 This program is brought to you by cable franchise V's and generous donations from viewers like you being a presence of a quorum this evening. I'm calling to order this meeting of the Regional school committee at 631 p.m. And we'll start with a roll call attendance Mr. Demling Deming present Mr. Harrington Harrington present Miss Kenny Can you present? Miss Lord Lord present It's a present Mr. Stanser Stanser present Mr. Sullivan Sullivan present and McDonald present And we also have our student rep and miss group co joining us Welcome And now I will also call to order this meeting of the Amherst school committee at 632 p.m. On November 10th, and we'll start with roll call attendance. Mr. Demling Deming present. Mr. Harrington Harrington present Miss Spitzer Spitzer present Miss Lord Lord present and McDonald present Thank you all Our first item is approving minutes, and I don't believe we have minutes from last week already in our packet. So We will I just want to I'm sorry. Go ahead. I was gonna say miss shark is that I spoke before and I think probably in a week or two we'll have a kind of a Bunch of minutes that she's mostly through them and we've been meeting every week So I want to just acknowledge how much work that's been for miss shark is But we should be caught up in next two weeks, and then we'll be able to Approve them as a bunch Excellent and Welcome Miss Seager and Great, so we will move on to public comment and We have one written comment and two voicemails, so I will start with the written comment Is everybody seeing this? Yeah, and Just as a reminder, this will be posted the written comments will be posted on our Website on the regional school committee agendas page of the website Now I'll play the two voicemail that we received today. Hello there. This is Nina. I'm Kim I am a parent of a third grader in Wildwood at Wildwood And I am first calling to thank you all for all of your hard work and to express my sincere hopes that Everyone come together the school committee of the union and the administration to make plans for Outdoor learning this spring that will allow our children to be taught in person I am personally in support of going into the schools. I understand the issue with the metrics But I would like to see those metrics based upon This goal is actually a risk. This is where Caution is taken and all 50 measures are in place I am in support of the governor's mandate to bring a request for communities to mandate bringing children to in-person learning And I very much hope that Amherst can prioritize that as our goal And thank you so much. Amherst and I have four kids in district Um, I want to share that it makes me very uncomfortable to know that our return to school decisions are being set by labor negotiations Rather than in the more fluid environment with the governor the department of health and desi All have a voice in decision-making What makes our district so different from the others in western massachusetts Throughout massachusetts in the private school sector that we can't work to be more in line with the opening practices in other districts I'm yet another family that is considering leaving the district not because i'm frustrated in the near term But because i'm concerned and in the long term disputes like this will continue to Ruck our children's learning. I believe that the class of students children and the Amherst post school districts are being treated unfairly Their educational needs are wrapped up in a process disconnected from their best interests Please do everything you can to bring our metrics back in line with the recommendations coming from the governor's department of health and desi Thank you okay So moving on to our next item we have um the superintendent's update So i'll turn that over to you. Dr. Morris Sure Thank you. Um, so i've got six items um So the first one is uh, and I know you know, maybe some people get sick of me saying this But i i'm not going to stop which is just an appreciation for the work of our facilities and maintenance department Who continues to move forward with plans despite the fact that we don't have uh our students in the building save for The daycare system daycare programs that are being run right now by lsc and marx meadow Aftercare, we're up to 25 handheld handheld electric electrostatic spryers That are starting to be distributed to each school Um training is going on for all the custodians to have that Uh, we'll also be receiving additional five cart spryers, uh, which has larger capacity and coverage in the handheld units Very soon And this really decreases the time needed to sanitize the Sanitize and then it increases the amount of area we're able to cover To the point of being about five minutes per classroom with those spryers So appreciate that um despite all the other challenges that we're facing that our facilities and maintenance folks are continuing the good work um and continuing to their efforts to be able to Uh, appropriately clean and disinfect the schools in a more efficient manner. So, um, I know i've started with that a couple times Not electrostatic spryers perhaps but just other items. Um, but I I do think I can't say those things enough Uh, second item is we have an event. Uh, it was changed. It was supposed to be on thursday, but um, One of the presenters had a unexpected change in schedule. So it'd be monday at 6 30 This was emailed out to all staff and all families this this afternoon And it's really looking towards it doesn't feel like it but soon it's going to be really cold and cruddy And what's already happened is the sun's going down really early And so what we know is it's going to be a very challenging winter for many folks and and these are not our bright folks But the um, the folks who are part of that larger organization That are therapists and clinicians who are experts in this area So i'll be kind of moderating but they're going to do about 20 25 minutes of presenting And the rest of q&a and interactive q&a. So I highly recommend it I'll say that i'll be part moderator part observer and listener because as someone who does not look forward to the cold winter months in general Let alone in times where there may be um, some challenges about ability to do other things You know, I think it's going to be really something important for the community And we'd like to make this a series that we do a couple of them because uh, when we did them last spring There was a lot of community interest And certainly that didn't happen as we were heading towards a winter uh, COVID winter So much appreciation for our bright partners on that and just highly recommend Court hands are great and they've worked both with our staff and and with our administrative team and been well received by both um There was an email that went out. Uh, this is going to relate to an agenda item later But it is distinct from it. So I do want to um do it during my update this afternoon An email went out to all staff from Doug slaughter our finance director and I'll just read it Good afternoon ARP staff many of the costs associated with making school work during this pandemic were funded by the cares act Those funds have been fully utilized and we do not have another stimulus package in sight There's a lot of implications on our budgets to support those ongoing needs In response to that need we are freezing all non essential spending as of today This action is necessary in order to be proactive and responding to the uncertainty in the current year as we prepare and As we prepare for next year our budgets are built using a variety of sources of income One critical component is state aid, which is chapter 70 As we look at next year the ability of the state to support our schools to maintain their current level of services is unlikely It'll be critical for us to conserve our use of funds this year in order to have those resources available for next year Um, and as we talked about last week I believe that you know in the amherst and regional districts the two districts represented tonight Substantial amounts of funds were taken in addition to what we're bringing in from school choice to be able to fund the budget this year And as we look to next year the less of that we use the more we can use for next year's budget And I think we need to be heading down that road. So we are at this point allowing essential spending So, you know, for instance, if a student needed a hotspot, we're going to get a make sure a family that family gets a hotspot It's not that there's no spending But it's really at the essential level And that's something we do do and and you know, again, we'll talk about that a little later When we talk about the presentation last night from the town of amherst, which has impact on both districts represented this evening A number of positive note Open house last week at the high school was without thinning. I want to thank all the high school faculty and staff For those of you who weren't aware it was a and the other schools are following suit in terms of format It was a synchronous session with the administrative team The principal system principals and athletic director and then asynchronous videos that each teacher did in the different departments to talk about what the curriculum was What's happening? Uh, and it was really well received. Um, so I really want to thank Talib Sam, Mickey, uh, and victoria for leading the charge and being the first to go and um, the other ones are mostly on Tuesday and Thursday of next week But I think in a virtual world, it's a really nice format because Everyone gets to have the whole group experience and then it's pick and choose for your child's classes Your child's teachers to be able to have that so really really great start and uh, thank the high school again for their maiden voyage on this One piece of feedback relating to an agenda item from last week about our curriculum day And the diversity equity and inclusion work that happened that day We did uh, tim shian organized a survey that went out To get feedback from staff and and the short story is the feedback was very positive And there was a numeric rating attached to it out of five and I think there was a 180 response something like that And it was a 4.5 out of five rating from staff for the value and importance An engagement they had during that morning So, you know, thank you to durin and tim and everybody who organized that day and it was great to see the positive feedback come in My last item is just um as was shared with the school committee and was shared with the public last week Desi came out with guidance on metrics and focusing on in-person Learning I want to be clear that I had a conference called desi about this as the all superintendents across the commonwealth They're clear. They have no jurisdiction to change local decisions It did say they they may comment on local decisions and express concerns about local decisions But um, they don't have it's not in their jurisdiction to overturn whatever decisions made locally On a personal level, you know, I just want to say I think For folks who have been following this discussion since june since we started talking about it I think it comes as no surprise to anyone that, you know I'm much happier when kids were in buildings those