 that process. Does that happen tomorrow night? No. Does that happen tomorrow night? No. They talk about it so that we can be prepared to hand it. Yes. And I'm still terribly confused, so I want to know about that. So we also, the musical, Zoe we're here I'd like to say because I'm sure Zoe's probably in Oklahoma, but Oklahoma will be shown at the high school from on March 14th through the 16th and it's going to be an amazing production and we hope many, many people will come. Tickets are on sale at lunch and you can also order them at ARHS musicals at gmail.com. So please everyone come out and see the wonderful show. We also have Monte Carlo night which is scheduled for March 16th at Valentine Hall at Amherst College and this is the fundraiser to support our high school athletics. So we are hoping people will come out. Tickets are $25 and they can be purchased from the high school athletics or at Cushman Market, Hastings, Hampshire Athletic Clubs or Jones Group Realtors. You can also go on the Hurricane Boosters site as well. We also have for parents and guardians of ELL students, they're invited to attend a session on March 20th at the high school library at 7 o'clock which will talk about topics like high school specific course registration, graduation requirements and such and translations will be provided. So we hope that families will come and take advantage of that great session. Also there's so much to say tonight so I'm going to try just to say a few more and then I'll stop talking at people. But we also have an 18 hour active bystander workshop training that's going to be happening at the high school, middle school on March 25th through the 27th and we have quabbin mediation of Athol is conducting a 30 hour, I mean a training for 30 of our students and 12 adults which will be kind of a train the trainer model so then our staff and faculty will be able to work in the high school setting to interrupt and intervene in tough situations that unfortunately our kids and adults do encounter in the world around bullying. So it's really exciting it's going to be infused into our advisory program for next year at the high school. We have numbers of students who are doing amazing things. Do people want me to read everything? I'm looking at my committee who's saying no, we can read. So there's wonderful things we're pleased to read about our students also at the high school there's I should say what is today the 12th. So we missed the March 7th was the rising, the orientation of rising 7th graders. It was a wild success and then there's other amazing things that have been happening and are happening coming up at the elementary level. So please people take a look at this it's chock full of great events and ways to recognize our students who are unbelievably impressive in their accomplishments and this is online and again plenty for the audience as well. So I'm going to stop there because that's just a lot of updates tonight. Mr. Jackson. Thank you. So is it Sasha Yacob? So Sasha was named concert master of the Massachusetts Allstate Festival Orchestra, an honor that places him at the top of all high school violin players in the Commonwealth. So I think we can give an applause for that one. Thank you Mark. There's so many more. Thank you that's really impressive. So please people take a look. It's a great great updates tonight. Thank you. You're welcome. There's a lot. There's a lot going on right now. Moving on to the next item on the agenda I'll turn the meeting over to Catherine for the Amherst school budget. Thank you. Can I start? Sure. So I wanted to talk if I could just just make a brief statement and I will make it brief about the budget process related to Amherst and the regional schools and then I'll be asking you tonight to vote the bottom line budget for the Amherst public schools and for the regional schools. So in terms of our budget development we really have walked thoughtfully through the budget process for Amherst and for our regional schools and we really have to hold two priorities. We have to be fiscally responsible at the same time as creating a budget that supports the mission of our schools and at times those two things that we're holding are you know competing with each other. So we walked through the process I believe this year in a really positive way that we were able to achieve both priorities. So the guidelines from the town of Amherst was a 2% increase to our budget and we have met those guidelines and we created a regional budget which was within the range that our four towns or four communities could meet the assessments. So that is success by the financial measure. Also the budget itself meets the short term goals and holds a long term vision for our schools so that we can become much more financially sustainable over time which in this new fiscal climate is critically important for tomorrow as well as for five years from now. The challenge for us is really to be able to live within that financial reality while we create a budget that fully supports the district and school plans that we put in front of the committee and the community. So in terms of meeting those educational commitments we have created a budget that allows our system to grow and develop to meet the student demographics, the changing needs that we have. Also to maintain the excellent educational programs that serve the whole child. We've been able to do both. We've created a budget which is in line with our commitments to the academic core, to the visual arts, to music, health, wellness, social and emotional development of our children and furthermore provides the resources to support our commitment to equity and to our diverse learners. So we're fortunate again to live in a community that our students right here represent that our community values our educational system and we have cultural and educational institutions that really support us in our work. So in addition to what our budget provides for us we also have really exciting things that you've been hearing about each time we meet and we'll continue to rely on our partners to be able to bring enrichment and hands-on project-based learning to our school systems. We are as people have heard in the middle of creating permaculture gardens. We have strings and vocal coaches from Amherst College and UMass. We're coming into our elementary schools and our secondary schools. We have volunteers who are working in our art classrooms at elementary through middle school level. The Spanish Department and Amherst College is going to come and help with steps to success. They are offering their time and energies and some financial resources. We have athletic departments who are offering to come and work with us around intramurals after school and the five college students who are helping us with our MSAN conference. And for every innovative idea, AAF, Amherst Education Foundation is listening to those innovations and are in the process of supporting a number of those grants again for this year. So we thank the community not only for the appropriated budget but also for the commitment to step up and help out in ways that are not maybe represented in the budgets but they are tangible. So the list goes on and on. So we're really fortunate that we have such a strong school system that really provides fertile ground for innovation. People are really creative and willing to put in place new thoughts and new ideas about what could be beneficial to our kids and they're willing to take risks. So we thank everyone for the learning of our students but also the work that people are providing or the resources that higher ed is providing for the learning that is necessary for our adults as well. So the budget that's before you, I'm confident that it provides for our continued growth. It provides for us to be able to build on our current programming and expand and it stays within our fiscal realities which is never an easy feat. So after the budget is voted tonight our work is not done. We're very much in the process of hearing from staff of whether they're returning from leaves or exiting on leaves or their interests and we have to go through assigning of staff across buildings. We have to make some model revisions around delivery of services and we have to create schedules for all of our schools. So our work over the next few months is very busy even after this budget is voted. So I would ask for Amherst that we ask the committee to vote the bottom line budget which the total appropriate amount for the Amherst schools. I'm just going to make a very brief statement and then call for a motion. But I first wanted to thank the Amherst committee for all your hard work in this budget process. This is one of our most important roles as school committee members and I think all of you have worked really hard in your role. Several months ago we established our priorities. We asked the superintendent to address the needs of students in our district who have been historically underserved. While at the same time we asked her to move the schools forward to make sure that every child in the district will have access to the best possible curriculum and instructional practice. We asked her to maintain class sizes. And