School Committee: April 17, 2025

Transcript captured from MHTV’s Vimeo auto-captioning. No speaker labels; proper names and dollar figures occasionally misheard. Click any timecode to jump to that moment in the source video.

0:00 I am gonna call us to order at six oh five Marblehead School Committee. Welcome. I’m Jen Schaffner Marblehead school Committee. We’ve got, um, Allison Taylor, member on Zoom. Um, and here in, um, the high school is Sarah Fox Brianda. And myself, Al Williams is not, uh, with us. At least they didn’t see him, actually. No, he was not. Yeah. Um, okay. Let’s see. Uh, first opening Business Pledge of Allegiance. Brian, do you mind pleading us Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thanks Brian. Um, we have our student representative,

0:46 Ella Ana, welcome. Hi. Hi. I have The Update from the high school. So quarter three just ended two days ago. Everyone’s super happy to have finally made it to quarter four. I bet many seniors went on senior projects starting yesterday. We can’t wait to see all the things they’re working on at the senior project day later this spring, there’s a half day Friday, tomorrow for Good Friday and no school Monday and Tuesday. The school musical Hades Town was performed this past weekend and everyone did a phenomenal job. I went to go see it on Sunday, it was great. Spring sports are in full swing. Good luck. Student athletes. As of April 11th, girls lacrosse was two and three boys. Lacrosse one and one. Baseball two and one softball two. And oh, boys track one and two girls track three

1:32 and oh, boys tennis one and oh, girls tennis. Oh, and one and co-ed sailing two and oh, AP exams are in just 2.5 short weeks. Hopefully everyone has started preparing and good luck to everyone on those. And also, last but not least, yesterday was the All Jazz concert. Congrats to all our jazz musicians. Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you. Um, okay, commendations.

1:57 I have one. If you want to go first though, I have one too. Why don’t you go, Jo John, you wanna go first? Um, I was just gonna, um, commend Steve Ek our, um, our director of technology. He’s been, uh, super helpful in in a lot of the PDs, um, and a lot of presentations we’ve been doing kind of above and beyond. Um, and he’s been really helpful, uh, jumping in when needed and, excuse me, at the last minute. And I think it’s really, I think it’s, um, important to recognize that it’s kind of just been going above and beyond lately. And he does it in a way that’s very under the radar and doesn’t take a lot of credit for it. And I just wanted to take a moment to thank him for his extra efforts. So, Thank you Allison. Uh, I just, oh, can you hear Me? Yep, we can hear you. I wanted to, um, commend Katie Freegan from Village School.

2:44 She coordinates, she does it every year, but this year was the first son my year. My son did it. Um, she coordinates the Trouble course, which is a select few, um, choral members from four, five, and six that go to perform in the Northeast Trouble concert. Their concert was a couple weeks ago. Um, but I just wanted to commend her for just helping to put together an absolutely amazing experience for these children. Um, Eric Williamson was the director. He was beyond phenomenal. The way he was able to put all of these 200 kids from all over the place and the way they sounded, you just wouldn’t even believe it. It was, it was amazing. And it’s such a fantastic experience for our village students. And I just wanna commend Katie Freegan for providing that

3:30 to them and just getting the whole thing done. All the signups, getting everybody there. Um, she’s just remarkable. And so thank you so much for that. Thank you. Awesome. Thanks Allison. Sarah, did you have a, oh, you didn’t, oh, I thought you did. Sorry. Sorry. Um, okay, I’m gonna move on. Our next agenda item is public comment. Um, I’m going to remind everyone, our policy is that public comment is scheduled for 15 minutes. We ask individuals to try to keep their comments to three minutes or less, um, which would be appreciated. I have one person online and I have, I think probably a few people signed up for, um, in person. I’m gonna go first online and I see it was, um, I see one hand, which was Nila Nyla Dub. Let me,

4:16 Can we let this gentleman just To soccer. Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Nyla. Hang on one second. We had a, um, student here who would like to speak and we probably want to get our student home to do homework. So, Um, or soccer practice, whatever, whatever it, We, We typically do name and address, but when it’s been students in the past, we don’t ask them to say their address. Sorry, Sarah. What? Um, what I was just letting them know that in the past when we’ve had students, we don’t require them to say their address ‘cause they’re Yeah. Kids. And that can be problematic. Welcome, welcome. Kara, go ahead. Um, Sorry. Um, uh, my thoughts on the policy right now is that I feel

5:04 that if you’re taking, say you would take the, like the flags or displays off the walls, I feel like you would be taking off the art. Like, in my perspective, outta my perspective, I just made a clay project and it’s curly in the display box by the cafeteria. And I was really proud of it. So, and a bunch of students have their artwork hanging up in the hallways and they’re like, oh my God, that’s me. And they can be proud of it. ‘cause if you, ‘cause if it’s not, like, if you take the that away and then there’s no artwork in the halls, first of all, it’s gonna be bland as well as there’s basically going

5:51 to be no point in doing art besides making the art and forgetting about it. ‘cause it’s not gonna be hung up. No one’s gonna see, or only you are basically gonna see it besides the teacher that you give it to or people you decide to share it with. And I feel like taking away the, the stuff from the halls wouldn’t really help because you’re taking away all the, the supportive. ‘cause the halls have most of the, the banners and like displays on them. Like in the main lobby of village, there is a Black Lives Matter banner. Right. When you walk in, you can see it. And I think there’s also a pride flag somewhere, um, near there.

6:36 And I feel like if you’re taking it also stuff out of the classroom, not just the halls. ‘cause I guarantee you in pretty much every classroom, there’s gonna be at least two banners or symbolic displays of something. Because if you’re taking away the stuff that is, say, like the Black Lives Matter, for example, I feel like you’re not just impacting just the general people of Marblehead, but like most of the student education, ‘cause a lot of students, like in my classroom, I, um, there is a, like a banner that says you can do, like, you can do this and it has like a symbol on it.

7:23 It has the peace symbol on it. And that would like encourage students. And there’s a bunch of those all over the classroom. It’s like giving encouraging words. It’s like helping students. And I feel like if you take away all the supportive like, symbols and banners and inscriptions on these banners and general entitlements, I feel like the students would be like, they, they would be the, it would be a loss as well as the teachers wouldn’t be, I don’t think the teachers would be very happy about that. ‘cause like they need that for the student’s education.

8:09 And I feel like if it’s not, if it’s just general, if you wanna know what the students feel like, ‘cause this whole policy probably is gonna impact the students the most. ‘cause these banners and displays are mostly inside the schools. Um, I feel like doing a poll or something would be better. ‘cause we get that the people in the meetings that have been here have like usually said their opinion and then were like, and,

8:44 and then they took off the opinion from that. But if you do a poll, we could ask the students what they think about it. Say you could just set up one maybe like on our Google classroom that we have in our Chromebooks that everyone has because they need it. You can just set, Set up a poll here. It’s been three minutes, just so you know. If you could Kind of, oh yeah, sorry. I was, that’d Be great. Thank you. Appreciate It. Yeah, and you would set up a poll and then the students would answer. And I feel like if you do that for maybe a grade or two, or like just the school in general, and then you could do it for multiple schools. You could understand what the student point of view is of it is for, because not just the parent view. You could also do a poll by emailing parents, um, about what they think about it.

9:30 ‘cause I think they have a good portion in their speech about it. And I think like, if you wanna know what the students think about it, which will be mostly, they’re the majority of the people that will be impacted by it. I feel like that’d be better if you gave them a poll to see what they think about it. So, yeah. Thank you. Um, uh, Margaret Clark is here too. So I’m gonna go Margaret and then I’ll go back to Nyla. Good Job. Are you gonna stay over this? Okay. Yeah.

10:03 Um, Margaret Clark, uh, 29 Mulford Street. Um, where’s the camera? It’s up there to be clear and to respond to some comments spoken by others. Um, at the last meeting, I am that shy person that couldn’t speak for themselves, especially publicly and especially back in grade school. Your extreme policy has made me push through that barrier because this issue is so important to the future of our schools. And I’ve been surprised to find out that I speak for others that for various reasons, cannot speak out for themselves. Why? The rush? We’ve been taught that when you get an email or a text and it says it’s urgent, we should be suspicious. I feel the same way about the rush you all have in establishing your flag policy per your four three agenda.

10:50 It was a flag policy, but your four 17 agenda, it’s a flag and banner policy, but it is way broader than that. And therefore not represented properly on your agendas. Nor have there been any meeting minutes produced or approved and posted for any of these meetings. And why has there been no broad notification to parents and students of each meeting? That includes this all important flag, banner and symbolic display policy change. The pro proposed language still puts the school committee making every individual decision on what gets displayed. You are just setting up an insurmountable, sorry, lost my place, Uh, in an insurmountable roadblock to anything being displayed.

11:36 You may write that it is policy quote unquote, but that is administering and it extends way beyond what you were elected to do. I urge you to take the time to understand all implications of your policy changes and to honestly post more broadly your intentions for these policy changes to the, the community you sought out input on which 10 days would be the makeup days after the strike. But you seek no input on a policy that would devastate the inner workings of the schools. Why not seek out input, input via survey from all parents, district parents and families? By leaving them out of the process, you are not representing them. In addition to the millions of symbols I noted last time, you also need to consider that this symbolic display language might cover posters like the four behind you that are used

12:23 for instructions in the library.

12:26 Also, posters legally required to be posted for all employees to see their legal rights. Are you gonna make the superintendent remove such posters and then come back to you to request that they be allowed to be put back? You would be requiring him to break state and federal laws while the process, while you process these requests. That is just one of many examples. You simply can’t remove all symbolic displays that are affixed to the school building without doing so. You need to make this policy appropriate for future generations and future school committee, committee members sitting in your seats. If you, uh, if you leave the language so broad, a few school committee might interpret it differently. And you are excluding even yourselves from the conversation whenever that time comes. Spend three minutes, Ms. Clark.

13:13 You are choose, yes, you are choosing to erase all culture just because there is some culture that doesn’t fit your doctrine. Erasing the history and erasing the community is destroying the education. We need to educate our children about democracy and how there are diverse cultures and diverse opinions. And we need to teach acceptance and love for each other despite those differences. Please center your policy around love and acceptance instead of erasure and deletion of culture. Be the brave leaders you are elected to be. Question each other on this overreaching policy and lead our students to a better future. Thank You. Thank you. Um, Nyla, I’m gonna

13:59 nine minutes just sorry. We’re Good. Can you hear me? Yes, We can. Nila welcome. Okay, fantastic. Um, I actually wrote something. Okay. So I’m gonna read it. Um, so I’m here to request that the Marblehead Public School District leadership take immediate action to add a viewpoint neutral clause to the existing draft flag policy that, that we’re working on from last week, last meeting. Your commitment viewpoint neutrality will ensure that Marblehead public school maintains values-based developmentally appropriate, consistent, and legally sound approach to government speech through symbolic displays.

14:46 Our community has spent 18 months embroiled in a contentious debate over symbolic flag displays, specifically the pride black flags matter and Israeli flags that have become permanent fixtures on lunchroom walls at Marblehead High School. On some classroom walls and in other public areas. Many students, families and educators consider these flags to be symbols of inclusion, that sense of belonging to historically marginalized groups. But while many students, parents and educators see some or all of these symbols as inclusive and welcoming, many other students, parents and educators see some or all of these symbols as exclusive and offensive.

15:33 What’s more such points of view are fluid and change over time based on current events such as the terrorist attacks on October 7th, national elections and evidence-based medical reviews throughout the flag debate amidst passionate public discourse to things have become abundantly clear. Symbolic displays are subjective and feelings about them are based on deeply held, often implacable beliefs. So question is, how does the school committee expect to adjudicate which beliefs are inclusive or exclusive? Which beliefs are welcoming or unwelcoming? Which beliefs are right or wrong, especially when the target is always moving.

16:19 This is the crux of the flag debate and terribly important to the community now and into the future because school boards change and events happen. But our children deserve stability and consistency, especially in messaging. So do we really wanna base our school board elections on which candidate champions certain symbols and who doesn’t? If the school board doesn’t strongly commit to viewpoint neutrality right now in this flag policy, we risk flags and symbols of inclusion becoming a political football perpetually distracting our public officials from doing the hard work of overseeing our children’s education. So now that the boundary between personal and government speech has been clearly defined in the flag

17:05 policy, the question is based on what criteria will the school committee determine what is appropriate government speech? It’s been three minutes, Nila, just so you know. Okay, well, students can fix symbols. Um, how does the government determine what is neutral? So I propose that you add a viewpoint neutrality statement that could read something like this. The Marblehead Public School District affirms that all government speech expressed through symbolic language banners, flags, or similar displays on school property shall be presented in a viewpoint neutral manner. The district shall not use such displays to promote,

17:51 endorse, or oppose any particular political, religious, ideological or partisan viewpoint. All such speech shall be limited to content that is directly related to the district’s educational mission, public service announcements or message of general civic unity that do not favor one viewpoint or another. And what that means in plain English is that when a flag request comes across the superintendent’s desk, and then eventually potentially to you, you check for three things that it’s values based that, you know, you ask is the requested symbolic signage aligned with our district mission and values? Is it curriculum based? Is the requested symbolic signage an

18:37 integral part of the curriculum? And is it viewpoint neutral? In other words, will the requested symbolic signage reasonably be interpreted as a universal message? And that third point, this is I’m finishing up, thank you. That third point may be less hard to define, but it does give the district leadership a reasonable leeway to course correct as needed. So for example, if a student proposes a flag, the student superintendent thoughtfully determines, meets all three of those criteria and is approved by the school committee, but then subsequently, several students or parents may call attention to points of that were previously unconsidered by the committee. Or if an event takes place that changes the perception of that particular signage. In these cases, the committee may reconsider the signage

19:24 based on new evidence and may decide to take the signage down, but there should be obviously a process for that. But they have some, like three specific metrics to say, is this neutral? Right. Thank you. So that’s all I have to say. I’m writing all this to you and, um, we’ll get it later. Thank You. Thank you. Now I appreciate it. Okay. Um, where are we on time? We’re at, um, 15 minutes right now. The committee you wanna go forward, I’ve got 1, 2, 3, 4 names on the list and no hands up. We’re at 15 minutes. Um, are, are there any names in the list who we haven’t heard from prior?