seven days were fabulous and you know, um I think last week I got some feedback that the presentation of distance learning was Was perhaps perceived to be uh, that I was suggesting that it was preferable distance learning was preferable to having kids in buildings And I think, you know, anyone can go back and watch the meetings and I think my opinion has been pretty clear on that topic, uh And you know the comments really framed in terms of the current agreement that that has had and we continue to support all Explore all options to have students get more in-person learning You know, and we're still looking at what options are out there And you know, I think next week maybe I'll come back with some additional thoughts about That topic, but I just wanted to clarify that because I know I got some emails and some feedback That I wanted to share with that and that is my update for this evening I'm happy to answer any questions if there are any Any any comments or questions from the committee? Mr. Demling Yeah, um, so on the desi, uh communication the continuing the evolving desi communication Um, I didn't see this in their email weekly update, but there've been um Uh Depending on what the week and it sort of seems to be like a stock market curve where it's getting slightly increased over time um So this this and of um of the legality of certain models as to whether um You know if if children are in a fully remote setting for An extended period of time are you legally meeting? The educational obligation, you know, the faith and and all that and you know, there's been some interesting lawsuits of outside the country and outside the state Um, so I don't know if you'd heard anything about that whether the commissioner gives guidance about about That or or if superintendents talk to each other about about what the state of affairs is with those kinds of kinds of things generally speaking Yeah, I think what we've seen in general has been a main focus And probably the strongest desi comments have been focused on Particularly students with intensive needs who don't have access Uh to the curriculum without in-person learning. So, um, I think that's an open conversation that um, I've heard around the state Again, they don't have jurisdiction, but that doesn't mean that um, we like we did last summer Won't owe compensatory services Um Over time and and whether parents, you know, take action on that, but I can't comment on that one, but certainly Um, that's one that's been pretty clear. You know, we were surveyed by the state. They are Um, collecting information on distance learning plans Of everyone because everyone could be in distance even if they're not at the moment They could be in the future. Um, and I think the state is compiling those and going to share those out Sometime in the next week or two. Um, I know is requested in the joint hearing that happened Week and a half ago. I want to say, um, so the state has um, tim and I, tim sheen and I worked on that last week and What they'll do with that data is is not totally clear to me, but it'll certainly be public data Once they compile it and and publish it and um, I think that conversation will continue that you that you reference peter Any other questions? Oh, actually, I'm sorry. There is one thing that I wanted to share So one thing that we're just trying to get better at as we we do Uh, learn from our experiences Is, you know, we published the results the full results that were only redacted in terms of identifying information of the distance learning survey last week in the newsletter But one thing we did that we haven't done in the past is we shared the student feedback back directly with seven through 12th grade students Um, you know, as they're the only sort of demographic that doesn't necessarily get the newsletter On friday afternoons, we wanted to make sure that when students complete a survey They're actually seeing the full full spectrum of responses. So, you know, it's just one way that, you know It was pointed out to us and it was completely right that, you know The general principle is if you ask people to take a survey, they should be able to see the the data And uh, that was sort of applying to everyone except our most, you know Respectfully to all of us our precious resource, which is our students So we're going to start institutionalizing that where when students take a survey we guarantee them Um, unless it's something really private or personal like mental health screener or something like that But if it's something like, you know, like this kind of survey, we want to make sure that we share that back So that was emailed out. Um, I think on friday as well, um to all all students So, um, I just wanted to share that because that's a it's a good feedback Look we get and and we implement some good suggestions to get from the community and that was one of them Great any other questions from committee Not seeing any um, so we'll move on to our next item, which is um a chairs update um And I know I've been skipping my updates for the last several meetings, but tonight I would like to offer some some comments and thoughts um as All of us on the committee are well aware we've been getting High volume of email and comments from the community Many are from anguished parents Struggling with our current distance learning And pleading with us to find a way for in-person learning and as dr. Morris just mentioned they're We continue to explore options But I'd like to take a moment tonight to try to respond to some of the specific questions that we're getting From many in the community about the process for how we can address the decision framework and metrics In our approved moa with the teacher's union or the apea Many people are asking about whether the joint labor management safety committee Also known as jlmsc Is an avenue for discussing and potentially modifying the metrics and decision framework In fact, the jlmsc is charged with discussing how the improved moa is being implemented And addressing any concerns about the implementation I mean, we do have an item later on the agenda this evening to talk specifically about that While the jlmsc in theory could address items within the moa such as constraints or issues around implementation If ultimately that group thinks that it changes needed to anything within the moa language itself That would require both the regional school committee and the apea to agree to reopen negotiations about that item The jlmsc is not a bargaining committee and it's not empowered to bargain on behalf of either the regional school committee or the apea This is why we the regional school committee have asked the apea twice to reopen negotiations And some in the community have seen this letter, but I'd like to share now What our most recent request was which I sent on behalf of our committee a week ago. So I'm going to read from that letter now Thank you for the this was addressed to the apea executive board Thank you for the responses to our request to reopen negotiations on the moa specifically around the decision frameworks and metrics for opening and closing in person schooling We're disappointed that the apea representative council voted to decline our request to reengage in conversations on these items in the moa This action is unlike what is happening in agaum where the union and school committee have agreed to reopen the metrics clause in their moa After similarly experiencing the disruptive impact of those metrics once implemented The decision metrics for in-person schooling in our moa are so different from all surrounding districts That while an increasing number of these districts are successfully moving to return their students to in-person learning Our schools are moving in the opposite direction We're particularly concerned that our highest need students who lack full access to distance learning do not have the opportunity for in-person learning Which undoubtedly will add to the educational debt in our district We're also concerned that three of the four communities within our district have each had six or fewer total cases And and this was written a week ago. I haven't looked to update this for current metrics That's had very few covid cases during the entire pandemic and yet their students are being denied in-person education Furthermore the town of amherst currently as of last week had fewer active cases than a month ago and is now in the green on the state map The community outcry is clear We the district the school committee and the apa need to do better Together we have the opportunity to better serve our students needs We are all dedicated to our students And the school committee is committed to helping heal any wounds that exist between our groups Including through a restorative process if the apa is interested Reignal to the joint labor management safety committee provides us a pathway to address concerns around implementation of the protocols And the provision of the resources described in the moa However reopening the moa is our only path forward to better serve our students and their families As any changes would need to be considered and approved by both the full apa and the full school school committee We hope the apa leadership is willing to reconsider and collaborate with the school committee in discussions around the moa Our communities are requiring action to meet the needs of our students, especially those who are most vulnerable And we believe we need to act now That was our the letter that we sent last week Um, we also not stated in that letter. We also fully support the apa request for transparent and public negotiations And we do look forward to hearing from the apa and getting started very soon Mr. Deling Yeah, thank you for that. Um So I've been getting the same questions So I really appreciate you just articulating the process like that So um, so a couple of like very short follow-up questions just to clarify the process because I feel like this is good to Good opportunity to to clarify that so so has has there been so we made two requests the school committee made two requests to the apa to executive board to talk about Renegotiating the moa The first one was declined and the second one is still Like so have we received a response on the on the second one? Yeah, that was submitted last week We have not Okay um And so so the jlmsc so Are you saying that even if people sat down and were very cordial and productive and had very um Collaborative ideas and came to agreements But that are you saying that that can't change the moa the only thing that can change The moa the only thing that can change the metrics for reopening the The automatic two weeks of closure all the all the things we've been hearing about the only thing that can change that is if Both parties agree to Talk about and change it. Is that is that correct? That that is correct. So the jlmsc may come to a conclusion that they would like to recommend that we reopen negotiations But only if we reopen negotiations and and and have our bargaining teams Discuss those those Aspects can the moa language be changed? Thank you Are there any other questions or comments? from the committee on this We're seeing none so we'll um Move on now to school committee announcements. Does anybody from the