2026-09-22 - School Committee

0:11Good evening. Today is Tuesday,

0:13September 22nd. We are at the Mambbo

0:15Public School Committee meeting. I call

0:18the meeting to order at 7:30. I would

0:20like to remind everyone that we are

0:21being televised and streamed by WMCTV.

0:24Having said that, if I could have

0:26everyone rise for the pledge of

0:27allegiance.

0:30I aliance to the flag of the United

0:34States of America and to the republic

0:36for which it stands. One nation under

0:39God, indivisible, with liberty and

0:42justice for all.

0:44>> Thank you very much.

0:47We will kick off today's meeting with a

0:49presentation for the Akaruno trip. So,

0:51Jen, if you'd like to take the floor,

0:53make sure the light is green and then

0:56feel free.

0:56>> It is. It is green.

0:58>> Excellent.

1:00Good evening everyone. Um, I'm here

1:03tonight about the Acaruno trip for 2026,

1:08which is scheduled to be tomorrow

1:12morning,

1:13leaving WITCOM at 6:00 a.m. And I

1:15apologize. This was my error. I thought

1:18I had put it in my October 25th, 2025

1:22presentation for approval, but I'm

1:24looking for approval for the exchange.

1:28So, I thought I would go over the

1:29itinerary very quickly that we have

1:32planned um for the next 10 days and um

1:36some information from the summer.

1:40So, our trip, our exchange is scheduled

1:43to leave tomorrow morning 6:00 a.m. from

1:46Witcom

1:48and we fly to DC and then we fly 14 and

1:52a half hours to Tokyo. From there um

1:55we're scheduled to

1:59once we'll arrive the next day at in the

2:02evening. So once we sleep and wake up we

2:05have um a day with the city members, our

2:08welcome ceremony, a dance party, our

2:11performance. We have some fun events

2:14planned over the weekend and um they

2:19include even things like the first

2:21adventure out is using yen at the

2:24McDonald's.

2:26We have um

2:30an explore Aaruno day. The students are

2:33scheduled in their schools for three

2:35different days except for one student

2:37because we're in the um over at a

2:39holiday time. So he actually gets an

2:41extra day with his host family. The

2:44students have been practicing in their

2:47culture and lang language classes since

2:49March with our parent volunteer Ayako

2:52Barnum. And um also a bit of new insight

2:56for the program at least to me. Um,

2:59since Massachusetts is uh an official

3:02state sisterhood to the country of

3:06Japan, there are 13 official sister

3:09cities in Massachusetts. Malbor being

3:12one of them. And Mrs. House got this

3:15random email from the Mass Hokkaido

3:18Association and she said, "You might

3:19want to look into this. I'm not sure

3:21what it is." And so now I sit amongst a

3:24board for the state for Malro for the um

3:30official sisterhood

3:32um of Malro sister city to Acaruno. So I

3:35did reach out to them. I participated in

3:38a meeting. We have another one coming

3:39up. Malbor might now have um a special

3:43space for Japan day when it's celebrated

3:46in Boston

3:48um with the governor and um I did reach

3:52out to them. I said, "Well, we leave,

3:53you know, this week." And so very

3:56gracious and good luck and have a great

3:58time. And um some community involvement.

4:02The students this year are very involved

4:05in the community being recognized. We

4:08actually ordered a set of shirts early.

4:10This is the design for this year and so

4:12they've been wearing them um for the

4:14summer concert series and I've had much

4:17support there. Some of our top

4:18supporters for the exchange this year,

4:21the um number one supporter was the

4:23Malro Junior Women's Club um supporting

4:26this exchange. Um, second was the short

4:29in row funeral home and then um, of

4:32course the Malber recreation department

4:34in the sense of letting them um, occupy

4:36the summer concert series. Um, they've

4:40even hosted raffles there. Mayor can

4:43attest to that. Won the 50/50 one day

4:47randomly.

4:48>> Well, let's be fair here. I donate every

4:50week and I gave back the winnings. So,

4:53let's

4:53>> It was very much appreciated. And when

4:56my name was ticket was called, it was

4:58like pitchforks because everyone was

4:59yelling it's rigged and like bear

5:02cheater. I was called every name in the

5:03book.

5:04>> Random. It is random. And I want to make

5:06that clear. I did not It was not fixed.

5:08And I will never want to win again for

5:10the 50/50 that the kids make out well.

5:12So,

5:13>> and then our return is scheduled for

5:15Friday, October 2nd. We should be back

5:18at Whitcom by 1000 p.m. that Friday.

5:24Are there any questions?

5:26>> Hey.

5:27>> No. Such a great program.

5:30>> Yeah.

5:30>> Say hi to our friends.

5:32>> Oh. When and when are is the delegation

5:34coming here?

5:35>> Uh the delegation. They will be arriving

5:39Friday, October 23rd, but we won't see

5:43them until Saturday the 24th. That's

5:47when they get paired with their host

5:49families. Um, I'm still looking for two

5:52more families um and until I can release

5:56all the information and then um they

6:00they leave on a Thursday morning. Their

6:02stay with us is much shorter.

6:06>> They'll be in school.

6:06>> I think there is a school committee

6:08meeting that week that I would I will be

6:10looking to attend because there is no

6:12city council meeting that week.

6:14>> Correct. Yeah.

6:17>> Great. just excited for you that I'm I

6:20love this program. Um I love it not only

6:24like personally but I think for our

6:26community. It's just an incredible

6:28program and thank you to you and all of

6:30those that have kind of you know done

6:33the work ahead of you to keep it going.

6:36It's it's really amazing.

6:39>> That's great. And so I I guess I stand

6:42here um because I submitted the

6:45paperwork that hopefully the trip is

6:47approved.

6:49>> Well, can we give me a second? I would

6:51like to suspend the rules to move up

6:54item number

6:55>> 9A

6:56>> 9A. So that

6:58>> so there is a motion to suspend the

7:00rules and second. Is there any

7:02questions, comments or concerns

7:03regarding suspending the rules? Seeing

7:05none, all in favor? suspension is

7:09moving forward. So

7:11>> I move to approve the Agaronu trip and

7:15send Jen off to bed.

7:19>> Motion's on the table and second to

7:20approve the Yakaruno trip. Questions,

7:23comments, concerns regarding this vote.

7:25Seeing none, all in favor? The motion

7:28carries. Congratulations. Enjoy the

7:30trip.

7:31>> Thank you.

7:31>> Can't wait to hear all about it when you

7:32come back.

7:33>> Go sleep.

7:34>> Yes.

7:34>> Yay.

7:35>> We're packed.

7:35>> We're packed.

7:38Thank you very much.

7:39>> Can't wait to see social media.

7:40>> Yay. Have fun.

7:43>> Okay. Thank you.

7:48>> So, an exciting little fun fact, there

7:50is a new mayor for the Afaro city. So,

7:53we did get an email.

7:54>> So, we sent send him a little letter

7:56saying congratulations and all that

7:58stuff. So, it's good to, you know, it's

8:00funny the challenges that they have are

8:01the same regardless. We're worlds apart.

8:04these initiatives about education and

8:06economic development, which I'm like,

8:07hey, it's no different than here in

8:09their sister city of MRO. So, all

8:12righty, having said that, let's move on

8:13to the superintendent's report.

8:14>> Thank you. Uh, good evening everybody.

8:16Great to see you as always. Um, I just

8:18have a few items on my report this

8:19evening. A fairly uh short report for a

8:22change um forecasting. I'm saving my

8:25time for the next school committee

8:27meeting when we do our accountability

8:28and MCCAST results and goals. And so,

8:30just everybody remember the short one

8:31tonight.

8:32>> Great. because that'll be a much longer

8:34uh much longer conversation. Uh but

8:36wanted to give a couple of uh just kind

8:38of quick updates. Uh the first is around

8:40our school year opening and I know uh we

8:44touched on this just a little bit at the

8:46last uh school committee meeting. Um but

8:49uh we have been off to a really strong

8:52start uh implementing many new programs.