finally we asked her to build a budget that looks to the future in terms of sustainability over the next several years while at the same time bringing down our high per pupil costs. So the superintendent and her administrative team created that budget. And the school committee asked a lot of questions. We had a lot of questions. We gave the superintendent a lot of feedback. And so now it's time for us to vote the bottom line budget. So if I could, I will entertain a motion that's in your agenda packet. I moved to adopt a budget of $21,989,199 for fiscal year 2014 for the Amherst public schools. Second. All those in favor? Right. I apologize. Is there any discussion? Thank you. No. I appreciate that. Okay. All those in favor? Thank you. Thank you very, very much. Right. Just one thing I want to mention about process. Some parents can provide something to my attention about the first budget meeting in particular. They thought that the board didn't ask me any questions. And I explained to them how that was the first night we were seeing the ads and cuts. So we heard a lot of input from parents. We saw the ads and cuts for the first time. At least speaking for myself, I was like, okay, I've seen these. I've heard that. Now I'm going to go find out more about it and at the next meeting have more to say. I think the audience doesn't always understand what's going on. And so I think it's important for us to recognize what they're seeing and not just what we're seeing. Right. I appreciate you bringing up that point, Rick, because the other point is not only do we work that way in terms of having several meetings where we talk about it, but I know that there's also a lot of emailing back and forth to the superintendent and the administrative team. And we get a lot of our answers that way. And we ask a lot of questions and give feedback. So that is helpful for the community to know that. Thank you. And thank you for the vote. I'm we are missing one member, but you're here. Okay. Yeah. Thank you, Catherine. Um, next item on the agenda, you should have in front of you. It was not in your packet. You should have a one sheet. I can speak to it. Want to speak to it? Sure. Okay, we're gonna have if you look on the agenda, um, there's the mass school building association statement of interest approval. And there are, um, there is a motion that we're going to ask for you to consider vote on for Amherst and a similar one, but different wording for the region. But I'll defer to Maria who can explain both. Sure. I can just speak to it a little bit. So, um, each year we come in front of the committee if we are going to submit a statement of interest to the MSBA around improvements for our schools. This is a process we went through for the windows project at the middle school. And also each year we go. We have historically the past few years. Anyway, asked for or submitted our statement of interest regarding renovations to Wildwood and Fort River School. So this year we are again submitting a statement of interest for the renovations of Wildwood and Fort River schools to bring them up to a more contemporary, um, configuration for teaching our children, um, to, for those of you who are not aware of, which I think everyone is, but the open air classrooms are less than conducive at times to the current instructional needs. Um, and we'd like to be able to really do some major renovations on both of those buildings. If Ron were here, he would speak more eloquently about all of the technical details, but that's the gist of it. This is just submitting a statement of interest. If they come back to us and say, yes, we would be funding, um, some renovations, then the process begins where we talked about the specifics of what that would look like, what that would mean. But the committee does need to endorse my just submitting that paper. Um, the second, um, issue is submitting an SOI for the repairs on the boilers. Ron made sure I was saying there's more than one boilers at the high school. This is reflected in our capital plan that you voted to happen in FY, I want to say 14. I think it's FY 14 and FY 14. So if we were to receive these funds, which is a green energy repair, it would offset capital. So it would help us to not have to expend all of those funds that have been allocated in the capital plan. So I'm asking for the region to vote for us to submit a statement of interest to repair the boilers at the high school, which is reflected in the capital plan. And then I'm asking for statement of interest for Wildwood and Fort River. And I think KIPP has the motions, which I don't have. Does that make sense to people? That's the question. In terms of the sequencing, since we went from the Amherst budget to this, how does it impact the regional budget or does it? The, um, the, the money, the funds are already allocated within the capital. So this would just help us to reduce the, yeah. Does that make sense? I got a question along those lines. The capital budget for the region is what you described. Yes. So as a point of order, we're going to have a vote first from, from the Amherst, born about that separately. Yes. Yes. Yes. I know I kind of milled those two together. Sorry about that. So this is a very long motion, but apparently I have to read the whole thing. And actually, we need to technically vote separately for each building. But I'm Debbie assures me that it's okay if I read this once and we will in the motion understand that we are voting exactly the same thing for both Wildwood and Fort River. She'll, she'll recognize that in the minutes. So resolved having convened in an open meeting on March 12, 2013, the School Committee of Amherst in accordance with its charter bylaws and ordinances has voted to authorize the superintendent to submit to the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The statement of interest form dated 2013 for the Wildwood Elementary School and the Fort River School located at 71 Strong Street and you'll put in the address. Thank you. Southeast Street, Southeast Street, which describes and explains the following deficiencies and the priority category for which an application may be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority in the future. One, replacement or renovation of a building which is structurally unsound or otherwise in a condition, seriously jeopardizing the health and safety of school children where no alternative exists to elimination of existing severe overcrowding. They've misnumbered these, but I'm assuming this is three, not four. Okay, thank you. For prevention of severe overcrowding expected to result from increased enrollments, five replacement renovation or modernization of school facility systems such as roofs, windows, boilers, heating and ventilation systems to increase energy conservation and decrease energy related costs in a school facility, six short term enrollment growth, seven replacement of or addition to obsolete buildings in order to provide for a full range of programs consistent with state and approved local requirements. And hereby further specifically acknowledges that by submitting this statement of interest form, the Massachusetts School Building Authority in no way guarantees the acceptance or the approval of an application, the awarding of a grant or any other funding commitment from the Massachusetts School Building Authority or commits the city, school district to filing an application for funding with the Massachusetts School Building Authority. Second? Second. All those in favor? Any questions? Thank you. Okay, I've asked Debbie to send via electronically copies of both of these so that you'll have them just for your own records. I'll try to do this in my best FM radio voice. Resolved having convened in an open meeting on March 12, 2013, the original school committee of Amherst, Leverett, Pelham and Schuetsbury in accordance with the Charter, Bylaws and Ordinances has voted to authorize the superintendent to submit to the Massachusetts School Building Authority the statement of interest form dated 2013 for the Amherst Regional High School located at 21 Mattoon Street which describes and explains the following deficiencies and the priority categories for which an application may be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority in the future. Number five, replacement renovation or modernization of school facility systems such as roofs, windows, boilers, heating and ventilation systems to increase energy conservation and decrease energy related costs in a school facility. And here by further specifically acknowledges that by submitting this statement of interest form the Massachusetts School Building Authority in no way guarantees the acceptance or the approval of an application, the awarding of a grant or any other funding commitment from the Massachusetts School Building Authority or commits the City Town Regional School District to filing an application for funding with the Massachusetts School Building Authority. May have a motion. I'm sorry, second rather. Second. Multiple seconds. I'll take Anne-Marie's. Any discussion? Keep your day job. Excuse me. Trevor. In the motion, it mentions all of those but what specifically do we... Boiler. Is to