gave some feedbacks which will be um

2:27:22recommended for next year

2:27:23>> yeah and I respect

2:27:23>> but this is the same as last year so

2:27:25>> I respect everyone's evaluation this is

2:27:28how they evaluate um everyone has a

2:27:30right to do their own evaluation and if

2:27:33they want to discuss it directly with

2:27:34the superintendent they have every right

2:27:36to and the superintendent can you know

2:27:37have a meet with meeting with them but

2:27:39um

2:27:40>> absolutely um but no thank you and I did

2:27:43note your feedbacks when you and I

2:27:45spoke. So those will be recommended.

2:27:47>> I think moving forward, especially where

2:27:49we have a committee, we really should

2:27:51have better recommendation as to how you

2:27:53know Desi Desi um and I think um

2:27:59you know, mask others have have

2:28:01different um templates that we can use.

2:28:04I I would recommend just seeing

2:28:06different templates

2:28:07>> um because I think it will just make it

2:28:10better for the committee and for the

2:28:12superintendent.

2:28:13Thank you.

2:28:13>> Um,

2:28:15any other members? Just uh fight Mr.

2:28:18Rodriguez.

2:28:19>> Um, I I understand what member Azac is

2:28:22saying, but one of my one one of the

2:28:24issues that I have with this, and I'm

2:28:26not sure if she still wants to hold off

2:28:27on it because if you do, I would like to

2:28:29hold off on this as well. Um, when we

2:28:32know when we do the evaluation, if you

2:28:34put exemplary or unsatisfactory, you

2:28:36have to provide evidence. I would like

2:28:38to see that evidence of, you know, what

2:28:40brought that that rating to, you know,

2:28:43unsatisfactory or exemplary um with

2:28:47those members because you have to

2:28:48provide evidence in in here. And even

2:28:51with the uh evaluation process, there

2:28:53was no mechanism of you actually

2:28:55providing that evidence other than just

2:28:56typing it in in your comment section.

2:28:58>> That has to be uh accompanied with that

2:29:00rating as well.

2:29:02>> And that's in training.

2:29:03>> We certainly can. um this will be the

2:29:06will of the committee. However, I will

2:29:08say um we did look it over. Um I did

2:29:12question some of the comments, but

2:29:13people really wrote a lot this time

2:29:15around. Um the other piece is

2:29:19yes, I I do appreciate that we should

2:29:21have evidence and hey, this is what I

2:29:24saw and this is why I gave you this

2:29:25feedback,

2:29:28which is also a good space for

2:29:30improvement, but we just did the same

2:29:31thing as last time.

2:29:34and no evidence was provided um for some

2:29:38cases and it was fine.

2:29:42So I'm just

2:29:44>> you can go back and review the uh last

2:29:46year's event with those members when we

2:29:48came that was something that was missed

2:29:51and it's again with the format.

2:29:53>> Uhhuh.

2:29:54>> We have to just kind of I mean this is

2:29:56why we're having this meeting to see

2:29:57what works and what doesn't work make

2:29:58our recommendations uh to provide

2:30:01>> which is great. That's why I'm saying uh

2:30:03I understand your frustration with the

2:30:04form but I did not get your feedback

2:30:06from last year. You gave them to the

2:30:08former vice chair. So that's why we have

2:30:11these forms. I didn't know that was one

2:30:12of your recommendations, but this year

2:30:14you gave me feedback. So I would improve

2:30:17that.

2:30:17>> But um as far as the um

2:30:20>> so not so advice you not to interrupt,

2:30:22but not so much on the forums, but just

2:30:23in general,

2:30:25>> those that take the chatting the course

2:30:27um whether it's exemplary or

2:30:30unsatisfactory,

2:30:31you have to provide your evidence, not

2:30:33just your opinions on someone's

2:30:35performance. And there's a lot of

2:30:37exemplaries. And I'm just trying to do

2:30:40my job as a school committee member and

2:30:42not have people say, "Well, why didn't

2:30:43you point it out? Why did you guys just

2:30:45rubber stamp this?" I would like to see

2:30:47like pull it out. If it's in the

2:30:49evidence, pull out the exemplaries and

2:30:51the unsatisfactory, pull them out in the

2:30:53evidence.

2:30:53>> Is there an example you want to give me?

2:30:56>> There's a lot of exemplaries in here

2:30:57that don't have evidence attached to

2:30:59them. So you guys prepared this and it

2:31:01would have been nice to see you prior to

2:31:02tonight to be able to absorb it, have

2:31:04some questions made, um, you know, get

2:31:06questions ready and things like that. So

2:31:09again,

2:31:14>> mask says this is a

2:31:16>> for someone to have exemplary, you have

2:31:18to be a you have to have done something

2:31:21[clears throat] to be a model for other

2:31:24districts.

2:31:24>> No, no, absolutely. I absolutely agree.

2:31:26And you know years ago we used to see a

2:31:28lot of that and then we had to we had to

2:31:30educate some of the members that you

2:31:33need to stand and same with

2:31:35unsatisfactory. You have to stand behind

2:31:38your ratings. Uh the the general one is

2:31:41proficient but make your recommendations

2:31:43and and things like that. But it's just

2:31:46um I was really surprised just flipping

2:31:48through this tonight like where's the

2:31:51evidence? Um because it's all over the

2:31:53place

2:31:53>> and I'm wondering where's everybody?

2:31:55Where where did everyone get their info

2:31:56from? So

2:31:57>> when you say everybody, you got to be

2:31:59specific because I

2:32:00>> Right. I think let's be clear about what

2:32:01we talking about.

2:32:02>> This speaks for this speaks for itself

2:32:04and those can actually take a look at

2:32:06it. It speaks for itself. Um and that's

2:32:08why I was concerned because I did have

2:32:10needs improvement.

2:32:11>> Yes.

2:32:11>> But it was overall each standard was

2:32:14overall proficient is what I gave the

2:32:16superintendent.

2:32:16>> Okay. I put needs improvement so I could

2:32:19actually explain where my concerns were,

2:32:22but I gave her an overall proficient

2:32:25>> in each each standard because I did see

2:32:27the changes. I saw the work that goes

2:32:28into this and her her team. Um, and it's

2:32:31nothing against the superintendent, but

2:32:33this is part of doing an evaluation.

2:32:35>> You know, this is this is how we're

2:32:36going to work on what we need to do. Um,

2:32:39and I appreciate all the work that went

2:32:41into it, but it's just seeing the

2:32:42extreme here. I'd really like to take a

2:32:44moment to review it before we we vote on

2:32:47anything.

2:32:48>> I'm just going to share then a few

2:32:49things just so we we clarify. So, for

2:32:52one, um we had our deadline. Not

2:32:55everybody was able to meet the deadline.

2:32:57Um well, we had a timeline for when we

2:33:00wanted to present this and we had to

2:33:02extend the the timeline for folks to

2:33:05finish completing the evaluation. That's

2:33:07one thing.

2:33:08>> From who who needed an extension? I did

2:33:10because I had family members that passed

2:33:12away in the same week.

2:33:13>> Member Sullivan, yourself and member

2:33:14Sullivan.

2:33:14>> But I also had it into you vice chair.

2:33:17>> Yes, you did that on that Sunday and I

2:33:19did reach out to the superintendent

2:33:20because I'll be honest if we're going to

2:33:23go there. Some of the exhibits weren't

2:33:25even legible in the book. It was like a

2:33:27font number two.

2:33:28>> I'm not I'm just giving you reasons why

2:33:31provided that it's legible. I accepted

2:33:32everybody's response. Everybody wrote

2:33:34something whether it's your pers

2:33:36perspective what you have observed and

2:33:38what not

2:33:39>> there's there's no

2:33:40>> my concern too is my concern too is I

2:33:44know last year we had a lot of

2:33:45evaluation that said unsatisfactory

2:33:49and said didn't see anything but we did

2:33:53not send it back because that was my

2:33:55experience my first ever experience

2:33:56doing an evaluation members said fair

2:33:59and said unsatisfactory that was not

2:34:02enough evidence But we did not complain

2:34:04about it. We allowed it to be.

2:34:07You see what I'm saying? This year, most

2:34:09of us wrote a lot. Whether it was very

2:34:12detailed, it was very elaborate

2:34:15>> and everybody had their own perspective,

2:34:17their own evaluation. It's like you

2:34:19mentioned earlier, we this is what we

2:34:21do. We have the opportunity to evaluate.

2:34:25And for the for instance, yours was

2:34:27submitted at a reasonable time. Then the

2:34:29other one we had to work with member

2:34:31Sullivan to submit his as well. It took

2:34:35maybe a week after yours to be done to

2:34:38then send it back to him to provide more

2:34:40and he's you know he got his own health

2:34:42issues and other things going on. So I

2:34:44think the only person there that said

2:34:47either exemplary or needs improvement

2:34:49and did not write a lot is his and I

2:34:53accepted it.

2:34:56Yes. Because that's why I said, "Give me

2:34:58an example of who and what was rated

2:35:01that needs evidence." The only one that

2:35:04I can think of is Mr. Sullivan's. You

2:35:07see what I'm saying? So, I don't feel

2:35:08it's fair to just now push it back. Last

2:35:10year, we allowed him to do that and he

2:35:12was fine to come here to the meetings

2:35:14and do everything.

2:35:15>> We didn't send it back to him to say

2:35:17fair is not just a

2:35:18>> different committee. Vice Chair,

2:35:19>> I understand. But this is just I'm just

2:35:21explaining the difference. You mentioned

2:35:23vice chair. Hold on a second. I have so

2:35:26you also mentioned there was a dead

2:35:27there's never been a deadline actually

2:35:29the reason we did the eval because I

2:35:30asked where the evaluation was I even

2:35:32had a conversation about the evaluation

2:35:34I was told there's nothing that states

2:35:35that we had to have it done by a certain

2:35:37time we've had the evaluations done back

2:35:39to Mr. Machello in December back to Mr.

