 This program is brought to you by cable franchise V's and generous donations from viewers like you So seeing a presence of a quorum and calling to order the meeting of the regional Amherst home regional school committee at 631 p.m.. On November 4th, and we'll take a roll call attendance Mr. Demling President Mr. Harrington Harrington present Miss Kenny Kenny present Miss Seager Seager present Miss Spitzer Spitzer present Mr. Sullivan Sullivan present and McDonald present Thanks everyone and welcome Emily Gribko my student representative and and we also have Doug Slaughter Mike Morris and Obed I Apologize I'm not able to pronounce your last name Joining us this evening I'm now also going to call to order this meeting of the Amherst school committee at 632 Pm, and I will take roll call attendance. Mr. Demling Mr. Harrington Harrington present Miss Spitzer Spitzer present and McDonald present Our first item is to approve our minutes from September 22nd and those were included in our packet anybody have any comments? Dr. Morris Just on the bottom of the first page where it says Rebecca it's Klaus KLA us so just a K instead of a C Mr. Demling Item number 10 the adjournment It was just a regular meeting. So just strike the executive session Mr. Harrington Section 3 part B memorandum of agreements See move that we approve the memorandum of agreement for UF UFC W not for Amherst school committee Has this AFS CME in there, too. Yeah And we did not vote on that one Right. Yeah, I also had On the item 3 C virtual private school application I feel like that was included in another one, but the Second line the school committee. It says has a liability for what's private. It should say has no liability And then further in that same section I think it's the third to the last line Dr. Morris that private schools benefit our community through financial benefits And the impact is less than charter schools. Is that correct? Dr. Morris? Yeah, I was gonna comment on that one as well. Thank you for prompting me. So I think So I'd have to go back and watch and I did not I meant to do that today and I apologize I think I think what was intended is Dr. Morris said that private schools Impact our community Financially, but the impact is less than charter schools because the impact is really just on the chapter 70 piece It's not doesn't have the same per pupil cost So I think that's what I was intending to say there Does that ring a bell to people I know is a little while ago, but Any other edits I'm seeing none. Oh, I miss Kenny It I guess it's more a question. I didn't have a chance to look it up is CPAC SE PAC and so on the second paragraph under number five it's both Their name and then also I think their email address would be different to correct and I didn't look it up And then I also noticed It's also page five so I'm going to apologize Obed because I also don't want to butcher your last name But he is the only person referred to by his first name as opposed to everybody else who's referred to as a Last name person any further come edits. I'm seeing them Yes, we can do that. Um, so I'll move to approve the minutes at it as Updated for the Amherst school committee. Is there a second? second Move by McDonald's second by Spitzer. We'll take a roll call bit. Mr. Demling Demling. I Mr. Harrington Here and can I miss spitzer? Spitzer I in McDonald I and likewise, I'll move to Approve the minutes as added as updated for the regional school committee. Is there a second? Second Move by McDonald's second by Spitzer and roll call vote. Mr. Demling Demling. I Mr. Harrington Here and can I miss Kenny? Kenny I miss Seager Seager I with their Spitzer I Mr. Sullivan Sullivan I and McDonald I So those two motions both pass unanimously Amherst four to zero and region seven to zero Next up we have public comment and this evening we have one public comment And that's a voice. We also have it In in writing and I just got word that it the letter is posted on our School committee agendas webpage Under public comment there. I'm just turning the volume up Okay, this is Alicia lead today I'm speaking on behalf of 105 Amherst Pellum regional school district families who signed the following letters to the Amherst Pellum Education Association that's a total of 159 parents and caregivers 30% more families than find a previous letter encouraging the school committee and teachers union to renegotiate This signals clear growing and powerful momentum. We wanted to make sure the school committee heard what we have to say to you Here was what here is what we wrote Dear APA leadership as the parents and caregivers of children in the Amherst Pellum regional school district Today, we are writing to both our strong support of the request to the Amherst Pellum Education Association From the Amherst Pellum regional school committee to reopen negotiations regarding the decision metrics for increase in schooling We believe that as a scientific understanding of COVID-19 of all both the APA and the school committee need to be poised to move quickly and Collaboratively in response to this changing understanding not just today, but well into 2021 The APA must be a part of this conversation. The community is crying out for your participation. Please hear our call. Thank you So included in that document is the the names of all the families The individuals that have signed on to that public comment and as mentioned it's available on the school committee Agendas web page Now we'll move on to our next item number five Welcome this Lord and We are now and the superintendent's update. So I'll turn it over to you Dr. Morris Sure. So I've got four items for the update tonight One I want to acknowledge before I do those four items that you know, it's slightly odd I know that attention perhaps isn't on local issues at the moment. So I want to really acknowledge and thank our educators for Stepping up and being able to support our students in a significant variety of ways as the students have undergone a range of emotions this week and Continue to do so as as all