committee have an announcement Mr. Downey Yeah, so we had a CPAC meeting last friday a monthly meeting of the special ed parent advisory council and As you might expect most of the discussion was around Remote learning and the experiences of parents with that and so I just wanted to share the So the two main points the two main themes that that members Expressed it was a public meeting. Good. I just thought it was good to Given our discussions here for that for that to be Made aware here. So the um, you know the the the main point Um From the we were hearing from parents is that you know, we have We have dozens of of high need students who are not getting Any benefit from remote learning and this this is You know members at CPAC. We're very, you know, cognizant to say that this is not to say that Students who don't have intensive special needs aren't also struggling with remote learning. Um, you know, they know They know they're not the only students who are Who are having difficulty but um, but for for a few dozen Families and students with really intense and special needs. Um There's no benefit from the current model. Um, and so you're seeing a lot of struggle and a lot of, uh, progression, frankly, um Which is difficult and so therefore this so this is this is this came in the broader discussion of why is CPAC Asking the school committee and the APA To please get together to talk about changing the MOA and it's it's because of this It's because Even if we have a model that is working to some degree for most It's definitely not working for a few dozen students and a few dozen of our highest needs students. Um you know one one member, um You know, this is difficult to to hear but sort of Uh related it back to you know, 40 50 years ago before federal law Um, you know brought faith into existence is free and appropriate public education You know students were or were very much excluded from from mainstream education students with intensive special needs And you know institutionalized and and sacrificed essentially You know their education was was completely sidelined and it it it has that feel And um a lot there were a lot of comments But this this is not trying to blame any person or group or individual Um, you know a CPAC is a is a parent support group Um, uh and yet really wanting the community to understand that we have students who are and families who are really struggling as a result of this The other point that was made kind of related to that is that While uh getting at home services is is better than not getting any services at all It's it's not a replacement for services in the building for these students And it's for a few reasons. You know one is um You know the student experience of sir of education and of receiving those services is is markedly different In a home environment versus the school environment There's a lot of education and other reasons for that But you know point being is that it's it's it's it's received and experienced differently by the student And and not not in a in a in a helpful manner When you're in that much of a different environment the other thing is it's very disruptive for for families Uh, you know to have one or more people in your home every day delivering student services Uh, and you know affecting the life of yourself and your spouse and your other children It can be really difficult, you know and and you know third is that it We're asking these families to accept a higher level of covid risk Inviting staff into their home Uh to deliver these services and you know unless you have an hVAC system in your home Your air exchange at home is significantly less than Than the minimum of four that we get at our building room. So, you know, all that's to say is that uh, it's it's it's a really challenging situation And cpac is is really trying to Make it clear that this is this is not about a fight. This is not about Blaming, uh, but but these these students and these families are struggling and that we need to find a way Um to to push this ball forward As as as we try and figure out Everything else that we're trying to figure out. So just to the point of view for the conversation. Thanks Thank you Are there any other announcements? Not seeing any we'll move on Okay, uh, dr. Morris Yeah, just just as a note, you know the epa recommends an air exchange rate in the home of 0.35 air changes per hour You know because because of what I just wanted to note, you know and add just a little bit to what peter said so in our in our classrooms that we We have four greater for our use And it's significantly different because homes aren't designed the way school buildings are with hVAC systems. I just It's just adding to to what peter said in terms of some context and and some detail That they're really they function quite differently and that's why most people don't have like univents in their homes Um that way because they're not they're not designed for larger groups of people That come from different places that don't live all in the same place so uh in the same home So I just wanted to share because I think the numerical comparison might be helpful Thanks Okay, so we'll move on now to our new and continuing business. Um And our first item is advocacy Work or discussing advocacy work. Um for maintaining funding in um fiscal year 22 So we are just embarking on um that process um So I'm gonna Look to our our newly appointed um state school committee member um If you would like to introduce or kick off the discussion on this topic All right, I feel like I'm hogging the mic here. So I'll try to be brief Brief on the intro so the advocacy slash budget landscape Right now in a word is chaos Um, it's obviously cave uh covid throws everything into chaos, but um, I think the ways and means budget for fy 21 Just came out today Uh, and so fy 21 the year that started on july 1st this this past july 1st The one that we're in um, they still don't have a state budget for right and we're all We're all doing this with our current fi Um 21 budget and that's going to scream along at at a breakneck pace Um, and then the year will flip over and then the fy 22 budget Um, we'll we'll kick in which is which is what this topic is. So um And obviously, you know, what just happened last week or what? What the vagus aggregate betting odds say is 91 chance of what happened last week, which is joseph biden was elected The president but and and we still don't know and we won't know until january what the senate is All that means is that um The prospects for a large and immediate um Stimulus and support to state budgets Has the chances chances for that have decreased Um in in the last couple weeks then don't want people we're hoping for right and so So who who is really to say what is going to happen at the end of the day to our fy 22 budget? And then and everyone is going to you know, and if it's severe situation Everyone's going to be hurting and everyone's going to be running around looking for those small pieces of high and so You know, what so what can we do? Right out here in the boonies of western mass. Um You know, I think there will be specific things that come along. Um, I know I know m cas um a moratorium I know this isn't budget, but in terms of advocacy for for this year for next year. Um, there's a m cas moratorium resolution going around I think Mass association school committees just passed it. I know mta is very much in support of it. Um, joe cumberford has a bill So i'm sure that will cross our desk at some point. Um As far as the other stuff, it's really hard to say, you know, what is going to make a difference. Um When I sort of take a step back about You know, where should we focus our energy in order to retain the most dollars for next year? Um I come back to this principle of if we the more students that we retain The more students that come into our schools in f y 22 The more dollars we're going to retain Right and and that's not just a direct result of chapter 70, right, which is based on enrollment. Um But but it's also what we lose to other schools in particular charter schools. So I don't I haven't been keeping track of it, but we we got kind of lucky this year with the remote status of the local charter schools, which which just in my opinion, I think played a role in The degree to which we lost enrollment or didn't lose enrollment to to charter schools this year. Um, I don't think that our luck will last that long into next year if if we are in the current same Um, mostly remote mode. Um So, uh, I feel like we kind of have a reprieve on that Fortunately, um, and so when we start thinking about f y 22 and what we can do Yes, you know, it's good to have like one page resolutions of don't Uh, under fund hold harmless or you know fund regional transportation or reimbursement. Those are all good things And and when other districts start to do statewide things, you know, I'll I'll keep an eye on that and and pull us in when when that opportunity rises But but I I think if we're trying to think about increasing the dollar budget We should really try to be focused more on how do we retain and get the families who have left back to our district? Which kind of relates to the next gen of topic item Um, those are my initial thoughts. I don't really have like a super clear sharp This is how we get the dollars plan. Um, but it's that's my best. Um stab at a flashlight through the the current chaos. Um, I don't know if dr. Morris or mcdonnell yet any other Thoughts on that As it was per way of intro Yeah, I think there was we talked I think it was um at our meeting last week. So for those that haven't been Glued to the screens and watching every one of our meetings. Um, the I think we talked about the action the Sort of insight that we've gotten or that dr. Morris you've gotten on the whole harmless that And maybe you could speak to that again. Um, that it may not be as as the same situation as as usual Sure. Yeah, and I tried and mostly failed last night at the amherstown council or joint meeting to say this Uh, so, uh, I want to thank, you know, uh, particularly a representative of them who's been on this and communicating with me frequently As well as senator comeford Um, I know representative play also has been involved because we are not unique in having a significant decline in enrollment And so the major concern about chapter 70 next year is How is that going to be appropriated or how is that going to be dealt with because the the declines every year? There's you know, some ups and downs. We've had declining enrollment for 15 years or whatever it is But but not this precipitously Um, and we also think it might be temporary. So we've surveyed the survey went out yesterday or today something like that yesterday Uh, it's a families who have left our district and so we're going to try to ascertain some data on who plans to return um I know that rep dom has met with the chair of the education commission rep paesh And kind of talked about her concerns. I know the education Committee has received those concerns from multiple legislators and are working towards some resolution on this, but um, I guess my concern not to be a Not to be negative tonight, uh, is that um In typical times, I'd feel really confident about the state's capacity to be able to do