8:55Uh we heard uh some updates at our prior

8:57meeting from our accelerated learner

8:59program to the uh alternative education

9:02uh program MHS, our um alternative our

9:05new therapeutic day uh program at um

9:09Hilddrth um and many others as far as um

9:13new initiatives as we move into the uh

9:15school year. So lots of really good

9:18energy around that. um expanded our

9:20preschool as you know. Had the pleasure

9:23of visiting uh ECC this week and

9:25visiting some of the uh classrooms and

9:27talking with the um staff over the last

9:30couple of weeks. Um and the energy is

9:33just awesome. Uh especially with our

9:35little especially with our little ones.

9:36Uh high school kids also great. No

9:39offense, but the little ones are just

9:41really invigorated to be here. And so,

9:44um, those visits have gone really well

9:46and, uh, lots of positivity heading into

9:48the new year. Um, enrollment is

9:51stabilizing, which is great. Um, and so,

9:54uh, we are happy to, uh, report that

9:56we're still right around the 4,300

9:58number. Um, which is good. Uh, we'll

10:00have a full update at our next meetings.

10:01You know, we typically do those once a

10:03month. Um, and hearing from our urban

10:06counterparts on Friday, uh, there are

10:08still many, uh, school systems, uh, some

10:11very close to us, uh, that are still

10:13down, uh, hundreds of kids this year in

10:16addition to last year's numbers. And one

10:18of our neighboring districts, their

10:20student enrollments down a thousand

10:21students

10:22>> over the past two years. Uh, so we

10:24certainly are glad that we are uh,

10:26holding steady right around that 4,300

10:28mark. And so we'll continue to monitor

10:30that, school committee knows during the

10:32school year. um our open houses and you

10:35know meet the teacher nights, curriculum

10:36nights, uh the open door nights, all of

10:39those have gone off uh really well uh

10:41without a hitch. Lots of good energy

10:44around again just kind of that start of

10:45the school year. Students uh and

10:48families interacting uh with their new

10:50with their new teachers and staff

10:51members. It's been wonderful. Um, we, as

10:54you know, have been implementing a lot

10:56of new systems and structures. Um, from

10:59our intervention coordinators and new EL

11:01coordinators in every building to our

11:02SEAL interventionists, our um, academic

11:06interventionists to a new structure in

11:08our uh, district education center, all

11:11with the idea of bringing more supports

11:12directly to our classrooms. So far so

11:15good. It has gone well, not without a

11:18lot of meetings, lots of questions,

11:20teasing out some hiccups that have kind

11:21of come along. um but has been a really

11:25strong start um to our year. Today uh

11:30the Department of Education released the

11:32embargo on the 2026 accountability and

11:34MCCAST results. And uh while we'll get

11:37into the details of those at the October

11:3913th meeting uh with with uh many of our

11:42other leadership team members that

11:43evening, um I did share with the

11:46district as a whole today. Uh it's just

11:48sort of the headlines in terms of how

11:50we're doing. Um but I have been using

11:53the expression that we've got some wind

11:54at our back which is really great. Uh

11:57long way to go but we're but we are

11:59absolutely making the climb uh in many

12:01areas. So um we'll talk about

12:04achievement results and growth results

12:06and accountability points at our next

12:08meeting. But really happy to share u

12:11that of our six schools that have

12:13accountability rankings uh four of the

12:16six moved um uh some as small as three

12:19or four points but others as large as

12:22six to seven points. Um and then the two

12:25that did not were essentially flat. They

12:27were either the same or they were up or

12:28down by one point. Um so overall our

12:31schools truly are on the move um and

12:34going in a uh in in a good direction.

12:37Again, we've got some acceleration to

12:38do, but we're really uh pleased about

12:40that. Um also, um you may have had an

12:44opportunity uh to either tune in or hear

12:47about the Aset school committee meeting

12:49last Tuesday. I did have an opportunity

12:51to go to their school committee meeting.

12:53Um they were joined they joined ours at

12:56um at our last uh uh meeting and I had

13:00the chance to have that same

13:01conversation with the Aset school

13:02committee about the partnership, the

13:04dual enrollment program. uh pleased to

13:06report out lots of support uh from our

13:09peers at Asabet and um we are thrilled

13:12to be implementing our um dual

13:15enrollment program starting next week.

13:17>> Oh, good.

13:17>> So, yeah, so we are uh we are off and

13:19running still fine-tuning some

13:21transportation issues. Uh but we have a

13:24target date for I believe it's the 29th.

13:26It's the Tuesday of next week. So, uh

13:29getting closer um to uh launching our

13:32this new uh program. uh happy to share

13:36that in the uh enrollment of students

13:38who will be participating uh our kind of

13:40outside of the box thinking has helped

13:43uh in that we do have some of our uh

13:45traditional MHS day students

13:48participating but also a student from

13:50our medicine ALA program which is

13:53awesome right so in our in our

13:55discussion for uh student recruitment

13:57and enrollment you know we thought why

13:59why not like instead of having the kids

14:01you know come in and stay a little bit

14:03later why don't we have some of night

14:05school students, they could come in

14:06earlier and then go to night school. So,

14:08uh we have one student at this point who

14:10is uh doing the dual enrollment in that

14:12direction. Uh which again is really a a

14:16lifechanging trajectory uh for some of

14:19these kids that did not have

14:20post-graduation plans uh will now have

14:23an opportunity for certification in

14:25electrical or uh cosmetology.

14:28So, uh, lots of good work happening

14:31across the district, all anchored to our

14:32portrait of a learner and strategic

14:34plan. Um,

14:37one of the things that we're going to

14:38hear about a little bit later in the

14:40meeting, but I'll kind of forecast, uh,

14:42where we're going are the issues with

14:45transportation. Uh, that has not gone

14:48well. And, uh, I don't think I'm saying

14:50anything that our community is probably

14:51not aware of. I know our school

14:53committee is very much uh uh in the know

14:55of the issues we've had with NRT. Um but

14:59uh as of the end of last week, we've had

15:02about 138 uh instances of issues with

15:06NRT ranging from subdrivers, broken down

15:09buses, uh missing students, uh many many

15:12issues. Muhammad will get into the

15:14detail uh later in our uh later in our

15:18agenda. Um,

15:20we have had multiple issues this week.

15:23Uh, we've had, I believe it was 15 call

15:25outs and subd drivers on Monday. We had

15:28another five to eight call outs and subd

15:30drivers today. Issues with late buses,

15:33drivers leaving that are subbing that

15:35don't have the run sheets that we're we

15:37are sending them back to get the route

15:39sheets so they know where they're going.

15:41Um, it's just outrageous if I could be

15:44really blunt. Um and so uh we are doing

15:47everything in our power to manage this

15:49and to get NRT to provide better service

15:51to our families. Um but I did not want

15:55to leave that piece out of my report uh

15:58because the impact that it is having on

16:01our students and uh families and time on

16:04learning frankly is just completely

16:06unacceptable. So later in the agenda

16:09tonight, um Muhammad will have a more

16:11detailed update and uh we are hoping the

16:14school committee will take action u

16:16against NRT.

16:18So more to come there. Uh but to end on

16:20a good note, um our athletics, our music

16:23program, uh everything is off and

16:25running for the fall and as we just

16:27heard, our Acaruno uh students are off

16:30tomorrow morning. I was with them this

16:32morning and uh I didn't know how to feel

16:34about this after witnessing last year's

16:38performance from the Akaruno students

16:39when they came here, but our students

16:42will be performing uh in Acaruno. They

16:45will be doing the chaa slide. So, it's

16:48kind of a moment to pause watching. They

16:50did a good job. It was a heck of a

16:51slide, but yeah.

16:52>> Cultural. It's a cultural dance.

16:55>> Actually, it was fun. The kids did a

16:56really nice job. Um, but it was fun this

16:59morning to watch them. I don't know if

17:01they really enjoyed it. I know the

17:02adults didn't get a kick out of it, but

17:05uh they did a really nice job. And as an

17:07aside, in this group, five of the

17:10students attending are in our

17:11accelerated learner pathway.

17:13>> So, they are eighth graders that are um

17:16at the high school taking uh high school

17:18classes and uh had some really great

17:22conversations with their parents this

17:23morning and they are thrilled.

17:26Absolutely thrilled. Uh, one mother

17:28said, "Uh, there is no question in my

17:31son's mind he's going to MHS." Like,

17:33it's not even a discussion point

17:35anymore.