of us do I think in the country And I think dealing with the uncertainty of the current situation while we're seeing some trends this afternoon in the evening There's still trends. They're not at Resolution so, you know, I want to thank our principals, too We've met multiple times this week About how to support folks and they've offered optional sessions for staff members before school during lunches after school today They've been popping in classes making sure that mental health folks are available Throughout the day for students for staff You know, this is a this is a non-partisan statement that this is a very stressful time for many people In our community and we want to make sure that we're supporting our staff so that they can support our kids and so far I really want to thank everyone that was really thoughtful lesson plan developed at the high school that was given as a sample So that our high school staff would be able to be able to talk about The election and and how it's impacting all the students as well as the faculty and staff so You know, I think it's it's it's a wild ride in the season of wild rides And you know, I just I'd be remiss if I started my update and didn't thank folks for for being able to do that And that that really goes for all staff you know, it's We met after school today We being the leadership team and one of the things I continued to hear was From principals who stopped in classes heard with it. What was the dialogue that was happening? Talk to mental health folks how they could continue that work tomorrow It's not a one-day process and it might be a dragged out for a long time process and so we want to make sure that Um, that students still have access to be able to share their opinions to get the support They need academically socially and and make sure we're perver perver preserving everybody's well-being Uh, which leads me to my first actually had five points. I lied. I should have said five instead of four So next thursday, um, so a week from tomorrow. We're doing a coffee hour with two folks to um Social workers therapists from the bright program and it's particularly focused on as we head into It's pitch black out right now and has been for a while as we're heading into winter as we're heading into less sunlight and more indoor time For many people based on the weather We want to make sure that we're starting a series where parents and caregivers Have the opportunity to talk about the stresses. Um that that causes I'm someone who really misses the sun this time of year in the warm weather Although I think the next week we're going to have some unusually warm weather Um, the sun's still going down really early and and folks are able to be outside less and we know that impacts students social-emotional well-being So, um, you know, we're going to be working with those experts uh to be very proud of that resource So it's 5 30 next week was emailed out. It was in the newsletter and was emailed out and we'll we'll send a reminder next week Uh, second thing I want to share is that um, we had an excellent curriculum day yesterday We started the day with patina dr. Bettina love. There's a professor at the university of georgia Who speaks a lot about? Racism anti-blackness meeting with black love And just I I'm not going to try to encapsulate her talk In this time because I will fail miserably, but I will say it was powerful heartening brought out a tremendous amount of emotions and thoughts from our faculty and staff and It was just incredibly moving and really focused us on action We filed that up with um, I think it was 15 ish sessions that were led primarily by our faculty and staff In the district. Uh, there were some outside folks who also helped uh all in the focus of diversity equity inclusion so Very powerful morning. Um, it wasn't lost on us that it was also the election morning and you know in my introductory comments I noted that because the juxtaposition of um, the intensity of the work plus the intensity of the moment wasn't lost on anyone second thing Third thing I guess I want to talk about is uh, one of the last times we met we talked about a drop in enrollment Um, I think it'll go out tomorrow that we are surveying all families who are members of our district last year In terms of having children and are no longer Having students or a student enroll in our district We're trying to ascertain, you know, make sure we know where they are why they left Are they planning to come back offering for a direct phone call from me or another district director or principal? If they want to it was more comfortable for folks to follow up Um that way and so we'll be able to share that data back with you sometime probably next month But it is trying to understand, uh, I you know, I think we had a good dialogue about Why that might be the case and as an anecdotal evidence and we're trying to have some More than just the kind of individual anecdotal pieces but a more systematized approach to understanding The choices folks made and and whether they're permanent choices or temporary choices The fourth thing is um, good news, which is um Very challenging on mr. Dr. Slaughter's office, but we got yet another grant And this one was on that it's the state teacher diversification grant that we got last year We got it again. It's about a hundred ten thousand dollar grant, which is fabulous and and much like last year our focus is For para educators of color who are interested in becoming teachers to provide tuition support M tail support and then also to provide professional development for the district So thanks to shannon, uh, who works in in doug's office who does a lot of the technical work During cunningham and some others who worked on that and so just wonderful news for our district continuing Um The the work that we have been doing and allowing us to kind of continue that and perhaps even expand that work Which has been successful to date The last thing I have is um You know, I'm getting a lot of questions today Uh, for whatever reason about what our metrics