this Fairly and equitably. Um, these are not typical times and the resources probably are declining I will be declining for education dollars next year So and we have a soon opportunity act that's that's not really been implemented That's around equity, uh, and all the things that philosophically would all agree on so that that That mix is concerning to me because I really it's hard to predict how that's going to turn out Um, so, you know, I do want to appreciate the work of our legislators in trying to make sense of this But they can't print money and so that's the concern is that in a year where resources are sparse They may have some they will have some very difficult decisions to make so I think people are understanding the situation It's been communicated from districts like ours and others to representatives. I know they're talking about what to do with it but You know a pie is not getting larger and that's going to make some For some very challenging significant challenges and that's to mr. Dunlinks point earlier is it's really hard There's not a linear path of what to advocate for how to advocate Because as he noted, you know, there's a significant difference between the governor's budget and the houseways and means On thursday, I believe the senate ways and means is coming out with their budget for fy 21 So we're not even close to thinking through You know what the impact will be in fy 22 other than we know that there will be some but it's it's hard when we're not Usually at this point in the budget cycle Fy 21 would be something that was decided months ago the fact that it's still being debated in november And that's not a critique of the legislatures. It's the situation we're in It makes it really hard to know what advocacy Efforts would work. So I think at this point we've communicated to our local legislators the concerns they've taken action to bring this to the house education committee and I think You know, once we get through fy 21, I think that's probably the time to really ramp up I'm trying to understand what the light of land will be for fy 22 and where the advocacy needs to go Thank you. I don't think I have anything more to add that was helpful. Um, does any anybody have questions or Thoughts that they'd like to share No Not seeing in okay Thank you, we'll move on to the next item. Um, which is exploring our Discussion on the fy 22 school calendar and school year structure Um, and I this this item Was introduced or this idea was introduced. Um, my community member at public comment several meetings ago um and sort of in recognition of The fact that it may be a while before we actually achieve enough or sufficient vaccination rates in our community to be able to um consider full-time Full-time in person in school buildings Learning and that we may be sort of faced with sort of our covet era scenarios And planning for in school and are there ways that we can rethink our school year structure to enable greater time on learning in Warm or weather that it might be more conducive to outdoor And and limiting The time that we are in the winter at least that's how I recall the the suggestion or proposal being presented to us And so we wanted to um this evening Have that conversation about whether this is something that the school committee would like to explore Um and begin discussions on um, obviously it will take if we do embark on this it will take um some some amount of discussions and planning and and um and thinking well ahead of of the spring so that um Not just discussions with our with our unions. Um, but also um so that families can be prepared and and And make their plans for the summer and the fall as well. Um, so I'll just kick that off. Um, and again our point tonight is to discuss and understand whether this is something that the committee would like to explore Miss spitzer So I actually think I brought this up. Um when we're voting on our calendar, um several um months maybe weeks ago and and I feel the same way about it as I um did then which is that I I think to the extent possible because of That what we're seeing right now, which is you know, I I'm not an expert on this but my layperson understanding is that that hopefully that vaccine that you know Is getting tested out by Pfizer. I'm I'm trying to be optimistic But I think we should plan for some what might be the worst-case scenario where we're not in a situation where we have a vaccine um And so I think to the extent we can even if it's not a complete, you know Flipping of the calendar to the extent that we can create You know, flexibility around our, you know, think about changing our brakes. Um Think about ways in which we can Um Maximize the amount of time that students are in the building during especially the spring and the fall um when You can open the windows and maybe because one of the things that we were not thinking about is How our buildings get really really really hot and I don't know and I'm actually this is a question maybe for superintendent morris or I'm looking at Mr. Harrington right now is whether or not all of these improvements that we've been making to our HVAC system are going to have any improvements on our ability to cool our buildings Um, because I think right now it's great that we have one tent per school But there is no way one tent per school is enough to allow for outdoor learning in august, you know for For all of our children who would like to have educating. So I guess what I'm saying is Yes, let's continue to explore this and I'm concerned about the cooling implications and also I just flag for You know our community is a little bit unique because we have so many folks who are on an academic calendar and um folks who work in the universities i'm Curious about how disruptive this might be to their Student and their families learning I think before we explore sort of implications of changing it Let's sort of get a sense from the rest of the committee about how You know, is this something that we want to explore and then we can move on to thinking it through sort of what are the implications and challenges? And um in doing that What are other folks that miss seager? I'm definitely interested in exploring this some more. I think it's it's a good potential solution or not solution but step in a direction to To have students more in person during a time of year that it's definitely easier to be Thank you Any other thoughts on Whether we should explore this mr. Sullivan Yeah, I mean if if we're looking at a summer that was anything like last year Where there really weren't any camps or anything we might as well You know give families The option of sending their students to school early just so they have you know some some socialization And are able to do something because last summer was a mess for all families So i'm seeing head nodding and um hearing comments mr. Denley Yeah, so um I'm I'm quite interested in exploring the bounds of this idea. Um, I'm I'm very cognizant that that we might hit practical roadblocks of This is why you can't do everybody in mid july or Or or or whatnot. Um, and I understand that it's it's a cost-benefit analysis, right? And so to me, I think of it as as the the cost of risking Kids not being in person Uh during a regular school year versus the benefit of having them earlier and you know Living through this year. I see the cost of Um of kids being remote continually as very high And so to me, this is one of those classic the perfect is not the enemy of the good I I am sure that there are a host of headaches And problems maybe not all solvable that Dr. Morris and um, mr. Harrington and and and his colleagues Would have to work through and maybe we get to a point where we say, you know what you just can't do Certain aspects of this but um, but I I really think that it's worth the creative Exploration to push our shell push ourselves to determine what is possible um And you know the other the other side benefit of of this too is that I think Come next Late spring early summer, you know, everybody's going to be wondering about what is school going to look like? And will we actually get in person and to what extent will we get in person? the next school year and If if the if the parents if parents in general are are less trusting of our Ability to make that happen next year. Um, I think that would be reasonable, you know given Again, I'm not trying to like be negative or blame anybody But you know, we we've so so far have not achieved our goal of maximizing in-person learning, right? Other than the seven days so um, so there's got to be a lot of unease I think and um Uncertainty and when you have parents that are making essentially a year-long enrollment decision Um, I can see an advantage, you know, assuming that we're we're doing it in a really Responsible high quality way I can see the advantage of wanting to get more parents locked in Earlier on in the summer than having them get to, you know, beginning in mid august and then having to make those Really painful decisions again about, you know, do I? Have my son or daughter do this outside of ARPS or or not? You know, especially with with with with the hopeful if you know, depending on next year goes well The hopeful return of an of a number of parents to the district. So You know, that also factors in my thinking again, I really I don't want to jump the gun on this but but I do want to I think it's worth some some creative exploration I miss lord I'm going to be the optimist here for a moment and ask about Will there be flexibility because let's say by april Our surrounding towns and or our county is 85 percent immunized and we're actually good to go back to Something that looked a little bit more like last year Like will there be flexibility? To switch If we decide on the summer schedule So I'm um Seeing um just to recap what I'm hearing from the community I'm hearing them and seeing from body language a general strong interest in in exploring this And so several several of us have raised sort of questions about sort of the practicality and sort of where we might have challenges So, um, dr. Morris, you had your hand up earlier Responding to that Yeah, so I I don't love being the person who's like the cold water guy waiting outside But I feel like I will be like I'll have that role a little bit today. Uh, and none of what was said was do I disagree with but um So one is just you know in terms of like the comments today that I saw that, you know A vaccine to be readily available perhaps by april That's for adults. It's not for children, right? And so I do want to caution us that maybe that'll change between now and then but right now my understanding is the vaccine is only being tested on adults And so I'm not suggesting that's not a huge step if adults were vaccinated But when we're talking about kids, um, right now my understanding is and I'm happy to be corrected Like super duper happy that that's probably further out in our thinking Collective thinking about when that would occur. So I do want to caution us about um timeline around vaccines I also wonder and this is you know, I always do this and probably uh to her disney But I'd love to have miss group co Uh, if she wants to comment on this one comment, but I do know that students may Be really excited to come