17:36>> Um, and so we love it, right? Like 86

17:38kids that are eighth graders that are at

17:40MHS in this program. So, uh, hopefully

17:43that uh they'll move forward and and be

17:46a Panther. Um, so just a little bit

17:49about the start to the year. Uh,

17:51shifting gears. Um part of our uh launch

17:55into the school year has also been

17:57really anchored around thinking about

18:00how we approach our work differently. Um

18:04and I realize the term our work sounds

18:07really kind of global and macro but that

18:09is really kind of where we've been

18:10starting those conversations. Um we do

18:14believe that we get the results for the

18:16system we build. we want different

18:18results then we need a different system.

18:20And so uh we are looking very deeply at

18:23a few um kind of leverage points to help

18:26us better support our um educators in

18:30our classrooms and to better support our

18:32students. One of those is around one of

18:35those areas is around literacy

18:37uh more broadly goal setting which we'll

18:39hear more about at our next uh at the

18:41next school committee meeting. Uh but we

18:43are looking deeply at the work we are

18:45doing with our kindergarten and first

18:47grade students. Um there is an

18:50expression many of us have heard it I

18:52mentioned at my written report this idea

18:54of eight being too late. So making sure

18:56that all students are reading by third

18:58grade. Um that to me always felt a

19:02little wonky because you're already

19:04behind if you're not reading on grade

19:06level by third grade. and the

19:08acceleration from learning how to read

19:10to reading to learn, that switch happens

19:13very quickly. Uh, and the explicit

19:15instruction around literacy really does

19:17start to kind of fade out and we expect

19:20kids to just learn from their reading.

19:22Um, and so we've been spending a lot of

19:24time looking at

19:27uh a new goal which is really anchored

19:29around having all students read by the

19:31beginning of first grade.

19:33uh and so uh that goal might sound uh

19:36different uh but the way we are looking

19:39at this work is really chunking the

19:41benchmarks into quarters. So your first

19:44quarter of kindergarten these skills

19:46should be attained in literacy second

19:48quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter

19:50etc. So that going into your first

19:52grade, uh, you know, first month or two,

19:54first month or so of first grade, um, we

19:57have a really strong handle on your most

20:00early of your early literacy skills to

20:02make sure that kids are entering first

20:04grade reading. Um, and so, um, I

20:08mentioned this because part of what

20:10we're going to be talking about, uh,

20:12over the next couple of weeks as we're

20:13goal setting as a district is how do we

20:16take a goal that historically

20:19has, uh, like a reading goal that has

20:21had a June

20:23benchmark, right? Like by June X% of

20:26kids will be here, right? And how do we

20:29actually chunk that into these really

20:31small measurable bites? And the only

20:34analogy I can think about uh to really

20:37kind of draw a parallel is like fitness,

20:39right? When you go into a fitness

20:41routine, right? Yes, you have a

20:43long-term goal, but you have these small

20:45measurable uh kind of benchmarks that

20:47you're looking to hit along the way. And

20:49so while we anecdotally have done some

20:52of that work utilizing our uh NWA NWA um

20:57assessment, uh we're looking to actually

20:59take those uh markers and make them even

21:02more bite-size to really help the

21:04teachers uh kind of focus in on key

21:08skills and strategies, not just with

21:10literacy, I know that was kind of the

21:11entry point in this conversation, but

21:13also in other content areas with other

21:16instructional strategies and utilize

21:19izing our other assessments, our

21:21internal assessments that we have

21:22through our instructional programs in a

21:25far more meaningful way. And so, uh,

21:28just really excited about where this

21:30work is going and wanted to share a

21:32little bit about that this evening

21:34because yes, there will be a very, um,

21:37uh, kind of, uh, tight and focused goal

21:39around first grade literacy, but we're

21:42going to use the same structure as we're

21:44thinking about, um, our other content

21:46areas across the district. So, more to

21:49come on that topic as we get into uh our

21:52goal setting and um what those draft

21:55goals will look like during the October

21:5613th meeting. Uh Jason, within the

21:59cohort of urban schools that we're a

22:01part of, are there other benchmarks to

22:03leverage or is this work that inherently

22:06needs to be done inside the district for

22:08our own benchmarks? So, we have done

22:11some work actually um Michelle put uh me

22:14in touch with um a literacy um

22:19consultant that also does some work with

22:21online tutoring. And so, what's

22:23interesting um she has been um working

22:27with the urban superintendent network.

22:30And so, it's an interesting question. We

22:31actually were just meeting Friday.

22:33Malber hosts all the urban

22:34superintendent here at the middle school

22:36uh once a month. and um she was just

22:40with us. Uh her her program is called

22:42Ignite Reading.

22:43>> She was here.

22:44>> Yeah. So she was here um and actually

22:46your interaction with her really uh

22:49resonated and really landed. I've had a

22:51couple of conversations. She's great.

22:54>> She was amazing and her um knowledge of

22:57early literacy development quite frankly

22:59is second to none.

23:01>> Um and so she has been with the urban

23:03superintendent network twice. She was

23:05with us for a full day in July and then

23:07with us at our session um last Friday.

23:11Uh so we were working with her around

23:13kind of setting these much smaller

23:15focused goals. Um the urban

23:19superintendent network uh at the end of

23:22that last session many of the

23:24superintendents and their teams uh were

23:26sharing out some of the goals that they

23:29had developed for early literacy. I will

23:31say many of them were different um than

23:35ours and I think kind of what we are

23:37looking to do is uh not only have this

23:40small more focused targeted goals uh

23:42setting for literacy but actually

23:44replicate that in other content areas um

23:46to really support our teachers frankly

23:48so doesn't feel so overwhelming as

23:50they're moving through the work um

23:53as far as data is concerned uh I have

23:56already started pouring through the

23:58urban uh results um today they just came

24:02out. So I've started looking at some of

24:04our neighbors and um the results are

24:07just they're all they're just all over

24:08the place. Right.

24:13>> Smart. It's great to catch it along the

24:15way rather than be surprised at the end.

24:18>> Right.

24:19>> Yeah.

24:20>> Can Can I just ask a quick question? Is

24:23the inter readading curriculum set up to

24:26support that?

24:28Yeah, I actually really appreciate that

24:30question because one of the things in

24:32working with our teachers uh last year,

24:35they were really vocal with us that the

24:37um the assessment, so the tests that go

24:40along with each of them, they call

24:41modules, but each of the units were

24:43really really just long and it was

24:45taking you know multiple class periods

24:48to get through them. So, we worked uh a

24:51few um individuals in the office of

24:53teaching and learning worked to actually

24:55kind of narrow the scope of those

24:57assessments. Um and we just met with HMH

25:01a couple of weeks ago and let them know

25:03that they needed to go into our account,

25:06take the assessments that the teachers

25:08worked with um the administrators on and

25:11actually update our HMH assessments to

25:14reflect what the teachers and the

25:15administrators want. So instead of an

25:17assessment that would take two or three

25:19days to get through just because it's

25:20really lengthy, we shortened the

25:22assessment that actually has the right

25:24skills and standards to measure but into

25:27a class period.

25:28>> That's that's great. I mean, I didn't

25:30know that that was like a thing that you

25:33that they could tailor the HMH program

25:36to meet our needs better.

25:38>> I don't know that it is on their end,

25:40but we told them that's what they're

25:41doing, so they're doing it now.

25:43>> That's great. So yeah.

25:45>> No, I think that's phenomenal because

25:47the testing and the assessments was

25:50honestly that was my concern just

25:53thinking about many of the conversations

25:55we've had around the table with um many

25:57of the teachers at times is you know not

26:00to put assessments out there that

26:03weren't really going to benefit things

26:04so much because there's so much to get

26:07through. So, I I love hearing that you

26:10guys are going to tighten that up and

26:12that they're going to assist on doing

26:14that. Um, and frankly, you know, putting

26:18back on my parent hat from years ago, I

26:21really appreciate moving it earlier

26:24because I had, you know, two out of my

26:28three kids that honestly had a really

26:29tough time with their literacy skills

26:31and they were later, you know, and um it

26:37it caused other issues that would erupt

26:40because of not necessarily having that

26:42mastery earlier, Right.

26:44>> So, I think the more we can do

26:46foundationally

26:47is great.