20:10 ‘cause um, to channel Gary’s piece? Yeah, you know, it’s Important to hear I’ve got everyone, but often that I don’t think we’ve heard from Erin before. Um, Audrey House. Have we heard from Audrey? I think so. If there’s only four people, I It’s four people. Yeah. Uh, 1, 2, 3, 4. Yeah, four. We just move forward. I mean, that’s 12 minutes, I think. Okay. If we could really keep it to three minutes, I’d appreciate it. Um, Angus McQuilkin,

20:38 Thank you very Much. Angus McCluen 39 lane. I just wanna make three points really questions I hope the committee will consider as you deliberate on this issue this evening. The first is this. At the last meeting, committee member Sarah Fox asked that the language regarding additional symbolic displays Be removed from the policy. It has not been removed from the policy. It is still in the draft that is before you tonight it appeared to be the will of the committee that that language be removed. It has not been removed. So my question is, yes, That was something I was gonna put. Why has it not been removed? I probably made a mistake. Okay. So that language is very important to remove it. That’s Why we’re having a second Reason. It’s a clear violation of the constitution to say to students, you can’t hang your artwork in the hall that has some symbols of unity or, or, um, history

21:25 or without individual approval from the school committee. So that’s question number one. So if that change wasn’t made, then I don’t think this policy’s ready for prime time. You should table the second reading, bump it to your next meeting and continue the discussion then. Okay. Thank you. Second point. The offensive and unconstitutional language that prohibits third party petitions to the school committee remains in the draft policy. This language is not in the town policy around flags because it’s not necessary to include such language to be compliant with any statute or legal precedent. This language is not in the Marblehead housing authority policy prohibiting people from petitioning that body to make decisions about flags and banners.

22:12 I would note the town policy, by the way, only speaks to flags. But in practice, the way it works is that residents of this community, taxpayers, homeowners, voters, can go to the select board and say, I’d like this flag to be flown to recognize this particular holiday or recognize this particular message. That’s how it works in the town policy. So my question is, why the extreme variance from the town flag policy and the draft that is before you today? It’s clear that it’s a con. It’s, it’s a decision. It’s not a legal requirement. It’s a decision by this committee that you wanna shield yourself from public input. You don’t have to do that. There’s no law requiring you to do that. And it is unconstitutional to do it. The First Amendment provides a right of petition to every citizen

22:58 that they can petition their government, frankly. And due respect to John Robow, who I like a great deal, he is not an elected official. He is not the government. I have a right to petition you. So if that language is included in the policy, you are inviting very expensive constitutional litigation against the town Marblehead and the public schools. I would urge you to remove that language. The third thing I want to ask is, this is a symbol that a teacher in Idaho has been ordered to remove from their classroom. It simply says, everyone is welcome here. This is the banner, the exact banner that is on that school classroom wall where the teacher’s been ordered to remove it due to a policy similar to what’s being proposed here. So my question is, and, and so I think the, the concerns

23:43 of teachers are well-founded. They have asked the committee to cease and desist as of yesterday, at least according to the Marblehead current, they had not received a response to their request for the committee to cease and desist. I don’t understand how that could be possible, that the committee has been non-responsive to our teachers in that regard. But their concern is well founded because of what we’re seeing happen elsewhere. Straightforward message. Everyone is welcome here. It’s Been three minutes Being ordered to be removed from the wall. So my question for the committee, and I’ll conclude with this, is what are you going to do? And this is a question for the superintendent as well. When teachers in marblehead refuse to remove symbols that your policy requires them to remove, because that is exactly what is going to happen, teachers will refuse to comply just as this courageous teacher is doing in Idaho.

24:29 Are you gonna fire those teachers? That’s my question. Thank you for the time. Uh, can you make A point of clarification? Can you please? Yeah. I I’m not, I’m just, this isn’t point of clarification for the general public. I am not going back and forth with, um, public comment that would be against our policy. Um, that first of all that I was, I will go to that. During, um, that part of the agenda, I noticed that, and it’s just to clear, clear, we can strike that language again. There was a motion which pre takes precedent over what is written here to strike that language. So we’re, we’re in the clear there. It’s a typo. We can remove that. Um, second of all, as far as the town policy, just so our point of clarification, the town policy, no one actually appeals to the select board.

25:14 Um, the town policy is very clear that they don’t go to the select board. They only go to their agent. Who is Thatcher? Keyser currently the town administrator. That’s the town policy. Happy to forward it to anybody that doesn’t have a copy of that. That’s the policy that they voted. I’ve checked with that governing body that is very clear, their policy that Thatcher keys or doesn’t even bring it before their board ever. He just makes the dec decision on his own. Um, we have, we have, um, the role of town administrator is slightly different than the role of superintendent through the school committee due to national law in chapter 70. But just as that point of clarification, when someone appeals to the town, it never goes before the select board. It goes only in front of the town administrator.

26:02 So, you know, just to collect any Correct. Any errors there. Okay. And I’m gonna move on to Erin. Um, Opperman. Is it Opperman? Yeah. Welcome.

26:15 Good evening. Aaron Opperman 14 Anderson Street. Um, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak. Um, and I appreciate the other comments that have been, um, on the flag policy, which is also, um, what I’d like to address. Um, I am here at the meeting before the committee, um, for two reasons and I I guess more so in two capacities. One, um, as a lawyer concerned with the, the formulation of the policy. Um, and secondly, as a queer mother of a Marblehead public school student, um,

26:55 I am concerned by the seeming lack of understanding of what is really a, a a simple, um, area of law. And that is the First Amendment. Once this committee creates a policy, it essentially controls what goes in and what goes out. And it either has to let everything in or let nothing in. Um, once a policy is created, it’s essentially like the school committee, um, creating a box. And it must keep everything out or everything in, in my opinion. Um, the school committee is premature in enacting any policy at all. What I know about what has brought us to the issue of a flag policy is that, um,

27:43 the issue was essentially created not by students, um, but by adults, by a parent, um, and by a reactionary teacher. And instead of dealing with the actions of those two adults, this committee risks creating an unnecessary and reactionary policy that is creating a problem that, in my opinion, didn’t exist in the beginning. Um, I’ve read the proposed policies, the amendments of the policies, um, proposed adjustments by the community. And as someone who has practiced law constitutional law for 16 years, I’m really concerned that the school committee is going to get sued by one side or another. It is, it, it, it it is black

28:30 and white, the first Amendment on this issue. And I fear that a lot of the community and possibly some of the committee members don’t truly understand that. My suggestion, which I think echoes other suggestions, suggestions of other community members for different reasons, is to simply at this point enact no policy at all. I don’t think it’s necessary from my understanding of the schools in town, the students and the administrators and the faculty, for the most part do a really great job of elevating speech that the school, the schools agree on. Um, I, I don’t think that it is necessary for the committee to insert themselves at this point in creating a policy that has clearly created, again, problems that may

29:18 or may not have existed prior to this. I don’t think that parents, and I especially don’t think that community members who don’t have children in the Marblehead public schools should be driving the, um, conversation on this topic. And that is clearly what is happening now. Um, I do also want to point out that spend three minutes, Ms. Berman, just, um, I do also want to point out that, um, there have been a variety of different, um, concerns raised by the committee members. Um, last meeting, um, Sarah, um, asked the question of why people in the schools aren’t feeling like their voices are heard or represented or protected in the first place. That’s very valid. Um, but one unfortunate aspect of this, um, discussion has been hearing some of the voices, um,

30:06 of this town and of this committee, um, that are, um, offensive to be frank. Um, and I I certainly hope, um, as a woman married to another woman who has two children in town, one of whom is a public school student, um, that this committee keeps in mind that it is offensive to hear that people are offended by the pride flag. It is offensive to hear that people think that that flag does not represent traditional family values. I assure you that not only my family, but the other queer families in town have admirable family values. I invite any school committee member to talk to me if you wanna hear more about that. Um, and I’m also happy to introduce you to any of the other

30:54 families in town that have been, um, deeply hurt by some of the comments made by community members, um, and committee members during this discussion. Um, so that is my, my, my urging for this committee at this point. Thank you. Thank you.

31:11 Um, I have, um, uh, I, Audrey House.

31:25 Hi, I’m Audrey House, 12 Lincoln Park. It’s when I echo Margaret, I’m not a public speaker. It stresses me out. But this issue is important to me. Um, I’m here tonight to ask the school committee to table the proposed flag policy. You’ve said this policy is about avoiding legal risk citing Shirtle vbo, but that case does not require this kind of broad suppression. It simply says that if the government opens a space for expression, it must be viewpoint neutral. That means you can create clear, fair guidelines. Not that you need to silence every voice to avoid litigation. In fact, by shutting down all expression except government sanctioned messages, you’re inviting new legal challenges under the First Amendment. And let’s be honest, this is not just about the law.

32:12 Some committee members have made it clear that this is political. You’ve mentioned Black Lives Matter flags being problematic. A member also stated that rainbow flags don’t reflect traditional family values. Those statements reveal a deeper agenda, one that goes beyond neutral governance and into ideological gatekeeping.

32:33 What does this flag policy mean for academics? Will student artwork featuring pride symbols or calls for equity be banned unless individually approved by the school committee? Are we going to scrutinize classroom displays for political subtext? This opens the door to censorship that stifles both student expression and teacher autonomy. Policies like this push us down a slippery slope, not just towards silencing voices, but towards undermining the district’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. And that in the long run, supports the very forces of exclusion and division. This community has always stood against. Please reject or table this policy. Let’s lead with clarity, fairness, and a commitment to all our students. Thank you. Thank you.

33:20 And then I have, uh, Diane Gora.

33:31 Hi, Diane Gora, 24 Nicholson Street. I just have one question that I hope will be answered at some point. Um, what justification, uh, do you have for taking the enforcement of the flag policy out of the hands of administration? Thank you.

33:52 Great. Uh, lemme just, that is, uh, oh. Oh, wait, I’ve got one hand up.

34:03 Nope, I don’t actually. Oh. Um, I see Jeanie’s hand. Jeanie Lambkin. Jeannie, you should be able to speak. Yep. You see me Or I, yeah. Um, I can, yes. Um, Thank you for, um, allowing me to join and I, I joined a few minutes late, so I apologize if I’m asking something that was already asked. Um, I have three questions that I hope you will be able to answer during your discussion. One is just a clarification, um, what the three public readings requirement is. ‘cause I’m confused if it’s just three readings, even as the policy is tweaked and changed. So that it’s just as you at some point, if you could just explain what the expectations are for those of us who are not schooled in the meeting rules.

34:51 Um, and my other two questions go to, um, I, um, I’m really, um, struck by some of the comments at the last meeting that suggested that the policy is set by the school committee and it will be on the responsibility of the superintendent to, uh, implement procedures, which as a broad division of labor or responsibility makes sense. But what I was confounded by was the notion that, um, you would vote on a policy without having at least had a presentation of the expected procedures that would implement said policy for the very reason that some of the, uh, conversational what ifs you had the last time could actually be sort of, um, you know, proof to bet you know, know.

35:37 Do you all share the same expectations of what various steps in the procedure should do? And are you envisioning that the policy that’s in your own mind as you choose to vote, is going to be enacted in a way that would be consistent? So I, I just would like, just some discussion of, um, and, and maybe it’s not typical, but this is not a typical policy as we’ve all experienced over the last two years. Why wouldn’t you have a presentation from the superintendent as to once the policy was set, how it would be enacted, how it would be implemented? Um, and the last part of that, um, is my third question. And, um, a little bit of this was raised, um, again, going to, you know, I don’t know, measure 500 times

36:25 before you cut, what are your expectations for accountabilities and consequences when inevitably, as in anything in life, something goes wrong and the policy is violated, whether inadvertently or intentionally, um, who is being held accountable and to what consequences for what types of violations? It just, just asking now, almost irrespective of the content, like how do you vote for a policy if you don’t have visibility to how it will be implemented and who will be held accountable with what consequences if and when the policy is violated. So I appreciate it and we’ll wait to hear your comments later. Thank you. Okay. All right.

37:13 I’m going to move on to, um, our public hearing for School Choice. So I’m going to close, no, just open the hearing. I’m just gonna open the hearing. Um, our public hearing for School Choice for the 25 20 2025 2026 school year. Um, John, I don’t know if you wanna speak to this. I know you gave us a document. I get A memo. I can share that, um, Right here. Oh, Thank you. Um, so I’ll just read the memo that I share with the school committee. Just sort don’t miss anything. Under provisions of the Educational Reform Act of 1993, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education presumes that each school committee will admit non-resident students under the school choice program unless there’s a vote to the contrary. Under MGL L, chapter 76, section 12 B,

38:00 the school committee’s obliged to hold a public hearing in vote on school choice participation prior to June 1st of each school year. So this is an annual discussion and vote. Um, then my recommendation is for Marblehead Public Schools to not participate in school choice for the 25 26 school year. And that the school committee take action on this matter at their open meeting scheduled for April 17th, which is tonight, um, 2025 vote. At this juncture, we’ll allow the district, um, ample time to notify the state of our decision in accordance with the June one deadline. And then there’s a proposed motion. Great. Thank you. I’m happy to Answer any questions. Uh, gonna open this up to the public for any comments, anyone here at the library Specific to Specific to the school choice? School choice? Sorry, we’re in a public hearing. Yeah, if you could also give us your name

38:47 and just for the record, if you could just clarify briefly This, this is suggesting that other students in other towns would not have the choice to come here. Is that, is that what’s, um, yes. So there’s a state statute on part of the, the, I believe it was part of every reform in chapter 70, revision or creations, um, that says that every district is automatically opted in to school choice unless a district takes a vote every year prior to June 1st and then notifies the state that they’ve opted out. Um, so each year the superintendent comes and makes a recommendation to the school committee, and we by law have a public hearing on it. Um, so that’s kind of,

39:33 And I can speak a little bit more to that ‘cause sometimes the question comes up, um, you know, why not, why not? Um, um, so if we were to vote for school choice, um, there’s a couple options. One, we can d uh, determine or the school committee can determine how many slots we would have available and which grades. Um, that’s one. Two, we would open up the slots and say, these are the slots that we have open. And we, we advertise that. And then students from, you know, anywhere in the area that want to decide to come to Marblehead would apply to come. And, uh, part of that process is they would apply to come and unless there was, if there was say, 10 slots at one grade level and we only had eight, all eight would be admitted in, if there was 11 or 12 students for that slot, we’d have to do a lottery. Um, and throughout that whole process, we can’t ask for,

40:18 um, the records of students. We can’t ask if they have a 5 0 4 an IEP disciplinary action and none of that stuff, um, until, unless, uh, there they come into the school. And then at that point we would get, uh, records from, you know, whatever school they were in before. So, um, that’s part of, uh, the discussion that we have. Um, because potentially someone could come into Marblehead schools and have a great amount of need, and we wouldn’t necessarily know that, um, until they came in. And, and then the funding from the state is at $5,000, um, per student. It comes through the chapter 70, um, money, um, per student, unless they have significant special ed education needs, then we can, we can, um, look to get additional funding through, um, through a process that’s a little bit more complicated than we need to go into today. But for all intents purposes,

41:04 many school districts do school choice, um, for, for various reasons. And many school districts opt not to have school choice, um, for various reasons. And those are some of, some of the reasons are what I just explained. Some of the reasons are, um, you know, members of the town say, we pay taxes here and people coming in don’t pay taxes. So why are we educating kids from other districts? So those are all conversations that have been had in, in my previous existence as superintendent. So I just share that as part of, um, identification for the Process. It’s also 5,000 versus the, the 18, whatever that we would normally get from the state. Right. That’s, I think that’s the monetary difference. It is, correct. God, you don’t, you don’t get, so for every student in our, um, in our system, we get a certain amount of money per student. Um, and there’s over $10,000 of a difference between

41:53 what you get for a student that’s here from school choice, um, which can equal a very big financial, um, Loss. This debt reimbursement rate is the same for all students, whether they reside in Marblehead or they reside in Salem. Right. It’s just

42:10 the additional portion always goes to the taxpayers. And so we would be asking the taxpayers to fund other towns students, which people have mixed feelings on it On that. Did you have another comment? Yeah, it’s follow Up. Sure. One Is, um, what has been the previous year’s fall season Would, if there, if you did allow school choice previously, would this affect students? We never Have. So can I just say, if we did, if we did allow students to come in and then we next year, we said no. The students that we would allow in have the ability to re remain until through graduation. We, but as far as I understand, we haven’t done school choice in, So for historical perspective, Marblehead has never done school choice. Um, can, okay.