back to in-person learning and still need a break our school year right now runs until I think june 24th It's pretty late. So I also want to balance that, you know Um, whether those are in person in the spring or not in person Just making sure that we're thinking about the student experience and what level of Detachment from academic learning that our students need because I want to make sure that balance is right um The third point I wanted to make was just that for some families they may be enabled to Um, see other family members that they're not visiting right now with the current situation So I just also want to balance that they're For some family members, they're not visiting their family in Thanksgiving They're not visiting their family over if they celebrate december holidays And summer may be a time where again vaccine for adults like lots of opportunities Hopefully our world's a safer world at that point. So um and some of those trips May not be local right for people who have family in other countries So I just want to be balancing again. None of these are saying we shouldn't pursue it. I just um again Try not to play that role tonight But I am I do think I appreciate the committee bringing this up now because there's a whole local industry of summer camps That would might have to adjust to any changes that the committee or the community makes So I think now is the time to start being start talking about this because I We can't make decisions based on local industry and I also want to be a good partner and partner to Some of our you know, some people partners with us during the school year. So To that end, I guess the last thing I'd say is I do not believe our cooling capacity has been significantly influenced And I think if the committee wants to pursue this an action step because I promise I wasn't just going to Do the cold water. I was going to get to an action step Would be to perhaps request from the town council funds for Someone to come in and explore what the cost and the timeline of increasing the cooling capacity of the schools would be I don't know the answer to that Our facilities department is doing tremendous amounts of other work right now So that that people don't have that expertise But I think we'd want an outside resource because that would have to be work that was done by an outside contractor That's beyond the scope of an inhuman power that we have locally within our department So, you know, if this is something that the committee wanted to pursue it might want to see if there's It's a little complicated with our multiple districts But if there was funding for almost like a quasi, you know facilities feasibility study To take to talk about this those folks my friends in Pelham know that we've sort of talked about this There's a couple classrooms in Pelham that are highly problematic. I know this is an appellum meeting But I think it actually relates to this conversation Um So, you know, I think that would be the action step. I don't if we don't increase our cooling capacity We certainly have schools where I don't think it would be comfortable to be in for much of the summer months You know crocker where we have our summer program We don't love using crocker every summer for our summer program at the elementary level We do it because it's the only space that has cooling and it's a much better You know that way it would actually be great to rotate the schools That would be ideal because then crock would get a break and Custodians to be able to pull things out and not feel rushed at the end of the summer We do that because wildwood and fort river would be very very difficult to be in all summer for instruction Um, and I think one could argue with the middle school and high school have certain parts of the school That are air conditioned that would work well in certain parts that don't I think additional complication And why we'd want professional expertise is that putting in window units, you know For those of you who study this actually has a net negative impact on Ventilation, uh and in covet times That would be highly problematic as a potential. I'm not suggesting that was anyone's answer But I know what I do know is that's not a good answer right now For cooling so That was really long-winded, but I had a lot to say And and I'll take away the cold water and say that it totally makes sense to pursue this I just don't know how realistic and feasible it is And I think we would want someone to come in and help us think about that From a operational and perspective and get a real cost to it Because I think the idea of it could be good and if you're sitting in a classroom at fort river In 95 degree weather, it's gonna having nothing to do with covet. It's gonna seem like less of a good idea Then it does right now where you know Probably in a week will be you know the nights will be in the 20s and you know You don't worry about the cooling so much. So and mr. Harrington knows more about this than me So he is should be enabled to say that To pour hot water on my cold water and tell me i'm all wrong and I will go with whatever he says Well, I think before we go there, I think Where there's there's a whole great there's a whole spectrum between saying that we want to explore a different counter structure That is You know could be being in school summer versus Rethinking and sort of maybe just moving in two weeks earlier And and rethinking how we space our holidays, which I think was partly witness fitzer was suggesting, right? So is there opportunity if we start sort of You know august 15th, I don't know Middle of the week saturday, but you know middle of august you just shift our calendar tweaks earlier Some of our curriculum is to later You know wherever possible or or you know and bunch up our holidays Sort of later in in the in the semester so that And then take a longer break then right and then maybe skip a february vacation because we bunched it and moved it into january Or you know just sort of rethinking creatively How we're doing school that may or may not require us to um to invest in being in schools in july And still sort of enable You know at least six weeks of vacation um and time off for folks. I don't know so I think that that that part of the conversation also needs to happen and sort of what are some of our options from You know starting on labor day versus starting on july 1st or whatever Yeah, and that's helpful and i'm sorry if I was overly dramatic, but you know, I think uh, I did want to suggest that you know I would even say that if we want to go down the road of mid august I would still recommend that we get some analysis because um Those of you who remember not that long ago created our cooling system failed But you know, we had a hard time in all of our schools not just wild foot where we had that extremely hot week Just start the school year and You know, I don't I'm not a weatherman. I don't have the data on this But I do think you're more likely to get a row of really hot days in mid august than you are in early september At least it feels that way. Um, so I'm not saying it would cost two million dollars and we're going to get fully air conditioned spaces But having a real good sense of what it's going to be like Um, if we start earlier and what what are some mitigation strategies for cooling? I still think would be a wise idea. But again, mr. Harrington disagrees with me. I'll go with what he says So first off, I do not disagree but um, what I would add to that is that Like there's kind of an urgency around that like a study like that is going to take some time Again, that's not something that we necessarily have the manpower To do in-house. So I would say that aspect of the conversation should probably start like now and then and then Kind of adding on to everyone else's points. I think We definitely have to have this discussion because maximizing in-person time learning time is I mean That that's imperative at this point. That's that's pretty much what everyone seems to want and it's definitely what we are need Mr. Sir Wrong button. Sorry. Um, I just wanted to ask um A kind of a clarifying question is I feel like There are two things that I would love to Know more about one is what are the days that were legally mandated or contractually obligated that they need to be off? For example, um, We had just had looking at what's happening in the colleges like they're not taking indigenous peoples day They're not taking veterans day at amp. You know our local college Amherst college. They've consolidated The calendar to be very short. So it would be helpful to know and maybe this is this is something that's cost free I'd hope I know it takes some hours probably from admin But if we could just get kind of like these are the days like we're not going to ask people to come in and work on Christmas we're not going to ask people to come in and work on things coming But these are the holidays that maybe we could turn into a learning day And then also I feel like there would be some risk in doing this On our own like being the only district to move in this direction. So I don't know how we could Tap into this maybe through the masc But see our other folks interested in moving down this road wrote Particularly in our community because like the other thing I think is you know, we've seen that sports or something That's giving our kids a lot of you know Socialization and hate to move our calendar in such a way that would preclude them participating in in athletics So those are just my my two things that if we could get some more info would be really helpful as we explore this Dr. Morris Yep, so the first one I can definitely find out for you In terms of our contract our contracts with our bargaining units are all ending On june 30th. So that's something that could be discussed With bargaining units. I can certainly Check in with area superintendents in the calendar. I think I may have seen is a good idea as well But I'm happy to check in with other superintendents, you know, because of all the contracts Collective bargaining contracts have clauses in it. It's not as easy as school committee or superintendents voting It would have to be something that would be bargain on the last point as athletics I don't disagree with the larger point but athletics go on even during December break. So I don't think That should be such a barrier Um because it Athletics continue when the school year When students are on break. So if the breaks happen at different times, it might be inconvenient, but it's not it doesn't like it precludes them from happening I guess a question also sort of to mimic, you know, to look at What some universities are doing where they're ending their semester at Thanksgiving as opposed to middle of december And staying closed for a for a longer extended period than normal what um Were we to explore that how much further back would we have to start I guess is the question like that's a math question Dr. Morris So one thing that is in the power of the school committee Is that you have a policy that there's a february break in an april break? um That's not negotiated. That's actually In your policy manual. So that is those are two weeks where even if you did have to take patriots day and presidents day off that's a