2:35:43Diagino in November and December. My

2:35:45year was the first year we had it done

2:35:47in the summertime. So, there was no

2:35:48deadline to have to rush this and I

2:35:50really wish the committee would have had

2:35:51time to review this. Um, but I'm only

2:35:55one vote.

2:35:56>> No,

2:35:56>> I just I in all fairness to the

2:35:58superintendent though, I just am not I

2:36:00do not agree with how it has all this.

2:36:03>> Mhm.

2:36:04>> Because when you do an overall, the

2:36:06average would be proficient, but it

2:36:07doesn't show that I gave her proficient.

2:36:09It shows that I put needs improvement.

2:36:12We can review this afterwards because I

2:36:13mean this is how I'm understanding it

2:36:15but I'm not going to keep hopping on

2:36:16this.

2:36:17>> No, no, I understand what you're saying.

2:36:18Those evaluation will be posted along

2:36:21with this. This is think of this as a

2:36:23summary as an overview.

2:36:24>> No, I understand.

2:36:25>> Just like the presentation I just did.

2:36:26She scored professional on everything

2:36:28but it's the average of everybody's

2:36:30>> but the detailed ones I can't put

2:36:32everything together for this. It will be

2:36:34posted on our website. People will be

2:36:35able to read. The only things that I

2:36:37posted for everything is the comments of

2:36:38everybody's. Usually I thought it had

2:36:41overall next to each one of us. I could

2:36:43be wrong, but I thought when we did it,

2:36:44it

2:36:45>> did not. Last year it did not.

2:36:46>> Each standard what you gave them. I

2:36:48thought each standard would be what you

2:36:49gave them, but if

2:36:51>> No, it didn't last year. I did review it

2:36:54because I wanted to prepare for this

2:36:55presentation. I looked at what former

2:36:56vice chair did. I follow similar

2:36:59structure. I just wanted to do a quick

2:37:00PowerPoint for it. But

2:37:01>> just a reminder, everyone has a right to

2:37:03do an evaluation. It should absolutely

2:37:05that's what I'm saying. not be

2:37:08>> it should not just you know what we all

2:37:10have a right to do an evaluation and we

2:37:12can all evaluate our way of evaluating

2:37:14um

2:37:15>> yes

2:37:15>> so

2:37:17I'm not going to go back and forth

2:37:18listening to

2:37:19>> I agree with you what we did and what we

2:37:21didn't do no just from you just

2:37:23committees in general like I just

2:37:24>> I can evaluate any way I want to

2:37:26evaluate and I shouldn't be

2:37:28>> that's what I'm saying I'm agreeing with

2:37:29you yeah well

2:37:31>> yes

2:37:31>> just just as a point of I guess of

2:37:33information in the future

2:37:36Um I I have in the past myself managed

2:37:41large numbers of people.

2:37:42>> Um maybe if you just gave us um the

2:37:46expectation beforehand

2:37:48>> and had a meeting with us, maybe a a

2:37:51workshop or something that explained

2:37:54what you wanted to get at with this

2:37:56evaluation and how you wanted it done.

2:37:59It would have maybe had this go a little

2:38:01bit smoother. Um, you know, I'm just

2:38:05coming from the federal side. Um,

2:38:08obviously this is just weird doing it

2:38:10out in the public like this because

2:38:12normally you would give the, um,

2:38:14employee the opportunity to discuss it

2:38:17and to possibly change whatever you

2:38:20wrote.

2:38:21>> That's how it works in the real world or

2:38:24not in this setting, I guess. Um, so I

2:38:29guess I'm just I'm getting used to it.

2:38:32Um,

2:38:34so I guess that's all I would say to

2:38:36that.

2:38:36>> No, I agree. And um, you brought up a

2:38:39good point because one of the people

2:38:41that I reached out to and Sarah also put

2:38:43me in contact with is Sean, who's the

2:38:46new mask representative for us, and he

2:38:48does these trainings. Uh, the timeline

2:38:51just did not coincide with our timeline

2:38:53of when we started this. Uh the other

2:38:55piece too is I checked in with some of

2:38:57the members. I know I did it last year.

2:39:00So I was going to follow that structure.

2:39:01Miss AAC has been in this committee. Mr.

2:39:04Rodriguez Sandra did her own individual

2:39:06training. Miss Oliver has been the

2:39:08committee. Um so to an extent most

2:39:12members here have had the exposure or

2:39:14have had some sort of training for this.

2:39:17Um

2:39:19the the the and there's nothing

2:39:21different

2:39:23from this one compared to last one so to

2:39:25say but would some training be

2:39:29important? Yes.

2:39:30>> I don't I don't just I'm not saying

2:39:32training. I'm saying your expectation as

2:39:34to what you were trying to get from

2:39:36this. I

2:39:36>> timeline

2:39:37>> I took training on this. Uh I I've done

2:39:40this myself many many many times. Mhm.

2:39:43>> All I'm saying is that I I think it

2:39:46would have been more beneficial to the

2:39:49committee if we had met first to discuss

2:39:53the expectations and then conducted the

2:39:57evaluation

2:39:58and then discussed the evaluation as a

2:40:01whole. That's all

2:40:03>> the uh I'm going get to you one second.

2:40:06No, the expectation for me as far as

2:40:09this evaluation was just that we did

2:40:11complete it by the timeline and if

2:40:13anybody had any concerns or questions to

2:40:16reach out. Um the standards and

2:40:18everything was self-explanatory, had the

2:40:20writing in the box that you know to

2:40:23illustrate and and explain what they

2:40:25were looking for. For me, it was just

2:40:27that we got it done on time, similar to

2:40:29last year, so we could then schedule the

2:40:31meeting that I was trying to schedule

2:40:32with the three of you guys, for us to

2:40:34put it together and sit down and have

2:40:36that conversation.

2:40:36>> And to that, I would just say, I guess

2:40:38it's uh it's more important than to just

2:40:40get it done on time. Um I think it's

2:40:42more important as the other members have

2:40:44mentioned that we discuss this a little

2:40:46bit more

2:40:48>> and and um allowed some feedback from

2:40:51the superintendent within the process

2:40:54um so that she so that we could have as

2:40:57a as a whole had a better um

2:41:01perspective. I

2:41:02>> I think the feedback was that meeting

2:41:04that we did I did request that she came

2:41:07in and present on the evaluation. In my

2:41:09experience, it's not like we do away, we

2:41:12give it to her, she gives some feedback.

2:41:13We all submit it and the committee

2:41:15members that sit down, put it together,

2:41:17then have a discussion. If there's

2:41:19anything that needs to be sent back or

2:41:21needs further clarification, then we ask

2:41:23the um the other thing too is we were

2:41:27given about a month, which I think is

2:41:28reasonable to do an evaluation. We were

2:41:31provided with the book and there's the

2:41:32DESI review, the OIG report, and all

2:41:35these resources at our disposal. Um, and

2:41:39also I think

2:41:41there's no set timeline, but we were

2:41:43given a timeline just like we for

2:41:45instance hold her to that standard of we

2:41:47need these things done by a certain

2:41:49timeline or we should get these

2:41:51information on time. I think we should

2:41:52also abide by that same standard in a

2:41:55sense. Um then this is part of the

2:41:58school what the school committee does is

2:42:00complete the evaluation and if we and

2:42:02that timeline was provided here and I

2:42:04gave a reminder to the whole group in a

2:42:05subsequent meeting. So we knew how long

2:42:08we had we knew the timeline the

2:42:10evaluation was shared with everybody. So

2:42:13I did expect everybody to complete it by

2:42:15that timeline. Now, granted things

2:42:18happen, um it doesn't mean we're going

2:42:20to just stop you from doing it because

2:42:22members still got to complete it after

2:42:23the fact. If that I don't know if that

2:42:26answer your questions. Um

2:42:29but anyways, it is the will of the

2:42:31committee. We have the evaluation. This

2:42:34is nothing different from how we did it

2:42:36last year. Um we can go on our websites,

2:42:40the same thing that we uploaded. a few

2:42:42things that I will say and then I'll

2:42:44open it up to the rest of the members if

2:42:45they want to say anything

2:42:48uh to the superintendent. I know how

2:42:50difficult it can be to you know being a

2:42:52superintendent and all the work that you

2:42:54have to do. Uh I think Mr. Rodriguez can

2:42:56agree from a vice chair perspective. You

2:42:58can see some of the things that goes on

2:43:00and some of the work that the

2:43:02superintendent has put in and her staff.

2:43:05Um so I think a proficient across all

2:43:08standards and goals is appropriate. Uh

2:43:11it's welld deserved. You've been working

2:43:13hard uh from the moment you got here um

2:43:18a year, two years ago um till now and

2:43:20we've seen a lot of progress. A lot of

2:43:23things have changed. A lot of things

2:43:25have been implemented. A lot of goals

2:43:28have been accomplished. And I'm not just

2:43:30saying that for myself. The OIG report,

2:43:32the DESIE review says the same. um and

2:43:36seeing you and your team just working

2:43:38trying to make sure we are fulfilling

2:43:40the needs, we are fulfilling all these

2:43:43um all the work that needs to be done

2:43:45and making sure the district is doing

2:43:47what it's supposed to do. Um so I

2:43:50applaud you. I applaud your team for all

2:43:52the work that you guys do. Um proficient

2:43:54all across is exactly what I expected.