26:49>> And one of the pieces to that end that

26:51we're uh looking at doing or working

26:52with the Metro West Foundation on a

26:55grant to uh work with a um literacy

26:59tutoring program called Literations

27:02um that is do that is doing some work in

27:03Chelsea and in Framingham. uh and have

27:06really some really good data to show uh

27:09kids closing the gap around uh their

27:11early literacy scores through Dibbles

27:13and um their NWA, their other like

27:15benchmark tests. Um, and so what I

27:18really appreciate about the model, um,

27:21is it's inerson tutoring and they

27:24actually partner with AARP and retirees

27:28from from our so from Malboro and they

27:31actually train them on a particular

27:33structure and they give them the

27:35literature. we would then partner that

27:38retiree with, you know, two or three

27:40students that they would see multiple

27:42times a week um and just work with that

27:45small group of kids. And so I the ignite

27:48reading was something that we're still

27:49interested in learning more about. This

27:51is another tutoring program, but it's an

27:53online

27:54>> structure. And uh we were thinking that

27:56just that face-toface, you know,

27:58actually holding the book and sitting

28:00down next to the tutor might have a

28:01bigger impact on our little our little

28:04learners. So, um we are hoping if all

28:07goes well with the planning for that to

28:10start that at Richer School uh as a

28:12pilot in January and then from there

28:14hopefully expand it to some of the other

28:17buildings.

28:17>> That's absolutely fantastic. That would

28:21be really really great. Um I done work

28:24with um a number of the senior groups

28:27and they've often asked to do things and

28:30to get involved and this would be

28:32absolutely

28:33>> perfect. That was going to be my next

28:34question because again at the same you

28:36know there's a lot of retired teachers

28:37out there that want to but they don't

28:39want to be a substitute teacher all day

28:41but this

28:41>> they don't even have to be teachers they

28:43could be any retirees they'll be trained

28:44but we do have a lot of retired teachers

28:47that live in this community.

28:48>> Yeah. Yeah.

28:49>> Yeah. So they so their uh literations

28:51they partner uh with the community that

28:54the schools are in and they really start

28:56beating the drum on getting the retirees

28:58to come out that are interested and they

29:00do the training process and provide the

29:02resources.

29:03Yeah. So, um we will be right now

29:06they're in like we're in that phase

29:08where they're actually reaching out to

29:09the community folks. So, fingers crossed

29:12that they get the number of um recruits

29:14that they need to train and bring on

29:16board.

29:16>> How can we help with that? I guess

29:18>> yeah,

29:19>> you know,

29:20>> they have their So, from what I've

29:22learned, they have their own recruitment

29:25process that they use and their own kind

29:27of networks. And I think it's AP. I

29:29think I'm saying the right organization.

29:30It's a retirey organization. So they uh

29:33they go through that. Denise is laughing

29:36at me. So they go through that um that

29:38organization

29:39>> are members.

29:42>> Um

29:42>> you can actually be a member of any

29:47>> right. Yeah. Anyway,

29:49>> sorry for the rabbit hole. Um so they go

29:51through that network to do the

29:52recruiting.

29:53>> But if we can guide them to that

29:55network, I guess I don't know.

29:57>> Yeah, I certainly can ask. I think they

29:58have their own system for it.

30:00>> Senior center. I mean,

30:01>> and I certainly can check.

30:02>> I would also say that our community

30:04service groups um are

30:08really big on trying to get involved and

30:11help like whether it's the Lions Rotary,

30:13Marbor, Junior Women's Club. I mean,

30:14there are a lot of different community

30:16groups that I think would be all over

30:19trying to assist if necessary to just

30:23have um enough people to partner with

30:25and pair up. So, I just

30:28>> Yeah, I can definitely check with them.

30:29>> Yeah.

30:31Um they are the same the uh the Metro

30:33West Community Foundation they school

30:35committee just approved the tutoring

30:37grant for the sixth graders from F. So

30:40they are um Matt and Jose uh they are

30:43just amazing to partner with really

30:45really good um good partners.

30:48Uh so more to come on that but uh wanted

30:50to sort of frame out a little bit where

30:52we're going as far as focus on early

30:54literacy and around kind of goal setting

30:57in general so that when we uh are

30:59presenting our draft goals next uh at

31:02our next meeting they don't feel like

31:03you know so left of center that um you'd

31:07have a lot lot more questions on them.

31:09>> I really appreciate the proactive

31:11approach and hands-on approach to this

31:13kind of fundamental and foundation

31:15learning. So, thank you.

31:18>> Um, and then lastly, uh, just a quick

31:21plug again for our October 1st community

31:23safety event, 6 PM at the, uh, Wickcom

31:27Auditorium. And, uh, we did send out an

31:30update to our, uh, community and our

31:32newsletter last week. Uh, Sergeant

31:34Tingloff did the video recording. And,

31:37um, so we are hoping to have a good

31:39turnout so we can train our community

31:40and our families on the same safety

31:43protocols that we're using in our

31:44schools.

31:47is my

31:49>> um just one quick question. How many um

31:51students are we going to have in that

31:53pilot program? Will it be the full 10 or

31:56are we for the asette?

31:58>> Uh no, we right now I believe the number

32:00is 14. I think it's like eight and six

32:04somewhere around the somewhere around

32:05there.

32:06>> Great. Yeah.

32:06>> Thank you.

32:07>> Yeah.

32:08>> Thank you for that short report.

32:10>> Yes. I figured you'd appreciate that,

32:11mayor. Moving on to the executive

32:15director of clinical services report.

32:17Um, so we have an update of systems,

32:20structures, and goals.

32:22So, Miss Jennifer, if you want to take

32:24the floor, make sure the green light is

32:26on.

32:39>> There it is.

32:44So, thank you all for the opportunity.

33:10Is that better?

33:16>> Okay, it's shutting off.

33:19>> I can hear you in here.

33:21>> Great. Okay. All right. So, Jennifer

33:24Lipton, the executive director of

33:26clinical services. So, I realize I've

33:28been here about six weeks. So, um it's

33:32been an exciting six weeks. Um, and I

33:35just wanted to sort of give a dive a

33:37little deeper into sort of the

33:39structures that we've set up and sort of

33:41who the people are that um are in the

33:44clinical services department. So, who

33:46are these people? Um, so there's

33:48actually an incredible amount of talent

33:52and skill in the group of individuals

33:55that I'm supporting. So we have our

33:58school adjustment counselors, our school

34:01psychologists, our guidance counselors,

34:04our wraparound coordinators, our

34:07interventionists, our BCBAS or behavior

34:10specialists, our school nurses, our

34:14supervisor, and then myself. So, a lot

34:18of really key people in buildings who

34:22are not really sort of in your

34:23traditional like classroom teacher role,

34:26but I think all of us understand how

34:28important these individuals are to the

34:32whole child and supporting the community

34:35and the families so that students can be

34:38successful. Um, so we've really, it's

34:41been exciting for me to get to know all

34:44of these people. I don't have to tell

34:46you all how dedicated and committed the

34:49staff are in Marboro to the students.

34:52They really care so deeply about the

34:54students in front of them and the

34:55families and they work so hard. Um so

34:59we're really trying to create some teams

35:03within the buildings and then across the

35:06buildings. Um, so some of our start of

35:10the year work has really been like

35:12establishing those teams at each

35:14building, right? So at each building

35:16there's multiple people. Sometimes

35:18there's multiple people within each of

35:20these roles. So really building those

35:22teams within the building, trying to

35:26ensure everybody knows who we go to for

35:29what, sort of what the order is. Um, as

35:32a superintendent has shared, you know,

35:35there's been a lot of questions. as

35:36we're figuring things out, but everybody

35:38is really trying to work together to

35:40provide as much support as we can for

35:44the students um success.

35:47We've had a lot of new people um come on

35:50board. We've had a couple of new

35:51adjustment counselors, a new

35:52psychologist. We had started the year

35:55with five nurse vacancies. Um and many

35:59of you know that the nurse is one of the

36:01most important people in the school

36:03building. Um, so we've actually hired

36:06and had three um, new nurses start.

36:09We're still trying to fill two nurse

36:11positions. Um, and we've really tried to

36:15expand to cover the evening school

36:18program as well because we know that all

36:20of our students potentially need um,

36:23access to nursing during their school

36:26experience. So really trying to make

36:28sure that we're supporting all of our

36:30students so that everybody has access to

36:33those programs.