42:56 So I have, I’ve always had mixed, um, mixed feelings on, on this because if we tru truly want to embrace diversity, equity inclusion, I, I think that saying we, we’d like to offer students from other areas to bring their life experiences and bring them here is, is a great way to do that. We are a very specific homogeneous town. And, um, I think that it’s, I like the idea of school choice because it doesn’t just bring racial diversity, which is important, but it can also open up the doors to other forms of diversity, whether that’s socioeconomic diversity, um, religious diversity, diversity in all, all formats.

43:43 So I, I do like that the, the part that’s always been a hardship for me is that we are not with these students. We get no background information as far as the disciplinary records, the IEP, even the 5 0 4, while it’s definitely a fiscal driver and needs to realistically be looked at, is less of a concern because, um, diversity within able, you know, ability is also important. But when we talk about discipline records, we have seen in the past what happens when we have students come in and you have no idea what, what their history is. We are not able to properly meet their need. We’re not setting them up for success, we’re not setting their peers up for success

44:28 or our staff up for success. And unfortunately, sometimes with programs like this, you do get people who are shopping, you know, for districts because they have burned through previous districts and they, they just hop and hop and hop. And that’s certainly not setting the students up for success. So until kind of, we have a better way to address that also, um, until we have a more stable fiscal situation in Marblehead, that’s, that’s the other big arm to this. We, um, were able to make this work this year with our budget, but we know we’re up against some very significant fiscal hurdles and we would not be doing right by anyone by saying we’re gonna take more on before we know that we can provide

45:15 what everybody needs for who’s here. And one of the things we did through the collective bargaining process is, um, previously only our unit A had the contractual ability to bring their students in. We opened that up to all units because, um, the union made a very valid point that, just a caveat in practice we were allowing other, other units in, but it wasn’t con memorialized in the contract yet. E equitable thing. Um, and for equity, what we did was we made it so that all units up, same as school choice space available, um, could bring their students in. So this will be the fir this coming school year will be the first year of that. So we really, I think, need to see how that plays out too and how that changes our census and, and make sure that we are able to adequately provide

46:03 and meet the needs of all of the students we have and are going to have in our system before we move up further with that. So I will make a motion To, do you have it? Oh, No, I was just gonna make it up because I like doing that. Um, move that the Marblehead Public Schools do not participate in school choice program for the 20 25 20 26 school year.

46:28 We have a motion. Do I have a second? Second. Allison second. Okay. Any other discussion comments?

46:40 Okay, great. I’m gonna call for a vote. Allison Taylor

46:45 In favor? Ioda in favor? Not in favor. You want school choice? No, I Don’t want school Choice. Choice. So you’re in favor? You are In favor. Motion. I’m in favor. Sorry. Uh, Sarah Fox in favor. Jen Schaffner in favor for two zero. I’m going to close the, I’m gonna close the, um, public hearing at 6:52 PM Thank you. Okay. Um, moving on to, um, district updates. Um, Ms. Ms. Schaffner, um, can I, um, acquiesce my time to, um, um, our student to do this class again? Oh, sure. Yeah. Yeah. Jared, welcome. If it’s the will of the committee, we have a, a student here who is gonna make a presentation on a donation and probably has other things to be doing tonight, besides here.

47:32 Thank you. Welcome, welcome. Jared Kapowi, president class of 2025. I’m Jared Kach. I’m the senior class president. I just wanna thank our, just begin by thanking our class because without the gener generosity of our class and the families of our class, we would not be able to, um, fund as much as we’re funding. And we are lucky to be in the situation that we’re in. So I wanna thank the class of 2025 families for that. Um, so we’ve worked closely with Dr. Carlson, our advisor, Mr. Mcri, um, as well as the custodial staff and Mr. Bloodgood to pose the question of what does the high school need and what can we do to best, you know, give back to the school, um, for our legacy of the here the last four years. Um, and the first thing that was posed to Miss Mcri last year during graduation was a new banner that goes behind the graduation stage. So I don’t know if anyone’s familiar,

48:17 but behind the graduation stage, they put up a big banner that just says, I think it says MHS the one hanging in the front lobby right now. Um, the, that banner was, I’ve originally donated by the class of 2017, I believe. Um, and when they built that banner, it was meant for an indoor graduation. Um, since then, we’ve moved our graduation out onto the field if the weather’s good enough to do it out on the field. Um, and the custodial staff has said that that banner is very hard to hang, and when it is windy, it is, it’s not supportive of that environment. So we’ve looked into a new banner that’s actually gonna ma be made out of vinyl. It has wind slits in it. Um, it’s gonna echo the design that’s up there now, just it’s gonna be red and black, the marble plate colors. Um, and that’s cost $875.

49:04 That was the first thing we looked into and we said to ourselves, okay, we’re gonna get back more than $875 because our budget allows it. Um, so one of the custodians at the high school actually gave us the idea of replacing the water bottlers in the high school. Um, and if you’re not familiar with the water bottle, boilers actually have water bottle refillers on them. So if you’re sitting in a class with a high school, you ask, there’s, I cure it probably 10 times a week, 20 times a week. A kid raise their hand and say, can I go fill my water bottle? I think they’re probably one of the most commonly used things in the high school. Um, and the, so the ones that are most commonly used are the cafeteria, the first floor, a wing, and the second floor a wing. So it’s the math wing and the English wing. And they’re also outside the bathrooms. So the a wings are where the bathrooms are located on both floors. Um, and Mr.

49:50 Bloodgood has actually given us this, this is the one that they’re trying to put in the district, so it’s in the entire district, and that just helps the, um, the custodial staff be able to buy, uh, products in bulk, so like filters and everything. So he’s given us the, uh, actual bubblers that they prefer us to order, which we’re obviously gonna do that. So that, I mean, we can save the budget of having all the supplies in, in stock it. So each bubbler is 2,300, sorry, 2031 48 cents, uh, for each floor. So it’s a total of $6,094 and 44 cents if we’re gonna replace all three of them, them. Um, so I asked the school committee to approve our request to replace the banner, and then three of the water bubblers totaling 6,000, uh,

50:36 $969 and 44 cents. Awesome. Thank you. Thank you. Any Question? Um, just for a point of clarification, the way it typically works is, um, and I’m sure Dr. Carlson will work this out with you, you make the donation to the district and then Yeah, they, we procure it. So The way we’re gonna do it is, and we’ve worked with Mr. Bloodgood on this as well, is we’re gonna order the banner. Okay. So we’ll work with, uh, vinyl graphic works and Marblehead, they’re, they’ll print it for us. Um, and then as far as the bubbler goes, the facilities department will order the bubblers and they will install them. And I missed this, but the bubblers were also, uh, I think it was the class of 2013 that donated. Yeah, it was a while ago. They’re just getting outdated. Yeah. Um, the wine cafeteria, the, it’s like a refrigerator and it’s not, it doesn’t cool anymore. So that one’s completely outdated. Okay.

51:22 Um, we’re gonna reimburse the facilities department for the cost of the bubbles. Perfect. Great. Perfect. Thank you. Um, and then the current banner that a previous class fundraised in purchased, if that’s still in working order, will that still stay? Because I wanna make sure that, I wanna make sure That stays up Perfect. I just wanna make sure as each class really works to Yes. No, I wanna make sure I totally agree with you. I think we can find a new spot in the high school for our banner to go when it’s not being used for graduation, but that, I definitely think the new banner. Perfect. The old banner should stay up. Perfect. Thank you. It’s, It is still Good. It’s, yeah, each Class works really hard to, it was My daughter’s class that donated in, they actually it for their fifth and, um, reunion. So you can also come back and go, go to the Gary five for your fifth reunion. Hang. Should stay up. Um, Yeah. And it’s just going eight, like I’m taking it up

52:08 and down the hanging it in the wind. That’s kind of where the thought behind you. Right? So then do we need, um, yeah, I need a motion. My Head, um, we need a motion to approve the donation in the amount of, I have $6,969 and 44 cents. Correct. So moved. So moved by Sarah, do I have a second? Second, second, right. Uh, I say, Brian, I’m gonna do a roll call. Alison Taylor in favor? Brian Oda in favor, Sarah Fox. In favor, Judge Schaffner in favor, four to zero. Thank you, Joe. Thank you. Presenting to the, um, class and the other officers. We Appreciate it. Thank you. We, um, look forward to presenting at graduation, so, yay. I appreciate it. Yeah, you’ll have it in time, right? You’ll have, yeah. Yeah. So everything will be, the banner will be here in time, and then we’re hoping now that it’s approved that No, let’s cross our fingers that it can be outside. I know It’s Fingers crossed.

52:55 Yeah. Alright. Thank you. Thank you, Gary. Have a good rest of the year, Dar. Thank you. Okay. Uh, back to district updates. Superintendent du Thank you Adam Chairwoman. Um, so I’ll just go through my, my updates. I have several, I’ll try to get through ‘em quickly. I’m mindful of time. But, um, April’s a busy month as we head into the spring and all the, all the end of the school year activities. Um, what’s this? Um, I want to acknowledge again, acknowledge, uh, and wish happy, uh, folks a happy Passover and also share well wishes for a happy Easter season. Um, we were unfortunately, um, unfortunately informed this week that our longtime middle school principal, Matt Fox, has been named as the finalist for a principal at West Middle School in Andover. We anticipate that this will come to fruition, so I will, I think it’s safe to say that our educational community will

53:42 miss him and wholeheartedly thank him for his many years of service and for the stability he has provided to so many students and families in Marblehead Public Schools. Congrat, congratulations on the pending move and best wishes in your new Endeavor map. Um, so that’s, that’s, that’s gonna be a big loss for, uh, for the district. Uh, we’re working on, you know, hosting and we’ll go through establish a committee, et cetera. Um, Matt’s been really, um, good about informing me of all the steps in the process the whole way through, so I wholeheartedly appreciate that, um, working with the receiving superintendent, um, on the transition. So I just wanted to share that with the community at large. Uh, Julia Ferrera, with the support of the PTO PCOS brought project reboot to our district. I was able to attend the parent presentation and was wholly impressed with the data shared and the perspectives regarding usage of devices.

54:29 There were middle and high school student presentations as well, and I’m hopeful that this opportunity will spark ongoing and meaningful dialogue at both home and in schools regarding safe tech usage. So, thank you once again to Julia and our awesome PTOs PCOS for the support. Um, Ella mentioned, uh, Hades Town. The Teen Edition ran this past weekend. By all accounts, it was arousing success and a great final show for our senior students. I was unfortunately unable to attend, but we had many administrators and staff hopefully went, um, they went through the, throughout the weekend and all the feedback has been great. So, uh, that’s awesome to see and hear. Um, Ella gave a, uh, a good athletics update and we’re excited about the, um, prospects for solid seasons. I did wanna share that our un um, unified track has had three, um, meet so far. One was away and two were at home. I was, I was excited that I was able to attend, uh,

55:15 the contest against Salem last week and was proud of our athletes and the inclusivity that is, uh, such a huge part of all the unified sports. So I I love that. And, um, there was a ton of kids. Um, I’m from both teams over at Village, uh, field. It was great to see, um, a lot of this is about me tonight, but it’s about sharing students stuff, but I just wanna share, I was excited to be able to judge in Kelly Delaney’s culinary arts chopped Challenge last Friday at the high school. The teams of students produce world class dishes from their baskets containing secret ingredients. They had 30 minutes to create, cook, and execute their dishes for the panel of judges. I, I was, uh, a panelists for three other students. Um, I neglected to write down all the names, so I apologize. But it was really cool. It was four of us. Um, and having, uh, been a previous restaurant owner

56:01 and operator, I was very impressed by the skills and was full after sampling all the creations. So thanks to all the aspiring chefs, it was really cool. It was a really, really good, um, time. I was, I was thankful to be able to, to do that. Thank you to, uh, Mr. Laney and all the kids. Uh, last week was kindergarten orientation for parents. I was able to get over the Brown School to see Mary Maxfield welcome the parents of the class of 2038. That’s crazy. Oh, uh, I was so impressed with her presentation, which was clear, concise, and contained all the pertinent information needed for a smooth transition into our school system. Glover School held their orientation at the same time. I couldn’t split myself, so I am, I apologize to Frank, but, um, I did speak with, uh, principal Kowski afterwards when I went to the project reboot. Um, and he indicated that everything went well there. So that, that was great. I think we’re in a good place

56:47 with kindergarten orientation. Um, Monday I was able to get over to Brown again for another kindergarten re related event. Sorry. It was really, it’s been really busy this spring. Um, this one featured all of our kinders, uh, performing outside in the area next to the playground. I was like, the one and only sunny day, um, up until then in like two weeks was perfect. Uh, it was a beautiful, um, it was the highlight of my week and great job by Eileen Damour, who was actually battling an illness but hung in there for the kids. She, she was really struggling, but she did a great job. Yeah, I, yeah. Um, but, uh, it was, you know, over a hundred kindergartners and she had ‘em all singing. It was, it was really cool. Great. Great. Um, on Tuesday, April 15th, third grade parents and Guardians were welcome to the Village School to learn about all the awesome things that will be happening as their rising fourth graders transition next year. Go Ducks. Um, late this morning, the seventh graders, uh, from Dr.