2:43:58um you guys have put in a tremendous

2:44:00amount of work and again Miss Sent you

2:44:03mentioned earlier there's you know

2:44:04you're working for the district but

2:44:06you're also working for this committee

2:44:08we often have different perspective

2:44:09different views and I've seen you trying

2:44:11to run around and accommodate for

2:44:14everybody which I always tell you it's

2:44:16not always possible uh we can't have it

2:44:18all um maybe something that I want is

2:44:21not something one of my colleagues want

2:44:22to do or the way that we want to go

2:44:24about it but you still try to make it

2:44:26happen so I appreciate all the work you

2:44:28put in. Um, and I hope um, you know,

2:44:32with this evaluation, also communicating

2:44:36with members throughout our district

2:44:37that we can be more supportive of not

2:44:40just one another, but of the

2:44:41superintendent and her team and some of

2:44:43the work that needs to be done. Um, we

2:44:45keep going back and forth a lot. I don't

2:44:47know, we just had some back and forth

2:44:49here, but we we need to focus on the

2:44:53main goal uh, and keep that in mind as

2:44:55we move forward.

2:44:58Uh, Miss Oliver,

2:45:00>> I think before I put a motion through, I

2:45:02think um just to go back on Miss Aac, I

2:45:05think that definitely something we need

2:45:07to figure out how this valuation was

2:45:09done. I know you had opinions last year

2:45:12um regarding this valuation.

2:45:14Unfortunately, it was not implemented

2:45:15this year. And I think that's something

2:45:17as we go from vice chair to vice chair

2:45:19to speak to each other to pass the baton

2:45:22correctly as we like you know mentor

2:45:24each other and say listen this is what

2:45:26the individuals from last year or last

2:45:29time said we can improve on the

2:45:31valuation so we can make those

2:45:33corrections but if certain individuals

2:45:35are not

2:45:36you know given that information to next

2:45:38vice chair is very hard for the next

2:45:41vice chair to implement those changes.

2:45:43So I think as we move forward we also

2:45:45should have an evaluation on the vice

2:45:47chair and how we move how certain things

2:45:49are being done so the future vice chair

2:45:51can see what was done and how we can

2:45:54change it better. I think just having

2:45:56those hard conversation to basically

2:45:58help each other like if you don't if you

2:46:00think the valuation can be improved

2:46:02let's have a conversation among

2:46:04ourselves to see how we can implement a

2:46:06better valuation for next year. But we

2:46:09did have almost like a month and we had

2:46:11the booklet and all the information um

2:46:13with us. I think it's Yeah, maybe the

2:46:16years past we were doing it, you know,

2:46:18you guys were doing later in the year. I

2:46:20like it this way to do it mid year

2:46:22before the next um school year, you

2:46:24know, start the fiscal year started. I

2:46:27don't mind it, but I think the valuation

2:46:29itself, it's not the best. Definitely

2:46:31not the best um format. I work with

2:46:34better ones. it's more easy to

2:46:36understand to basically put the goals

2:46:38and implement the changes and the growth

2:46:40um that I deal with uh on the year

2:46:43yearly bas. But I think it's something

2:46:45that we need to look and see how we can

2:46:46fix it. But I'm just going to put the

2:46:49motion into

2:46:51number C uh vote for superintendent

2:46:53evaluation approval.

2:46:55>> That's a form of a motion.

2:46:57>> Yes.

2:46:58>> Is there a second?

2:47:00>> Second.

2:47:01>> A motion has been made and second. Do

2:47:03you did you have something to say, Miss

2:47:05Santea, on the motion?

2:47:08>> I I I did, but I feel like what is the

2:47:11point? So, I feel like as a newbie that

2:47:14just started in January, um, yes. Do I

2:47:17agree with the form itself? No, I do

2:47:19not. Like, it was not friendly to use.

2:47:22However, I took it upon myself to attend

2:47:25a training so I can learn what I'm

2:47:28supposed to be doing. one. Two, I even

2:47:32took it a step further to share with all

2:47:33of you guys the recording. So, you was

2:47:36not able to attend. Here it is. And as

2:47:40someone that I would like to believe I'm

2:47:42a busy mom, right? I'm a mom of two. I

2:47:45have two jobs.

2:47:47There was a timeline and I honor that. I

2:47:50remember being in grad school. Um there

2:47:53was a timeline of when assignments

2:47:55needed to be done because so I'm not I'm

2:47:58here trying to understand where all

2:48:01these where the disconnect is happening

2:48:05when we could have easily emailed each

2:48:07other or emailed and asked for

2:48:09clarification

2:48:11what is needed. Um again I'm new. I only

2:48:14been here since January. Um so I feel

2:48:17like some of you guys has been here

2:48:19longer than I. So I am ready to to move

2:48:22to um put a motion so we can vote on

2:48:26this so we can move forward so we can

2:48:28address the next topic.

2:48:30>> All right. Motion

2:48:32>> on that motion.

2:48:32>> Motion, Miss Azac.

2:48:33>> So to make my point, look at the last

2:48:35page. So how do you give somebody that

2:48:38kind of a statement and then you do

2:48:39unsatisfactory? Did you reach out to the

2:48:41member and clarify? Is that what you

2:48:44wanted to do as a reading?

2:48:47>> Last page.

2:48:48>> Yeah, Mr. all of us coming.

2:48:50>> Did you reach up? So you do that

2:48:52>> not well to write this is this is what

2:48:55I'm saying Joyce

2:48:56>> they okay I'm just saying it just again

2:48:59and I don't think more training is I

2:49:01don't think we need nothing to do with

2:49:03training this was how he

2:49:04>> No I'm just saying I don't think I know

2:49:06we got to because we did something last

2:49:08year but ex

2:49:09>> I know

2:49:10>> but I can bring other over the years

2:49:13we've had members from Brockton public

2:49:15schools come before the committee so let

2:49:17me just educate the committee they would

2:49:18come before the committee explain

2:49:20explain how this is going to be done. Go

2:49:23through all the standards and explain

2:49:24it. So, it wasn't just given to us and

2:49:26then said, [clears throat] "Here you go,

2:49:27do it." Um, we've I've done evaluations.

2:49:30I have no problem doing it, but I'm just

2:49:31saying we keep saying this is how we did

2:49:33it last year.

2:49:34>> Last year, I remember voicing concerns

2:49:36about that form. Um, but again, it's

2:49:39just I don't think we need more

2:49:41training. I just we really need to look

2:49:43at better because I mean, again,

2:49:45clicking on things and going through it

2:49:47just was not user friendly. Um, but

2:49:50we're just not I'm not going to keep

2:49:52harping on this, but again, it just I

2:49:53don't think the committee needed more

2:49:55training on how to do an evaluation.

2:49:56>> I agree with you there. I feel like

2:49:58we're all complicated.

2:49:58>> We've all attended mask. We've all

2:50:00attended chatting.

2:50:01>> As far as your feedback on the form

2:50:03stuff, you gave me that this year after

2:50:05the evaluation, like towards the end,

2:50:07and I said, "This is good feedback.

2:50:09Another member gave me feedback. I'mma

2:50:12pass it on to the next whoever vice

2:50:14chair is or the district and have them

2:50:16improve it." Simple. How does that sound

2:50:19to you?

2:50:21>> It's fine. I'm one I'm one vote.

2:50:23>> This is how we're supposed to improve.

2:50:25We give each other feedback. You gave me

2:50:27that feedback. I took I said, "Yes,

2:50:28I'mma pass it on. So, next year we're

2:50:30going to do a better form. It's more

2:50:32user friendly." Whatever the case is,

2:50:35>> but just for clarification, we could we

2:50:37are not able to discuss the evaluation

2:50:39with each other ahead of time.

2:50:41>> Uh we would be violating um in

2:50:43violation. So, we cannot discuss it with

2:50:45each other and email each other back and

2:50:46forth. This is our individual um

2:50:48evaluations. But again, I just

2:50:52>> No, I totally understand.

2:50:54>> But I do feel like if you do need

2:50:55clarification

2:50:57that we can reach out to superintendent

2:51:00if the font of what we receive is too

2:51:03small, then we did.

2:51:04>> So, you know what I mean? So, like I

2:51:06feel like we're just bringing things

2:51:08instead of us figuring out are we going

2:51:10to move forward or not? Um I feel like

2:51:13another thing that I constantly hear in

2:51:14this committee is that we are

2:51:17elected officials. So, if we're

2:51:19concerned about how Tim Sullivan

2:51:22um did not provide enough information

2:51:26um that maybe we need to start

2:51:28addressing, should he be in this

2:51:30committee?

2:51:32>> Um because I feel like

2:51:34>> All right, let's let's move forward.

2:51:36>> No, actually, vice chair, point of

2:51:38clarification. I did not I just said

2:51:41make sure when someone clicks on

2:51:43something because it just contradicts a

2:51:45positive a negative was contradicting a

2:51:49positive statement. So, I just wanted to

2:51:50say they might have clicked on something

2:51:52accidentally. Did I was just asking did

2:51:54you clarify because I even had questions

2:51:56like cutting and pasting the way that

2:51:59the format was. It was only one sentence

2:52:01at a time. So, that's all it was just

2:52:03clarification. It's only to help the

2:52:05superintendent not to be against just to

2:52:07make sure how do you have a positive and

2:52:08then that was clicked.

2:52:10>> So, it could have been an error. I mean,

2:52:12I'm all set. Have a good evening.