are because theoretically we could be back on monday Um, and I've responded to those saying that you know with the metrics we have And the current case count that we see in the three counties noted Um, just very bluntly. We aren't close to being able to come back and that's not a political statement. That's not Uh, I want to be really clear and transparent. You know and to be transparent. It's not trying to prove a point It's just that's a question I'm getting asked by mostly by staff although many staff are saying i'm here in the some families as well um, you know and You know just the way our metrics are low or where our metrics sit And the current case count that we're seeing and the trends that we're seeing in western massachusetts as well as beyond We are starting actively to plan for an extended closure Um, and how long that is I don't know Um, but you know, I've actually found myself not obsessing every four o'clock about what the Case count is in massachusetts because we're so far removed from The 28 per hundred thousand metric that we have um that that it it it's Not seems um, I do check it, but it seems like I'm I'm obsessing less because we're Unless somehow it's eradicated the next two days. I think we'd still have enough in the first couple days of this week Where we'd be over that metric particularly hampton county. Well, it's only 10 of the The kind of how it's calculated. It's you know, they're really struggling with covet in ham in hampton county It's certainly over the metric in hamshire and franklin county as well or at least it was in the last couple days I want to thank debbie was role in jerry champagne. We do have trying to update it every day But you know, I think it was last updated yesterday, but we're trying to on our website is Um, a calculator remodeled off the cambridge one so that people can look but the short story is we're not close to the 28 Um, and so when I say we're planning for extended closure, that's kind of three domains One is we're planning for it academically. You'll hear obed primarily. I'll do a little bit, but um obed will mostly present the information about the distance learning survey and what we've learned and what we can Gather to improve the experience for everybody The second part is financial That there are financial ramifications Both in the current year's budget. You'll hear that from dr. Slaughter a little bit later as well as looking ahead to f y 22 which Amherst will release its financial indicators and projections on monday of next week So we'll know a little more next week. We'll be able to talk in a little more depth about next year And lastly operationally that if we are closed for an extended period of time that that changes some of the Just the functions of folks in the operational world Um, that's not a I'm not trying to make anyone anxious or nervous But it's just if you look at the numbers we have we're not close to that metric. We haven't been close since we closed Um, I don't I don't think we're trending in a way that we'll Have our number now or anything like that So, you know, our administrative team is certainly shifting. We're ready to go back in person I'll be honest that, you know, we loved having kids in schools. Um, that was welcomed Uh by by all of our educational leaders And if that's not in the cards, we have to do the best with what we've got And so we're actively planning again on those three domain domains academic financial and operational And then we can always toggle back if things get better But the current time that's not the way we're seeing it and we want to make sure that we're doing The best by resource management in terms of academics and reaching all students And also making sure that we're we're covering our operational elements as well So it's really it's not easy work. Um, to be toggling back and forth But, you know, honestly, I prefer the toggling back and forth planning than the long-term closure planning, but That's where the numbers are right now And so, you know, I just thought I'd I'd share that with the committee because I think It's important for you all to know the work that the administrative team is doing and and how it shifted over the last particularly Over the last four or five days We've had multiple conversations about this shift And that's my update for the night. Sorry. I sort of toggled between More fun good news and exciting professional development for staff Uh, and then some harder news there at the end, but um, just felt like transparently I needed to keep the committee and the community informed of uh, what we're planning for and You know, what we're managing and what we may come back in two weeks with more information about Any questions or comments for Dr. Morris? Mr. Demlin Yeah, so I appreciate you bringing up the potential financial impact of an extended closure. Um You know, it's uh, especially with regards to its impact to next year. It's going to turn of mind. So Um, obviously what we spend in f y 21 For resources affects f y 22 and I think although obviously everything's, you know, volatile as of this hour um, my my in my personal opinion the prospects for a Wonderful amazing and near term bailout from the federal government to state government The prospects for that have been significantly diminished with all the unfortunate downstream effects for Um projected state support of public education. So I think that I think that just makes the problem all the more acute in terms of wanting to do all we can to um You know manage the f y 20 budget as as carefully as we can so that we are in the best possible position position for f y 22 So that's that's just a comment. I appreciate you Bring that up and hope we can maintain a good focus on that in the coming Months um a question is um, so let's kind of follow up from last Meeting so last meeting you gave us a an overview of how in-person learning went. Um and uh, since then there's been some recent public discussion about some aspects of that um, specifically PPE availability for staff student adherence with