57:32 Judkins and Mr. Shaman’s class held poems at the pack, uh, which featured original and moving poetry by, um, Adeline Hamilton, VVI Gable, Wilmer Bay Bayes, I believe Brooke Griffin, fenda Walsh Hudson, Allen Beat, Mary Mave, corgi, Fiona Anderson, and Morgan Patterson. The students did a great job resetting their poems for their peers, staff, parents, and grandparents. It was a great break in the middle of a busy day, and I, it was, I was, it was, uh, great to listen to some very talented and poets Dr. Judson and Mr. Schaffner. Were, were home’s pretty good too. Yeah, they, they kicked it off, but the, the kids were amazing. Um, so that was great. And finally, next Tuesday is Earth Day. This is a great time to reflect on ways we can help protect our resources, keep our earth clean.

58:18 I know there are activities happening throughout the schools in the town, but one I’d like to highlight is the Village School Service Project, where classes go out and clean around the, uh, areas around the school and neighborhoods to help keep Marblehead beautiful, while calling attention to the importance of being green. The service project is, uh, causally linked to state standards Grade four, earth Science in Earth and Earth and space science. Grade five, physical science, grade life science, uh, life grade six, life science, as well as cross-curricular connections to environmental literacy, civic engagement, and social responsibility. Thanks to our point point people. Annie Madden, grade four, Christine Groe, grade five, and anatomy bli, grade six for the coordination and efforts. Thank you Madam Chairwoman. Thank you. Thank you. District updates. Can I? Yep. Um, so when you talked about for the track meet that you and know the phrase is the name of it, um, unified.

59:05 The Unified, yeah. Um, last year when we had a chance to come down and see your, your then home district. Yes. They were having the unified games. Yeah. And it really was an amazing experience to see an entire school community come around and support and truly, truly have, you know, an inclusive environment. Um, and that was, that’s one of the things that I would be so excited. I know it’s been a super crazy year. We have another year with, you know, some funding challenges, but as we move forward and you develop, um, your next strategic plan, I would love if we can expand the unified, um, games, if you will, if you would call it. ‘cause I, it was, it was such an amazing program and I think that, you know, we should be embracing that.

59:54 I say, you know, and I thank you for mentioning that. Um, we were actually the, one of the first, um, towns in all of Massachusetts were fully unified, um, when I was in Swansea. So I was very proud of that. It takes a lot of work to, to get there. And it really has to do with not just unified sports or athletics at the middle school and high school. It has to do with establishing, and there’s criteria that’s through Special Olympics that meet, they might Explain, sort of, people might not know Yeah. What unified sports are. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Sorry. My special ed background, I always, I just think everybody knows. So, unified sports is where, you know, students, some that are differently abled are, are paired up with, um, typically developing students. And, you know, uh, there’s unified, you know, basketball, volleyball, uh, bocce, um, track and field, a bunch of different, um, um, athletics. And, uh, we partner, partner the typically developing students with the kids that need some extra assistance.

1:00:41 And, uh, they, they play, they play games against other districts. Um, uh, just like you would, uh, typical athletics. Um, you know, there’s generally less, less contests and less practices, but it’s still, uh, affords them the opportunity to participate in, in sports where they may not otherwise be able to do that. And it takes a lot of coordination, a lot of effort. ‘cause you need the staff that’s willing to do it. You need the typically developing students that are willing to be the partners, the peer partners. Um, but it’s really cool when it comes together. And there’s a bunch of different ways to be unified. It’s not just athletics, it’s different activities within the schools. I think when you came down, it was the three to five school, and they were doing like little, like a mini Olympics thing outside of there, like doing balanced beams and, uh, you know, all sorts of cool activities. And they all got medals, and it was really neat. And, um, you know, there’s very specific criteria from Special Olympics that,

1:01:27 that you have to meet to be able to be a unified school, and then the unified district. So it’s definitely something on the docket. I don’t, Lisa Marie’s like, please don’t gimme anything else to do. But I think, I think as Well, you, I go throwing this on you. Sorry. As, as we move forward. Okay. Happy to do it. And, you know, um, you know, I think that’s something that’s definitely would be, um, my druthers, and I’m sure Lisa Marie would agree that it’d be great to have here in Marblehead. So, I mean, I truly, it, it, a lot of times when we talk about some of these ways to, to bring more inclusivity and equity, it sometimes starts to present itself almost like a little bit of tokenism, if you will. Thi this, this truly felt like equity to me, watching these kids, watching parents come, community members.

1:02:13 I think there are some police officers there. Um, every single child in that school was cheering on. Everyone. It, it was beautiful. And I would just, I would love to see us move closer to that. So That wasn’t even staged for you guys either. That was just another Day. It was, it was amazing. Yeah. Yeah, It was great. It was great. Awesome. Thank you. All right. Um, I’m gonna move on to our schedule of bills. Um, I am looking for a motion to approve the schedule of bills for $958,360 and 52 cents. So moved by Sarah. Uh, do I have a second? Second, Second. Ioda. All right. I’m gonna do a roll call. Uh, Allison Taylor In favor.

1:02:59 Aota in favor, Sarah Fox. In favor, Jen Schaffner in favor. Four to zero. Thank you. Okay, I’m gonna move on to our school committee communication and discussion items. Uh, the first thing we have on our, um, school committee communication discussion items is we have a representative, um, from Power Up, who is the founder and the cohos going here. Oh, wait. Oh, wait, she was on Megan. Megan.

1:03:29 Oh, she’s the cohost. She’s the, Alright, Gimme one second. Gimme one Second.

1:03:41 I’m gonna mute, mute, Jen. There you go. Sorry about that. It’s my laptop. Apologize. Um, We can’t hear you guys. I just stopped that twice for some reason. Um, This one, we wanna, the one that says school committee. We wanna unmute. There we go. We should be okay. Can you hear us now, Allison? Me being tech savvy, it only took two years, Right? Right. Megan Sweeney, are you there? I, I am. Hi. I just saw her. All right, we can hear you. You, you’re a little echoy. Jen. Jen, Yeah. Hang on one second.

1:04:24 Gimme One second.

1:04:28 I’m muted. Who needs to be muted? Did you want me to share screen or are you gonna present over there? What are we, what do you Want me to do? Um, just gimme one second. Are we still Oh, no, we’re good. Okay. Um, Frank, are you all set? I’m all set. Okay. So, no, we’re gonna have, we have your slide deck, so we’re gonna pull that up right now on the screen, and as soon as you see that, if you want to, And I’ll just, should I just yell, Frank, should I just yell at you and say change slides? Yeah. Yes, that would be fine. He can definitely do that. And he can hear you. So this is gonna be a presentation, and then, um, there’s an ask here in regards to, uh, proclamation that, uh, Megan’s presenting to us tonight that she’s asked us to consider. Um, we are the third board in town to be considering it this month. Go ahead, Megan. Welcome. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Um, hello everybody. Uh, I am Megan Sweeney, and as Jen said, I am the founder of Power Up.

1:05:16 Thank you very much for letting me speak. And yes, this is the third time, um, this topic has been presented, which is a difficult topic, but I think it’s important that we have these conversations. So thank you very much, um, with that regard, I tried to be careful with language use in, um, in the presentation, but for us who are survivors, I know sometimes things can be triggering, but I, I just wanted to throw that, that throw that out there before I began. All right. So, again, Megan Sweeney tonight, here’s a little bit of the agenda. Um, I’d like to talk to you a little bit about how we got here and the foundation we’ve set. Um, talk about some potential next steps, as Jen mentioned, and how we can deepen our impact, um, from a community, uh,

1:06:02 a community level, which I think is really important. Frank, when you’re ready. All set, Megan. Thank you. Um, so in October, 2023, we had our first conversation. We hosted, um, an event, just a, an informal gathering with faith leaders, activists, survivors, healers, elected officials, law enforcement, and subject matter experts. I think for those of us who were there, it was a very powerful evening and, um, a great start to this journey to where we are tonight. And the months that followed, we spent, um, time educating, inviting and creating empathy around gender violence and the unique needs of girls and women. There was some discomfort and it was palpable, but we kept pushing because connections were being made,

1:06:50 and discomfort means growth.

1:06:55 I’m 37 years into my healing journey. Oops. Sorry, Frank, go back. I, sorry, I needed a second. Um, I’m 37 years into my healing journey, um, after assault. And, um, for me and for many others, the pain is at a cellular levels. It’s tonight, for instance, I, I’m not sure why, but tonight is, is a little difficult for me. So I, I apologize if I’m not, um, fluid or if I pause pretending.

1:07:26 Alright, lemme try again. I, I, I know that it’s difficult to hear, and I, it shouldn’t be necessary for me or anybody to share our most intimate pain, um, for others in order to make you care, to make you listen, or to make you act. But I’m willing to do so if it means breaking the cycle. Pretending Marblehead or any place is somehow magically immune to gender violence is perpetuating harm. We all know a survivor. We all know an abuser. Silence around the violence compounds, the pain deepens our isolation silences our voices, increases the likelihood for and self-destructive behaviors. Alternatively, as abusers are abusers live on succeed,

1:08:13 register to vote campaign without the fear of publicizing an address and maybe even has a public space named for him. Silence and pretending amplify harm,

1:08:28 like this one’s leads to healing mixed French.

1:08:35 Oh, other way? No, this is, Oh, no, we’re good. Oh, sorry, sorry, Sorry. The, the select board heard us, the Board of Health heard us, and together with the Marblehead Police Department, we have denounced violence through formal proclamation, which you will reviewing and hopefully voting on, um, positively tonight, and affirming that April is sexual assault month. We are also just as a, a, a seed planter. We are gonna come back in October and talk about domestic violence, but we’re gonna wait a little bit longer for that. Andrew Petty, the health director, has set up resources outside of his office in Mary Alley building. So you can quietly look at whatever resources you need and grab a pamphlet if you need help.

1:09:21 And together, he and I will hopefully be able to talk about a Safe Bars initiatives for next. We have supported the State House with both Representative Armini and Senator Creighton. We have the Essex County Commission on the status of women who wrote a formal letter of endorsement of this Proclamation Hawk and Jane Doe, who’s the state level for both sexual and domestic violence, and many others have expressed support. We have Chief Dennis and Detective Gay collaborating to create a campaign on how to educate and empower our community. We have met with a district attorney who made himself accessible, and we talked together about how maybe his victims’, uh, services unit could possibly help us at, at a community level. All of this was presented, and the select board was very appreciated.

1:10:07 Um, for the work that was done, the conversations that were started, and for the proposals that we made together, we, we will continue to listen, learn, and adjust. We shared a lot, and we learned a lot. For example, in the preparation, uh, I learned that there is not one affinity group dedicated to gender equality or gender violence anywhere in the board structure, or excuse me, in the town structure. And similar to the Covid health disaster that we all experienced a few years ago, climate disasters make us especially vulnerable to violence. While I, at the same time restricting our access to the resources that we need for the school community, I see an opportunity to build off what you’ve already created. When you’re ready, Frank,

1:10:58 There is already a gender equity platform in place thanks to this board, and I’m very appreciative of that. You’ve, by establishing menstrual equity, or excuse me, establishing menstrual equity is addressed by providing free menstrual products in the schools. That is amazing. Thank you very much. Removing the shame and blame narrative is addressed by hosting these type of conversations as they challenge the misplaced shame assigned to girls and women’s bodies and functions, and even gender violence challenges the s**t rumors and rejects obje objectification in favor of our shared humanity by signing on. Additionally, just in case people don’t know. Additionally, by signing on to support the I AM Registration, this school committee is modeling

1:11:44 how local leaders can influence State House priorities around gender equity Raising. Awareness of sexual assault is boosted by hosting the YWCA every year to teach consent in the schools. All of these contribute to empowering our young girls, reducing harm, and creating space for conversations around causes of violence and the need for equity. Let’s take the next steps. When you’re ready, Frank, with the, with this amazing foundation that we have created, I invite us to dig a little bit deeper and to deepen our impact. As a result, consider the YWCA programming on a more regular basis, not just second semester of your senior year.

1:12:31 And why is that? Because the dozen or so Marblehead high school survivors that I’ve spoken to said they had already been assaulted at least once by the time the senior program came about. Let’s make that happen earlier. And more timely. Let’s create an opportunity for a tabling event during lunchtime where students take the accountability pledge. Uh, the new New York schools, as well as St. John’s Prep, does, does something similar where the students invite their peers to sign a pledge saying that they will denounce violence, learn more about it, and hold themselves and their peers accountable. It’s very powerful way to bring men and boys into the conversation.

1:13:12 Consider including, uh, a gender awareness workshops in your professional development plans. And this one I’m a little bit passionate about, so forgive me, but how about we sponsor a feminist student organization or some set of affinity group for discussion, community outreach and educational programming on gender equality. Let’s create a space where next generation leaders are free and encouraged to challenge any narrative, which tells ‘em they are too loud, too strong, too much, too weak, too emotional, or to blame for the violence exacted upon them. Invite them to consider gendered norms, hierarchies of power, intersections of oppression, as well as egalitarian and relational based cultures. We could plant the seeds for gender equality and violence free communities to be the norm.

1:13:59 And we could start with this next generation for no one should have to disclose their personal trauma in public like this to make people care and take action. I thank you so much for this opportunity. I think that this is a, a, a, a great sort of deepening to use the same words I used in our presentation, just a deepening of what we’ve already set, already put in motion. I just think we can go one step further. And I thank you so much,

1:14:30 You so much. Any, Um, comments or questions for, um, Ms. Sweeney? I just wanna thank you for all the work you’ve done in this. I think, I feel like it was, you know, over a year ago, maybe closer to two years ago, where we, you had that first meeting and there was quite a large group that was there, and some really wonderful conversations that ensued and how we could bring this forward as a town. And, and you’ve kept with it. You’ve done this work, you’re a huge advocate for Hawk and it’s, it’s so impactful and empowering. So I do appreciate that. One question I had, I don’t know if this is a Julia or a John conversation. Um, it was probably about five or six years ago. We had, um, one of our school school psychologists write a grant through Friends of the Marblehead Public Schools,

1:15:15 Amanda Kerby. She, at the time was at Glover. She’s no longer with the district. She wrote a friend’s grant and brought in a speaker. She did a portion of professional development for the staff, but then was able, much like, um, the one that we had last week in technology, spoke to parents at night, and it was about how to identify victims of sexual violence and what, it was very moving. It was a very, very hard talk to, to sit through, quite frankly. It was a little terrifying, but it was true and it needed to be heard. Um, so I would, I, I know we’ve had a lot of new people in and out and I think, you know, it’s not something that we ne we would ever need to do every year,

1:16:01 but, um, I, I think it’s been a long enough that if we could potentially look at, at, um, doing that again or something like that again, um, I can put you in touch with, um, I’m happy to connect you with Amanda, and I know she still has all, she’s no longer with the district, but she worked very hard at that. This was going back many years. Maryanne was still here to get this able to come in. Um, and I think it was great for parents to see what, what things to look for, what, but it’s also really important for our staff. ‘cause you know, they spend so much time with our students. You know, what, what are some things that can help identify students that may have been, um, in these situations and then get them some help.