boilers. We're not worried about our roof or our windows. This specifically clogged one. Boilers. That all of those have to be included. I understand. In other words, we could ask for any of those but we just need that small voice. Any other comments or questions? If we're ready to vote, all those in favor, raise your hand please. And it carries unanimously. Thank you very much. Thank you. I'm going to ask if Katharine wants to adjourn the Amherst Committee at this point. Is that appropriate? Sure. Do I have a motion to adjourn? I move to adjourn the Amherst meeting. Second. Second. All those in favor? Thank you. Okay, so the region now needs to consider the regional budget so I'll defer to Maria on this one. So the only statement, again, kind of spoke to both budgets leading into it. But the only point of clarification and kind of, I don't know if it's a non-clarification, it's kind of hanging out there that I'm asking you to trust. It's related to the PE reduction. So that was raised as a concern. And what I wanted to say to the committee is we're still working to figure out how to incorporate more physical activity and health instruction into the school. And it's going to take us a few months to work this out. So what we're doing right now is we're consulting with athletic departments of higher ed and we're asking them to work with us around expanding athletic opportunities after school. We're working with many of our staff members who have some really innovative ideas around before and after school as well as during the day, evidence-based strategies around increasing movement and physical activities into the culture of the school, meaning in class, between class, and at lunchtime. And kind of the trade-off that we're sitting with. And I'm going to tell you a funny thing about that other thing in just a second. But the trade-off is this, that if we move PE off of the rotation where it was and leave it separate, it takes away the time for differentiation and intervention. If we move it onto the rotation with the same amount of time, it requires us to make reductions in things like drama or art. So at this point, we're feeling that for us to leave it as we planned on the rotation, which is a decrease in the phys-ed time, but then to really be able to create more of a culture of the physical activities and to increase health is where we need to move at this moment given our competing demands. So I'm asking that you trust that Mike Malone and Betsy are going to work on this over the next few months and then we'll come back and kind of let the committee know where we're sitting. One really fun, I have to say it because it is fun. Marta, when she went to Arizona and for MCN conference recently, the school that they were in had this robo voice that came over between each passing time and it said, it is time to move to your next class. And then they played music and kids literally dance to the next class. They had five minutes in between and they did this dancing. So I know that that sounds a little silly, but I think it would be exceptionally fun. But these are some of the smaller things that you actually can do to get kids moving and there are ways to incorporate it in the classroom and at recess time. And Betsy is all about looking at this as you can tell from her face in the audience. So again, I'm going to ask that you vote the bottom line budget with that lack of clarification around that one point because it will take us a while to be able to really figure this out as we're scheduling over the next few months. But we do have the commitment to the health and wellness of our kids. So we're going to make this happen one way or another or multiple ways. So I do ask that the bottom line budget for the regional schools be voted by the committee. May I have a motion? Michael? I moved to adopt the budget of twenty nine million one hundred and thirty thousand eight hundred and fifteen dollars for fiscal year 2014 for the Amherst home regional school district and to assess member towns according to the assessment method specified in the regional agreement as follows fourteen million one hundred and fifty eight thousand eight hundred thirty four Amherst one million two hundred and fifty nine thousand four hundred and eighty eight for Pelham one million three hundred ninety eight thousand eight hundred ninety nine for Leverett and one million four hundred eighty three thousand three hundred and eighty for Schutzberg for a total of eighteen million three hundred and five hundred ninety seven. Thank you. Is there a second? Last second. Thank you Trevor. Any comments or discussion? Michael? Just a couple comments in terms of the PE I do want to appreciate your thinking about it and the two things I think you know I appreciate the balance incorporating culture I think is actually really powerful and I would nominate the school committee to pilot dancing all. No that would be great. And I think just the bigger picture you know can lead us. I sort of appreciate you and the administrative team because you know I said it at the first hearing but part of why we're all dealing with this is just the lack of revenue you know in the public stream and the challenges of charter and the challenges of not having tax revenue and that this is really tough and it's been this way for twenty thirty years at this point. So it's you're doing an exceptional job and they're tough and not always desirable. I mean no one likes cuts so we have to push back but I think it's not a good situation to work from. Thank you. You appreciate it. Anything else? Yeah we're done. Any other comments or questions. Just very briefly I won't bore you by repeating everything that Catherine said to the Amherst Committee but I certainly want to duplicate those words for the region as well but beyond that just very very quickly. During our discussions and also the parallel conversations at the regionalization meetings sustainability has been an often used word that is I think lost some of its meaning and some of its credibility that means anything to folks. So what I would prefer to say in regards to this budget is that I think it's a wake-up call on several levels for all four communities. Number one the declining enrollment is problematic for all of us. Number two we've recognized as Michael just did the declining revenue stream that's both structural and discretionary if you ask me but third and finally and I think most importantly in terms of wake-up calls I think despite the cuts and maybe in fact because of them there is also a long overdue recognition of the growing disparity of both cognitive and non-cognitive skills and abilities of our students as they come through the schoolhouse doors and I think despite the cuts what's rather remarkable here is that there's still a retention of structures if not an elaboration of those structures that address those needs that have been in my personal opinion not the committees but my personal opinion have been not given their full due over the years so while there are cuts I think if folks pay pay attention and do their homework and look carefully at what is underneath those cuts and what is still in existence I think they'll still see a fairly a quite vibrant system at work and my hats are off to the administrative staff for being able to achieve that thank you thank you very much time for a vote all those in favor of approving the motion please raise your hand all those opposed abstentions I'm catching up with where we're on the regional budget I'm sorry voting for I vote for okay so the voters unanimous thank you very very much thank you very much now the next item on the agenda is school choice hearing yes I'm going to yes turn it over to the superintendent okay short of this one okay excellent so this is the time a point in the year where we really just have the conversation about remaining a school choice district or choosing not to be a school choice district which means accepting students by choice and we recognize that the revenue that we have realized from school choice which we will be applying for the to the regional budget for next year specifically is I think seven hundred and seventeen thousand dollars and for the Amherst is a hundred and forty five thousand dollars so for the region that the conversation is I can't remember Pellums four hundred and fifty maybe just a really conversation thank you might even be more yeah so this is the opportunity this is not a night to vote but this is just an opportunity to discuss becoming or staying or not staying a choice district and then I would be asking the committee to vote I'd be bringing a motion forward next meeting to vote and my recommendation at this moment which I cannot anticipate changing is that we do remain a choice district and we use choice as we have in the past to to fill seats to round out classrooms but not to to an overreliance and as I mentioned to the committee a few meetings ago some of our conversations from this point forward really are about sustainability about looking at the declining enrollment about looking at the use of choice and for us to start to make some discussions decisions programmatically but at this moment I do not anticipate coming in front of