masks and distancing and what our classroom disinfecting practices are um And uh, I just I remember from your the the update that you gave us last time you covered all these these items I talked about the the PPE preparation that we've been um Purchasing for for months and how well our kids are our youngest eyes need kids did with um With with cooperation and enthusiasm with with masks and distancing and and and I was also struck in my memory for the but the truly commendable Performance of our dedicated custodial staff. So um, I just like given the recent public discussions If you could just refresh our memory on and how that I know was a brief in-person period, but um, just just how it went on those fronts Sure, I'd like to maybe comment on the financials very briefly Um, and we'll get to that when dr. Slaughter presents, but I think just the one thing to note in both districts that are represented in tonight's meeting um Both districts opted uh at the recommendation of of staff Myself included to use a pretty significant amount of school choice reserves That's not sustainable to continue to use and I think that's going to be a conversation. We have to come back to in the next couple weeks um, once we get a sense of the fi 22 budget because you know, um We say this every year or every district says it but literally this year every dollar we spend Is is going to lead to a challenge next year because we're we're we really relied on soft money and at some point that runs out so um Just wanted to comment and remind the committees that that there was six digits of soft money In both the embers and the regional budget Um for the current year So the three things you mentioned for ppe pp was identified It was located in each school in some places some schools was located in two places Like the pp that would have been more for specialized program staff was located closer to those specialized programs And where the general was if anyone was short on ppe they were to notify administrator administrator would have that there was no limit on masks Or you know that kind of thing we double the order of gowns that that people wanted or scrubs. Um, so um To my there's not been a report. I did check in with principals about staff Not finding masks or other essential items, you know And I want to thank rupert and the whole facilities department because the distribution process sounds really simple One from the outside and then I asked some questions and got a clear understanding of how complex it was Uh, particularly for some of the isolation gowns and scrubs that were sized as opposed to masks Which are one size fits all in terms of the kn95. So That was our process for that. Um, I think You know, there were In terms of masks, uh, what I saw in every school as students um Doing quite well with that. Uh, there were individual students who we did work with families in a problem-solving approach As we spoke about here many many times um to try to Work on uh, challenges that students were facing and for the most part those problem-solving processes worked well Um, there might have been individual situations where we had to have more active intervention Um to try to help students, but I think for for students who were Three and four and five years old masks are like No different than lots of other things that we're trying to work with students on is it's a teaching It's a teaching process And we want to build the tolerance of students over time And that's true for kind of other preschools in our area that require masks that we've spoken to is that there there is an adjustment period Um for for students to be able to do that and just I think the parents that our experience has been the parents and caregivers Have been highly supportive of us enforcing that and working with us in a problem-solving manner And the last one, uh, just want to go over, um, you know, uh, again an appreciation for our custodial staff Who you know worked tirelessly to get the spaces ready? So if there is an accident for instance in the room like a student acts and remember we're talking about young kids The custodian is intended to is is it directed to go in the room and students are to leave the room while that That's being cleaned up and that's around covid safety and just thank the custodial staff for doing that You know, the last thing our custodians want to do is disrupt teaching and learning Um, that is not high on their priority list In fact, they feel really bad because they really see themselves as their work, which I see is supporting the teaching and learning So I know that that's an uncomfortable moment to ask people to leave but you know, there were situations where that Had to occur and you know, just again, thank thank everybody in the facilities department and the training that went on for custodians Because it's not easy work. Um, and particularly when you're dealing with bodily fluids, it's you know, particularly challenging work and making sure we keep everyone safe as the highest priority and it does sometimes mean that There's interruptions to teaching and learning But that's what folks are tasked to do and you know, if there was any issues it would go to the principal again go to facilities to manage it and that's our our That's the process that it has if there's concerns that it goes to the principal and the principal Our principals did a great job managing that where whether it was calling Jill Consolino or Rupert Or whoever was needed to to manage any issue So that's kind of the summary to the response to your question any other Questions from the committee I do I do have two quick questions. I think um, so it's sort of building on the questions that mr. Deming just asked um, it's my understanding that the jlmsc would be also another avenue for discussing those those topics and um, so it's a is the jlmc meeting this week, um And if so when or when is the next meeting? so I can think I can answer that but mr. Sullivan or mr. Harrington can certainly jump in if you'd like so my understanding was um, that um Sasha