1:16:47 So if we can take this to the next step and, and look at some type of professional development for that, that then we bring to the community, I think it would, um, put more action to this proclamation. I hope that we will endorse. Okay. Charlie, did you Comment on that? No, I think, um, I, I, I agree with Sarah and, um, you know, thank you for the presentation. I think it’s important. I think it’s a, it’s a situation that we don’t talk about until something happens. And that’s always a bad thing, right? I am all about trying to be proactive versus reactive. And I think the more we can have the conversations and have the difficult conversations, um, I love the thought of bringing the boys into the conversation, um, and how we do that. I’ve seen that. I want to say my son’s school did that when he was in high school or something similar.

1:17:34 And it’s pretty impactful. ‘cause I think, you know, we have to address those things. So, you know, Julia and I can talk some more about the PD and what that would look like and when, and the timing and all that stuff. I do also agree that the YWCA doing that in the senior year is probably a little too late. Um, so we can look at that timing as well. Um, it’s just a matter of when it makes sense. And I would look to, you know, so that experts in that, uh, you know, what, what, what grade level does that make truly make sense in Just like a lot of other things. We address things a little bit too late. And like the technology piece, a lot of times it’s a little bit too late. The vaping piece is a little too late. I think, uh, it’s always good to understand that we have to start these things earlier. So, Allison, you had your hand up. Yeah, I, I just wanna say I’m really proud of this Megan

1:18:22 and of you for doing this. I know the courage that it takes to talk about this kind of stuff, um, particularly if there’s any personal, you know, reference to it. And as a survivor, I fully support this. I’m really proud of the other committees in town and groups in town that have already, um, supported this for you. And I’m really excited for us to do that too. Thank you. I just wanna know, although Hopefully it’s the will of the committee, sorry, just to be, I think it’s important to note too, that for someone, although quotes me statistically, females are mu do suffer at a much higher rate. It does. Being a male does not preclude you from having this horrible experience. And as we saw, you know, several years back, particularly in one of our, um, affiliations with a particular youth board, you know, it it was our,

1:19:11 our male students, um, that, that, you know, had this experience. So I just wanna make sure that to, to Megan’s point, your, your gender shouldn’t minimize this. And, and so I just wanted to make sure that we’re acknowledging this is not something that happens just to one or the other. Yeah, no, that’s a really good point. And thank you. And again, thank you Megan, uh, for coming tonight and sharing this with us. And I do also thank the other boards in town. And I think as a school personally, I feel when Megan came and asked me about this, um, to have it on the agenda, you know, it’s not lost on me that we are, um, our committee is, you know, responsible for or, or works with, you know, children that are even vulnerable, um, versus, you know, adults.

1:19:57 I mean, everyone can be, can be vulnerable, but we also have children. And I think what we’ve seen particularly recently in the media, even today, there was a student, I don’t know if anyone’s seen this, I’m not gonna use the name, but it was a former student here in town who has come forward. She worked with our state representative and our state senator to get legislation passed around this who had, was a victim of, um, sexual abuse and violence from a physician. And we also have had a recent case, which, um, was dismissed, but it was an, uh, from decades ago, um, with an adult perpetrator, um, to children in Marblehead, um, again, decades ago. Um, but this is, you know, obviously this is, this is real. Um, and we’re not immune from it. We’re not immune. And you know, the old saying that when you, you know, know, know better you, when you know better, you do better.

1:20:45 Um, so again, thank you Megan. And what Megan provided us was a proclamation that the select board, um, read into the record and did vote, um, in the case select board approved as well as the Board of Health. Um, did it as well. I took the, the select board one. I made a couple of changes, um, to make it more, I think, more appropriate for the, um, school committee, um, particularly in terms of what our purview and scope is and, and, and, and also the verbiage. So I am gonna read this into the record, and I will ask for a motion to approve this proclamation. So, um, going to read the Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April, 2025. Whereas sexual violence is a pervasive issue that affects individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and communities with lasting and profound effects on survivors, families

1:21:30 and society as a whole. And whereas the month of April is nationally recognized as sexual assault awareness month, a time to raise awareness, educate communities, and promote prevention efforts to end sexual violence. And whereas according to national statistics, one in three women and one in six men experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, highlighting the urgent need for awareness, support, and action. And whereas organizations such as Hawk Healing Abuse, working for Change, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and local crisis centers provide vital services, advocacy, and education to support survivors and prevent future incidents. And whereas every member of our community can play a role in preventing sexual violence by promoting a culture of respect, consent, and safety, and by standing in solidarity with survivors.

1:22:17 And whereas the town of Marblehead joins advocates, survivors, and organizations across the nation in recognizing the importance of sexual assault awareness month and reaffirms its commitment to supporting survivors and working toward a future free from sexual violence. Now, therefore, we, the Marblehead School Committee do hereby proclaim April, 2025 is sexual Assault Awareness Month in Marblehead Public Schools, and encourage all residents to participate in activities, educational programs and initiatives that raise awareness and foster a community dedicated to ending sexual violence in witness thereof. We have unto set our hand on this day, and then we would sign that. So that’s the proclamation, um, that I read into the record. I’m asking for a motion to approve this, uh, proclamation. So moved. So moved by Sarah. And a second,

1:23:03 Second, Second. And we’ll give it, I’m gonna give it to both of you. How’s that? Um, I’m gonna call for a vote. Brian Oda in favor? Sarah Fox In Favor? Allison Taylor In favor. And Jen Schaffner in favor, pass four to zero. Thank you. Can I just ask a question and we will sign this, um, hard copy, Megan. We’ll have a signature, we’ll have it in, and we’ll have it into the record. I’ll share it with the press, um, whatever else you need us to do. Oh, no, that’s great. And if anybody has any questions too, about, ‘cause we did, I know, um, we talked to the YWCA and we’ve talked about anybody that needs a follow up. I, I just didn’t wanna take up more time in your meeting, just, Jen’s got my contact information, So I’ll follow up with you and the superintendent and the assistant superintendent on some, and also probably the high school principal

1:23:49 and the, um, current and soon to be, um, possibly new middle school principal probably makes sense too. So I’ll follow up for sure on that. Okay, great. On some of those things. Oh, and the pledge, that was the other thing I forgot to give you. So I’ll do that as well, just to give you a template of what others have done. The accountability pledge. Yes, thank you. So I’ll send that to you. Thank you. Appreciate that all guys. Thank you very much. You made my, my, my heart, so thank you, Megan. Best wishes for good. I, I would ask that we include this in our, um, newsletter and when we include it, can we also include a link? Um, I think maybe reach out to Megan and find out which one is the best. I’m, I’m thinking maybe that link and haw for resources and just have a a, an easy clickable link. ‘cause you know, for someone who may have had, um, one of these terrible experiences who is reading about it

1:24:36 and not yet engaged in, in outreach for help Yep. Reading it, if it’s right there, they may, they may click and good point. I’ll absolutely do that. Okay, great. Thank you everyone. Appreciate that. Um, okay, moving on in our agenda, I’m gonna move to the, uh, proposed policy IMDB, the flag policy flag banner policy, um, which is down here as our second reading. Um, so I’m going to read this into the record. Now, I will say there were, there was an error in my not removing it, so I’m going to read it as it is, and then we’ll, no, I will not read. No, we already took a vote and a motion to strike and similar symbolic displays. Okay. So since that was moved,

1:25:21 it would take a motion to overrule that. Okay. So I’ll read it without that. But the other two items that I’d, that were, yeah, you record, I Have you captured the other ones. Okay. So you should yeah, read it to reflect the motion. Okay. So I, yes, I would be to reflect the motion. So we have policy, I am DB policy regarding display of flags and banners. The Marblehead School Committee, as the governing and policymaking body of the Marblehead public schools, has the sole authority to determine the flags and banners, uh, affixed on school district property reflect the mission, vision, and values of the school district and constitute the school district’s government speech. The committee has therefore adopted this policy, which is subject to the following rules. One flags that have official legal status, the US United States flag, the Massachusetts State flag, and the P-O-W-M-I-A flag. MIA flag shall be displayed on school property.

1:26:08 Two in addition, flags and banners that reflect the school district’s mission. Vision and values shall be displayed at such times and locations on school district property as determined by the school committee, um, the superintendent acting in their sole discretion and pursuant to their responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the school district. And its schools may recommend to the committee that it a, a adopt a flag, um, banner display as a school district’s government speech. And three, the Marblehead School Committee will not accept any third party requests. So, um, just for a point of clarification to the young man who spoke earlier, and I, I applaud him. It’s not easy to come as a student. And I think, um, he left. I think he’s at practice. Um, and I absolutely love when we see students putting into work, um, their civic obligation

1:26:54 to get involved and to speak up. And I, and I think that’s great. Um, so I, but to that point, artwork in all things like that, in the displays he was talking about, would not at all be affected by this. Um, it, it truly is flags in banners of permanently affixed. Um, so those rotating displays for art class would not at all be touched by this. Um, and then as far, I, I just wanna be clear too that our attorneys are drafting this. Um, we are not members of the bar. We are not practicing attorneys. We are not pretending to be attorneys. Um, so we, we rely on our legal counsel to produce documents to us

1:27:42 that are within the confines of the law. Um, so as members of the bar and as our counsel, if we were to act against a recommendation of counsel, we would be calling into question our indemnification. We’ve seen this in other legal avenues that have come through the town in the last few months where we, you know, our indemnification has not stood up because there’s documentation from legal counsel saying, do this, don’t do this. And the parties went the other way. So that’s, you know, where I stand on this. Um, but I, it was very important to me to take,

1:28:28 make sure it set a fixed so we clear up any ambiguity there. And that symbolic displays p be taken out as far as, um, not accepting any third party requests. That was to comply my understanding as the brief that was given to us to comply with the shirt lift case. Um, because, and again, this is just referencing the brief that was given to us. Um, if, if it is, then it would not be our government speech, it would be the free speech of the third party. And then we get into all means all or none means none. I, purpose, purpose personally do not like the all means all. None means none. Um, I think there needs to be a mechanism and that’s why I was very happy

1:29:14 to see this go through the superintendent. He is our agent for, for recommending what is academically appropriate and appropriate to our student body. Um, I trust him. If I didn’t, I, I, you know, would vote accordingly. Um, but I trust him and, um, I would think any superintendent that the school committee is employing, we would need to ha we would need to have faith in that. They would be bringing us recommendations that they feel are appropriate. So that’s where I’m on this.

1:29:49 Anything else? Um, Allison, I, yeah. Um, a couple, uh, couple things. Um, it is the, the school committee’s one Of our three responsibilities to create policy and it is the administration’s responsibility to operate, operationalize them. We don’t talk about that opera operationalization. Yeah. Does that work? We don’t talk about that with them. We don’t give them guidance on that. They determine how to operationalize policies, whether it’s this one or any of the other ones that, that we have out there. ‘cause there are certainly plenty of them. Um, a couple things that I was thinking would be really good to be more, to make it abundantly more clear. ‘cause again, we keep hearing the same kind of misconstruing, um, responses, um,

1:30:37 which are disheartening from the audience. So one thing is, and I think Sarah, you had brought this up last time, and we kind of agreed not to include any language like this simply because it was part of operationalizing. But since that is something that we are just constantly being told, you’re, you know, you’re not gonna allow our artwork or the flags for the fun run or what they wear in their t-shirt or what they cover their book with. Um, I think we, and I, we might be towing the line here, but my personal thought is that we should make it very clear in this policy that we are talking about things that are permanently affixed to the walls that have a, a political or activist type of relation. We’re not talking, and I, and I explicitly mean using these words, not just assuming

1:31:25 that because we use the word affixed, people are gonna understand that’s what it means because it’s, it’s clear that’s, that is not enough. Uh, so putting verbiage in there, and I’m just spitballing, so bear with me. Um, this policy does not apply to sports banners, graduation banners, student artwork, personal attire, locker decorations, notebook covers, or any personal items that a student may bring to class or use or, or during transportation to and from school. I’m thinking someone had mentioned bumper stickers on a car, maybe a sticker on a bike. Um, I think we were also really clear. So something like that I would like to have added because I do think that it needs to be that explicit. Um, we also, it is, it is legal for us to kind of, I just, again, trying to address some of the things

1:32:11 that continue to be said at our meetings. We are allowed to modify in our readings. We are allowed to modify. That is how the process works. That’s how all policies are, are done and read through their readings. Um, I also think something along the lines of, you know, that, that we do allow, because we were very clear about this in our last meeting, but, um, I’m not sure if people were still on by the time we got to our discussion point. Um, that, that positive affirmations such as, everyone is welcome here, we’re happy you’re here. I think Mary McCarson made us, um, a, a doormat, um, that said that, or put a doormat outside those type of, you know, positive affirmations would, would not be removed.

1:32:57 We’re not gonna remove the no food in the library sign. Um, please can we, those are every week I sit here and eat in front of it. Those are, those are things that I think we need to, to explicitly call out. Um, in addition, I wanna thank, um, Cindy Schieffer for her email. She had emailed about us about, uh, a, a policy in another town where they are, they have put in their policy that they are going to rec federally recognized heritage months and they’re going to, during those months, hang those flags. Um, and I think that that would be a wonderful addition. Again, I understand some may think that that’s, uh, part of operationalizing it.

1:33:44 I think that we are, I think it is in our purview to be able to be as explicit as possible here. Again, to make sure that folks understand in our community this isn’t a flag ban. Um, you know, people use words and that tends to set out a narrative. And when the wrong words are used, it, it sets the wrong narrative. This isn’t a ban, this is a policy that we unfortunately have to create. None of us wants to be in this position that can assure you. Um, so things like African American History month in February, women’s history month in March, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May. Uh, L-G-B-T-Q Pride month in June, Hispanic Hispanic Heritage Month, which actually spans from September, the middle of September to the middle of October. Um, and then Native American Heritage Month, which is in October.

1:34:30 Being able to fly a banner to support those federally recognized, um, months, I think would be a wonderful addition, um, to this policy. And I don’t, and I would like to have it written in there rather than expect it to come from op operationalization. Those are my two three ads. Did you write, I didn’t copy down for this, but you have it written What year doesn’t apply To Yeah, I can send it to you. Um, one other thing that came up in public comment, ‘cause again, we try to, we try to respond or touch on the questions asked in public comment during the appropriate part in the business meeting. Um, one of the things that was asked about was what about if people are not complying like any

1:35:17 of our policies? It is the superintendent who operationalizes that. I’ll give you the example of we have a policy about no, um, alcohol use and things like that. And if a student does that, that never comes for the school committee. The superintendent, our administrators handle that. Operationalize it. Take whatever action is appropriate. They don’t notify us. They’ve taken action. We don’t know who’s involved, nor should we, that is operational. They take care of it and we trust they don’t. Now, if something, if they took care of something and it wasn’t in, in accordance people, we do have a policy ke which is will be permanently emblazoned on my brain that talks about, um, chain of command. There is a mechanism for people to follow a chain of command

1:36:05 and bring a complaint to us. In my time here, it’s only been used once. Um, but to, to that point, once we make a policy, we do not, it goes to the superintendent to, to implement. And he does that through his administration as is appropriate.