the committee to say please you know let's not accept I consider we'll keep it for a while and see how things go but I guess the committee really needs to see if there's any additional questions about choice and how they we've used choice in the past and going forward before we proceed looking for questions you're looking for comment if there are questions or comments I think that's great to have now and I could answer Kathy's here who's who has oversight of school choice if there are specifics that I can't address and then it's really next time we come together where we'll be asking for a vote so I know I'm getting the way up into the clouds we can start at the basics I know there's a lot of people that don't understand how choice is used and I you know I'm on the school board and I scratch the surface of understanding choices are tool in the ways that can be used I am in a grant that we should continue to be of choice but if it comes to my mind to articulate all of the reasons why there's only a few that I can think of and we're like somebody to expound sure some of the particulars and and just to put a frame on this I'm considering the value of choice and using choices a tool in certain circumstances and my understanding is that choice can you know help sustain a district or hurt a district but I'm not sure exactly the scenarios where it hurts and where it shows so I'm looking at regionalization these conversations we have in the community about regionalization yeah and rather that would continue to be a benefit or not I'm not against choice so I want to be able to reasonably articulate the pros and cons sure I could jump in a little bit and we'll see where we land and I can always add more next if it continues to be more questions around but choice is a it's a really difficult philosophical discussion for some people because when you as a district or any district accept choice you're taking revenue from another system and in turn when our students choice out to another district revenue follows those students so in some cases the system that's been set up for choice and charter people can have philosophical opposition to based on that it's not terribly I mean it's probably overly simplistic it's not neighborly to take funds from the town next door so there's a philosophical discussion that's that I think scratches the surface that some people sit with which is difficult for us the primary use of choice is as a revenue stream it does supplement and support our school system we do not use it to where we're overly relying on it where if we didn't have choice we would not be able to run our schools which is that that the concern would we have cuts you bet however if we were going to decrease we are very cautious of how we use our choice funds because we use them as truly a reimbursement so as students come into empty seats we don't do it to over extend our classes or to pay for teachers it's about rounding out classes at a class size that are manageable so we use it as an additional revenue stream in those situations the problem can be when a school district does over rely and you're not using it as a reimbursement where you are getting the funds in this year that you're applying for the following year any change in that puts the district at risk financially so we're very cautious about how we use it how much money we we project over time that we're going to need either to decrease choice or increase choice and we make conscious decisions about that as a system some of the longer range conversations though that we are going to have to have is when when we look at our declining enrollment what is the the range of offerings in a programmatically that we're going to keep in place and what does that mean for choice does that mean we're going to rely on choice to further hold on to ranges of programming or are we going to constrict a bit so that we're not over relying that's our kind of tipping point we are not anywhere near that but those are our future conversations and I think that a few communities do use it yearly when it comes in and I think that does put them at risk I think also some communities where you have the tipping point of the numbers of students that are community students versus choice students then it becomes a risk because you are not the amount of money that comes in is five thousand dollars per student plus if there are special education increments or services that you are receiving funds for but the amount of money that goes out say charter school is substantially greater and the five thousand dollars is not in our case anywhere near our per pupil cost so it is a supplement it is not a way to float your budget I'm trying to think what else I would say other positives of school choice those the kids who come to you really want to be here and families are often highly invested in your school so there are positives that people come in and they're really invested in being part of your school community in addition to the revenue that comes to support our schools so I don't know if that's that I kind of went all over that kicks off the conversation okay excellent yeah yeah much more to go so if there's you know specific questions over time to that you come up with you can you know feel free to send them to me ask me and I'll bring other people up to to answer who've had more experience of choice Michael so I think just philosophically she's very has been not interested in choice and so we're not a choice district and so that's usually where I fall I think I probably would decide to differently given you know tradition and culture here but that remains to be seen I think given that however in response to us to fill it out a little bit in terms of the beyond neighborliness I think one of the initial rationales was it's a way of spurring a district who is not performing as well as people think it should to do better and I remember several years ago we were talking about regionalization of Franklin County and people in Greenfield basically said once you start and it's a death spiral because what ends up happening is people choice out you have less resources so there's no way you can really improve it's not like people are coming in with TA and resources and say you know you've been identified as a choice out region let us help you improve so you can bring your kids back that doesn't happen so I think there is a real for some districts where they're in that reality it actually is really detrimental to the district I don't think that's appropriate here but I think in terms of the the Western Mass or Pioneer Valley reality there are definitely winners and losers in that regard and I think that's sort of dilemma and then I think just for our communities you know my read is that you know lever to sort of change the stance recently and you know Pelham has live large percentages you know so it plays out when you get dependent upon it but I think for for the region is different so I would you know I would evaluate it differently than I usually would thank you other comments or questions I just want to say with school choice even if we voted to have school choice that doesn't mean we actually have to open any slots in a given year so there can be flexibility in the system but you can still say we don't want to use it in our budget and see you thank you any because this again even if we vote to remain a choice district it would be we'd be you know announcing that but we would be looking at our enrollments once registration pre-registration registration happens so that we can really make sure that we have the spots and that we don't overfill so thanks any of the comments or questions I'll try to be brief for as long as I've been on the school committee and lever and now in the region this has been the most difficult decision for me to make because I am adamantly opposed to school choice I think it's very very poor public policy I think it is it isn't even public policy it's really corporate policy it assumes that a market should exist for educational the delivery of educational services and I don't think there should be winners and losers in public education that should be the last thing that we would want to see happen and I think choice given the way the funding is structured regardless of the benefits that may accrue to individual youngsters and I think they do the fact of the matter is in my opinion it works somewhat like a lottery and for that reason there are winners and there are losers and I simply cannot regardless of however the funds are used I simply cannot cast my vote for that situation it just I just find it it's just unacceptable to me and in lever it's a little bit more difficult than it is here because the money from choice and lever it has become not at all unlike an addicted drug where at one point it was part of our discretionary kitty jar over here it has become over the past four to five years with level-funded budgets it has become part of our structural budget it's how we operate now and that makes it even more difficult to vote against it nevertheless I suppose it's sort of a case study for people in political science where your philosophy and values and beliefs comes up against the practical matters