figure who often acts as the secretary to the school committee emailed jlmc and asked for topics on monday afternoon She asked that she needed them by Last night so the meeting could be posted because there are two school committees subcommittee of the school committee There were no agenda items sent. She sent a reminder this morning or midday today There were no items sent since it's a posted meeting it can't meet on friday without a posted agenda because that would be breaking open meeting law So, um, I imagine tomorrow she'll follow up at the committee to try to reschedule for early next week if there are agenda items to be had but The members of that committee are some from the numerous health department Mr. Harrington mr. Sullivan and then three members of the apa Who are emailed on this loop today? Is that an accurate summary for mr. Sullivan and mr. Harrington? perspective am I missing anything okay And then my other question was on just on the curriculum day. You shared with us the the schedule for the day and it was an impressive list of opportunities Happening and I just like just out of curiosity. Just how are those how is that scheduled put together and how are those? Sessions sort of selected and developed sure, so The organizers the primary organizer of tim sheen and durin cunningham And they're supported by other staff to durin torrez cow newman rose and devilish moorland and so What they've done and they did it again this year is after the curriculum day they asked for feedback We see what worked well what didn't work well we usually get multiple hundred responses from staff members and Sometimes in the spring sometime in the summer they put out a request essentially like a request for proposals We really feel like when we shifted from having more exclusively outside external speakers For long periods of time with large audiences and we've shifted to having a keynote and then smaller group With our own staff that the feedbacks improved significantly. So that's how it works We send an email out to the entire district. We ask for people want to propose. They're supported throughout that process And you know in an odd sort of way I got to pop in more rooms And I typically would even though it's of high school usually and I can pop around There are some occasional advantages to The virtual environment for people in my role that way And what I saw was highly engaging and highly engaged Dialogue from the participants. So really it comes from the survey data what people are saying this worked well What's missing? And then asking our staff are they willing to present and what topics like to present on and During and tim facilitate and organize that work to happen That's great. Great. Thank you Yeah, if anyone gets to see dr. Love too she is as I said just phenomenal and moving and uh, yeah, she's um She was I felt very you know the structure of it Which is maybe worth mentioning is the first half hour 35 minutes or so were um Her she you know, she went through and presented and the last were for question and answer. So I was like the Moderator so to speak and you know, you know, I'm doing this while I don't often get nervous, but I was a little in awe and probably wasn't my best self because Um, she she's just uh, quite a powerful speaker. Um, sure duggin Others who are on the call can attest to that. So, um, really really, you know, the feedback on that was incredible from our faculty and staff great Thank you If there's no other comments or questions from the committee then we can move on Okay Um Chair's update. I don't have um an update um for tonight So we'll move on to school committee announcements And uh, does anybody from the committee have any announcements? Ms. Lorde I have two announcements The first is to welcome anyone to our scto school equity task force meeting that meets on the third wednesdays of every month That would be november 18th at six o'clock The second is to thank all of our parent volunteers Um, I haven't said it before but they really Make our school so much greater better More enriched and I saw a parent volunteer handing out lunches today and I know she's been doing it since march So thank you to the parent volunteers that Are working behind the scenes to Make it all happen Thank you Any other announcements? Ms. Spitzer I just wanted to share that um with the committee that we had a successful Amherst education foundation trivia night Bent and halla or mr. Harrington and miss lord joined me and I think we did well if we didn't come in We didn't place but I think we had a strong showing So I want to thank a after all they do for the schools and and all the Folks in the community who came together to show their support That's great I watched it on on tv Thank you for doing that Um, mr. Dr. Morris Sorry, something I missed, uh, but it's relevant to the committee's conversation I think the last time I've been in touch. Uh, she's been in touch with me. I want to compliment Representative um, um, who was in touch with me about the enrollment issue enrollment dropped in chapter 70 potential uh challenges She did meet with she shared with me that she did meet with the Chair of the education the house committee on education Representative peish And shared back that it was a productive conversation that this is being shared by multiple representatives across the state and that The education committee is dedicated to working on some level of resolution on how this will work for fy 22 Again, it's too early to say what that looks like, but they definitely Uh are hearing this from lots of people lots of committees. Um lots of superintendents And she is advocating on the behalf of amherst pelham and one precinct in grand b. I believe On this topic. Um, and you know, it's continued to be in close contact with me So, uh, thanks to you all for raising the topic and and getting that going and I just wanted to share that update Sorry, I forgot about it on my turn a couple minutes ago Miss spitzer And with the mention of advocacy you reminded me that one of our members has