36:34Um we've been working across our teams

36:38to create professional development plans

36:41and our goals for the year. And I think

36:44it's exciting for some of the

36:46professionals to have, you know, some

36:50um, you know, new reinvigorated teams

36:54being led by somebody who understands

36:57their work. So, our school psychologists

36:59are excited. I'm trained as a school

37:01psychologist, so I'll be working with

37:03them, of course, in collaboration with

37:05John Fletcher, but I think, you know,

37:08they're excited to have somebody who

37:10sort of can speak their language working

37:11with them directly. Same with the BCBAS.

37:15I think they're happy to have somebody

37:17who sort of um you know knows the work

37:19and going back to the superintendent's

37:21goal of like really supporting the

37:23school and the people doing the work in

37:25the schools with really somebody who

37:27directly understands like the challenges

37:30they're facing and some of the support

37:31they might need.

37:33And then I always, you know, I know

37:35safety is a big concern of all of ours.

37:39We all want to make sure that we're all

37:41safe, our students are safe, the

37:43communities are safe. So really, the

37:45start of the year is always like

37:47re-evaluating what are our processes,

37:49how do we make sure that we're all we

37:52all know what the crisis team looks

37:54like, how we're, you know, making sure

37:56the right people are in the buildings,

37:58that we're wearing tags, all of those

38:00kind of things. Um, and some of the ways

38:02that we did that, um, our nurses trained

38:05everybody on the stop the bleed. All of

38:07the staff went through that at the start

38:09of the year. Um I think you'll remember

38:12we went from safety care to CPI as our

38:16um crisis prevention program and we have

38:19now over 200 people trained on that. So

38:23that was a big undertaking at the end of

38:25the year and then the start of this year

38:27we're still continuing to train people.

38:29Um we had the FBI and Homeland Security

38:32do some trainings that I think we're

38:34going to expand on in the um safety

38:37event on October 1st and just kind

38:40looking at all of our practices to make

38:42sure that all of our systems and

38:45structures are in place. So that's

38:47always um one of the things that I think

38:49about as we start the year. Um

38:53and then I want to just point out and my

38:56two um colleagues are here you know we

38:58sort of are um jointly the office of

39:02student services right are the clinical

39:05services team our special education team

39:07and then our student information team

39:10led by John Fletcher and Corey McCarter.

39:13So that group of us um we meet together,

39:17we work together, we work with the

39:18superintendent on really trying to, you

39:22know, how do we streamline things for

39:24principles? And you'll remember these

39:25are the same goals that Jen Ryan

39:27mentioned a few weeks ago when she

39:29presented really trying to how do we

39:32provide that support to our principles

39:33and our building teams. How do we

39:35streamline those meetings

39:38and really in order to protect that

39:39time, right? So our principles can

39:41really focus on that instructional

39:43leadership and I think of you know

39:45especially that clinical services team

39:47how do we kind of remove some of those

39:49non-academic barriers right for our

39:51students so they're available to receive

39:54that instruction from our teachers um

39:57and then coordinating those systems and

40:00you know that's where we're working with

40:02Corey and John and really as a team like

40:06how do we make sure that these um things

40:08are working seamlessly so that we can be

40:10as efficient as possible and we know

40:13that if there's an issue in one

40:14building, it's probably happening in

40:17other buildings. So, let's try to learn

40:18from that and, you know, create

40:20processes to make our work um easier and

40:24smarter.

40:25And then, you know, I always link it

40:27back to our strategic priorities, right?

40:30All of these are so interconnected, but

40:33I think the clinical services team,

40:35right, is really sort of strategic goal

40:38number two is really what a lot of our

40:40our goals are really focusing on, right?

40:42Ensuring everyone feels like they belong

40:46and that overall wellness and student

40:48support. And then, you know, that always

40:51has to go back to that systems and

40:53people and that coherence, right? Um,

40:55we're in the people business. It's about

40:57relationships and supporting the

40:59children and the adults and, you know,

41:02trying to make sure that we're doing

41:04that to support all of the 4,200

41:06students in our our schools. And then I

41:10always go back to where do we want to

41:12go? And you know, this when I was in

41:16school, you know, these skills were sort

41:18of not as valued. It was much more like

41:20you graduate school and you memorize

41:23facts. And now I think we realize all of

41:26these other things are so important and

41:29you know our clinical team is constantly

41:31thinking about these pieces and how do

41:34we model these skills for our students?

41:37How do we teach these skills explicitly

41:39and how do we really work with the teams

41:41in the buildings to get our students to

41:44to to achieve all of these things. So I

41:48will stop there and open it up to any

41:51questions.

41:53questions.

41:56>> Good. All right. Good. Good. Good. All

41:59righty. Excellent.

42:00>> Okay.

42:00>> Thank you for the report.

42:05>> You okay?

42:11>> Wish. Thank you. We'll move on to the

42:14executive director of finance and

42:16operations report. Mr. Muhammad.

42:19>> Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um I have few

42:22items on my agenda tonight. The first

42:25one is uh my monthly expenditure report.

42:28So this report is uh it monitors our

42:32year-to-date expenditures and um

42:35incumbrances and remaining balances

42:38um across all function codes in the

42:40general fund.

42:42Um so with couple of per recorded now

42:49we'll be looking at some projections and

42:51we'll I'll start adding um the projected

42:54amounts in there going forward. So uh

42:56moving on to the second item on my

42:58agenda is student activity accounts um

43:01for Maro High School and uh Wicker

43:04Middle School.

43:06uh the list of all the the active

43:10student activity accounts um or clubs um

43:14it lists funding sources the purpose who

43:18the advisors are and the balances as of

43:22June 30th 2026. So um school committee

43:26approval is requested for the upcoming

43:29of the the ongoing school year FI27. Uh

43:33just a quick note that we did have some

43:35inactive school activity accounts that

43:39uh we are just doing our due diligence

43:41looking into these accounts and

43:43gathering more information. As we have

43:45more information, I will present another

43:49um another um session for stu uh those

43:54accounts to be approved and I'll provide

43:56some recommendations based on what we

43:59find.

44:00Can I just ask one question?

44:03>> So if um a grant comes in for let's say

44:08hypothetically robotics,

44:11>> would that grant money go into that

44:13account or would it go into something

44:16else? Like if if they got a grant to

44:19support the robotics program?

44:21>> So if the the club is is non-existent,

44:24if it's a new club, then I would bring

44:26that to school committee. Then it would

44:28have to be approved again. So, it would

44:30be

44:30>> No, no, no. If if if like a corporation

44:34in town decides they want to give the

44:36robotics club

44:38>> Yeah.

44:38>> $2,000,

44:41>> would that $2,000 go into the account

44:44that's on this list?

44:46>> Yes, I believe so. Yes.

44:48>> Yes. If it's a donation, school

44:49committee would accept it and we'd put

44:51it into the robotics club uh student

44:52activities. But if it's a grant that

44:54we're applying for through like, you

44:57know, like Desi or something, it would

44:58actually would that would not do that.

44:59It would go into an actual uh some type

45:02of a an account we'd have to set up

45:04through our general like our grants uh

45:06management fund.

45:06>> Yeah.

45:08>> Still for their behalf.

45:09>> Still still on their behalf, but it

45:11wouldn't go into a student activities.

45:12It would go if it was a donation, it

45:13would go in.

45:15>> Okay.

45:17>> All right.

45:18>> Thanks. Uh moving on to the next item on

45:21my agenda is food services department

45:24update. So our food services department

45:26is in full swing and off to a strong

45:29start this school year. Uh so we

45:32successfully launched meal services at

45:35Hilddrth and we started the program at

45:38the um ECC uh where participation has

45:42grown significantly since last year. So

45:44we're also operating

45:46um the federally funded fresh fruit and

45:49vegetable program at Kain Good now Jaric

45:52and richer. Uh this program gives

45:54elementary student opportunities to try

45:57wide variety of fresh produce uh while

46:00learning about healthy food choices

46:03beyond the lunchroom. Our exotic food

46:06program also continues to introduce

46:08students to new food new food. Recent

46:11offerings have included fresh melons,

46:14uh, pineapple, dragon fruit, papaya,

46:18kiwi, and even, uh, rem rambutin. Um,

46:23>> I don't know what that is, but sounds

46:25>> Does anyone know what that is?