2:52:14>> Thank you. Make it brief and keep it to

2:52:17the topic, please, Mr. Rodriguez. the so

2:52:21last year was the first year

2:52:24as vice chair when I did the uh when we

2:52:27did the uh evaluation with that process

2:52:30we added two members to that

2:52:32subcommittee in order to bring more

2:52:34transparency uh to do that and that

2:52:36happened last year. So, I mean, some

2:52:39people want it a certain way, some

2:52:40people don't want it a certain way, but

2:52:42I think collectively we just have to g

2:52:44up into a a simpler format. Um, you

2:52:47know, how we want it. And it's a

2:52:49learning experience as being a vice

2:52:51chair and doing your first evaluation

2:52:54and then trying to compare it to years

2:52:55past as just a member. You don't and I

2:52:58understand that. Um and this is

2:52:59something from last year to this year

2:53:00that we, you know, prior to having the

2:53:03uh the final superintendent that all the

2:53:05members get everybody's copy so they can

2:53:06review it and they can forward it to the

2:53:08vice chair and the team to to look at it

2:53:10to to make any um you know you know for

2:53:13you know exemplary or and satisfactory

2:53:15to to provide those evidence. That's

2:53:17it's one of those uh uh learning

2:53:19experiences of that. But um I know

2:53:22there's a motion on the floor, but I

2:53:24just want to just clarify it just to uh

2:53:26my vote is not personal. It's that I

2:53:29wanted to see some certain stuff. So

2:53:31>> No, no, that's fine. Um

2:53:34where did she go?

2:53:37>> No, I completely understand. It is a

2:53:38learning experience. That's what I'm

2:53:40trying to say. So every time we do,

2:53:42especially now that this committee is

2:53:44being more transparent, we will improve

2:53:47upon something with feedback, with

2:53:49communicating with one another. Um,

2:53:53we have a motion on the floor with papy

2:53:54second. Uh, Miss Oliver,

2:53:59>> yes.

2:53:59>> Mr. Rodriguez,

2:54:00>> no.

2:54:01>> Miss Azac,

2:54:02>> nothing personal, but I'd like to review

2:54:04this, so I'm a no. I'd like to review it

2:54:06further. Why is everybody leaving?

2:54:08>> Mr. Ina

2:54:09>> no.

2:54:10>> Mr. Sullivan.

2:54:13>> Yes.

2:54:14>> Miss Contento.

2:54:15>> Yes.

2:54:16>> I'm a yes as well. It carries. Uh we

2:54:19will move on to agendum item D.

2:54:22Discussion potential vote approval of

2:54:24higher benefits coordinator position.

2:54:26Mr.

2:54:28Superintendent.

2:54:31>> Go first. So this position um uh the

2:54:35need for it is is uh interesting because

2:54:38it was not uh part of our original plan

2:54:41or uh part of our budget from last year.

2:54:44[snorts] Um because generally benefits

2:54:46have been handled by the city. Um

2:54:49however

2:54:51recently uh we have been taking on more

2:54:54of the benefits responsibilities and the

2:54:56city has actually asked us to take on

2:54:59the full benefits responsibilities for

2:55:02the school district. So the 3,000

2:55:06employees that we have um obviously this

2:55:08is a a huge amount of work. um and in

2:55:13city hall uh they do have several

2:55:16benefits um coordinators. Um [snorts]

2:55:20and so in order to take on this uh

2:55:24additional responsibility

2:55:26uh we did speak with the city about the

2:55:29fact that we do have schedule 19

2:55:31chargebacks and we pay for part of the

2:55:34HR office at city hall. And so if this

2:55:37is a responsibility that we are going to

2:55:40be taking on that then that funding that

2:55:44is in the schedule 19 for the HR office

2:55:46needs to come back to the school

2:55:48department so that we can fund this

2:55:50position. So that is how this position

2:55:51will be funded is from our own schedule

2:55:5419. So basically it's just a

2:55:55reallocation of these funds. Um I think

2:55:59it does raise. So the the uh job

2:56:03description that you see is very similar

2:56:05to the one I believe for city hall. Um

2:56:08along with the the salary range. Um and

2:56:14um sorry, what was I going to say? I've

2:56:18now lost my train of thought. Oh, this

2:56:20brings up the question I that I I know

2:56:22we've been talking about um [snorts] a

2:56:25lot and we've been hearing about a lot

2:56:27about merging the city and the school's

2:56:32uh departments and responsibilities and

2:56:36I know I have have talked about being

2:56:40certainly open to that conversation as

2:56:43long as we're very clear about what are

2:56:45the steps, what are the timelines, where

2:56:47are the responsibility centers, who are

2:56:48the supervisors. Um because otherwise it

2:56:52just becomes like a like I the merger if

2:56:56you're just merging the departments

2:56:57there's still people who have to do

2:56:58those jobs and you still have to pay the

2:57:01and so actually when I was presenting in

2:57:04front of the city council or when they

2:57:05invited me to talk about the merging of

2:57:07departments we spent the majority of the

2:57:09time talking about uh school police as

2:57:11sort of the first pilot. Um,

2:57:15however, I had also provided to them

2:57:16because I'd done some research on cities

2:57:21that have municipalities that have

2:57:23merged certain departments with their

2:57:25school department. And what was found in

2:57:28many of those cases is that it doesn't

2:57:30end up actually being a huge cost

2:57:32savings because the work doesn't

2:57:33disappear. The work is just shifted from

2:57:36one to the other or you're saying now

2:57:38it's a department together. And so

2:57:41anyway, so this is all to say that I

2:57:43know we need to have that more clear

2:57:46conversation about when we're talking

2:57:47about merging departments, what does

2:57:49that really look like? Because shifting

2:57:50work from the city to the schools and

2:57:52isn't exactly I feel like we're actually

2:57:54going the opposite direction. Um that

2:57:57all being said, we are taking on the

2:58:00benefits. Uh the HR department has been

2:58:03uh in meetings with the HR department on

2:58:06the city hall side has been starting to

2:58:08be part of those meetings. uh been

2:58:10working with their benefits

2:58:12coordinators, but it is a huge amount of

2:58:13work. And for those of you who were on

2:58:15the committee um last year, my first

2:58:17year, we actually

2:58:20had done an or you all had done an HR

2:58:23audit before I even arrived that then

2:58:27resulted in a restructure of the HR

2:58:29department when I did arrive. So, we

2:58:31actually um made the department smaller.

2:58:34We we streamlined some of the the um job

2:58:38responsibilities. And so we actually

2:58:41have an HR department that now has less

2:58:43people and costs less than it did when I

2:58:45first arrived as a result of that audit.

2:58:48But if if now we have to take on these

2:58:50more responsibilities, we do still need

2:58:53like the the office as it stands right

2:58:55now just doesn't have the capacity to do

2:58:57it. Now I have very mixed feelings about

2:59:00us taking on the benefits um

2:59:04uh because on on one hand it's a huge

2:59:06amount of work for the HR department. On

2:59:08the other hand, I know that it has been

2:59:09a conversation amongst many of us um and

2:59:12with the city that there have been

2:59:14concerns regarding benefits and there

2:59:16have been concerns about benefits um

2:59:18continuing maybe when an employee is no

2:59:20longer uh with us anymore. And that has

2:59:23been something that the school

2:59:24department actually has been our team

2:59:26has been supporting in auditing and

2:59:29looking at and making sure is done

2:59:31appropriately because obviously that

2:59:32costs all of us money. But since we have

2:59:35the most employees in the city, it costs

2:59:37us the most money if we're paying for

2:59:39folks who are not um

2:59:42who are not supposed to be getting these

2:59:44benefits. So on one hand, it's a huge

2:59:46amount of work that is going to take a

2:59:47lot of capacity and take a lot of staff.

2:59:49On the other hand, does it, you know, I

2:59:52do have some mixed feelings because I I

2:59:54do want us to have more eyes on the

2:59:57benefits on the school department side

2:59:58to make sure that we are not paying for

3:00:01employees that no longer work for us or

3:00:03that shouldn't be getting certain

3:00:04benefits. Um, so anyway, this is all to

3:00:07say that I have mixed feelings, but uh

3:00:10the work has been shifted over to us.

3:00:12The HR department at city hall does not

3:00:14have the capacity. uh we would be doing

3:00:16it and I think m honestly one benefits

3:00:20coordinator I don't even know if that's

3:00:22going to be enough um to to do all 3,000

3:00:25but at least for now as we're starting

3:00:27this in the middle of the year and

3:00:28transitioning this work over um it would

3:00:31at least be a start.

3:00:34>> So this is this was the question that I

3:00:37had but so since you now presented it it

3:00:40kind of shifts a little bit. Um

3:00:43um I wish id known that beforehand. Uh

3:00:45so

3:00:47okay

3:00:49so I in my experience I've worked in the

3:00:52federal government and and I was lucky

3:00:53enough to be over an office where I had

3:00:55control over HR and all that other stuff

3:00:56right

3:00:583,000 employees and how many do we how

3:01:00many HR um whether we call them liaison

3:01:04or whatever we call them what how many

3:01:05>> so we have in the department um six

3:01:09seven people eight people.

3:01:12>> Okay. Um, wow.

3:01:16>> So, this would be nine.

3:01:17>> That would be nine.

3:01:18>> This would be nine.

3:01:18>> And And so,

3:01:20>> knowing what I've kind of looked at

3:01:24previously that we were bringing the

3:01:26packets over to city hall once somebody

3:01:29came on or left. Right. So, is this

3:01:31person now does that eliminate the

3:01:33packet going over to city hall?

3:01:35>> Well, we're digitizing all of that

3:01:36anyway. So that has been a project that

3:01:38we have been working on in conjunction

3:01:40with city hall. But this would actually

3:01:42be someone who even enroll like helps to

3:01:45enroll folks. But yes, they would not

3:01:47then have to go over to city hall and

3:01:49sign up for insurance.

3:01:50>> So your expectation is is that this

3:01:52person works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a

3:01:55year.

3:01:58>> I'm sorry. Say um meaning are they a

3:02:01full-time employ,000?

3:02:03>> Yes.

3:02:04>> So you think only one?