1:36:26 I, uh, are There any thoughts on my two suggestions or ads? Like for discussion, Brian? I tend to support what Allison had said earlier. I think what goes on the walls effects to the walls in the public space, like the cafeteria sports banners, all the school banners, whatever happens within the school. I also think though that a lot of people brought up this idea that we’re gonna ban shirts, backpacks, that’s never been part of my look. I mean, it, that’s, I think the perfect place for people to express their opinion as long as it doesn’t interfere with the smooth operation of school. I think that’s in your handbooks actually. It says you can’t wear a shirt that’s offensive, blah, blah, blah, blah.

1:37:12 So I think if we can put language like that in there that Allison has suggest that I’m comfortable with it, you know, I think that that would take a lot of the hyperbole out of the system about what we’re trying to do. And my understanding it also that is that, that they, they have the legal right to wear that. I mean, that’s the whole point Yes. Of, of what they can put on their body, on their car or whatever. So no lockers on their cars. Yeah, it doesn’t matter. Um, Okay. I’m not discounting that. I just am trying to,

1:37:40 I don’t know out per people who are Trying to be even more clear because it, um, I can hear, you know, the pain, the anguish and the fear. Um, sometimes people talk about this and, and that’s, this is not what it is. Sarah, your thoughts on that? You know, I don’t, I have no problem. Um, with the language that you read, um, the, the, uh, document Cindy sent us with the, the month, I also have no problem.

1:38:11 Um, I would Email, I’m up to feedback though, John, if you have stuff. No, no, I actually, I think this is kind of what I was leaning towards last time. We were having the conversation about how we operationalize it and, you know, um, me having to make a kind of a decision to based upon information so before I bring it to the school committee. And I don’t want that to be like, how my feelings are. And that’s up to me to make sure. But I think Alison, to Alison your point, um, kind of, um, delineating some of those things a little bit more clearly is something that I think I’ve heard from a lot of people that have come up in, in front of the microphone. And maybe they didn’t say those words exactly, but I think that was the intent of some of the words are some of the, the dialogue. Um, because realistically I’ve, we’ve heard a lot about the fear of like, you know, censorship and all that and you know,

1:38:58 we’re always gonna have that part of the conversation. ‘cause someone will always feel like they’re being censored when we kind of, you know, give some clear guidance. But I think I would agree that, you know, some of that language you said, or you know, all of it, um, makes sense to put in the policy to just help delineate. It’s, it’s gonna help clarify. So. Okay. And I wanna make sure that I’m clear ‘cause I guess there’s something else circulating around about trust. It has nothing to do with me not trusting John or his administration to be able to, um, operationalize this and all that. Will, you know, all the other things that will end up coming out of, of this I’m sure. Um, I do think it’s important for his voice to be heard as well. He is our CEO as as we always say. And so, you know, and I trust that and I, I, I wanted, I think the, the public, to be honest,

1:39:46 and I wasn’t at that particular meeting because I had my son’s choral concert, but I believe that the public wants to hear your opinion at, at times as well. And I think that that’s important for them to see. And I don’t, I don’t wanna take away from that or, or for there to be any thoughts that I’m not trusting that. I just think there are some pieces that could be a little bit more explicit. I like that word. And I, and I would, and I think, and I thank you for that. ‘cause honestly, I think when I’m operationalizing things and this, there’s a little bit clearer avenue to do that. It just makes it that much, um, you know, not easier, but it makes it better to kind of follow steps and then we can point to it and say, Hey John, like, yeah, you operationalized it, but you missed this part of the policy or this part of the policy wasn’t clear. So what was your interpretation of that? I just think it lends a little bit more depth to the conversation.

1:40:32 So that’s all I’m gonna say. Sarah, if we’re going to put the language in, um, that Ms. Sheer had sent in, can I make the one request? Um, I wanna use my words very carefully ‘cause I try very hard not to get political. That’s not our role here. Um, the way it was drafted that she sent us, it said federally recognized months, like American History Month, women’s history month. Can we not write and limit it to federally because things are shifting and I don’t want, if something shifts for those pieces to be that, of course They’re no longer federally Recognized. That’s what my concern is. I don’t, I don’t want that to then preclude us from still recognizing those months

1:41:18 that have always, not always, but have traditionally been traditionally been recognized. So if we can just remove that word federally, because Yeah. We get your point. Um, a question for the, um, committee did, um, Nyla had made a comment earlier around Viewpoint, I forget what you call the neutral neutrality, neutral viewpoint neutrality. Is there any interest in that? I have a problem with it. The, the, yeah. My understanding is viewpoint neutrality is to, that’s the whole reason for the shirt lift keys. Yep. Um, so it would just, it it’s to Allison’s point where Allison has identified, we know this from this language, but we’re in it all the time. So it’s obvious to us that’s another piece that’s already embedded in all of this.

1:42:04 But it, if it’s helpful to write it that it’s, that’s, that’s fine as well. I think, I think to have it in practice is, is really the piece Yeah. To actually like write it and identify it, you know, separate. Yeah. But, um, yeah, I would agree. I mean, any, any chance you can have to kind of smooth, smooth the edges out. And I just wanna make one more comment if I can mm-hmm. About the, the, the monthly things. So I, I agree with like celebrating, you know, um, national Spanish, you know, Latino Heritage Month or whatever the month is. Um, I personally think that, that, that doesn’t negate, so if, if pride month is June, we’re hanging up, you know, pride month banner, I don’t think that means that we can’t hang or have pride, you know, other pride banners or things at other times of the year. Because what I’ve already heard is, oh,

1:42:50 so if we only hang it in June, that’s the only time that we’re cared about. And that’s, we can’t have that not narrative either. So it’s a, it’s a balance, but I think recognizing those months for how they’re recognized, um, in general is great. But it also doesn’t, in my opinion, doesn’t n negate some other areas we can, we can, um, have in an ongoing way. So I just wanna share that my, my opinion. Well, yeah, I mean it, I don’t, I, I think that, I think it’s divisive to, for anyone to think that just because we’re hanging the banner in October or in June, that we don’t celebrate at any, any of the other months. And we could even put that language in there to, you know, um, to recognize, um, whatever. I’m not sure. Let me see how,

1:43:35 just taking out that word federally,

1:43:40 Sorry, I didn’t mean to throw that. I just, I, I feel strongly Recognizing heritage months, you know, noting that these aren’t the only times of the year that we celebrate these heritages. I mean, or, you know, I don’t, I don’t, um, I think we could add that into, Okay, as my daughter comes home every year and says during Women’s History month, like why is it that we get one month a year and the other 11 months a year? Okay. Something else. All right. So, um, couple things, um, I did just wanna address, um, and I think Sarah, you did it, I think it was Jeannie that had asked earlier about the three readings. So the policy, um, or I think it’s actually a statute, it requires any policy change. Well, new policy or change in a policy has at, has at least three readings.

1:44:25 Um, and they can change each time so that the, but the final one is the one that we’ll be voted on. So I mean, it could take four or five reading whoever many means, but at least three. And the final one is the one that then is voted on. Um, the other thing that I think was asked, and again, I think Sarah, you touched on it, was this idea of procedure versus policy. And again, um, what the process is, is we set policy or we amend policies, and then it is the responsibility of the administration superintendent to set up the procedures and operationalize it. There are some policies that have specific procedures sort of written into them. One I know was the, um, library Book reconsideration. Yeah. The media resource or library book reconsideration, or I don’t even remember what it’s called.

1:45:11 Um, if there’s a question about an item in a library, there’s a specific procedure. And I remember that being, um, part and parcel to the policy. Um, but most policies do not include a procedure with it. And That was, one was very specific at the time, it was Sarah Gold and Tom Mathers on the subcommittee, and the librarians of the district actually came to them and had drafted the procedure. They, I, I feel like they worked several months. The librarians did drafting that procedure as subject matter experts and brought it forth through the, The, through the processing. And many, not all, but many of the procedures according to our policy, um, are found in our handbooks. And then the school committee approves the handbook. So it’s, this is sort of how the, you know, sausage is made in, um, not all,

1:45:58 but some, some of our policy procedures. While I understand why this is getting longer to give all those explanations, and this is a very unique situation, and so I don’t have an issue with that. Typically our policies are not very intricate and long because we want to make sure that we are giving an overarching policy and then giving latitude to our administration to, to do what is in their purview according to the Ed Reform Act. Again, I understand why we are getting more specific here. Um, and, and it’s really not changing the body, it’s just giving clarifications to, to language that we already under, you know, understand the intent of, but I, I wanna make sure moving forward we stay

1:46:43 with those very more high level policies that give our administrators the latitude that is afforded to them by National. Yeah, and the other point I wanted to make too, ‘cause I think this also came up during public comment, I can’t remember who said it was that, um, policies that we adopt or amend, um, the policy manual is a, um, living document because things change all the time. So we, we set policy, we establish policy, and we amend policy as we are advised by our, you know, by council and by our Association of school committees based on changes in statute or changes in, you know, federal or state, um, statutes. So I know I’ve given this example, when I did the policy at review back in 2018, we still had, oh, I won’t even, we had a, we had a policy that required,

1:47:30 um, students with HIV to be, have a doctor’s clearance to be able to go come to school. I mean, that was, uh, illegal, you know, but that was establ that law, that policy was established in like 1995 or something, you know, so we, you know, things change over time. Um, and, and so we, we pass policy and establish policy based on what we have currently in front of us from a legal standpoint. So, um, so what I’m gonna do is I’m going to, oh, Allison, um, if you could send me, I don’t wanna have us deliberated on offline, um, but if you could send me your writing and then, um, I’ll take Cindy, she Miss Sheefer as well. Um, and I’m gonna just, I’m just gonna send that to our council. I’m gonna, I’m gonna draft it and I’ll send it just to get sort of a, sort

1:48:16 of a final blessing that I’m not, we’re not doing something wrong and I will bring it back. Um, so that, yeah, so that’s it. That’ll be a third reading that, and that will be the third reading. And, you know, we’ll see what happens in, In our policy says we have a minimum of three readings. It doesn’t mandate us to vote after the third. If it comes back and all these revisions are in there and everyone’s happy, then you know, you may see that happen. But if we feel we’re still not fully baked, I have no problem asking and making a motion to bring it to a fourth reading. ‘cause I wanna make sure we, we get it where it needs to be. And we are, uh, superintendent Robert is able to, yeah. Yes. So, Okay, great. Anything else on that? So I will do that work offline and I’ll bring it back at the next meeting.

1:49:02 Um, okay, we’re moving on to the English language curriculum. Welcome assistant superintendent, Julia Ferrera. Thank you so much. Um, I wanna begin just giving a little context. So, um, last January, January 2nd, 2024, the Office of Teaching and Learning inherited happily inherited, um, our English Learner Education, um, program in Marblehead public schools. Um, we then had the department of elementary and secondary education visit the district on January 17th. So it was a very quick turnaround. Um, but we did, um, have the tiered focus monitoring, um, we, which was 24 or 23, 24 24, we received the, so last school year, right? So we received feedback from DESI and, um, around May of last year, year, and immediately, um, put into place, uh,

1:49:50 action steps based off the recommendations. One of their findings, um, was that the district does not consistently support an ESL, which stands for English as second language curriculum for all English proficiency levels in the high school. So as a result of that finding, we launched a curriculum review process and we, um, are here, I’m here today to share with you that now after many months, um, we’ve selected a curriculum. We are very proud of the process. Um, so I’m gonna share a little bit about that and share about the program we’ve selected. Um, so Dessi outlines four pillars, um, that they look for in English learner education programs. So the pillar we focused on was pillar three. English learners have equitable access to meaningful and rigorous learning opportunities that build on their cultural and linguistic assets and the academic, linguistic, social

1:50:36 and emotional supports they need to excel. So we were able to, um, as an English learner education department come together. We, um, we spent, as I said, many months on this. We looked at the, um, ratings from desi, we looked at the review rubrics, and, um, we’ve consulted with local districts like Beverly Public Schools as well. Um, and we are pleased to announce that we selected, uh, Houghton Mifflin Har Courts English 3D curriculum. Um, as I submitted to you in the memorandum, um, we have budgeted, uh, for this and we are seeking your approval, um, for it to be fully implemented in grade seven through 12. At the start of the next school year, the curriculum committee selected English 3D because the high quality instructional materials reflect linguist, linguistically and culturally sustainable pedagogies and leverage multilingual learners strengths.

1:51:23 English 3D supports teachers in providing a safe, respectful classroom environment in which students’ contributions in linguistic and cultural assets are valued and leveraged in teaching. The content uses strengths based positive language in recognizing that speaking a language other than English is an asset that students bring to school. So I’d like to, any questions? Happy to answer those for you. I Love that When it comes to questions, you automatically just look at me now. No. Um, so will this curriculum be develop, uh, delivered in a sub-separate classroom, or would it be delivered in the general education setting? Great question. So, um, it will be delivered in the English Learner Program classes. So, um, in grade seven through 12, those are

1:52:08 separate classes that just like a regular class they go to. Um, so this would be the curriculum that the middle school and high school ESL teacher would be implementing. Okay. And then, um, what is the PD timeline to make sure that everybody’s up to speed and ready to go with this, um, at the start of the school year next year? So, great question. We’ve already had some pd, um, through the vendor. Obviously they wanted us to buy the curriculum, but we’ve had several sessions with the vendor. Um, so the, um, teachers, both teachers were very involved in this through all of the curriculum review process. They’re very excited. They’ve even piloted lessons. And that was one of the things that we asked, um, the teachers to do before selecting the curriculum to see how the students responded. That was very important for us. So they’re very excited about that. Um, the funding we have allocated, um,

1:52:54 the quote we have from the company includes professional development as well as the materials online and the hard covered textbooks as well. And You have time in your schedule for the appropriate amount of pt? Yes. Or will we stipend people? No, it will be included within, um, so the, the pay, the fee for the professional development, we’ll pay for, and then that will be embedded through the school year, through our professional development sessions And our k um, six curriculum for this. Does this stream, is it streamlined into the seven 12 curriculum that you’re asking us to approve? So, K six is a little bit different. So with the work that we’ve done over the last few years, especially with integrating Wit and Wisdom, our K six, um, are integrating, um, lessons based off of WIT and wisdom. So it’s an aligned in that way. Um, we don’t have a curriculum that’s aligned that way seven

1:53:39 through 12, so that’s why we’re looking to implement the, this English 3D program for that. Um, it will be, it’s differentiated. So when we look at our, the goal of our ESL program is for students to exit. And by the time they’re in middle school and high school, this is gonna really help them develop those, that English proficiency they need to exit that program. So if we have a, someone that, you know, comes into our system in, in potentially, you know, in as a non-English speaking student, say in the sixth grade, they’re not gonna master that in one year. Can they flow from their curriculum the way we’re using the wit and wisdom piece in that sixth grade year and then into the seventh grade year? Is that gonna kind of feel like a, an abrupt transition? The goal is for it to not feel that way. And we do have a kind of separate, we call it newcomers.