of running an organization and while I am more than aware of the difficulties of running this organization I simply cannot I cannot honestly continue to exist as a school committee member and cast my vote for school choice I feel that strongly about it and I've told Maria this several occasions and it's unapologetic I simply cannot vote for it and will not Michael I have a question from Maria but I want to appreciate what you said because that's often what I say and I'm not sure how I'm going to vote but you know if in the you know clicker heels reality you know there actually is some additional revenue is it possible to sort of start thinking about that because I think the power of having an Amherst regional district which is you know providing good services is financially intact is relative to others you know to say to have as a model that we actually don't want to play in this game because there are winners and losers is that something that you know just looking down the road is something that would might be considered yeah I mean we're actually looking at that that will be part of our conversations over the next few months to see where we're going to land as a system but there's a lot of moving pieces as you know right now about you know we all know right now because it really does depend on what our enrollment trends look like over time and the configuration of our you know governance structures so we are actively having that conversation and I understand fully the philosophical and the dilemma that people have with making this vote and I sit with the $717,000 so but yes we are having the real conversation around the use of choice and we will continue to do so and some decisions coming up you know around regionalization you know we'll lend to that conversation in one way or another and welcome in response to you and I'm gonna say this with all due respect to Maria but the reason I'm asking Maria that is because I hold it in my pocket is that decision falls to us rather not to be choice or not so with respect to Maria's position whoever the superintendent is has to play with whatever cards we deal with and if we say you know what are the pros and the cons of choice I'm especially thinking about if we if I'm one of the pros of regionalization that has been counted is putting our financial house in order and I'm questioning whether not if our financial houses in order are there other reasons the school choices is necessary so to piggyback on for Kip's analogy of a drug you take a drug that you're addicted to because you have to but when you don't have to take it now you start to think yourself look I don't have to do this anymore so I'm thinking about what it is that makes us have to do school choice and it's cash money y'all so if regionalization solves that cash money problem then we could decide we don't want to play the game and stick to our morals and hold it in ourselves that's about you but I'm talking about Kip sticking our ideals yeah I and I I guess I just wanted to say I completely understand that that philosophical stand and I and I don't disagree with it but I also understand and I I guess I have my elementary school hat on but one of our priorities has always been trying to maintain class size and I do know that choice is one of the best ways that we're able to do that and so at the elementary level at the regional level probably does not have the same kind of impact and I know it doesn't have the same impact in terms of class size but you know for that reason you know it's clearly a double-edged sword but that's a good point I think to say that any other comments or questions not hearing any then thank you very much and we will vote at the 19th yes moving on to the next item on the agenda the school calendar sure so each year we pull together and Debbie actually pulls this together so if we have specifics I'm going to turn to Debbie draft calendars to put in front of various groups and including the Amherst Palombe Education Association so we have a by contract we put in front of people a pre labor day start and a post labor day start and we provide a draft to the school committee so that you have the opportunity to take a look at that and ask questions and provide feedback and then the APA is also in that process right now taking a look at the contract and giving us feedback and then I anticipate the next time we get together I will make a formal recommendation of which calendar we would like to move forward with and then I would be asking the committee to vote school calendar for next school year so this would be on the 19th as well comments or questions Michael to one just totally selfish I think this is the first time in eight years on a school committee I've seen a post labor day start yes and I do battle every year we always put one out so thank you it's so nice to see whether it gets approved or not it's nice to see and I guess following on the heels of that the debate we always have in shoots Murray is that by June it's hot and kids don't want to be there so you should start earlier which I actually think doesn't make sense because it's just as hot in its summer in August so I'd be nice to have you just talk about it because in my mind school start in September but you know I actually like I actually like the August start I'm used to losing yeah you know I like that it seems to work out in terms of the dates and the holidays more comfortably for students and for staff and I think it also helps I don't know if this is pre or post but I like this configuration because we get staff in during a period of time at the end of the summer and get them gearing up for so that really by September you're in full swing for me the heat factor you hit it on both ends so thank you you hit it on both ends and I don't know if there's other Debbie she needs a microphone sorry yes you do Debbie she's done this for many many years she can add to it in a way that there there are probably times that the post Labor Day start would work really well unfortunately this year is not going to be it would put us starting the first day of school on September 5th which is Rosh Hashanah so that really not an acceptable day to have the first day of school we looked at some other ideas but the idea of a post Labor Day calendar in order to meet our contractual obligations means that everyone has to start post Labor Day including teachers and in order to have the students in class for even a couple of days prior to Rosh Hashanah the teachers would still have to start pre Labor Day so there's not a true post Labor Day start that really works well this year thank you I was just going to speak in favor of the August start because the 27th of June seems really late to end school just the way the calendar falls this year yeah I agree if I could just please I want to point out one thing just so there won't be any misunderstandings about it normally the winter break starts on December 24th this year we have it starting on the 23rd simply because the 23rd falls on a Monday and we figured with the holiday break we would have attendance of about 10% if we had that Monday the 23rd so that's why you see a full week there instead of the traditional 24 and I would I'd like to speak in favor of the August start for a couple of reasons first place if you have two days and four days and five days it's very nice way to break into the the new year you don't want to have four and five it's too much of a shock for these for teachers I can say that for children as well they're exhausted the first few days the other the other concern I have and I don't know it sort of all comes out at the end is that I know there's been a lot of research about students students who struggle academically students at risk there is there is an issue in our country that we have a summer vacation that's too long is an awful lot of loss academically and I think anything we can do even if it's just two days that can get that loss eroded is a good thing anyone else if not then we'll vote on the 19th yes thank you so much thank you moving on to the next item in your packet you have a sheet which identifies a gift from Murray and Phyllis Eisenberg I would entertain a motion to accept that gift Rob I move to accept a gift of a violin a case in a bow for the high school music program from Murray and Phyllis Eisenberg is there a second second second Catherine any discussion all those in favor I got raise your hand oh I'm sorry yeah I'm sorry well on violin be labeled for who gave him the gift I don't think so probably I don't think we typically do that yeah I don't know in other words it is a set of violins we already have some kind of special marker for the gifted I doubt it so ever use it knows this came from the Eisenberg I mean I just I imagine that would be a fitting gesture I can check on that but I have no idea and I somehow doubt it but I could check does just become a random violin Rob I do know that my son's cello came from the Pelham PGO but I will I will check that for you would be happy to let you know I just don't nice yeah it's great it's a good idea yeah you'll just accept gifts and though that should be with special violin kids will enjoy the violin been so we thank them for