3:02:06>> No, I don't. Okay. Um

3:02:08>> because then that means they can't take

3:02:09leave. They can't get sick.

3:02:10>> Right. I mean, I do think we are going

3:02:12to have to hire that this is we're going

3:02:15to have to have and this is part of that

3:02:16larger conversation because some of the

3:02:19things that we've been doing right now

3:02:20is telling um city hall that we've got a

3:02:23halt like we can't be taking it all on.

3:02:25We just don't have the capacity. So,

3:02:27this would at least give us some

3:02:28capacity to start to take on the work,

3:02:30but I do not by any means believe that

3:02:33this is going to give us the capacity to

3:02:34do all employees. So, we're going to,

3:02:36and this is what I sort of mean about

3:02:38like we can't just talk say we're

3:02:41merging or we're we or we're

3:02:42transferring the work from here to

3:02:43there. There needs to be a a business

3:02:46plan. There needs to be a timeline.

3:02:47There needs to be responsibility

3:02:49centers. We need to have an

3:02:50understanding of what we're doing before

3:02:52we're doing it. Um, we need to be

3:02:54planning it proactively rather than

3:02:56reacting. And and I very uh much admit

3:02:59that this is reactive because that work

3:03:02has been shifted over to us. So, do I

3:03:04think that this is the the greatest plan

3:03:07and that this should be the long-term

3:03:08plan? Absolutely not. Um, but it it is

3:03:13uh just a step as we are trying to

3:03:16figure out what the larger plan looks

3:03:18like. And I do think we need to have a

3:03:20conversation

3:03:21with city hall and and I know and again

3:03:24Jay Condan has been incredibly uh

3:03:27collaborative and supportive and

3:03:28recognizes that there's the maintenance

3:03:30line of schedule 19 that doesn't exactly

3:03:33tie out. So I do believe that it's going

3:03:35to be um that you all are going to be

3:03:38able to see a schedule 19 that is

3:03:41auditable and that is understandable and

3:03:43that actually reflects the services

3:03:44we're getting. So I do feel confident in

3:03:46that now. Um but and so yes this um this

3:03:51cost would then be shifted to us from

3:03:53that schedule 19.

3:03:54>> So I I just have three quick questions.

3:03:56So the first first one is um do do our

3:04:00current HR employees have the expertise

3:04:03to do this?

3:04:04>> No.

3:04:04>> All right. No. Second um I I've seen our

3:04:09schedule 19. Um ho how how are we

3:04:15predicting the cost that was

3:04:19>> well that's a great question back

3:04:20>> and

3:04:21>> so for last year I believe it was

3:04:24>> almost 400,000

3:04:26>> almost $400,000 that we were spending um

3:04:30on the HR department for city hall that

3:04:32was one of the the lines so we will be

3:04:36putting less than that um by at least 60

3:04:40to8 85,000 is I believe the range for

3:04:42this position. Um that will at least be

3:04:45uh it will be less than that. Now do I

3:04:48think it will be even less than that?

3:04:50Yes, because I do believe that we will

3:04:52be able to have a number that is more

3:04:54auditable.

3:04:55>> And then the last question is um this

3:04:58was there a number on this that you put

3:05:00forward that I don't I didn't see the

3:05:02number.

3:05:02>> Um

3:05:02>> does it say one? Uh

3:05:04>> just one you mean meaning one FTE? Yes,

3:05:08one FTE for now. Um, and hopefully again

3:05:11I'll be able to come to you all with a

3:05:13larger long-term plan um that I do need

3:05:16to work with the city on because again I

3:05:18need to better understand because if

3:05:21we're shifting the work over that's less

3:05:22of a merger, right? That's more that's

3:05:24actually going the opposite direction.

3:05:26So I need to better understand again

3:05:28what the vision is. Um I admit I don't

3:05:31know right now. Uh but I have every

3:05:33intention of finding out. So

3:05:35>> last cost concern and this is a major

3:05:37concern obviously.

3:05:38>> Yes.

3:05:38>> But so much.

3:05:42>> So we know that we were paying out in

3:05:44excess of a few million dollars of

3:05:46benefits that we shouldn't have. So with

3:05:48this happening, is there currently a

3:05:50backlog where we're that's still

3:05:52happening? Are we we assured that we're

3:05:55not paying for things that we shouldn't

3:05:57be right now?

3:05:58>> No, we are not assured of that right

3:05:59now. We are in the process of cleaning

3:06:01it up. So, why couldn't we just hire

3:06:03like I mean,

3:06:05>> why just one then? I guess

3:06:08>> because I don't want to overpromise at

3:06:10this point. Um,

3:06:12yeah. I I mean, I figure let's start

3:06:15with one.

3:06:15>> So, they're going to keep most of it.

3:06:17>> No, not necessarily. I'm sorry. Again, I

3:06:20don't have a long-term plan. We're just

3:06:22starting with one uh because that I feel

3:06:26is a safe way to go. um is to start with

3:06:29one because I know that we will at least

3:06:30get that amount back in our schedule 19

3:06:33before we were to hire any more than

3:06:35that. I want to want to get confirmation

3:06:37of what that final schedule 19 number is

3:06:39for HR for city hall. Like I wouldn't

3:06:42want to just assume that we were going

3:06:45to get two salaries worth.

3:06:46>> So why not just say four right now and

3:06:48then if you only need to hire one, you

3:06:51hire one.

3:06:53I I mean that is certainly another way

3:06:55to go if that would be something y'all

3:06:57would be comfortable with. I I

3:07:02that's certainly something we could do.

3:07:04I would want to again confirm with city

3:07:07hall that we would be getting all of

3:07:09those salaries back in our schedule 19

3:07:12uh before actually hiring for. Uh but at

3:07:15least for now I know we need one because

3:07:17as the work is even transitioning a

3:07:19little bit we do need somebody who has

3:07:21that that expertise.

3:07:26>> I yield.

3:07:27>> Thank you.

3:07:27>> Uh Miss M. Oliver.

3:07:29>> So um when the audit happened with the

3:07:33HR I think we were spending about like

3:07:35$1.6 $6 million about that and two two

3:07:39millions and we had how many people in

3:07:41HR when we before we did what we had to

3:07:45do to save um cost

3:07:47>> I actually came back

3:07:48>> we actually have a

3:07:49>> like I don't know um it's all right I'll

3:07:52invite up Kathy Marian she'll

3:07:54>> while legal team you know she gets to

3:07:56the podium but the only concern I have I

3:07:58get this whole merging thing but this

3:08:00doesn't sound like merging this is sound

3:08:02like you're taking our responsibility

3:08:04and you pay for it. I'm just We've like

3:08:08before I even got on the school

3:08:09committee, all I've ever heard in this

3:08:11city is that Central is heavy. That

3:08:14Central loves to spend money. We're

3:08:15throwing money out the way and there's

3:08:18money three out somewhere and then we

3:08:19just keep giving money out. And we

3:08:21finally did an audit. We cleaned it up

3:08:24and we saved so much money by doing what

3:08:27we had to do to be fiscally responsible.

3:08:30And now you're telling us that you want

3:08:33us to hire all these people and then

3:08:34where the money's coming from.

3:08:36>> Well, in all fairness, they didn't say

3:08:38that wasn't their directive. It was to

3:08:40take the work, but they didn't say hire

3:08:42people.

3:08:43>> We would have to hire people,

3:08:44>> but we have to hire people, right? So,

3:08:46we did at least confirm that we need to

3:08:48hire someone and so we will be taking

3:08:50that money back from SC.

3:08:51>> So, it's hiring and also training

3:08:53because we don't have people to do the

3:08:55job and now it's going from paper to

3:08:58Yes. Our hope is to be more efficient

3:09:01and Exactly. Yes.

3:09:02>> So for us to go to paper electronic, we

3:09:04have to train individual and that's

3:09:07going to take time and then we have to

3:09:09make sure we get people that's also able

3:09:11to do the job. This is a high a lot of

3:09:14responsibility for 3,000 people and

3:09:16we're trying to figure out I if we're

3:09:18merging, we're merging. We're taking

3:09:20responsibility together, not I'm just

3:09:22going to keep throwing things to the

3:09:23school side and you guys figure it out

3:09:25and you pay for the people. We're saving

3:09:28them money, but we're putting more cost

3:09:29on us. But uh how many do we have?

3:09:32>> There were 12 at one point. 12.

3:09:34>> 12 and now we're down to eight.

3:09:36>> Yes.

3:09:38>> It's just very confusing to me how I get

3:09:40it. We need we want to merge certain

3:09:42department, but we also got to be

3:09:43fiscally responsible and you're not

3:09:45going to put all the work on us and for

3:09:48us to figure it out. I'm just very

3:09:50concerned about that that I don't feel

3:09:51comfortable voting on this until we have

3:09:54a better picture idea of what it's going

3:09:56to cost us and what's the consequences

3:09:58going to be on our budget.

3:10:01>> Miss you.

3:10:03>> And my concern is that we take on this

3:10:06responsibility by only hiring one one

3:10:10person and then like you said this for

3:10:133,000 um staff that's a lot. And the and

3:10:17then for you to do your assessment, it

3:10:19says we we need more. So how can we say

3:10:22we need two to three staff? So like I

3:10:25guess when is this happen or did it

3:10:28already happen?

3:10:29>> No. No. It's for your you to approve.

3:10:31>> Okay. So it sounds like

3:10:33>> and for us to have this discussion.

3:10:34>> Okay. Great. Um so do you have a date

3:10:38line like have they proposed a date of

3:10:40when this merger? Well, I don't even

3:10:43know if it's merge. this added

3:10:45responsibility to be sent back to be

3:10:47sent to us.