1:54:25 So we have a separate newcomer curriculum that we use to build those foundational literacy skills. Um, regardless of when they start, we have adopted adapted for the grade level. Okay. Perfect. Thank you. Yeah, That’s, we assess and we assess the students and Absolutely find Out where they are and where they are and their ability levels and, um, focus, the, You just refresh us. How many, um, EL students do we currently have in district? We have 117 EL students in the district. Um, I wanna take a moment to thank Shelly Burns. She’s our English Learner Education Program Coordinator. Um, she receives a stipend for this work and has done a phenomenal job. And just yesterday, Shelly and I presented to the entire school district at professional development on our English learners. So, um, we are doing a lot to support the, um, instructional practices of our educators to ensure that our,

1:55:11 our LS have the access they need to the curriculum, the right to have that. Thank you very much. Mm-hmm. Brian, did you have any questions, Allison? Okay. I just had a couple quick questions. Um, so the English language does not, does that fall under Lisa Marie or now it is totally falls under Julia. Okay. That seemed to be clear. And the, and I just wanted to make sure, the, um, comment you made about the DSI finding. Was that part of the overall other DSI findings We had? Okay. So that was part of that Whole, so we, last year we had two separate, it was our special year of having two separate tiered focus monitoring from desi. So the English learner program falls under the office of language acquisition they call ola. So that group did the tiered focus monitoring assessment.

1:55:57 Um, then we did have the group from student services through, um, that special education lens came in for a separate one. They did find they do collaborate with some of that. Okay. So there were findings, which we know we’ve, we’ve made some amazing progress there and it sounds like we’ve Responded Absolutely. Um, Uh, from that as well. Yeah. This is one of the last pieces that, um, we’ve already got the clearance for about half of the findings they already found. Um, this is, they will not do this until this really goes through the school committee and is finalized that they know that we are actually going to be adopting this for next school year. Okay. Great. Thank you. Um, Is any portion of our EL program, whether it be this or other funded through federal grants, and is that something we should be concerned about? Yeah,

1:56:42 We do receive title three. So Title three is allocated for our English learners. Um, we are able to use some of that funding to stipend. Shelly, um, who oversees the program. It does a phenomenal job at that. Um, part of Shelly’s role is, uh, working with the EL teachers, sending progress reports, monitoring. She does a lot of the, um, looking at the home language survey and then screening new students. Um, she helps support with translation services and meetings and she’s just amazing. Um, so she receives a stipend through that. And then we also get to pay, um, some professional development. So our teachers that go to matl, um, it’s one of the biggest conferences for multilingual teachers. Um, and we also, I’m very proud of, we’ve done a really great job of strengthening our elpac, that’s our English Learners Parent Advisory Council.

1:57:28 So we use some funds to support those meetings. We didn’t even know we Said that It didn’t exist until we started it this year. Alright. Is that a Result of some of the findings? Yeah. And so, okay. Um, in my previous school district, I oversaw the, um, English learner department. So I was really happy to take on this and, and great really, um, grow it to where it needs to be. So we use some of the funds for our ELPAC meetings to support, like we’ll buy, um, last year we had in June a, um, ELPAC meeting where we bought, um, the summer reading books for students so they could come and have pizza and hang out and take home free summer reading books that were on the summer reading list. Um, so we do some funds for that. And then we also do some funds for additional tutoring for students that we feel that need, that extra funding, that extra support. My question is basically being prepared. ‘cause I don’t think it’s entirely farfetched to think that

1:58:17 that form of federal funding may disappear. So I just want us to be prayer prepared because the work that’s happening will still need to happen. It’s important work. Um, well, It’s not just, I mean, it’s title three. Title one is a lot of other films. Yeah. So that we’re looking ahead. Um, and I just wanna also commend you and thank you. Um, when you talk about when this this came onto your plate last May, um, when we think back, I try not to think back too much the last spring, but, um, you were drinking from a fire hose at that time and you took on yet one more thing and graciously did so. And, um, I commend you for that. And thank you because this is an important, um, part of our, our district. Um, it touches many students. And so I just wanna thank you for your work on this. Thank, thank you,

1:59:03 Sarah. I think it’s important to note 5% of our students. Yeah. And it’s important to note that many districts have, it’s a whole separate department, separate people managing and separate salary, separate everything. So I also want thank Julia for her hard work. And you know, there’s a collaboration with least Marie. ‘cause there is some over overlap because here, focus monitoring and some of the students that have special ed. So, you know, it’s, it’s all collaboration, but it’s really, um, I wasn’t here when Julia was drinking through the hot fire hose. I think it’s more of a, we’ve, it’s been down to a trickle now, I think. Thank you. But it’s, um, definitely, uh, I know she picked up a lot of that stuff, so I appreciate you recognizing that and I appreciate you for, for doing extra work. But it’s, I I, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that in, in a lot of districts, especially with that number of students, we have a whole separate department. So Is this a foreshadowing Me?

1:59:48 No, Because we’re not There. Okay. So I’m looking for a motion to approve the English 3D curriculum as the new English Learner education curriculum for grade seven through 12 in the Marvel Head public schools. So moved. Uh, Sarah, do I have a second? Second. Allison Taylor. Any discussion?

2:00:07 Okay, Brian OTA in favor. Sarah Fox In favor? Allison Taylor in favor. And Jen Schaffner in favor. Four to zero. That’s a great, so thank you Julia. Thanks for coming. Appreciate it. Okay. Um, moving on. We are, where are we? We are at the, oh, the securing dates for the superintendent evaluation workshop. I had, um, again, we don’t necessarily have to pull our calendars. I had put sub, um, put a document out for dates for the committee members to consider for the, um, process of, um, moving forward with the superintendent’s evaluation and contract negotiation. Um, I did get some feedback from Al that he’s got a couple of discrepancies. So, um, did in general, do these dates work for folks?

2:00:55 Um, Allison, did you have any discrepancies? What I’m, maybe what I’ll do is I’ll, I won’t, we don’t have to do it in the meeting. I’ll send out a doodle survey and we’ll try, try to nail this down. What I’m looking to do, um, just so the public knows, um, we are, we had sent out surveys, um, to various stakeholders. Um, so we would need to get those surveys back. Andre read those. I know Allison was gonna work on doing a summary document, I believe for us. Um, yep. And then we also have our own evaluation form that we are, that we developed that we need to fill out. And Sarah will work with you on getting that. I find digging that out of my emails and sending that out to the committee members. Mm-hmm. So, um, I had proposed, you know, between now and April 28th, uh, school committee members doing that work. Um, we would then meet to compile the results

2:01:42 that would be in an open meeting. Um, but it would be specifically just to compile the results and I believe create the evaluation. I had us tentatively on the eighth. Yeah. I just, I don’t know why we’re, I’m just throwing these in because I don’t, I just don’t know what, why, if, why it needs to, it’s going out that far. That’s why I just wanted Well, because we come back next,

2:02:10 Right? So, right. So I was saying between that and, and if you need more time, that’s what, you know, that’s what I need to hear from. Um, the idea was that in theory, we could have presented the evaluation on the first, if that’s too soon, then we could present the evaluation on the 15th. Um, we would need to do an executive session probably pretty quickly after the next day, um, to review, you know, the, the, um, parameters of the contract that, you know, that you would give the chair authority to negotiate and then we would come back, um, to open in another Organization. I, I am not. So we have a meeting on the first. Yep. Um, which if we were gonna do our workshop prior to that would be on the, I am not prepared to do the workshop that week.

2:02:56 Okay. That Monday or Tuesday. The Monday the 28th. Yeah. So when, okay. Alright. So then what are you thinking? Would you be later that week? I, I mean, I had earmarked our original timeframe of the eighth in my schedule. I mean, is anybody opposed to that?

2:03:14 Say that again Please. We, uh, we originally had earmarked the eighth as a, um, workshop for us to then present on the 15th. Is anybody opposed to keeping to the eighth? I think it gives us, I think we report about time timing left. Yeah. I mean, I wanna make sure that, you know, this is well thought out. Well, like, I, I would like to stay to the eighth. Okay. Well, and I know, and by the way, Al does have, uh, where are his things? Hang on. He had, he had, um, yeah, he looked like he had, uh, various, um, it’s just ‘cause he’d be, he’s gonna be away until the third, so. Yeah. I mean, I think maybe that’s where we came up with the eighth too. Okay. All right. So we could stick with that. We could stick with the eighth as a, um, meeting.

2:04:01 I think we were gonna do that during the day, either the morning or the day or the afternoon. Um, for some reason I thought we were in the evening. Alright, well we can, I’ll, I’ll, I’ll fine. Then we would vote it the 15th. We’d vote it in theory. We would present and voted the 15th. I would suggest we go into executive session the next day. Yeah. Yeah. And we Can go into executive se in the past right After the, In the past when we’ve approved something. We’ve gone into executive session at the end of that meeting, Except that’s a regular school committee meeting. So it depends. I don’t really want, if it’s late, I don’t want to, I don’t like doing Okay. I don’t mind doing it the next morning. Okay. That’s Absolutely fine. Um, and then, and then we could vote it at any, it, it will be negotiated. Um, and then it’s just a proforma to approve it.

2:04:48 We could have a meeting anytime to approve it. Yeah, yeah. And which is, we’ve done two in the past. Yeah. Just at, we can call, actually That’s better. Standard practice is we call it meeting for the approval. Okay. So we could do that within, you know, as soon as we can negotiate it. So, all right. So I’ll send those out. Timing. Um, I, I have some children the morning of the eighth, Probably non-negotiable. Okay. So that could be the evening. All right. She’ll send on the schedule. Yep. Five, eight. Evening to compile. Five 15 we present and vote. I could do the morning of the seventh. The morning of the ninth. Oh, okay. All right. I’ll send that out. All right, great.

2:05:32 I just think the morning is just, you know, I have no problem with doing it. It’s Just, it’s more of like a, ‘cause it’s like a Workshop. That’s not an appointment. I get to pick a date. I understand. It gets assigned, but, Okay. All right. So I’ll get those dates back out and, um, Al’s not here, but, uh, I think those dates are gonna based on his email to me, those dates should work. Um, okay. Moving on. Uh, recreation and parks memorandum of understanding. John. So met with Park and Rec and Park, right? Yep. So I met with, uh, I met with, I’m sorry, keep going. I don’t remember. Okay. I met with, uh, Rex and Park, uh, Jamie Block. And I met, um, we’ve met a couple times over, uh, some, some discussions around facility stuff for the summer. But, uh, we, we did talk, we looked at the current memorandum understanding and, um, there’s really no major issues with, with what’s in there.

2:06:17 We changed the, we proposed changing, changing the dates, um, so that we can move forward and, uh, if, if it’s the will of the committee, um, we can have the, um, Madam Chairwoman sign it and then their chair will sign it. And that will run the MOU from uh, April. It’s actually April 15th. It’s, um, 2025 to August 31st, 2026. So what I did, I, when I met with Park Rex and Park, we talked a lot about my expectations around some of the things that they do for the school grounds and, and what that needs to look like and what it’s looked like in, at some times during the year. So we talked a little bit more about that. Um, we did talk about sometimes in the summer they utilized the Glover School for when it rains and stuff. And uh, part of the discussion is, um, cleaning out, uh,

2:07:03 the area in Eiff where the library was in and, and having them in there during the summer in, during inclement weather versus getting, trying to figure out how to get the kids over to Glover and potentially disrupting any, you know, uh, redoing the floors and stuff there. So I think that would be a win-win plus I’d prefer to have someone in that building rather than it sitting idle. Um, so I’m working with, uh, folks on that. We’re collaborating with our maintenance and re and park to finish cleaning out the library stuff. ‘cause there’s still a decent amount of things in there. Um, the thought process was to get a metal metal dumpster or two. It was a lot of metal, um, shelving over there that we’re gonna get rid of. It’s been to disposition, I think three times. And this is, will We get some revenue for that? Uh, I don’t know how that works. It doesn’t cost us anything. So generally the, the revenue goes to the metal dumpster people ‘cause you the dumpsters for free.

2:07:48 They take the metal and they scrap it. Okay. That’s fine. So, um, we’re gonna partner with our folks in Rexton Park. Um, and then the remaining, um, things that we need to get rid of, we’ll go in a dumpster and then that will, um, be billed back to the library. Um, ‘cause there will be a Closet all that. Yeah, I wouldn, I wanna close that loose because when the library came to us, we gave them that space rent free. Um, we were happy to partner with them and help them during their transition, but it was crystal clear. I was, when I had those meetings that they were to leave it, um, in the state, they found it and they kind of did one of the move out and take what you want and leave anything you don’t want behind. And I know that sounds a little harsh, but I am frustrated with that. Yes. And, um, I think that it, it would behoove us to reach out to them

2:08:35 and if we’re working with Parks and Rec, which I’m very grateful for, to get that stuff physically out, I think the library can be part of that process too. Yeah. So that’s fine. So, and, and I have had several conversations with Kim grad. Um, we, we talked about her making sure that they did the disposition to get rid of it. So she did actually have a buyer for all the shelving, which is a vast amount of what’s left in there. Um, and then when the people came, they only ended up purchasing part of it. So she let me know that right away. Um, a lot of the other stuff was in there, is gone. Um, really what’s in there right now is the stuff. So the, the town is using two of the classrooms for their scanning stuff. There’s another classroom where we have some things that we’ve stored from one of the schools. We have to get off the stage so it’s in there. Um, and then the preponderance of what’s left in there is some, is mainly shelving, like library shelving, you know, not as nice as this.