46:28>> So, since the beginning of the school

46:30year, our dedicated food uh, service

46:32team has prepared and served 36,724

46:36meals to the students across the

46:38district so far. Um the and

46:43>> Muhammad before you run away from the

46:45food services department, I just wanted

46:47to say

46:48>> um it was great to be on the we had our

46:52student wellness committee meeting

46:54earlier this morning. Um, and we had a

46:59conversation around

47:01>> how wonderful things have gone with the

47:04meals and then offering things over the

47:06summer, which was huge. And one of the

47:10things I think that had come up on the

47:12call, which I don't believe is going to

47:14be a surprise, is the conversation about

47:16seeing if there's a way of trying to

47:18meet some of the needs on the weekends

47:20to support some of our some of our kids.

47:22>> We talked about that. And I have to say

47:27>> that kind of was like the highlight for

47:29the meeting for me.

47:31>> Um,

47:33you know, it really I was so proud of

47:35this community trying to figure things

47:36out during CO on how to make sure we got

47:40food out to everyone. And that was

47:42through, I mean, so many f folks, you

47:45know, the paras, the the cafeteria

47:47workers, the the busing folks to really

47:50just pull things out and then different

47:52administrators taking time to get out

47:54there. Um, but having this conversation

47:58with the this wellness group and hearing

48:02this idea, it just continuously reminds

48:05me and and really goes back to what you

48:08were talking about, uh, Dr.

48:10was we have a lot more on our plate.

48:12It's not just about the core academics.

48:16It's about really the whole child and to

48:19make sure that everybody's supported and

48:22cared for and the food is something you

48:24you can't you can't get to learning if

48:26you're hungry,

48:28>> right?

48:28>> So, absolutely.

48:29>> Thank you. Thank you very much.

48:32>> Uh moving on to the next item on my

48:36agenda is transportation. So there's two

48:38parts to this. Uh the first part is as

48:42superintendent earlier mentioned about

48:44the NRT performance. Um so since the

48:48beginning of the school year um service

48:52has been just unacceptable.

48:54Um during the first 10 days of school

48:57days um the district documented

49:00138 disruptions.

49:03Um that was at the time of this report

49:06which was last week. So right now

49:09currently um recently the number jumped

49:12up to 170 on just our end. So I've also

49:17been in touch with AMSA since they're

49:19part of our contract and they have about

49:2360 disruptions that they recorded on

49:26their end. So this number just keeps

49:29climbing. Um these these include all

49:32these disruptions include late buses,

49:36substitute driver assignments. Um who

49:39have also um experienced mechanical

49:43failures, overcrowding concerns,

49:45incorrect bus labeling, unreliable

49:49beacon notifications,

49:51um and serious student safety incidents.

49:55These are not routine startup

49:57challenges. They affect student safety,

50:00disrupt schools and undermine famil

50:03family's trust.

50:05Despite repeated request requests and

50:08escalation to NRT senior leadership, we

50:11have not seen meaningful sustained

50:12improvement. We remain in daily

50:15communication with NRT uh are

50:18documenting service failures and have

50:20requested written incident reports,

50:23multiple of them so far. So um

50:28immediate safeguards and corrective

50:31actions with clear responsibilities and

50:33deadlines. We we requested these

50:37multiple times um throughout this past

50:39couple weeks. So although NRT has

50:42submitted a an action plan um the

50:45superintendent Dr. Defalco has made

50:47clear that the plan does not adequate

50:49adequately address our concerns. We are

50:53also working with our legal council

50:55regarding further accountability

50:57measures.

50:59Uh our expectations are straightforward.

51:02Safees transportation, reliable

51:04schedules, immediate reporting of safety

51:07concerns and accurate information for

51:10families. We have we have requested

51:13additional service data to examine

51:15staffing and reliability across NRT

51:18NRT's operations including concerns

51:21affecting all Marboro students.

51:24We recognize the frustration and worry

51:27families are experiencing and we will

51:30continue pressing for measurable

51:31improvements and keeping the community

51:34informed. Our standard is safe,

51:36reliable, timely transportation for

51:38every student, not asurances without

51:42results from NRT.

51:44Um, so that was just a report that's

51:48that's summarized report for NRT, but

51:52there is a lot more detail to this. You

51:55know, as I've shared, as the families

51:56have felt across, I receive calls all

51:59the time. Um, so we are working with

52:03them right now. uh as best as we can. Um

52:07moving on to the second part of my

52:08transportation report is um so our

52:12district currently has three vans that

52:15are approximately 10 to 11 years old um

52:19with mileage ranging about 30 to 65,000

52:23um miles. Uh, and they they've been

52:26wellmaintained and they are in good

52:28condition, but they do need repairs and

52:32service. Um, regular maintenance, tires,

52:35brakes, repairs, two steps, structural

52:37components. Um, so they are, although

52:41they are in good condition, they do need

52:43repairs. So, I recommend completing

52:44repairs and continuing to use all three

52:48vehicles that we have. Um however none

52:51of these current equip currently uh

52:54equipped for 7D transportation student

52:57transportation. So our as our programs

53:01uh continue to expand um we need to

53:05expand our transportation fleet. So I'm

53:08proposing an additional uh van to to

53:11give the district more transportation

53:13options. Um, we've received quotes last

53:16year uh from about 79 to 90,000, but I

53:21guess you know those prices are probably

53:23I'm guessing the those prices have

53:24probably gone up to another maybe

53:2610,000. So, um I would say the range

53:30will be probably from 90 to 100,000.

53:34So once we receive current pricing and

53:36confirm which vehicles best meet our

53:39needs, I will bring forward uh a

53:41recommendation for the school committee

53:43to consider.

53:45Um that concludes my report. If there's

53:48any questions, concerns,

53:51comments,

53:53>> what is 7D transportation?

53:57So it allows So the 7D transportation

54:01allows you to uh transport student from

54:04school to home and then home to school.

54:07Um the vans that we have, they're not

54:09currently equipped for 70 cuz that comes

54:12with the school signs on it. It's

54:14equipped with the stop sign um for the

54:18transportation to to homes.

54:21>> Muhammad, doesn't it also have like um

54:24>> handicap equipment?

54:25>> It does. Yeah.

54:26>> Okay. Okay. I was going to say I when I

54:30read over that I think it's imperative

54:32for us to go ahead knowing the the

54:34population that we have. I I think we

54:37have to I I don't

54:40>> Yes. And we have money for it.

54:43>> We do. We we do have money. We've

54:45allocated money for um this.

54:52My question is that so there is actually

54:53on the agenda to vote on

54:57the van purchase but you said in your

54:59report that you'll come back to us with

55:01actual pricing.

55:02>> So do the pricing. Yes.

55:04>> So do we get a vote? I'll get you the

55:06more the more detailed pricing. Um

55:09>> so I guess the vote to move forward with

55:10getting pricing as opposed to actual

55:13vote.

55:14>> Sure.

55:14>> Would that be fair?

55:15>> Yeah, that would be fair.

55:16>> Okay.

55:18How quickly is the turnaround? I guess

55:21>> we have quotes, but um I think because

55:23of procurement, we have to go they're

55:25older than I think 6 months, so we have

55:27to go back out and get them updated.

55:29>> Okay.

55:29>> I'd rather just vote on the actual cost

55:31rather than a range.

55:33>> Sure.

55:33>> If that's fair, but I don't know.

55:36>> We can just give you permission to

55:39>> get us more information.

55:40>> Yeah.

55:40>> Yeah. Like I think we're, you know, we

55:43supportive. It's just

55:44>> Yeah. I thought I'd rather just know the

55:46cost. Yeah. So, we had the old estimates

55:48when we put the agenda together,

55:50>> right?

55:50>> So, not realizing we had to go back out

55:52and get updated uh estimates.

55:54>> So,

55:55>> so there's the language in the um motion

55:58is to approve the purchase of with the

56:00amounts that we had, but

56:02>> we can wait and get those for the next

56:04meeting. It's fine.

56:04>> Okay.

56:06>> All right. Thank you.

56:08>> Yes, Katherine. So on NRT,

56:12um, not to belabor things, but this is

56:16not okay. And I don't think I'm saying

56:19anything out of line that any of the

56:20rest of you all are not thinking or

56:22feeling. But I I spent a good deal of

56:27time going back and looking at the bid

56:30that they had sent in

56:32>> and um also looking at um

56:372425

56:40um and how things had improved

56:43somewhat. though knowing that the bib

56:46was coming around the corner.