3:10:48>> We've already started to do some of the

3:10:50work. The um the timeline that city hall

3:10:52had set was that all of the health

3:10:54insurance would come over to the school

3:10:56department by the end of August, which

3:10:58has already passed. Um I was also

3:11:00informed in August that it was not just

3:11:01health, but it's also dental and life.

3:11:04So, um there's more work that's coming

3:11:06our way as well. We've just started the

3:11:08trainings to and to get access to the

3:11:10portals.

3:11:11>> Okay.

3:11:13>> Okay. So I'm now

3:11:15>> I'll say

3:11:15>> I'm confused. What

3:11:17>> Mr. Pena?

3:11:18>> I'm very very confused. Not not not at

3:11:21you. Um

3:11:22>> so they just decided to just send it

3:11:24over and just say you deal with it. I'm

3:11:26I'm confused now. Now I know that you

3:11:28guys are great down there in HR. I know

3:11:30a lot of you down there. You're you're

3:11:32salt of the earth. But I mean I I'll be

3:11:36honest that I I believe there's a ratio

3:11:38to how many HR I just call them leazison

3:11:41but whatever you want to whatever you

3:11:42guys call them. Shouldn't there be like

3:11:44maybe one per 200 employees? And that's

3:11:47that's kind of a lot.

3:11:49>> Um when we asked when I went to the

3:11:51first meeting in August and was told

3:11:52that this work was coming to my office

3:11:54um I asked how many people they have at

3:11:57city hall doing this work and I was told

3:11:58they have four. Um we currently have

3:12:013,3449

3:12:03employees in the city in the school

3:12:05department. Um I believe that this I

3:12:07don't have the number between 8 and 900

3:12:10for the city side. So obviously as Dr.

3:12:13Tieani said uh one is not enough but if

3:12:16we're going to we already have some of

3:12:17the work in my office we already have

3:12:19people meeting uh with people like

3:12:21polymorphic to figure out how we're

3:12:22going to digitize this and I could go on

3:12:24and on but um we don't have the capacity

3:12:26right now to do this well and as you

3:12:29know benefits are extremely important to

3:12:31people.

3:12:32>> So don't don't we see that this is what

3:12:34messed up before? Like I'm con I'm very

3:12:39confused right now.

3:12:45Miss Oliver.

3:12:47>> So when this first came to light at a

3:12:50meeting that you went to in August

3:12:52shouldn't have been brought to us to our

3:12:55attention before it was thrown into our

3:12:57HR without discussing it with us. Like I

3:13:00I I just feel bad for the for the HR

3:13:03department because we decreased it to

3:13:05save money and now we're putting more

3:13:07work on individuals that without even

3:13:10consulting with the school committee

3:13:12members to even say do we approve or not

3:13:14approve what you're throwing at at HR.

3:13:17You're telling us we need to save money.

3:13:19We let go people change position and

3:13:21move them. And now you're telling us

3:13:23never mind you're going to have to hire

3:13:24four people because you got to do all

3:13:26this. But it was not brought to us cuz

3:13:28this is this is financial. This is money

3:13:31that we have to figure out how we going

3:13:32to be able to afford for different

3:13:35people in that department to do the job.

3:13:37So I'm just very this is when

3:13:40communication

3:13:42breaks down right because when city does

3:13:45certain things and thinks that data

3:13:47shouldn't basically

3:13:49consult with us to basically say okay

3:13:52where's the money where's it coming from

3:13:54how are we funding this do we yes we

3:13:56want to make sure that we're not paying

3:13:58individual health insurance or benefits

3:14:00they shouldn't be having but this should

3:14:03have been a deep conversation this

3:14:05should have been a meeting in August

3:14:07and not now to basically say, "Yeah,

3:14:09we're going to have to hire somebody." I

3:14:11think that we need to throw it back and

3:14:13we need to have a conversation cuz this

3:14:15is not going to work well. And I don't

3:14:17think it's fair to put on director of

3:14:19HR, figure it out, do it or no, do it.

3:14:22You have no choice. Basically, what they

3:14:23did like you have no choice. You got to

3:14:25start doing it in August.

3:14:31>> I say that.

3:14:34Superintendent, is this something that

3:14:36you would recommend we try to get more

3:14:37information and move it to the next

3:14:39meeting just given the time?

3:14:44>> I'll be honest, I've been struggling

3:14:45with this one. Um it it is it is hard to

3:14:48manage um because um

3:14:53you know, we're trying to be uh more

3:14:55collaborative and supportive to city

3:14:57hall. On one hand, I think that this is

3:14:58a compliment. I think it's because we

3:15:00are doing great work and we have a lot

3:15:01of capacity. um uh not people-wise, but

3:15:04we have uh the ability to do um more

3:15:08than we have in the past. And so I and I

3:15:11think, you know, we're demonstrating

3:15:12ourselves to be very competent. And so

3:15:15on one hand, I think that's a good

3:15:17thing. Um that uh but

3:15:21um

3:15:26it is a difficult position for me to be

3:15:28in because I sort of report to

3:15:30everybody. Let's be right. I report to

3:15:32all of you and I report to city hall

3:15:34because you know the mayor is the chair

3:15:36of our committee. So,

3:15:39and this kind of comes back to the the

3:15:41the conversation we were having earlier

3:15:43about like it's not seven different

3:15:45bosses, it's eight actually [laughter]

3:15:47and trying to make sure that I am

3:15:50managing everything appropriately. Um,

3:15:52and so we are just trying to at the end

3:15:55of the day, benefits, like you said,

3:15:57they're important and we want to get the

3:15:59work done and we want to get the work

3:16:00done right for our employees. Um, and I

3:16:02think the way this really started is

3:16:04because um, we had it had come to our

3:16:09attention or we had known for a while

3:16:11that um, there were benefits being paid

3:16:13out that shouldn't have been. And we did

3:16:15start to take more interest in that

3:16:18because we wanted to stop that process.

3:16:20So, we started to ask more information,

3:16:22ask for data, ask for access to portals,

3:16:25started to help with the audit. Um, I

3:16:28will say that Kimside ended up being

3:16:30integral to that process. And so,

3:16:32somehow in that whole process of us

3:16:35cleaning, being part of the cleanup,

3:16:38somehow it this got shifted. And

3:16:41honestly, it was news to all of us. Um,

3:16:44none of us were part of the meeting

3:16:45where that happened. Um, so I I don't I

3:16:49don't really know. Just one last

3:16:50question. So the directive came on which

3:16:53date was it?

3:16:53>> It wasn't really a directive as much as

3:16:55it was like

3:16:57>> do it. Okay.

3:16:58>> Here you go.

3:16:59>> I was being gaslighted. [laughter]

3:17:02>> Yeah.

3:17:02>> So to take it kind of off of your

3:17:06>> I mean that was it because I'm just

3:17:07looking at the time and I know we have

3:17:08our attorney here. Um is it something

3:17:11that you need us or if we were to call a

3:17:14special meeting just to discuss this

3:17:17once we have more information? Um I mean

3:17:19is it an outside comp you?

3:17:21>> So I would like to be supportive to the

3:17:23HR department. So I guess we have two

3:17:25options here. We have the option of

3:17:26moving forward with one uh benefits

3:17:29coordinator and and trying to start to

3:17:32transition this work over or so I think

3:17:35that would be option one or option two

3:17:37would be to stop um try to push the work

3:17:40back and say we're going to pause. We

3:17:42can't take any of this for an hour and a

3:17:43longer conversation needs to happen.

3:17:45That's what I believe to be the two

3:17:47options are. If there's a third option

3:17:48that I'm missing, please feel free to

3:17:50let me know. But I would want to hear

3:17:52from um Dr. Moran.

3:17:54>> So Dr. Moran, before you answer, so you

3:17:56mentioned training. What is involved

3:17:58with the training? Like is it is it um

3:18:03extensive training or is it something

3:18:05that we can bring in an outside company

3:18:07to help you uh temporarily?

3:18:10Well, when it comes to just the Blue

3:18:12Cross and Harvard for the health

3:18:13insurance, we've been working with Blue

3:18:15Cross with their um representative to

3:18:18get ourselves acclimated to just the

3:18:21portal itself. When it comes to actually

3:18:23getting in and um starting the process

3:18:25for new employees, ending the process

3:18:28when people leave, changing things when

3:18:30people have additions to their families.

3:18:32Those are all details that we need to be

3:18:35trained on. Those are the the details.

3:18:37Um, in addition to that, as I said,

3:18:39there's also, uh, dental and life that

3:18:41we haven't begun to scratch the surface

3:18:44yet. So, um, in in terms of bringing in

3:18:47an outside agency, I think it's really

3:18:49about if since I was hired here in the

3:18:51early 2000s, health insurance was always

3:18:54handled by city hall. So, we need to

3:18:56build our capacity by working with city

3:18:59hall that's been doing it for decades,

3:19:01so we can get ourselves up to speed. Um,

3:19:03but that's just the health insurance

3:19:04piece. the dental and life are also um

3:19:07out there.

3:19:08>> So, I mean, this is something they're

3:19:09already doing now, but by the time we

3:19:12get on board and um get the training,

3:19:15it's just it's it's it's

3:19:17timesensitive. So, I would say let them

3:19:22continue to help us until we can

3:19:25identify

3:19:27funds for those positions that you're

3:19:29going to need. um

3:19:32just yeah just take the money but more

3:19:34than one person you know she's she's

3:19:37she's going to need more than one

3:19:38employee to be doing that where they

3:19:39have four

3:19:41>> um but okay that

3:19:43>> I'll say

3:19:45>> um to take it off your plate um please

3:19:48answer truthfully

3:19:51how many employees do you think you need

3:19:54to be able to do this uh proficiently

3:19:58because I will tell you that as somebody

3:20:00that is someone with disabilities that

3:20:04um if you do not correctly input the

3:20:07insurance then you start getting phone

3:20:10calls at the house a lot.