School days that could be integrated I think the regional approach really matters too because we do have teachers and staff members who are parents in other districts And it creates some child care challenges if everybody's on a different schedule That that may be unavoidable for a whole host of reasons. Um, so I don't want to say that's the only factor, but um You could suspend that i'm not suggesting you should but the school committee certainly could suspend that policy for a year Um, and that buys two weeks essentially of time so if you think about roughly three and a half four weeks between Thanksgiving and And the december break if you started a couple weeks earlier, and you're looking to make up a couple weeks That's another way to think about it Mr. Demlin you know when you brought up the the question of breaks it made me think of um, a few years ago when when you started the policy of no homework over The december break and how well that was received by by students and staff um, and then just more broadly of how a break isn't just a A block of days on a schedule it it serves a well-being and educational purpose over the flow of the The year and the speak it quickly becomes this this educational issue. We're talking about right this this pet this I don't know if pedagogy is the right word Anyway, it's more than just school committee, you know moving days around and so like in terms of next steps um Absolutely, um, you know with with the fees of the the cooling feasibility as as mr. Harrington and dr. Morris mentioned I think the other thing I would like to as a sort of a next step is um, you know And dr. Morris, you don't have to spend hundreds of hours on this but in your regular meetings with with with your colleagues um And and and with and with staff, um, you know your curriculum director director of hr principles, you know and teachers, you know I think sort of Not just like informally throwing this against the wall, but you know sharing school committee is seriously starting to explore this What are some of the big? ticket educational Theme items the values that we should be thinking of the impacts Right. Um, the that we would rather have at least bubble up onto our radar Uh, sooner rather than later, uh, because I I I do want to avoid just thinking about this too narrowly as Well, we got to maximize the sun and as long as we can cool the buildings and let's just You know barrel on down. I don't I don't I don't want to um, You know barrel over the the educational consideration as well thoughts Mr. Seeger It's I guess it's sort of adding on to maybe what mr. Demling was saying but one of the things I'm thinking of is sort of It's broad. How are people around the world doing this? Um, you know, there are different educational models that are are um as effective and and and how How does this work and I realize that is like blue sky things of there's a large world out here and there's a lot of different Um countries doing things differently, but you know, we might we might learn something from different models to in terms of when Breaks and when school is in session when it's not and obviously there's environmental factors there too Um in terms of weather and whatnot, but it just popped into my mind and thinking about that While we're thinking about this if if that helps in any sort of brainstorming um And coming up with ideas And it's an interesting thought and that you brought that up because um There's not a lot of thinking of it too in that last maximizing learning but also um reducing the potential learning that we know happens over summer when for example summer breaks And thinking you know bring that in particularly given that this year is so challenging Um In terms of the learning loss that we had from last spring so over the summer so Thank you for that um miss dancer We have grandchildren in california who are in A different structure. Um, they go for some period of weeks and then they have I think about a three week break and then they go back to school. They do this throughout the year And it may be for maybe that they have I have to find out for Sections of instruction, but um, they've been doing that for a while where they live and uh It's you know because they come to visit us when our kids are in school So um, so it isn't just other countries. There there are places here that are doing it too Any other so and We'll keep talking about this and sort of exploring this A few I think next for that we can sort of Work on and sort of bring to a future Um discussion on this continued discussion Any other closing thoughts? Seeing none. Okay great um Our next item is a summary of the Amherst Town financial indicators. Um, we had the Amherst members the full committee members Of us attended a meeting with the town council And the john's board of trustees Where we update from the staff On through outlook both outlook for Our current fiscal year anyone as well as guidance for Uh planning and beginning our budgeting for fiscal year 22 um And I I took copious notes, but I'm not sure uh, dr. Morris if you want to add At a summary, um Come into ahead of time Sure, so uh, I'll do the math part of it. Um, so at the regional level um The uh initial estimate was uh a fly a level Um budget, which means um the same amount of money That would be available from the town of Amherst for the region this next year as was this year as you all know That would involve significant financial Difficult financial decisions and budget cuts Because our costs generally go up for a whole host of good reasons year to year And so if it was flat for the second year in a row from Amherst Um, you know last year was flat and you know, we reduced I can't remember the exact number, but you know Over half a million dollars. I believe are in that neighborhood Um And so that would be very difficult. Um, that obviously plays into the regional formula, uh, which is its own challenge between Amherst, Leverett, Pelham and Schuetsbury Um, but that's what was shared for the Amherst public schools. It was listed as I believe a 0.27 reduction and funds available from Uh for next year as compared to this year, which would also be extremely difficult Um and involve significant budget reductions Um, so, you know, it was it was a um It was a 39 slide presentation with a tremendous amount of information So I know I'm pulling down to the core elements as it relates to us Um, I do think the town is being judicious and um and trying to think about how it Um responds to a pandemic that has significantly reduced the number of people living in Amherst Uh and some of the financial ramifications of that and the you know ramifications on the commercial sector ramifications on some of the other funds that come from having um to give really more People living in the community. Uh, I'm not saying I endorse the recommendations But I do want to you know, put it in context It wasn't for the sake of making it difficult and that was pretty their financial estimates for FY 22 were consistent across departments um Relatively so that that's sort of the nuts and bolts of what was shared last night and um Certainly there's more context that anyone could add but um, it gave us the starting point Uh, it it was one of the factors in the budget freeze that I spoke about earlier Just thinking through what the implications of those are. Um, certainly not so very challenging to think about um two years in a row of having no financial increase um That's you know, not particularly sustainable In our model and so, you know, we're trying to do all the things we can do now to make next year um Less severe than it could be and I'm not sure we'll be successful Um given that estimate. So sorry again. I'm the cold water guy all night. It seems like but um Uh, you know, I just want to be transparent and honest about what was shared last night and what the implications are for our two districts You have your hand up I believe miss stancer does unless your her Raise hand was up. Oh You have to click on it to take your hand. Thank you Um, um So I believe just to sort of we We scheduled um Our portating um, we're talking about the budget and assess them for f y 22 Um scheduled for december 5th um Saturday morning um online um, so I think I get the the question and maybe we'll come to this agenda planning is sort of um, what are our steps to to Um, and then um on that Any questions so all of our MRs were at the meeting but are there any questions? Uh anybody actually on the committee about um about the indicators from the MRs? Miss stancer, it's not so much a question as I I think it is more of a comment and Kind of wanting to start the conversation about Is there any For our schools that perhaps Keeping us level funded in a year when and actually taking a decrease for our, you know, our elementary schools I'm just very very concerned about what this is gonna mean. Um, and and and I know we're you know We've had these conversations about keeping kids in our district and I honestly have to say like this is gonna You know just make it A lot harder. I think our schools are um, I think part of the reason people choose to move to this Area of of western mass and I'd like to keep our schools strong and I'm really concerned about Keeping it level out a year when we're going to be asked to you know, hopefully we'll get back in person and when we do We're going to need more resources not less than I've been saying this a lot um, and so I'm just I I'm hoping that this was kind of like the starting point, you know with budgeting You always have a starting point and then maybe we find out that the state It has a little bit more money, you know, and what things aren't as dark as they seem But I'm not optimistic this year That that's the case. So I I don't I'm just curious about You know, is there anything we can do um to try to advocate then maybe this the schools might be deserving of some And just cut us a break in terms of uh The keeping us level are actually decreasing our funding and potentially I don't want to pit, you know departments Against departments and I know that everybody is hurting this year but we I just think we do need to advocate for our schools if there's any way we can if there's any wiggle room at all Mr. Devin Yeah, I'm really glad you brought that comment because I had the same feeling at the end of that presentation. Um, I think um You know like dr. Morris says 39 slides and really the kicker was in one slide you know, so 37 slides of How well the town is managing its finances and how well positioned we are With all our debt and then oh everybody's going to get this massive cut this year so and you know, I'm not like You know, that sounds a little harsh. I mean like on the one hand it could have been worse You know, and I know I know some communities it is worse because it's true that Amherst has um comparatively speaking A well run town, you know, well managed finances. We have the bond rating. We have that's that's deservedly so um But but I think we you know when you put it in the context of we were level funded last year and now we're level funded this year and um, I think You know a couple of vibes I got from from the from the presentation One is that they do like I think dr. Morris's word of judicious is is well Well put