56:51I am really irritated. Um, one child not

56:56making it either to their house or to

56:59school appropriately

57:01safely transported

57:04is not okay.

57:08Every single child in this community

57:10deserves to be able to get on a bus, get

57:13to school, get on a bus, get home.

57:17That's it.

57:19And anyone else that would like to have

57:22a conversation about that being okay if

57:26it has only happened once, come at me.

57:29I'm more than happy to have that

57:31conversation.

57:32>> I I I I get where you're coming from,

57:34but we are taking the proper steps.

57:35We're going to vote earlier to see with

57:37withhold payments from NRT. So, we're

57:39doing everything that we can to hold

57:40them accountable. So,

57:42>> agreed. But I do think that

57:45mayor, in all due respect, if something

57:48happens to one child, it's not going to

57:51be on NRT. It's going to be Marboro,

57:54>> right?

57:54>> And that's not okay.

57:56>> So, um I appreciate that NRT has said

57:59that they're retraining and putting

58:02safety measures in place.

58:04Um,

58:06walk the walk, talk the talk.

58:08>> Sure.

58:10>> So,

58:12>> thank you.

58:12>> Not one child.

58:16>> Anything else?

58:19>> Good. Okay.

58:21>> Just I'm sorry. Jennifer, could you send

58:25us your slide deck?

58:28>> Thank you.

58:30>> Could have sent it after the meeting.

58:31>> I know. I just was afraid I was going to

58:33forget.

58:34>> Moving on to accepting of minutes.

58:36Minutes of September 8th, 2026 full

58:38committee meeting.

58:41>> Motion to approve.

58:42>> Motion to approve is on the table and

58:44second. Any questions, comments,

58:45concerns regarding the minutes of

58:47September 8th. Seeing none, all in

58:49favor? Motion carries. Thank you. Public

58:53comment. Is there any public comment?

58:56Going once. Public comment. Does anyone

59:00have anything for public comment? Going

59:01twice. One more time. Any public

59:04comment?

59:06Any public comment? Seeing none, we will

59:08close the public comment section. Thank

59:10you. Moving on to action items or

59:12report. We already voted to approve the

59:14Akaruno trip, so we're good with that.

59:16Vote to approve policies. So, we have

59:19the JD physical restraint of students.

59:22We did have a first read last week.

59:27So, we'll need to motion to vote.

59:29>> Yeah. So, um I'd like to make a motion

59:32for approval of policy JD, uh physical

59:35restraint of students. Um upon the

59:38approval that I'm hoping that we'll

59:40have, I will then put it into the

59:42appropriate format. You still have

59:44everything in the red line version

59:45that's in front of you. And I'll just

59:48make sure that this um lines up with

59:50what we have format-wise within the

59:52policy.

59:53>> Okay.

59:55>> Any questions? I do have I have a

59:57question. So, did the Mass General Law

1:00:00change on this? Like what what

1:00:03>> there was um so this was reviewed um

1:00:07Jody O'Brien had had it reviewed by um

1:00:10the attorney specific in that area. They

1:00:12had come back that we needed to adapt to

1:00:16bring it in line with where things are.

1:00:18So, um, and we went back and forth

1:00:21because initially we didn't have a

1:00:23redline version and so we had actually

1:00:26asked that we needed to have a redline

1:00:28version so we could do a comparison.

1:00:30>> So, thank you.

1:00:32>> Okay,

1:00:33>> there is a motion on the table and

1:00:34second. Any other further questions,

1:00:35comments, or concerns regarding the

1:00:37physical restraints of students for the

1:00:38second read? Seeing none, all in favor?

1:00:42Motion carries. Thank you.

1:00:46JGB, Education Opportunities for

1:00:49Military Children. It says first read on

1:00:51agenda, but it's actually our second

1:00:52read.

1:00:53>> Yes, it is. So, the first read was at

1:00:55the last meeting. Um, so for this, I'd

1:00:58like to make a motion to approve policy

1:01:00JGB, which would um currently replace

1:01:04the version that we have with this whole

1:01:06new one.

1:01:08>> So, there's a motion on the table and

1:01:10second. Is there any questions,

1:01:11comments, or concerns regarding policy

1:01:13JGB?

1:01:15Seeing none, all in favor? Motion

1:01:18carries. Thank you. And lastly, the

1:01:21policy of personnel management

1:01:23interacting with law enforcement

1:01:24officers engaged with civil law

1:01:25enforcements to protect Act. We actually

1:01:27did vote on this. We suspended the rules

1:01:29and voted on this last week and our last

1:01:31meeting. It was approved, but Katherine

1:01:33has a quick update. Yeah, the update was

1:01:35as we requested with doing the

1:01:37suspension of the rules, we needed to go

1:01:39ahead and um actually place it

1:01:41appropriately

1:01:42um letterw-wise within the policy

1:01:44manual. Um Michelle had actually had a

1:01:48conversation with um MASC and they

1:01:50suggested that it be in chapter A. They

1:01:53gave us specific, but that really didn't

1:01:55align with our lettering. So, um, I had

1:02:00moved it out to our subcommittee to look

1:02:02at it being AE

1:02:05and everyone was fine with it. So, I'd

1:02:07like to just move it into chapter A to

1:02:10align that with MASC as well.

1:02:13>> Thank you. Perfect.

1:02:14>> Thank you.

1:02:15>> Thank you.

1:02:15>> Moving on to vote to approve band

1:02:17purchase. We can either table that or we

1:02:19can vote to um have the Muhammad move

1:02:22forward with getting the proper quotes

1:02:25through um procurement. So, however,

1:02:28>> I'm going to move to table.

1:02:29>> Move to table is on the table and

1:02:32seconded. Is there any questions,

1:02:34comments, or concerns to table?

1:02:37Seeing none, all in favor of

1:02:38tableabling. Thank you. I appreciate the

1:02:41appreciate the patience. I just want to

1:02:43see what I'm voting for. So, um, vote to

1:02:46withhold payment from NRT. Obviously, we

1:02:49had a very passionate school committee

1:02:51member who, um, saying all the right

1:02:55things.

1:02:56more than happy to move forward with

1:02:58this one. So, I'd like to make a motion

1:03:01to uh vote to withhold payment from NRT

1:03:04until uh we get some more appropriate

1:03:07action that we have our students safely

1:03:11delivered to and from school on time and

1:03:15um their instructional learning is not

1:03:17missed.

1:03:20>> It's seconded. Motions on table,

1:03:22seconded. Questions, comments, concerns?

1:03:24Mr.

1:03:25>> This is a problem of the own making and

1:03:27it's

1:03:31>> something that needs to improve

1:03:32immediately. Um Jason Muhammad, for the

1:03:35benefit of the community, can you talk a

1:03:38little bit about what happens when

1:03:39payment gets withheld? Um

1:03:44I would not expect service to get worse.

1:03:48>> No. Uh and actually uh the next steps

1:03:51should the uh school committee approve

1:03:53the stop payment um Josh Coleman our the

1:03:57school committee's attorney uh has a

1:03:59letter prepared that he will be sending

1:04:01out to Scott Sheridan the vice president

1:04:04of operations for the northeast um and

1:04:07will outline the stop payment uh along

1:04:11with um the requests for improved

1:04:14services as has been reflected here but

1:04:18also has already been sent to them

1:04:19frankly uh multiple times uh from us. Um

1:04:23and uh finally we are requesting a

1:04:26face-toface meeting with their attorney

1:04:28and uh Scott Sheridan himself, myself,

1:04:32Muhammad, our attorney and Katherine. Um

1:04:35so we

1:04:36>> good having

1:04:38>> a very frank conversation with them.

1:04:41Excellent.

1:04:43Does

1:04:43>> that answer your question? Perfect. if

1:04:45they want to get paid, they're going to

1:04:46start.

1:04:47>> Sure.

1:04:49>> Can I just make one request that um

1:04:52especially since we care for not only

1:04:56the Marboro Public School students that

1:04:58are getting to school, but also as you

1:05:00highlighted the AMSA students. Um can we

1:05:04make sure that we would send something

1:05:06to um Oh, I'm gonna butcher her name.