3:20:12>> Mhm.

3:20:12>> And then it becomes a stressful

3:20:14situation for the employee and there's a

3:20:17lot of trust that's lost everything

3:20:19else. So please answer as honestly as

3:20:22you possibly can.

3:20:24>> I have no idea. We haven't started this

3:20:26process yet. All I know is that city

3:20:28hall has four employees that are doing

3:20:30this work for the school department and

3:20:33city side for about 4,000 employees if

3:20:35we're taking um 3/4s of that. Um and

3:20:39>> and they weren't doing it proficiently.

3:20:41Correct.

3:20:41>> I I there are always glitches. I mean

3:20:43there were times when people left um and

3:20:45their insurance wasn't turned off, but

3:20:47as you just mentioned, whenever there's

3:20:49a change in um if a benefits change,

3:20:51there'll be open enrollment. you know,

3:20:53when your baby turns 26 out of nowhere

3:20:55and she needs to get her own insurance.

3:20:57All of these things, these life events,

3:20:59they trigger something and they they're

3:21:00they're very timesensitive.

3:21:02>> And so I I would just say um I think

3:21:04there's an option C and and I would move

3:21:08to amend this item to add two additional

3:21:12um FTE to it in case so that you don't

3:21:16have to come back if it's something that

3:21:17you need to hire right away. So I would

3:21:19move to amend it to three rather than

3:21:21just one.

3:21:23That's in the form of a motion.

3:21:25>> That was

3:21:26>> uh is there a second?

3:21:27>> Second.

3:21:28>> Motion has been properly made and

3:21:29second.

3:21:31>> Uh Miss Cinte. Miss Oliver.

3:21:33>> No.

3:21:35>> Mr. Rodriguez.

3:21:37>> Nope.

3:21:38>> Miss Azac?

3:21:40>> Yes.

3:21:40>> Mr. Pina?

3:21:41>> Yes.

3:21:42>> Mr. Sullivan?

3:21:44>> Yes.

3:21:45>> I'm a yes as well. Two

3:21:48four. It carries. So, I make a motion to

3:21:51now pass that um item D E.

3:21:56>> Wait, D, you're right. Sorry, man.

3:21:58>> Oh, see, you got me there, man.

3:22:00>> I make a motion to advance

3:22:03>> item D uh approval to hire three um

3:22:07benefit coordinator position.

3:22:11>> Motion has been made. Is there a second?

3:22:15>> Clarification. Um all same salary.

3:22:19So, I mean,

3:22:20>> there's a range. We'll post a range and

3:22:22I think it depends on expertise or

3:22:25experience. Yeah. A number of factors.

3:22:27>> Okay. I'll second it. Yep. I'll second

3:22:29it

3:22:29>> on the motion. Do you want to add that

3:22:31the funding source has to come from the

3:22:34schedule 19?

3:22:34>> Yeah.

3:22:35>> Granted that

3:22:36>> Yeah, that that's what she she already

3:22:38identified that though.

3:22:40>> Yeah,

3:22:40>> I know. But I'm just saying cuz we we

3:22:42fight for money a lot. We fight over

3:22:44money a lot. Contingent upon

3:22:46>> contingent upon

3:22:48>> as long as we put it on the record.

3:22:50>> Perfect. Um, so there's a motion on the

3:22:53floor. Second. Misso,

3:22:56>> yes.

3:22:56>> Miss Oliver,

3:22:57>> no.

3:22:58>> Mr. Rodriguez,

3:22:59>> no.

3:22:59>> Miss Azac,

3:23:00>> yes.

3:23:01>> Mr. Pina,

3:23:02>> yes.

3:23:02>> Mr. Sullivan,

3:23:04>> yes.

3:23:05>> I'm a yes. As well carries. Um, item E.

3:23:09Discussion potential.

3:23:10>> Thank you, Dr. Maran.

3:23:12election of official voting delegate of

3:23:15the mass mask mass annual business

3:23:18meeting November 4th to the 6, 2026. Uh

3:23:21as you guys know, every year when mask

3:23:23does um their conference, we elect a

3:23:26member uh among those that are going to

3:23:29be our repres representative of this

3:23:32committee uh to vote on our behalf and

3:23:34we also elect an alternative member. Uh

3:23:37I'm not sure who is going. I won't be

3:23:39going this year. So if we can have just

3:23:42a

3:23:44uh hands up for those that are going so

3:23:46the rest of the committee knows. So we

3:23:49got Mr. Pina, Miss AAC.

3:23:52So almost everybody but myself and Mr.

3:23:54Sullivan are you going?

3:23:55>> I think it's that front.

3:23:57>> I did but

3:24:00I'm assuming that's a no.

3:24:01>> Um is anybody willing to be the

3:24:04delegate?

3:24:05>> I nominate Joyce Azac.

3:24:07>> I thank you for the nomination. And I

3:24:09just I need to step away. Nope. Thank

3:24:11you.

3:24:12>> Thank you for the nomination. Um but I I

3:24:15will not be attending the delegate part.

3:24:17So I do have to leave

3:24:18>> accept your nomination.

3:24:19>> No, it's for that Friday. So I have to

3:24:21leave and come back.

3:24:22>> Any other members that would like to be

3:24:24the delegate or you guys want to

3:24:26nominate any other members?

3:24:28>> Stephen. [laughter]

3:24:31>> Wow.

3:24:32>> I nominate

3:24:34Tony Rodriguez.

3:24:36>> Tony, do you accept that nomination?

3:24:39You don't have to accept.

3:24:40>> Might as well. Nobody else is going to

3:24:41stand.

3:24:41>> All right. So, Tony Rodriguez has been

3:24:43nominated as our delegate. Can we have

3:24:45an alter alternate?

3:24:47>> I'll [clears throat] be the backup.

3:24:49>> Everybody in agreement.

3:24:52>> Do we have to vote on it or No.

3:24:53>> Yeah, you have to vote on it.

3:24:54>> Yeah, we vote on it.

3:24:55>> Okay.

3:24:55>> So, we have uh Mr. Rodriguez as our

3:24:59delegate and Mrs.

3:25:01>> Miss Cinteo as our um secondary. Um,

3:25:05I'll take a motion to

3:25:06>> make a motion to pass the Mr. Rodriguez

3:25:09as the primary and Miss Contento as the

3:25:12alternate for the mask mass uh

3:25:14delegation.

3:25:16>> Is there a second?

3:25:17>> Second.

3:25:18>> Motion has been properly made in second.

3:25:20Miss Cento,

3:25:21>> yes.

3:25:21>> Miss Oliver,

3:25:22>> yes.

3:25:23>> Mr. Rodriguez,

3:25:24>> Miss Azac,

3:25:25>> yes.

3:25:26>> Mr. Pina,

3:25:26>> yeah.

3:25:27>> Mr. Sullivan,

3:25:29>> yes.

3:25:30>> I'm a yes as well passes.

3:25:32Congratulations.

3:25:33Um, agenda item

3:25:36seven, school school safety and

3:25:39security. Our police layers on.

3:25:41>> All right, let be quick about this. It's

3:25:43getting late.

3:25:45Our last two home night games were Oh,

3:25:48good evening everyone. Sorry. Our last

3:25:50two home night games went off without

3:25:52any significant issues. We appreciate

3:25:54the continued cooper Well, what

3:25:56happened? uh cooperation of the students

3:25:59and the families and the fans and

3:26:01helping with making the event safe and

3:26:02successful.

3:26:04We continue to work collaboration with

3:26:06the school uh department in various ways

3:26:08accommodating their needs and promote

3:26:10safety and respect among our

3:26:12constituents ensuring different uh

3:26:14different perspective and concerns uh

3:26:17are heard with and valued. Excuse me.

3:26:21We're also conducting internal

3:26:23interview.

3:26:26We're looking at what has gone well,

3:26:28identifying areas of improvement. It may

3:26:30be appropriate reviewing these goals and

3:26:32previous established

3:26:34determine whether any uh new goals

3:26:36should be considered considering moving

3:26:39forward.

3:26:41Any questions?

3:26:43>> Miss Oliver,

3:26:45>> thank you very much for your report. I

3:26:48think the last two home games has been

3:26:50great. Um Don, my only concern is that I

3:26:53noticed last um game. I know it was

3:26:56raining. A lot of people didn't want to

3:26:57go sit in the bleachers. Um I think that

3:27:00if we can just help the coaches and just

3:27:03move individuals from defense. I I saw a

3:27:06lot of um athletic director trying to

3:27:09move um students and go to the

3:27:11bleachers. Um if we can get more help

3:27:13with that cuz I did see a lot of it more

3:27:15kids um by the fence instead of sitting

3:27:18down. But I think the overall I think

3:27:21that like the you know the blackout day

3:27:23they had the first home game and the

3:27:25last game was like the pink for breast

3:27:27cancer a war awareness and I think that

3:27:30it was a really good home game and I and

3:27:32I do appreciate all the hard work

3:27:33everybody's been doing. Thank you.

3:27:35>> Thank you

3:27:36>> Mr. Pina.

3:27:37>> Yeah. So uh I have a few questions. The

3:27:40first one is um what is your thought on

3:27:43the um illumination of the non non-field

3:27:47areas? Are they illuminated enough for

3:27:50safety purposes?

3:27:52My my concern is over by the uh

3:27:55underneath the scoreboard and where that

3:27:57the snack shack or I forget what we call

3:27:59it, but it's not really lit up. Uh I've

3:28:01been to obviously the other um high

3:28:04schools in the area and theirs is pretty

3:28:06lit up. Um

3:28:09I don't know whether it would help

3:28:10safety wise. Um

3:28:14thoughts?