they the the the town does have a kind of a vibe of they need to want they want to be very cautious and judicious and conservative in its in its outlays and so always budget less and or yeah budget budget, um, you know more than you need and um, I don't know if I said that right, um But uh, so I it doesn't surprise me that they didn't come out and say hey We knew we really need to like give extra to to a services. I also think that it is really difficult for Uh, the town manager in november to say this department gets this and this department gets that You know because it is a zero sum game, right? And which is what's really difficult about this is that it's a zero sum game And uh So I think I think there is an opportunity to I don't know if I would call it advocate for the schools When it when it comes to within the town so much as educate um The public and and have conversations the town council will vote where our schools are at with this budget picture And what the cut would mean Right because I you because you heard some of the comments, uh towards the end of the meeting, uh, right of like If you think about this really quickly. Oh the school's enrollment is going down. Therefore they have less expenses, right? Or um, and it's it's we all know that's really not that simple. Um, so I think You know, I I don't sense personally any hostility towards um investment in in our schools, you know The opposite actually I feel like, you know across the town council spectrum Is just very strong support for public education and wanting to sustain our public schools But I do think there is some Uh Education to be done in terms of describing. Well, this is why it's a lot harder to come back from a double hit Two fiscal years in a row for a school than it is for your roads Right or or even even a facilities department. I don't want I'm not You know, which I'm not talking about staffing. I'm just talking about like the actual Trying to recover from because of the enrollment all the complexities that we understand. So um, it's a hard conversation to have But I I I thank you for raising the comment because I I I would agree that we we should probably start to have it Thank you both. Um I I agree And they also think that it's very similar to conversation that we just had the earlier about state funding too So I sort of could talk I could talk myself. But I do think our role at the committee It's our job to advocate for what we think is for our students and our in our schools. Um knowing that It's it's going to be a Any other Observations questions Not seeing any um move on to our next item, which is our Planning for the jmsc said that that's the joint labor management safety committee the agenda items and Sullivan and mr. Hinton are our representatives now on that turn it over to I think mr. Harrington for um introducing this topic Yeah, so um So there's there's a meeting posted on the uh on the website with with a sort of a brief agenda Where we would discuss, you know metrics, which has kind of been typical for Kind of that that's pretty much how they all open Um, there are a couple members that are better at math than than I am So it's always good to get that input Then um, we also had on there a facilities update and then future agenda agenda planning and then kind of left it open for anything that would Come up that we hadn't discussed prior And and so because it we have to follow open meeting law it had to be posted today rather than tomorrow So we we kind of had to move expeditiously there Um, I also want to note that that I this afternoon I received an email from Uh members of the jlms Jlmsc. It's so hard to say fast. Um That from the the apa reps for on the on the committee expressing some concern and there was sort of a request for a to postpone this meeting and I think kind of like Looking over there. It's it's more procedural concerns. I think And so I I believe that's a discussion we can have in advance of the uh Friday meeting and try to get that to go forward but uh, it is a posted meeting and we will be there at four o'clock I think that's about sums it up for Um for a question for um, so on the website Um, anybody from any member of the community or the public Will be able to access a link to be able to view this meeting on Friday through that agenda. Is that correct? Yeah, yeah Miss spitzer I'm sorry. I'm just I guess I didn't follow the update so there was a request to postpone the meeting but The meeting's been posted. So it's definitely happening at that time. Could you just clarify? Is there some possibility that the meeting's not going to happen? if The apa reps don't show like do we need to have a core room in order for that meeting to be held in the same way that we do And if so, what would be the effect if the apa Representatives were not able to make it at that time for whatever reason Yeah, so the part I can clarify with that is that um, so the email requesting the postponement The timing on I just actually just looked at the the timing that it came in It co actually literally coincided with When the meeting was being posted So it now is a posted meeting and as far as as quorum, I don't I don't believe that's actually written out in the moa Directly mr. Morris or dr. Morris can clarify that Yeah, so uh, the moa states that each uh, the the apa and the district can assign You know, it's three members, uh, whoever three members are and just to clarify my understanding is that mr Harrington mr Sullivan Are now a subcommittee of the school committee thought that the whole group is so mr Sullivan and mr. Harrington can't actually have dialogue about this outside the posted meeting Um, they are the subcommittee the fact that there's other people who are present at the meeting Like many other meetings, um, you know is fine, but um, what would be needed is a quorum of those two members um To have the meeting if if there wasn't a quorum of those two members the meeting could not could could not be had is it I just ask a question if you Maybe share share Paraphrase what what's in the letter so that folks understand because i'm just wondering Um, what was the reason for the request you said that it's procedural Yeah, so um, so they were looking for some clarification regarding, um There was a concern that we were all The school committee was had made a decision to turn The jlmsc into a subcommittee of the school committee So so that that's something to need some some clarifying and um They they they did state an interest in in wanting to discuss the matter And kind of resolve it in a timely manner manner so That's that's like the gist of the Dr. Mars Yeah, just to clarify. I think I better to give an example to my description earlier. So for instance when miss lord and miss, um And miss kenny were on the evaluation subcommittee meeting every time there was a meeting Um, miss lord would call that meeting to order. There were very quick meetings because they almost Exclusively went into executive session immediately, but they were posted meetings that were held and so sometimes I would be there Sometimes mr. Terry the attorney sometimes during cunningham or jennifer tees So we were sort of we were part of a group that was meeting with the subcommittee, but the subcommittee itself Needed to be there for the meeting to occur. So miss lord did not ask As chair of that group you should not ask for my roll call attendance. It wouldn't matter For calling the meeting whether I was there Whether it mattered I was there all together it's a matter for miss lord and miss kenny to think about and However, they think about it's fine, but on a technical level that was the subcommittee And the other people who were at that meeting were Members and we obviously were were hopefully critical parts of that team And the same would be true for mr. Harrington and mr. Sullivan that they would They need to be there for the meeting to happen and that's the quorum that would be required to Kind of have that discussion as this is not negotiations unlike miss lord and miss kenny's You know that went into executive sessions because it was about negotiations This is as you know as was noted earlier clear not negotiation So the meeting would be held in public, but they're the they're the group that would need a quorum That comparison was That cleared it out. Thank you So to be clear sir Sullivan and mr. Harrington are the subcommittee of the regional school committee And that's why it needs to be posted within agenda. Okay sir Sullivan, did you have a Yes, so so this is just like a meeting of the policy subcommittee instead of Three or four people. It's just two of us and then there are other people attending along with us Is that true? All right, so I just want to remind everybody That i'm these hats that i've been wearing lately These are my comfort hats because my comfort dog seems to come and go and it's not very comforting anymore So I need I need the hat because for the first time in six years I'm beginning to get feedback from shootsbury families that they you know There's less than five cases the entire time in shootsbury for the covet and families are getting really antsy about wanting to get their kids back in school because up here There's no reason to keep them out. So I need some guidance on what you know, or where we're supposed to take these conversations Thank you And I think the agenda does include Session on on the latest metrics and I get I think the decision As we spoke at the beginning of this meeting um if the jail um The any discussion about Metrics and the and that are our decision framework um for closing schools With to be brought back to the kea and and the regional school can be reopened negotiations so So we end our meeting back where we started um the Is there any other comment or discussion on item? great So we'll move on to a future agenda um, and I believe because Two weeks from now is the week of um Thanksgiving. We are planning to meet next Tuesday instead Oh, thank you. Dr. Morse. So we are going to do I think Come back the uh No way with the a f m e that is still outstanding. We were waiting um for that to be on by by that group um High situation requirements. So we're the regional school committee. We I'm looking at that later this evening um and advocacy and um winter sports because we are still um in a remote learning situation The school committee regional school committee will need to in on Are not we we hold uh winter sports. I believe waiting on guidance from m a a They haven't issued dr. Morse Yeah, so just to clarify that point not to go into discussion, but the ec put out their um guidance I want to say on friday, uh, which is the state state government agency and now that the m i a has that We're hoping that by the time we meet next Tuesday They've taken that feedback into account and shared something if not, we may want to push that In terms of decision making, but I still think the ec guidance is enough where It'd be worth the committee having some discussion because it does list school specific rules, uh, what sports can happen can't happen in some conditions So, um, I'd like to leave it on the agenda even if my m i a doesn't especially because we won't be meeting the next week At least to have some initial dialogue on that topic That'd be