2:09:21 And then, um, you know, a bunch of metal shelving. So it’s, it looks worse than it is. I think once we get the metal out of there, we’ll have an idea. Um, and then Kim, Kim and her, her library will get the bill for the dumpster. So that’s the plan. Okay. ‘cause that’s important. Yep. Um, and then, so the only thing changed in here is dates because we’ve met, um, with myself, the head of, uh, the, uh, facilities department, their board members. I think it last time it was Carn and Matt who came in the fall when we went with them. Um, and we, we’ve, I think we’ve met maybe every six months, the last year and a half. I’m not looking necessarily to do that, but I wanna make sure not too much has changed because, um, we have, we did have

2:10:10 a situation where we really worked on getting it exactly where it needed to be. And, um, it was brought to us. And then Park and Rec came back and said, what you voted on is not what we agreed to. So I just wanna make Sure. So, so this document in front of you is, is the, is the document that was wrote on last year? I think it was June 11th. Okay. I think it was the signature was fixed, just new dates. And we changed the dates and we talked about putting specific language to the everth in there, but we decided not to. ‘cause there is language that says we are, we can discuss the, um, the facility usage during the summer that’s outside of the program. Okay. So, so we’ll cover that. So I, I feel comfortable with that. I, I’ve, Jamie and I’ve had had some good collaboration. So I, I feel a hundred percent comfortable. She’s really easy to work with. Yeah. No, we, they wanted the park and rec wants to be a part. Has her board, has their board

2:10:56 Voted? So this, my understanding is she was bringing this to her board. I was bringing this to our board so that, so that we didn’t have to have the Grand PBA meeting about it. Um, ‘cause it’s really, um, and then as soon, as far as I know, I haven’t heard whether they voted on or not, but, um, I figured as long as we can, and then if there’s an issue, we, I can always bring it back again if we need to. Okay. But just try to streamline the, The process down Here. Thank you. So can I have a motion to approve the memo Memorandum of understanding with the recreation, Marblehead Recreation and Parks Department for the period ending April 17th, 2025 through August 31st, 2026. Is that right? Yes. Yep. So moved. So moved by Sarah Allison. Second. Brian OTA in favor. Allison Taylor In favor. Sarah Fox In favor, Jen Sch in favor. Four to zero. Great. Um,

2:11:43 school committee subcommittee and liaison updates. Do we have any updates? I’m gonna reverse this really quick. One thing that came up in this liaison meeting that Jamie shared with us, where a lot of our administration is new, they just weren’t aware. So you just might wanna give them a, a heads up that as we enter the spring, there’s a lot of important nights coming up prom or graduation. Um, they are willing to spruce up those areas if they know ahead of time. Yeah. So just letting our principals know, if you’re gonna have, you know, x, y, Z event, let Park and Rec know and Jamie will work with Peter to make sure they do their part. And I think so far that’s, I I’ve seen ‘em doing some of that clean up and sprucing up work. Yeah. Um, just as I’ve been out and about around, but I Yeah, I’ll definitely, we, Jamie and I had that conversation too. Yeah. So I’ll bring that up to the, Because the new principals may not know.

2:12:30 They can reach out and ask. Right. Yeah. So. We’ll, yeah, I appreciate that. Um, reminder. So I’ll, I’ll I’ll reach out to them. Okay. Just to make sure. Okay. Thanks. Thank you. Um, subcommittee updates. Brian, did you wanna Yeah, we, Uh, had moved away from the coffee with the small coffee groups for the school committee. This is the looking at communication subcommittee we’re talking about. Right. Communication. Yeah. And um, we’re looking at office hours. A lot of districts have that once a month, two school committee members not on the same committee subcommittee would meet for an hour somewhere and then the public is invited to come in and ask questions and get clarity from us. Um, we think once a month just two of us have to do, it would not be a heavy burden on any of us.

2:13:15 But then again, it’s up to the school committee if they want to. I Love the idea. It’s something I want to do for a long time. It’s, we’ll see how it does. I mean, yeah, when I did the coffee with the principals that worked for the first couple of months of school and then after that it dropped off. So, um, Yeah. That’s something that we’ve been asking. I’d love to do the first one For a long time. So I think this is great. Okay. Sarah wants to, do you wanna start in April or do you wanna wait? Well, we wait. She Can, well I would start in April. We April’s come and go on pretty much. That is true. Um, I would like to start in May. Yes. Yeah, I think so. Okay. Why can’t we start in April? We could. We could, well we could do it the week. We could do one. It’s May. The, so I think starting at n we wanna make sure we can give people notice our newsletter goes out the

2:14:00 last week of the month. So I think we would wanna note the dates in our newsletter of what’s coming Out. I don’t think, I mean, I get that, but I don’t, I don’t think that that should be a reason for skipping the month. Well the, so the issue, so next week is effectively vacation week. Um, so then it would probably be the following week. I’m fine to be overruled. I just, I think if we really wanna do this then let’s, let’s just start it. We can find two of us that are free. The 28th, the 29th or the 30th. Yeah, you Can do that. Okay. Yeah. Sounds great. Alright. I’ll send out an email asking for p Just to make sure we’re not sub Correct. We also still like the idea of, um, probably not this year, but next year, having the school committee meetings at least once within each school know, and that the whole school committee meets in there.

2:14:46 And that would be like their student voice would be a good place for that to happen. But this way the parents will get to see the school committee in their own buildings. So I think it’s, uh, some of the other districts do that. We thought that looked like a pretty good idea. We like to mull that around a little bit. And then, um, Al was supposed to do Facebook today, but he’s not here. And since we just did it yesterday, I can speak to it. We like the idea of a Facebook page. Um, the question came up, some districts that have ‘em do not allow replies. It’s strictly a posting of a Facebook. And then we decided that that’s more like just a school committee newsletter, basically. If you’re just gonna Yeah. Have the same another platform for it Yes. To reach people that kind of platform. So we think it should have replies,

2:15:32 but we’re trying to figure out how you prevent yourself getting into the, the negativity that can spur some of these topics. I’m Not sure we are actually allowed to. So I need to look At that. MASC guidelines on this that they put out about three to four years ago. And they have strict, I would say pretty clear guidelines on it. Okay. And their guideline is to not have commenting really. Um, yes, because because it can get you into deliberation. Deliberation very easily. Yeah. So their recommendation is to have it, but have it no commenting. People can share your post and then come create a thread on that. But then that’s their doing. And we don’t own any potential violations on That. Well it’s like having a town meeting for the school committee, you know, where people can post questions at us

2:16:18 and then it could be deliberation could be deliberate on that question. So that’s, that’s why we’re rarely reticent about doing that. They recommend having it a no commenting page more as um, an on the moment announcement page. Okay. We’ll take a look at it. Al and I and you know, again, Al was very strong opinion that we should have replies and if everyone else is saying don’t, I did look at schools that have ‘em and they have replies, but a lot of them, there weren’t any posts from parents. I don’t think we’d have that problem. Yeah. I feel Strongly Following a C Guidelines. Yeah. I would may maybe re-look at that just to make sure it still stands. And so we have like an actual current Yeah. I’m application from

2:17:04 MAC. Yeah, I can Talk to ‘em. I’m hesitant about replies on Facebook. Alison, what are your thoughts?

2:17:10 I, I would want comments and I would wanna be able to reply. Yeah. But obviously if there are, you know, If we reply to it, it is an open meeting violation that is crystal clear. It’s deliberation in Open. Yeah. In the public. Like, Well, depending on what you say. Right? I Mean if said, if it’s your Opinion, It’s, this was discussed at the last school committee meeting and this was the finding that I think would be acceptable. ‘cause it’s already a public record where that position was taken. Right. Why Don’t I get, I’ll talk to Alicia. Yeah, Yeah. I’ll look at the problem with that is if it just Can you find, get a recommendation Problem with the whole thing about having a group Facebook page is that it’s the way the words that you choose have to be very specific versus putting something on your own

2:17:56 personal page or making a personal post about your thoughts about something that happened. Um, I completely obviously respect that and would not wanna violate anything like that. So I don’t, I’m not sure of what the, excuse me, how big a use case it is if it’s not, if we’re not able to comment back. ‘cause the whole idea would be that the people would Yeah. You know, wanna count. So what My thoughts were, ‘cause I actually attended the subcommittee meeting, um, and we did, and we talked about this and what my thoughts were is ‘cause we also talked about our website. So we have the website, which is what I describe as basically static, right? I mean we certainly could do some work on the website, but it’s, it’s pretty static in terms of it’s got, you know, our calendar of meetings and it’s who we are and our subcommittee and our meetings and agendas and minutes and agendas.

2:18:42 So that’s pretty much almost like a year long thing. And then you have the newsletter and it’s a monthly newsletter. So the newsletter says, okay, this is what happened this month and this is what’s going to happen potentially next month. Then your, so Facebook could be, again not with not a dialogue, but it could be what’s happening like today and this week. Like here’s the, you know, the school play is happening, the, you know, girls lacrosse is playing and they won. And um, you know, the, the concert that you’re saying, whatever we can, you know, we can be putting out sort of more, you know, um, immediate things that are happening in the district or things that folks need to know. The surveys coming out to your mail mailbox tomorrow or what have you. So a school committee meeting, you know, this week, tomorrow. So that’s, that was what my,

2:19:28 my thoughts were just one more place to be able to push out information. ‘cause this was one of our goals right? Was communication and transparency this year. Um, so I understand the desire to wanna be able to do dialogue and reply. I just, I I we will get a reading on it first of all. Yeah. I’d like, and then we can talk about it, a response from MASE and Council. Yep. Okay. Um, okay. So do that and Okay. Um, Facilities will be Is there any Sorry, go ahead. I just had a question for Brian or are you Mo you have a question for Brian, Sarah? Or are you moving? No, I Ask the next step. I just had a question for Brian. Is there any, um, discussion about having like forums? Brian? I think one thing that from the comments, uh, on the survey as well as comments

2:20:15 that people have just made offhand or on Facebook, um, the misinformation is a little bit frustrating. And so I think it would be really great, um, to have a, a start our forums. I know we had some craziness this year. I know it’s something you and I talked about a long time ago as well with all the craziness. Um, sometimes it’s hard to have things happen, but I think that we should revisit that. It would be great to have a budget, um, forum. I have a one pager, um, that I need my plink to bless. So the, the, um, That I’ll be posting, ‘cause it’s very clear from comments that people don’t really understand how our budget process works. Um, I know we have shared it a number of times.

2:21:02 I know it’s in your FAQ also Brian, right? Mm-hmm. Um, but that’s still very, very clear from comments that are everywhere. Um, and so maybe having a forum where we discuss that so you know, can be kind of written in stone for people or we can address them to go back to that and where people can ask specific questions. So the committee did, the subcommittee did talk about, we did talk about like a town hall. Yeah. Remember we did talk about is that something, is that what you’re thinking about Allison? Yeah. Yeah. Um, so would that be something you think we could think about doing this spring or, I would absolutely do it like the beginning of my first couple of weeks in May. I know there’s a lot, but I think

2:21:48 this is what we signed up for. These things are important because if people are not understanding or, you know, misinformation can spread like wildfire and I think it’s our, this is a way to, to help stop that. Okay. So, um, what if I throw out a couple of dates to the, for the committee to consider? When are you meeting next? Are you meeting next week? No, no, we usually meet every two weeks. Okay. So I’ll send that out. But I’m gonna, um, put out there like the, be maybe the second week of May after maybe the week after town meeting Allison? Yeah. Okay. And then if that’s, and we see how it goes and, and then we, we can think about doing it in the fall. It could maybe be a seasonal thing or something like that. Okay. Yeah, I mean once a quarter I think that’d be great. Just have a different subject every time. Yep. Got it. Okay. I will send that out

2:22:35 to the subcommittee to consider. And then, um, well as the other committee members Okay. Facilities, Um, we are going to be having a meeting, um, I think it’s two weeks from today or tomorrow. Um, Mike Praline has worked with, um, there’s a gentleman in town pastor put us in touch with. Um, he actually does owner’s project management through the MSBA specializing, um, in roof projects. And he’s a resident here. So we have, he has brought a lot of insight and, um, some good ideas. One of the ideas was this ceiling, uh, sealant. Um, so Mike had reached out to the vendor. The vendor has come already come in to do a test patch at their expense. Um, they wanted it to sit a certain amount of time.

2:23:22 Um, and then they’ll come back and, and, and look at that. So, um, we will have that data and that information and we’ll be having the meeting again to look at it. Um, as, as just another layer of data. This, this is primarily coming from, we wanna make sure when we’re presenting a town meeting that we have, we have looked at every option, um, to be, to get the best product and be fiscally responsible. So I’m appreciative of, of Mike, um, for, for working with this gentleman and, um, giving us that information. So we’ll be doing that in two weeks. And that, that time period we’ve been sitting and waiting out the time period for that test patch that will be up by then. And so we’ll have the full report on that, um, to present

2:24:11 to the subcommittee as well as to answer any questions or concerns people may have at town meeting. Um, we also, this isn’t necessarily, um, a finance liaison’s update, um, but the warrant hearing did happen. And, um, part of the warrant hearing was as everybody knows, they go through every single article as anything that has to do with, um, any type of financial impact. FinCon makes a recommendation. So FinCon did vote unanimously to adopt the town budget, which ours is a part of. And they also voted unanimously to recommend the adoption of the override article to fund the HVAC addition to the roof project.

2:24:56 So I just wanted to give a little, And, and the other, uh, the other items that we had on there. Oh, and then there was a capital request, um, item that would cover, um, playground material or equipment at gl, the Glover school, as well as the pack. Um, painting and reupholstering, the seats. Anybody who has, that’s gonna be an easy one. ‘cause anybody sitting in that room during town meeting, when it’s time to raise your hand, all they have to do is look up or look at what they’re sitting on. And that’s gonna be a real easy one to raise their hands for. I, I would hope Is Mike’s prepared to speak at town meeting or you sure. Okay. Alright. Good. Clock off Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, folks. Yeah, Well When the, yeah, when the Warren hearing went, went four hour, five hours. Yeah, it

2:25:41 Was a long more here Monday, Tuesday. Okay. Any other, um, subcommittee or liaison updates? Um, you, anybody that will be coming, you and Mike, you’ll wanna touch base with Robin and let her know. Um, because any non-resident that will be part of the presenting team needs to get approval to not sit on the stage. Yeah, I’ll, yeah, I’ll, the chair will usually facilitate that. Okay. Um, any new business,

2:26:10 any announcements and then correspondence, which we did put into Deb. Yep. Sorry, go ahead Allison. Sorry I was muted. I apologize. I’m sorry. Sorry. Um, I think we were gonna schedule a policy subcommittee, whoop a policy, a subcommittee meeting to discuss, um, protocols. Just some of the review, but also the recess policy. Yeah. Um, creating a, we’ll do, um, I will send that out. We’ll put, we should probably be able to do that next week. We could do it late next week when school’s back in session. Yep. Perfect. Or mid to late next week. Okay. And the only thing in correspondence, which was in the package was, um, we did submit or added the letter that was issued from the acting commissioner of, um, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to the Secretary

2:26:58 of Education in Washington, um, in response to a dear colleague letter. So just we put that into the packet so folks can see. Um, and that letter was sent on behalf of all school districts in Massachusetts, so. Okay. Um, anything else? All right. I’m gonna adjourn us at 8 31. Thank you everyone. Thank you.