this gift I will I will check on it our noting it tonight will be lost in the minutes forever thank you any other comments or questions all those in favor of the motion please raise your hand thank you very very much before we get to the subcommittee reports well as before we get to the regionalization planning board report I just want to tell the board that you will be receiving from the policy subcommittee a couple of policy recommendations that are next meeting it's not as if we've been on vacation we have been working but we just work kind of slowly these days but anyway you'll have a couple of proposals before you for the 19th to consideration I'm going to ask Michael to give us an update on what's been happening with the regional school district planning board but before he does I would just like the public to know if you don't already the incredible work that members of this subcommittee of this committee rather have put in over the course of actually the last year plus now and more than a year on getting us to the vote this past Saturday Michael Trevor and Catherine all serve on the region of school district planning board and you four I think it was four hours four and a half hours before we finally got to a vote and I'm going to ask Michael to give us an update on that sure so it's kept us saying well some people were getting spring fever a bunch of us are in this room for a very long time but we met this Saturday March 9th and importantly we're on schedule so this has been a complex endeavor with lots of moving parts and we're actually on time based on what we're planning but Saturday concluded the fact-finding portion so we spent a lot of time figuring out what we need to know then getting consultants to do the due diligence and getting the research we had the forums last month in all the four towns where everyone got feedback from their residents and then this was sort of the culmination of the fact finding and the questions on the table initial initially were well the question was do we want to continue planning as four towns going forward with some regional model or not and the initial two models up for consideration that we've discussed for a long time were either a four town pre-k6 model or four town pre-k12 model and then at the last minute there was a hybrid model which is a little complex to explain but it's a sort of a pre-k12 with a carve out for a town that didn't want to participate in that I issued spray so I would just give kudos to Andy Steinberg who is the chair of the committee because he did a phenomenal job and I think get especially given this body the four towns and the 12 of us on it have worked exceptionally well on the discussion was extremely respectful I think the level of collegiality was was really really high and everyone's trying to work together I mean I think this region sort of sets the tone of we've been doing it for 60 years so it's we know it's doable how do we get through each town has a different set of issues and needs that it brings to the table for the elementary but we know that this works and so that's sort of the combination so the upstart of the and what the word is but what ended up happening being voted was that Amherst Pellum and Leverett voted to and well should spray voted for it the 12 of us it was unanimous we voted for a three town pre-k6 region that included Amherst Leverett and Pellum and just to be clear because I know this is confusing in my town and I want to make sure for the audience the vote was to continue planning the vote was not to regionalize and I think just in the shorthand people get confused they say oh okay we're regionalizing now and in fact March 9th kicked off the next phase which is building a regional agreement and that's really the negotiating of saying how do we deal with governance how we deal with you know the possibility of changes in this local schools how do we deal with the financial assessments all that detail that destructs this region has to get built for a new region so that's what the commitment was and so the three towns agreed shoots where I can just say the three of us support the idea but it based on the feedback from a forum we were not hearing people who were affirmative we heard people who are an opposition and people were skeptical and so at least for Saturday it didn't seem like it made sense to go forward and I think that's that's the big news I just want to also add that there was a lot of conversation about pre-k 12 versus pre-k 6 during this four-hour meeting and there were many of us on the board who really wanted to see a pre-k 12 region but it came clear that in order to do that we would have to have at the shoots very the town that was not going to involve itself in this process at this point would have to vote to amend the current regional agreement in order for the regional agreement to be changed to now incorporate a pre-k 12 region so realizing that that would be a very difficult thing the feeling was and it was a unanimous vote at the end to at least move forward with a pre-k 6 region at this time between the three towns that were hopefully going to a town vote thank you I mean I think just underscore two things that you said one is that there were a lot of people who were in favor of a pre-k 12 and I think it speaks to the trying to work together that we got somewhere else that we were trying to figure out something that worked and I know from the shoots per perspective we did not want to undermine the going forward and I think that was the fear that because we would have to open up the regional agreement that has that creates this region in order to create a pre-k 12 it risked everything not happening because if we all four towns have to vote in the affirmative to change that and if we decided not to because we wanted to retain the 712 nothing would happen so that was important just details going forward we've got a meeting it's either on the 18th of the 20th 20 it is the 20th okay on 20th so very soon next week next week and I think that'll kick off the the next steps in terms of regional agreement development and communicating out I think the other thing that's worth noting is up until Saturday that the board the 12 us basically made an agreement throughout this year that because we're information gathering we weren't going to take a stance on to regionalize or not regionalize which model whatever that we're really sort of trying to take in information and learn on Saturday having voted there is a model that's preferred and so it's going to change that it's really going to be proactive education information basically with the idea of we voted in support of this and you should know why which is different from what's been for the last year and so and then subsequent to that we're meeting on April 1st as well so there's a lot of work to be done the regional agreement has to be finished by June 30th and that's earlier than originally planned but it's because we got the DESC grant which the funds have to be expended by the end of the fiscal year and we did not get the CSC grant which would have allowed us to cross over into the next fiscal year so I you know I'm talking to Andy Steinberg today it's going to be a lot of hard work because this is the details you know got it and it's you know it's the intense stuff the last year was hard but this is a different heart so that's it just a couple of things Michael if I may piggyback please number one I think it is important to not underestimate the fact that we're shifting to an advocacy mode from this time forward and so the kind of language and discussion that you'll hear I think is is going to be much more pro you know case pre-k through six because that's the mode that we're in that's what we've come up with and that's what we're going to go forward with I also want that the date that we have the deadline in June is important for this body and I just want to give you a heads up that sooner rather than later and I don't know precisely when it may be as early as next meeting the 19th it may not be until our first meeting in April but I am going to ask Maria to put on the agenda the task of this committee this group voting to authorize the regional school district planning board to rewrite the regional agreement to encompass the concept that the board approved on Saturday so that is coming I don't know exactly when but obviously it's going to have to come soon to meet the deadline of June so please be aware that that's going to be coming your way and you're going to have to cast a vote up or down on doing that because what we're doing on the regional district planning board obviously has a direct bearing on the very existence of this board so something that's okay quite important just go ahead so it does it actually sorry to correct you as chair but it doesn't call an existence the presence of this board or the region what it does is that we're all the way the regional agreement it spells that how we're appointed so in Schuessburg in Leverett we're appointed by our committees same thing with Helm Amherst you guys all just are on by virtue of being on the committee but it defines the process whereby we all fill seats and if there's a pre-k6 region there are not