3:28:15>> Yeah, lights are great. That'd be great.

3:28:18Lighting, visible, safety.

3:28:22>> Awesome.

3:28:23>> And the uh second question is that

3:28:26pertaining to the football um in all

3:28:28sports, but um I noticed that uh there

3:28:32were no um Brockton police um city

3:28:36police at our at the games and there was

3:28:40there was no incidences which as you

3:28:42reported. So that would be a a pretty

3:28:45big savings. uh to us. Um was it

3:28:50beneficial?

3:28:51Uh were you guys able to uh conduct the

3:28:54safety measures everything without uh

3:28:57concern?

3:28:59>> There's 12 of us there. We actually had

3:29:03uh

3:29:05Captain Captain two captains.

3:29:09We had good vision.

3:29:11>> Awesome. And then um I I might have

3:29:14missed it, but did you mention anything

3:29:16about any recent um

3:29:20criminal activity around any of the

3:29:22schools pertaining to either uh the

3:29:25transate population or any incidences

3:29:28involving students?

3:29:31>> Um

3:29:34say that again. I'm sorry. So the

3:29:36homeless population that uh takes over

3:29:40the PL area especially in the Arnown as

3:29:43well. Um in the past we'd had issues

3:29:46with that with uh them leaving some

3:29:49gifts behind. Uh has that has there been

3:29:52any uh additional issues?

3:29:56>> Uh not that I know of. But if I can

3:30:01reach out to

3:30:03get get that information for you to

3:30:06>> Awesome. And you said you said we now

3:30:08are at 12 on

3:30:11on duty.

3:30:15>> Or was that some from the

3:30:17>> total? Yeah.

3:30:19>> Awesome. And I'll just say um one kudos

3:30:22or good job or whatever you guys want to

3:30:24call it. Pat on the back. How's that?

3:30:26Um, so I've noticed that you have you

3:30:29guys have randomly gone to the

3:30:31elementary schools and not just driving

3:30:34by, but actually going with your lights

3:30:36on during the drop off and pickup, which

3:30:39has helped immensely with the I I'll say

3:30:43quadruple parking uh especially at the

3:30:46schools that I've gone and and watched.

3:30:49Um, so I I would thank uh who whoever is

3:30:52in charge of that process and and as as

3:30:55well as the the school police for being

3:30:58as um um on the ball as as you guys

3:31:03>> I'll call you back on this.

3:31:06>> Mr. Sullivan,

3:31:07>> I call you back.

3:31:10I I think the one of the reason maybe we

3:31:13can find out the lights issue by the

3:31:16shed um the concession stand is because

3:31:19there's houses right there and we can't

3:31:21have so much bright light just facing

3:31:23the the the houses over there. I wonder

3:31:26I'm just trying to figure out cuz it is

3:31:27very dark in that area when I try to go

3:31:30get food and it's very very dark in that

3:31:32area.

3:31:33>> I don't know if it's because of house

3:31:34that like fenced our stadium. We'll talk

3:31:38to Ken.

3:31:39>> Yeah. Well, and if you face them this

3:31:40towards the field, it's not an issue.

3:31:42But I would also add that the the band

3:31:44boosters

3:31:45>> u and this this is very dark.

3:31:47>> This is a facilities thing. They're

3:31:49sitting out there with uh

3:31:51>> little tiny lanterns.

3:31:54It's I mean we can we can run a line out

3:31:56there and put a light up there, but

3:31:58>> and I think also facilities issue

3:31:59>> the light under the bleachers too when

3:32:02um the band um they go under it to like

3:32:05have their snacks and drinks. It's very

3:32:07dark there and the safety um issues too,

3:32:10especially with the rain. I mean, if we

3:32:12can figure out the lights under there

3:32:13will be greatly appreciated just for

3:32:15students when they walk in to go to the

3:32:17bathroom is very dark under there. Um,

3:32:19another thing that I want to find out if

3:32:22it's true or not, if there's already

3:32:24encampment like a encampment around here

3:32:27at the school, like where the forest

3:32:28area is, or is there any individuals

3:32:32basically housing out there like the

3:32:34homeless people? Because I know there

3:32:36are some students that have said they

3:32:37have walked that way and there are

3:32:39individual in the woods living there.

3:32:41So, I want to make sure that we're

3:32:43trying to figure out if there is and how

3:32:45we basically make sure our students when

3:32:47they walk through there, they're safe at

3:32:49all time if we can get an idea what if

3:32:51it's really happening or not.

3:32:53>> Thank you,

3:32:56>> Miss Cinte.

3:32:57>> Hi.

3:32:58>> Uh when we was there, uh we did talk

3:33:02about traffic cuz that is on a main busy

3:33:06road.

3:33:06>> Yes. So what they what the principal did

3:33:09share was that when there's a present

3:33:11when one of your um somebody from your

3:33:14team or you are there that things tend

3:33:17to run smoothly

3:33:19um they even give us a situation that

3:33:22happened that week where um a school a

3:33:26driver was behind the school van and did

3:33:29not see the stop sign and took over. Um,

3:33:32but you guys was right there and step up

3:33:35um and spoke with the person. I sure if

3:33:37they got a ticket or not. Um, I would

3:33:41like if we can come up with a system

3:33:46that because they aren't on the main

3:33:48road

3:33:49if there's a possibility that we for us

3:33:52to make sure that they should always

3:33:54have some coverage as much as I can. Of

3:33:57course, does the Baker needs it? Does

3:33:59the George need it? Does other school

3:34:00need it? Yes. But I feel like for safety

3:34:02reasons, um, is that something that can

3:34:05be done?

3:34:06>> Yes.

3:34:08>> All the time.

3:34:10>> Yes.

3:34:12>> Okay. I'll be doing some random drive

3:34:13by. Well,

3:34:14>> thank you.

3:34:15>> Random cruising.

3:34:17>> I'll say this. We have a we have

3:34:21a list of schools that we sit on traffic

3:34:24>> in the Angelo where it's at because it's

3:34:27such a congested area. It's either

3:34:31before school or after school before dis

3:34:34arrival dismissal. It's about 15 minutes

3:34:37of chaos and it goes away. So it is on

3:34:40our list of schools that we try and try

3:34:43to get to. However, sometimes even

3:34:46though we have 12, sometimes things come

3:34:48up. Um officers are tied up on calls if

3:34:52we're not able to get to that school on

3:34:53that date. But that rest assure the the

3:34:56Angelo is on that list along with the

3:34:59Baker, the George, the Hancock.

3:35:05Um, yeah, we got about we got seven

3:35:09try to get to the Raymond.

3:35:16Well, I just wanted to give a shout out

3:35:18because the the principal did did

3:35:19mention that when you guys are there

3:35:21that things tend to move quickly, but

3:35:24the safety of the students and also the

3:35:27staff. So, I'm happy to hear that those

3:35:30schools that are in the main road are on

3:35:32top of your priority list. So, thank

3:35:35you.

3:35:35>> The uh football games and the events at

3:35:37the uh stadium, how many officers do we

3:35:39need to cover the uh the football games?

3:35:45Hello. Um, that's up to the lieutenant

3:35:47usually comes up with the the magic

3:35:49number, but I can get that to you.

3:35:52>> All right. Yeah, I I would like to

3:35:53review that uh, you know, to coincide

3:35:56that with our contract. Um,

3:35:59>> okay.

3:35:59>> You can ask number on the school police

3:36:03>> that we shouldn't be getting any uh

3:36:05invoices. Uh, that's extra.

3:36:08>> Okay.

3:36:09>> Thank you.

3:36:10>> All right. Thank you, folks. Thank you.

3:36:12Um item

3:36:15eight, announcements. Is there any

3:36:17announcements?

3:36:19Seeing none, we'll move to item nine,

3:36:21executive session. Um I'll read this

3:36:25into the record. Pursuant to mass

3:36:26general law, chapter 30A, section 21 A3

3:36:30to discuss strategy with respect to

3:36:32collective bargaining or litigation if

3:36:34an open meeting may be may have a

3:36:36detrimental effect on the bargaining or

3:36:38litigation position of the public body

3:36:40and chair. So declares threaten and

3:36:42current litigation. Uh can I have a

3:36:44motion to go into executive session?

3:36:46>> Motion to go into executive session.

3:36:49>> Second.

3:36:49>> Motion has been properly made in second.

3:36:51Miss Antio,

3:36:51>> yes.

3:36:52>> Miss Soliviver,

3:36:52>> yes.

3:36:53>> Mr. Rodriguez,

3:36:54>> yes.

3:36:54>> Mr. Isac,

3:36:55>> yes.

3:36:56>> Mr. Sullivan,

3:36:58>> yes.

3:36:59>> Uh myself is a yes as well. We will be

3:37:01going to executive session and we will

3:37:04not be coming back. Um

3:37:06>> is it going to be on a laptop or is it

3:37:09going to be my phone? phone.

3:37:13>> Yeah. Um,

3:37:15wait, say that again.

3:37:18>> And M. Yes. Mr. Sullivan will be joining

3:37:20via phone for executive session. Um, can

3:37:23I have a motion to adjourn?

3:37:26>> Motion to return.

3:37:28>> Second.

3:37:28>> Motion has been properly made in second.

3:37:30Miss Antio,

3:37:31>> yes.

3:37:31>> Miss Oliver,

3:37:32>> yes.

3:37:33>> That was executive session.

3:37:35>> Oh, Mr. Rodriguez.

3:37:37>> Yes.

3:37:37>> Mr. Mr. Sullivan.

3:37:41>> Yes.

3:37:41>> I'm a yes as well. Meeting is adjourned.

3:37:43We will not be coming back.