great We expand that potentially to hear right on how the falls went and then we'll be coming and hearing about The distance learning attendance that um that we first sort of initial a week ago And so sort of more detail and and then of that and Potential way to address that Are there Any Missing items that folks Like to see next week. Um, if it does occur to you, um after this meeting if you email me Um tomorrow would be awesome and we can look at For them a warrant report. I do have two spitzer. Do you have any region? All right, would you like to Um, I think I just have one so if I am happy to um, just give me one moment Sorry for the delay. So, um, I carry spitzer authorized by my signature to payables in the amount of $568,886 and 18 cents for the warrant dated November 6th, 2020 This included general fund expenses of $296,267 and 82 cents Revolving fund expenses expenses of $47,372 and 35 cents grant fund expenses of 225,096 dollars and one cent And other funds in the amount of 150 dollars, uh, which is for gifts And I signed this on november 6th Um, and I have two um the first one. Um, I alice and i'll authorize by my signature tables the amount of $168,872.77 for a warrant dated october 23rd, 2020 This includes general fund expenses of $52,580 and 88 cents revolving fund expenses of $26,500 grant fund expenses of $2,338 and 73 cents FEMA fund of $19,224.41 COVID relief for rent The amount of $5,994 CARES Act fund $62,611.75 And I signed that under second 20 And I have a spinning wheel I alice and McDonald authorized by my signature to payables in the 47th at 412 dollars 47 cents Warrant dated november 13th, 2020. This includes general fund expenses of $15,000 uh This is uh $15,860 24 cents um revolving fund expenses of Yes, $15,865. Sorry in 24 cents Um 2000 revolving expenses of $2,660 grant fund expenses of $302 and 5 cents COVID grant fund $4,141 and 67 cents CARES Act fund 24 $605 and 77 cents Project bread 207 and 74 cents and I signed that today november 10, 2020 That is all Warrants, um, and I don't believe we have any game tonight um So we'll move on I move to adjourn the Amherst school committee at 8 o'clock 6 p.m. Is that second? second Move by mcdonald seconded by And the discussion will take you all vote. Um, mr. Demling Demling I Mr. Harrington Harrington I Lord Lord I Miss spitzer Spitzer I and mcdonald I The Amherst school committee is adjourned And we're all still here And moving on to the regional only item of graduate requirements for the class of 2021 And I believe there's a in our packets Dr. Morris Sure, so as Um was noted. Um, we can uh, I'm not asking for a vote tonight But I wanted to share the proposal that came from the high school administration If there's any questions I can answer them or bring them back to the high school administration To make sure you have answers before your vote, but um, I think the memo Said that pretty clearly so I think I'm going to just kind of read it for the sake of viewers So you don't have to double back to the packet The arhs high school administration recognizes that 88 question credits are required for graduation This was the requirement when arps when an arhs, excuse me Was in a trimester schedule of 15 blocks that allowed for students to earn 30 credits per year When the high school changed its, uh, the master schedule to a seven block schedule in 2017-2018 Students could earn a total of 28 credits each year, but the total credits required for graduation was maintained at 88 With the most recent change to a three by three block, which is in response to The guidelines as a result of covet and the prioritization of students having fewer transitions in the school There are fewer classes to focus on during a remote or hybrid schedule The majority of students will earn 24 credits this year The high school administration recommends that the high school graduation requirements be adjusted to 84 total credits for this class of 2021 and beyond to acknowledge that students had fewer opportunities to earn 88 credits with the change in schedules This reduction is equivalent to one full year course or two elective courses The change will increase the graduation rate for airmer students And we believe it's our responsibility and obligation to adjust this requirement As a result of the unforeseen schedule change combined with the change to semesters and the resulting effect that the students The schedules had on student credit attainment I'm going to put it in layman's terms Which is as students have had the opportunity to have fewer and fewer credits Both with the change in schedule from trimesters to semester and then particularly this year The margin for error for students on their credits If they do struggle in a course has gotten narrower and narrower and at this point the high school administration And I agree with them and endorse their view feels like it's more narrow than we want it to be The wiggle room yet students had if they they were having struggling and needed to take a study instead of a course A credit bearing course or just if they were struggling a course We always want to build in that we want to support our students We know that those students in our high school career do Have ups and downs and right now it feels like that that wiggle room that we want to provide students has gotten just Too narrow for our comfort level and we know that the students who are will be most affected by maintaining it at 80 or 88 Our students who who tend to have more challenges being successful in the academic content in schools So when we looked at it from an equity perspective and a student perspective We feel like we've we've shrunk the chances to have struggles and challenges and still graduate on time Through no fault of the students. It's because we've changed the schedule twice now over the students careers At the high school. So that's why we're making this request And i'm happy to answer any questions or take any comments And if I don't know the answer again, I'll loop back and we can have tall over mickey or sam come on next time to To be able to answer anything that I can Thank you. Just to answer Um, I think I think I have a couple of questions. Um, are students limited to 24 credits Could a student have more than 24 credits this year? So that's where the the three by three plus one schedule comes in because students do have the opportunity for a plus one block Um, they do have the opportunity to have more that plus one block Tends to not it doesn't meet 90 minutes a day. So it is a little bit more self-directed Which is working great for some students and for some students That's not the best option for them who are maintaining, you know, a pretty intensive look at three courses and so Um, the majority of students are somewhere in that range But we wanted to again look at the students who would be at risk of not graduating and prioritize the credits they're taking If students take more That's fabulous and that looks great for those students who are applying for post high school either careers or college applications, but We just wanted to make right sides the expectation we have for for all students Okay, and I guess the other question is I don't know How this fits. Um, are there a certain number of credits required by the state? For a high school education and how does this fit into that? So that one is much more about the local requirements. We said plus the mcast requirement, uh, which is a state requirement So for us, it would still maintain, um You know a commitment and we did look at uh, where this often comes up It's not so much at at the state level but at the college level Some colleges require a certain number of credits or a certain number of years in each discipline or domain We don't feel like that would be affected. It would be much more about Making sure that students are able to graduate in time if they perhaps show us not to take an elective course Because they wanted an additional study period so that they could be unsuccessful in completing the courses They need to pass the mcast and graduate Okay, thank you. Thanks. Those are really good questions. Appreciate it Um, thank you for bringing up mcast. That's what I was going to ask whether um That will be another vote if there is a moratorium for students who either moved into the district Or we're going to plan on taking it again either junior or senior year since it's kind of hokey It is hokey. That's the right word. Um, and so, uh, more soon on that that's certainly a lot of Superintendents minds and it's come up multiple times in our meetings with desi. Um, so This one this vote that we'd be asking to take next week is is exclusively about the credit piece And that's what's in the local control at the moment is how many credits you all would require for high school graduation Damn cast is going to be a bigger fish to fry the down the road Just a quick follow-up wouldn't be sorry So It is a bigger fish to fry would it is now the time to get people to contact Our state representatives and have you know in support of the And gas moratorium I think oh my gender for next week Okay, yeah, they can they can hold on to seven days until the robust conversation you'll all have next week Ms. Seeger So this is this is relatively new to me being new on this committee Um, and I realize that covet is not only affecting the seniors, but the juniors the sophomores and the freshmen Um as well Um, hopefully When the eighth graders get into the high school and stuff that'll even out a little bit across their time there If we change these now is this sort of like a permanent change going forward Do you see this beyond the students who are in the high school now affecting? Affecting the students who are now in seventh and eighth grader. Would we change it sort of back? Or is this something that you think is like a long run better? kind of change So, you know, we put the language in there specifically that Class of 2021 and beyond and some of that's because we can't really predict what next year will look like But I do think for students who are currently at the high school That'll be a factor since middle school credits don't apply to high school graduation It's a little too early to say about um for students at that level, but for anyone, you know 9 through 12 graders right now their credits are going to be a little wacky because they're having a year that doesn't really conform to were pre-existing Structures as it relates to credits Any other questions from Could I give the opportunity again and she certainly can pass as she always gets to miss group co if she has anything She'd like to add on this particular topic Um, not really that much. I just think that this is a good idea I think that it would take a lot of stress off of Some students for you know, trying to achieve this credit Goals, so yeah Thank you Any other questions? So as we just it's us End of planning will be coming back to this again next week. I think that We have for this evening. So I will make another motion. Um adjourn the regional committee. Is there a second? Second Second by stance Mr. Den Mr. Harrington Miss Kenny Kenny I Miss lord Seager I Am I going out Yeah, I think she's done it miss lord Yeah, um Spitzer I Stancer I Mr. Sullivan Sullivan I McDonald's Did I Yep