local school committees so therefore school committees cannot appoint us so there's five ways that we can comply with state and federal law in terms of one person one vote constitutionally and there's a couple ways that we've been discussing that are more amenable than others and so it would be up to this body to decide what the preferred amendment was and then going to that process when you say this body which body I think it's up for the regional school committee to decide which one it prefers and then move it to the it's a town vote to amend right but we would that's so that the and what we have to get clarification on is the timing so I will just if I what we were discussed on Saturday was that if the pre-k6 region got created it would most likely be a town vote in November of 2013 it would be it has to be submitted to the ESC for approval in December of 2013 and if it was approved then there'd be an implementation period from January to June and the new region would start in July 2014 at on July 1st 2014 when it starts the other school committee stopped existing and that's the point at which we would be at a compliance so it's unclear I think is when we would have to change but the Trevor's point the 712 regional school committee would have to embrace a methodology that was constitutionally acceptable and then put it on a warrant for the towns to approve at some point subsequent to be at a compliance any I just want to say sometimes for us that have been living and breathing this stuff for a year to sound like a lot of inside baseball and so I just want to boil down the take home messages take home message for everybody at home listening and everybody you know that's been following this stuff is now that we have got this information for different of town of boards have come together and unanimously decided that the most benefits and the most feasible thing to do the best thing to do is try to form a K through 6 region emphasis on the try to form because the work comes into hammering out the details so it's still possible that details can't be hammered out and the whole thing falls apart and it's not voted upon by the town so take home point that you guys made but I want to sift it out for all other stuff you said that this is not set in stone yet but this is what we have all agreed on would be the best case scenario what we're recommending and what we're trying to figure out how to make work the best for all four towns right then the next thing and you guys inside baseball explained it perfectly and that is that right now we're all four separate elementary districts that assign a person to come and represent us at the regional level that would fundamentally change if we made a new elementary district so we just have to write new rules about who sits on this board so you're saying three you were saying four districts there are three moving forward there's three moving forward but the fourth that isn't moving forward still has a representative on this regional board seven through twelve so that shoots very as well I won't you say that she's very she's very would also have to approve any amendment to the current regionals regional agreement right now all four towns have agreed that this is how we appoint somebody to hear three people want three towns want to change it she's very would also have to approve of such a chance so she's very decides you know two months or no you know what maybe we'll do this is that a possibility or how does that it's it's legally a possibility the question is practicality so because this is a planning mode it's just a matter of jumping we act so just stepping back a bit the the regional school district planning board so the twelve people coming together we voted last year as four committees to join one board so all of us wear two hats we were members of our town committee and the board so shoots very on sided decided not to withdraw which was what people had sort of presented you would have to do if you didn't want to go forward so we are fully still part of the 12 person board which is why we voted and the idea was at least amongst the three of us on the committee in the short or medium term we're sort of convinced that she's very is going to want to join a pre-k6 region and so we would like to be part of the conversation to whatever extent is you know acceptable to the other three towns to sort of go through this we've been living and breathing it for a year just being part of that conversation so we we we haven't gone anywhere we haven't left the table we're just saying we're not part of the the solution in that regard but in terms of if we said you know hey we changed our mind we want to play with you guys we can do that differently at different times so between now and June 30th it's having the conversations and making sure the regional agreement is written with four towns as opposed to three so that's a possibility but after June 30th and before the November vote I think it would be a matter of having to pay lawyers to rewrite the regional agreement and making sure it was on the warrant in time and then subsequent to that so if this if the four three towns voted and a region was approved by DSE so there's now a region and we're sort of a separate district still we would then just like we did with this region shoot spray number came in two years after the creation of this region so we would come knocking at the door and say would you vote to approve us and there'd be some voting process where our town would have to say we want to do it and I think the because it would be changing the regional agreement and so the only thing I would say actually is that each process is defined by the regional agreement so our current 712 regional agreement says if we want to amend the agreement amongst us all four towns has to vote with the majority to change it but in the pre-k6 regional agreement it could be whatever we decide we could replicate that but it's it is there's no statute saying that you have to do it that way kathleen she's very hesitant michael basically said it but I just think there was some confusion about the timing I mean one of the things about about pre-k6 versus pre-k12 is that all three towns leverett pallum and amherst can vote to regionalize pre-k6 and subsequent to that the regional school committee can vote to amend but it's but shootsbury will not be involved in voting whether or not the three of the other the three remaining towns can regionalize or not right that was key that was very key that was the point right so just no no you sure? also any other comments or questions marina I just want to say one quick I just want to say that the committee first of all just kind of echo what kith had mentioned that the committees worked unbelievably hard and put in a ton of hours over the past over a year now and people coming three representatives from each community coming together with the interests of their communities but with children in the forefront and have waded through really hard discussions and to be able to watch that committee do their work was really impressive and it's one of the most collaborative groups I've ever seen quite honestly and functional teams and saturday was it was a marathon of four hours but people were in it they were committed they were considering all of our kids our communities kids and how best to move forward so I just want to say thank you because it was it has not been easy and it's not done yet but just that people were so explicitly there for children is was impressive so I thank them and everyone thank you michael thank you moving on then we're coming to to close you here well ahead of our time plot I'm going to ask maria to give us an update on both the calendar future items and again let me repeat that at some point between now or the next meeting and the first meeting in april I'm going to ask request that maria put on the proposal so that's in addition to whatever maria shares with us at this point sure so thank you so for our next meeting and I don't have my calendar in front of me but our next meeting dr. cohen will come with her team to talk about oh thank you an update on teaching and learning and I believe she'll be focusing very solidly on math and science pre-k12 and that I think presentation and question and answer will be about an hour so that is going to be the bulk of our meeting we also will vote for choice and we also will vote vote a calendar let me think where are we after that let's see oh and then we have to move topics now so we have to move some operational topics of information systems and maintenance and operation report so we will have to consider what the next team meeting would be which I think is probably april 30th I think is the next joint meeting april 30th I know the pbis update is oh okay oh that's great that's right pbis and discipline that update and I have to I should have said that already too we've had we had our whole team presenting today this afternoon at the mary lions conference on pbis and it was stellar it was a model that could be taken on the road can I say that and I also understand Dave sloven lieutenant o'connor paul lions and another colleague presented also at the mary lions conference around