1:05:10Lynn something. Yeah. um who's the

1:05:13operations person that we've been

1:05:15speaking with um just to make sure that

1:05:17they're fully apprised.

1:05:20>> Um I know

1:05:22>> there's been a lot of communication.

1:05:24Yeah.

1:05:24>> Um but I think just to make sure that

1:05:27they are just as much in the loop on

1:05:29things

1:05:31be great.

1:05:32>> Yeah, happy to.

1:05:33>> And also Chris, to answer your question,

1:05:34we did this once before and things did

1:05:37get a little bit better.

1:05:38>> Yeah. and we eventually voted to pay

1:05:42them.

1:05:42>> Yep.

1:05:43>> So

1:05:43>> that was last year.

1:05:44>> Yeah. Different context. I know the

1:05:47strike last year was disruptive to

1:05:49families and schools. So further

1:05:52deterioration of service if it doesn't

1:05:54carry additional financial consequences

1:05:58to NRT. I don't want the community to

1:06:01continue or or increasingly suffer um

1:06:05based on you know high volume of

1:06:06incidents and uh poor service levels. So

1:06:09again it's it's more just context for

1:06:11for folks.

1:06:12>> So I'm in my 15th month uh serving as

1:06:16superintendent in Malber and this is our

1:06:18third issue of great significance with

1:06:22NRT. the second time the school

1:06:23committee has stopped payment

1:06:25>> in 15 months

1:06:27>> and we're and we're still outstanding on

1:06:30the request for service levels in

1:06:33surrounding communities.

1:06:35>> That's right. Uh so uh technically he

1:06:37has a there is a 10day window. Um so we

1:06:41will see if they comply with that.

1:06:44>> Thank you. So there is a motion on the

1:06:46table and seconded to um vote to

1:06:49withhold a payment for NRT. Any other

1:06:52further questions, comments, or

1:06:53concerns? Seeing none and all in favor

1:06:56and the motion carries. Perfect. Thank

1:06:59you. Moving on to vote for the student

1:07:02activities report. Mr. Muhammad detailed

1:07:05the student activities account. So,

1:07:07we'll need to vote to approve the

1:07:10accounts.

1:07:11>> Move to approve.

1:07:13>> Move to approve is on the table and

1:07:14seconded. Any questions, comments, or

1:07:16concerns?

1:07:18Seeing none, all in favor? The motion

1:07:20carries. Thank you. Okay, that sums it

1:07:24up. So, now we're moving on to

1:07:28gifts and donations.

1:07:30We have Hope and Comfort. They will

1:07:32provided hygiene products to the

1:07:34wraparound service for a $900 value.

1:07:37>> Move to approve.

1:07:38>> Move to approve on the table and

1:07:40seconded questions, comments, or

1:07:41concerns? Seeing none, all in favor?

1:07:44Motion carries. Thank you. And then the

1:07:47next and last is cradles to crayons.

1:07:49They provide 75 backpacks to wraparound

1:07:52services for a $2,250

1:07:55value.

1:07:57>> Move to approve.

1:07:58>> Move to approve on the table and

1:07:59seconded. Any further questions,

1:08:01comments, or concerns? Seeing none, all

1:08:04in favor? Motion carries. Thank you.

1:08:08Excuse me, I'm getting a little horse.

1:08:09Moving on to reports of school committee

1:08:11subcommittees.

1:08:14Any subcommittee reports? Yes.

1:08:16>> Um we're setting up a number of um

1:08:18policy subcommittee meetings and we're

1:08:20going to try and just put it like every

1:08:22other every month, every other month,

1:08:24something like that. So, we're getting

1:08:26that scheduled together and I know that

1:08:29we have a couple dates we're looking at

1:08:31in October. So, um we'll have some

1:08:33things coming up there.

1:08:35>> Excellent. Thank you. Anything else for

1:08:39subcommittees? Seeing none, move on.

1:08:42members forum.

1:08:45Katherine,

1:08:46>> um so just wanted to make sure that

1:08:49people are aware that CPAC will be

1:08:52having their um meeting

1:08:55like they do a monthly meeting on

1:08:57Thursday. Um it's at 7 o'clock and you

1:09:01can join it via Zoom or you can be there

1:09:04in person at Wickham normally in the

1:09:06Wickham Commons

1:09:08and um they've been doing an amazing

1:09:10job. Oh,

1:09:11>> okay. Oh, it's not there. Never mind. I

1:09:14lied.

1:09:15>> Just for clarification, this first one

1:09:17is going to be here um at the ECC. So,

1:09:20okay.

1:09:20>> Anybody wants to come, come to the ECC

1:09:227:00 Thursday night, we'll be here.

1:09:24>> All righty. Thank you. Thank you.

1:09:27>> And then um as I mentioned earlier, we

1:09:30had our um wellness committee meeting

1:09:33earlier this morning. Um, some really

1:09:36great things going on and my friend

1:09:38Maggie and I need to have a conversation

1:09:40because we want to make sure that we

1:09:42have a student representative.

1:09:44>> I was noticing on the list of people

1:09:45that there was no student listed

1:09:47>> and we had talked about that last year.

1:09:49So, um, so if I can get with you and

1:09:53grab some help, that would be fantastic.

1:09:56>> Okay, cool. That's it.

1:09:59>> Anything else for members for

1:10:02>> No. No. Good.

1:10:06>> Anyone else? Denise. Denise could put

1:10:09you on the spot.

1:10:10>> That's right.

1:10:11>> I got my wonderful umbrella.

1:10:15>> It's awesome. I have one.

1:10:16>> Do you want to plug that?

1:10:17>> I actually

1:10:18>> So, the MHS Allnighter Committee is

1:10:21selling these fabulous golf umbrellas

1:10:23for $30.

1:10:25>> Find them on Facebook and get one.

1:10:28There's not many left, so get them

1:10:29before they're gone. There is a noraster

1:10:31coming this weekend, so be prepared.

1:10:33>> So when you see me walking down Main

1:10:35Street with my umbrella, it looks like a

1:10:37good weapon.

1:10:38>> Mary Poppins.

1:10:38>> Yeah, it's a great Yeah, could do some

1:10:41damage.

1:10:41>> Yeah, pretty great.

1:10:42>> I would open it, but it's bad luck, so

1:10:44you'll have to deal with that. So,

1:10:46>> and and I forgot.

1:10:47>> Thank you for the selfish plug.

1:10:48>> Thank you for supporting.

1:10:49>> Absolutely.

1:10:50>> And Miss Ryan reminded me I forgot to

1:10:52say I have reviewed the warrant and I

1:10:55will be signing it on our behalf.

1:10:57>> Okay.

1:10:57>> Thank you.

1:10:58>> So, I just have a question. And I don't

1:10:59know if you know the answer, but I was

1:11:03out shopping. It's Halloween candy out

1:11:05there. Do we know when the

1:11:06trick-or-treating on Main Street is?

1:11:08>> Yes, it is the Thursday the 29th of

1:11:11October.

1:11:13>> Yes. Day after my birthday.

1:11:16>> Yeah. So

1:11:19>> Yeah. So I'm working on the costume. So

1:11:21I will be dressed.

1:11:22>> Um trunk or treat is happening as well.

1:11:24So um

1:11:25>> on the same day. No, the 22nd, 23rd.

1:11:30I don't know.

1:11:31>> It's coming up.

1:11:32>> It's coming up. We have another meeting

1:11:34before that. So, yes. But yes, trunk.

1:11:36So, horrible spray is the 29th. I

1:11:38believe it's a Thursday of October.

1:11:41Can't believe we're talking about

1:11:43Halloween.

1:11:44>> I know.

1:11:45>> Today is the last day of summer and

1:11:46we're talking about Northwest.

1:11:50>> Anyone Anything else? Can we wrap this

1:11:51up? Yeah. Anything else for members

1:11:53forum?

1:11:54>> Trucketry is the 18th. 18th. Thank you.

1:11:56>> 18th. Okay. It's a Sunday.

1:11:59>> Okay. You know what I need?

1:12:02>> Move to adjourn.

1:12:03>> There it is. All right. We're moving

1:12:05tojourn is on the table and seconded.

1:12:07All in favor of adjourning. Motion

1:12:10carries. We adjourned at 8:43.

1:12:12Have a great night.