school safety risk assessment safety assessments and I'm really impressive so I just put that out there too but so all that to say is pbis is coming up on april so the next meeting I have to play around with for a little bit but our immediate meeting will be Dr. Cohen and the two votes and that's the question about um we talk she's going to talk about math about the problem mm-hmm um will we have discussions about our question or explaining about the different pathways that math has in the high school because now that's a question that's come up here a lot and yes that's an explanation of how it works and students' choices and where we are in our process because her work has really been to look at math pre-k12 not only curriculum materials but pathways sequence you know the whole package so she'll be bringing us lots of detailed information and an update and then again in May it's for lots of decision making so can I have one more question is there any like we'll be able to see any of that before so we can read it or is that something I don't want to put a lot of pressure on her like just to understand a little bit more about I can I can ask her what she'd be able to send in advance it's not a report format but it would be a PowerPoint presentation and I know that she will be also having teachers and administrators come and present with her so it's going to be pretty comprehensive but I can ask her to see what she can send in advance happily I think she's I know she's working on it because I saw the power part of the PowerPoint today this is so much when when they share at that night there's so much and then even questions and you know sure I could ask the questions later again but I was just no I can absolutely sure and she again I think it's on May 28th she'll be back to give an additional update so we'll be revisiting as well sure I just have one one question looking at way ahead June for a date for a retreat yeah I don't know if the members of the committee want to look at their calendar now or or want to have some time to look at it to see what what a good date but I think it's not I want to say it's essential but I think it would be an excellent idea to have a retreat I think the last one we have worked very very well on a number of different levels and a number of different ways and I would certainly look forward to doing it again we're going to have some new members possibly and so I think it would be good as if nothing else just a bonding experience and kind of bringing people up to speed as to where we are and how we operate but I don't know if we should set on that now or talk about it over the next month or so or you know I think people we could probably come up come with some potential options and people can I think that would be helpful that's one right yeah good okay any other questions comments about calendars if not I will entertain a motion to go into executive session oh purpose of we discussed discussing strategy by mass general law chapter 30a section 21 paragraph excuse me parentheses three closed parentheses can I have a motion rod I move to enter executive session for the reasons stated by the chair not to return to general session second second faunch I I'll be I for me I would I she buys I that she's I O'Brien I since I take your eye thank you very much we are adjourned into executive session thank you for thank you all thank you now and people coming three representatives from each community coming together with the interests of their communities but with children in the forefront and have waded through really hard discussions and to be able to watch that committee do their work was really impressive and it's one of the most collaborative groups I've ever seen quite honestly and functional teams was it was a marathon of four hours but people were in it they were committed they were considering all of our kids our communities kids and how best to move forward so I just want to say thank you because it was it has not been easy and it's not done yet but just that people were so explicitly there for for children is was impressive so I thank them and everyone thank you Michael thank you moving on then we're coming to to close you here well ahead of our time block I'm going to ask Maria to give us an update on both the calendar future items and again let me repeat that at at some point between now or the next meeting and the first meeting in April I'm going to ask request that Maria put on the proposal so that's in addition to whatever Maria shares with us at this point sure so thank you so for our next meeting and I don't have my calendar in front of me but our next meeting Dr. Cohen will come with her team to talk about oh thank you an update on teaching and learning and I believe she'll be focusing very solidly on math and science pre-k12 and that I think presentation and question and answer will be about an hour so that is going to be the bulk of our meeting we also will vote for choice and we also will vote a calendar let me think where are we after that let's see oh and then we have to move topics now so we have to move some operational topics of information systems and maintenance and operation report so we will have to consider what the next team meeting would be which I think is probably April 30th I think is the next joint meeting April 30th I know the PBIS update oh okay oh that's great that's right PBIS and discipline that update and I have to I should have said that already too we've had we had our whole team presenting today this afternoon at the Mary Lyons conference on PBIS and it was stellar it was a model that could be taken on the road can I say that and I also understand Dave Sloven Lieutenant O'Connor Paul Lyons and another colleague presented also at the Mary Lyons conference around school safety risk assessment safety assessments and really impressive so I just put that out there too but so all that to say is PBIS is coming up on April so the next meeting I have to play around with for a little bit but our immediate meeting will be Dr. Cohen and the two votes may I ask a question about we talk she's going to talk about math about the problem mm-hmm um we'll we'll have your discussions about our question or explaining about the different pathways that math has in the high school because all that's a question that's come up here a lot and yes just an explanation of how it works and students choices and where we are in our process because her work has really been to look at math pre-k 12 not only curriculum materials but pathways sequence you know the whole package so she'll be bringing us lots of detailed information and an update and then again in May for lots of decision making so can I have one more question is there any like we'll be able to see any of that before so we can read it or is that something I don't want to put a lot of pressure on her but just to understand a little bit more about I can ask her what she'd be able to send in advance it's not a report format but it would be a PowerPoint presentation and I know that she will be also having teachers and administrators come and present with her so it's going to be pretty comprehensive but I can ask her to see what she can send in advance happily I think she's I know she's working on it because I saw the power part of the PowerPoint today it's just so much when they share at that night there's so much and then you can get questions and you know sure I could ask the questions leader again but I was just no I can absolutely sure and she again I think it's on May 28th she'll be back to give an additional update so we'll be revisiting as well sure I just have one question looking at way ahead June for a date for retreat yeah I don't know if the members of the committee want to look at their calendar now or want to have some time to look at it to see what what a good date but I think it's it's not I want to say it's essential but I think it would be an excellent idea to have a retreat I think the last one we have worked very very well yeah on a number of different levels and a number of different ways and I would I would certainly look forward to doing it again we're going to have some new members possibly and so I think it would be good as a if nothing else just a bonding experience and kind of bringing people up to speed as to where we are and how we operate but I don't know if we should set on that now or talk about it over the next month or so or you know I think people we could probably come up come with some potential options and people can I think that would be helpful that's one great yeah good okay any other questions comments about calendars if not I will entertain a motion to go into an executive session purpose of we discussed discussing strategy with respect the collective bargaining is authorized by mass general law chapter 30a section 21 paragraph excuse me parentheses three closed parentheses can I have a motion Rob I move to enter executive session for the reasons stated by the chair not to return to general session second second Fanchai oppie eye foamy eye udai shabaza Baptiste's eye O'Brien eye Spence eye take your eye thank you very much we are adjourned into executive session thank you thank you thank you