recently been recognized for His works. I want to just commend um and congratulate Peter dumbling on his award or is that the right word? Yeah, it's the He won the masc which is the massachusetts association of school committees division five all state school committee 2020 award, so it's it's a little bit disappointing. I think that you're not going to be able to go and celebrate in person But I do want to you know, thank you for all the work you do advocating for not only the amherst school committee and the regional school committee, but but for our state. Thank you, peter And I think uh, we will be circling back on that same topic later in this agenda tonight Congratulations, uh, mr. Deming. That's great Okay so, um We'll move on to our new and continuing business and we'll start with um the distance learning survey results And I'll turn that over to dr. Morris And obed's gonna work with me on this. Um, obed, do you want me to display my screen because I have two screens up So it might be easier so you can stay. Okay. So, um Let me understand it. Um, I want to share that obed did a significant part of the uh analysis of This and so I want to thank him. This is likely the last time He'll be uh at a school committee meeting. Um, at least this school committee at this time Um, thrilled that obed is continuing looking to continue his career and move into education as he graduates this spring from amherst college Nice amherst college hue to this presentation as well that obed, uh put together But really obed's been with us since the summer as you know, and has been A full part of our administrative team has worked with terine on Some of the work on anti-racism and understanding where people are with that on mental health and wellness and and certainly in Analyzing the experience of students families and staff and distance learning. So Um, it was in a conversation with some folks at amherst college today about, you know, potential future internships And I said if you have more people like obed, please send them our way We will we will find things for them to do. Um, and you have a bright career ahead of you obed in Education, so I'm just thrilled that you're staying in the field wish you were staying more local But you know, that's the way it goes and I wish you the best moving forward. So I wanted to say that at the outset um absolutely, um, and so, um You know, I'll just going to do the first couple slides and I'll share a general overview and some of the demographic information And obed's going to do more of the content. Um, there's about 18 or 19 slides. I think of content So, uh, I think we can pause after every slide or every other to see if there are questions I don't it skips around different topics. So I do want to I don't want to wait till the end because you may feel like your question, um Isn't as relevant at the end as it is during the time So this was the survey we got, uh, again a bit over 250 responses that was uh, it was given to all students in grades seven through 12 Um families over a thousand and staff 328 responses. So pretty decent sample size. Um for our Families students and staff it is worth noting that there were some differences in demographics of Who who responded so you could see that seventh and 12th grade were really underrepresented in the data We can't quite figure out why that is. Um, seventh grade is maybe a little more understandable 10th grade seems harder to make sense of but we thought it was worth noting All the other grade levels were roughly equivalent to where they were proportionately Um for families and staff the grade levels the schools were again all roughly proportional to the number of Of students and staff and families in those schools Um, we did note that white students were overrepresented In the survey results and latinx students were underrepresented. Uh, all the other racial ethnic groups were again roughly proportional Uh, you know, that is a curious point and we did we are digging into why and Another topic the last bullet point is something we'd like to come back to probably a week or two from now Because this is a something we're very concerned administrative team. We met for a long time On this data point actually this afternoon Um, that we are starting to look at the absentee rate For virtual uh when we were in person as an aside, you know, the attendance was was quite strong It was only seven days. So it's hard to judge. Um, but one of the things that we we're noting is there's a significant gap between um Or disparity between latinx students. Um in terms of their per share of enrollment And a much higher disproportionate rate of student absences And so we wondered or posited that that might have something to do with the under representation Uh in the survey results all the other racial ethnic groups were roughly equivalent or in the ballpark Um, so this is a deeply just be blunt It's a deeply disturbing piece of data that we're noticing. Uh, we're going to continue to meet multiple times a week on this Um, you know, you'll see later in the survey Um, it's not our belief that this is about devices and internet at this point. There's always You know things we can improve with that. Um, so, uh This two things to share one is we feel like this is our responsibility as a district I want to be super duper clear that this is not at all Suggesting anything about families or students willingness to engage in distance learning This is about what we need to do to better engage Um a certain population of families and students in distance learning And the second thing is we have to come back with solutions. This is not a situation. We are willing to tolerate Um that we have this over representation and absences. Um, we're also trying to look at They get some together some data on absences and engagement. So it's one thing to be on a google meet It's another thing to be engaged in a google meet and so, uh, we're having this data which just came to us Last night and so we've already met about it for about an hour today. We're going to be meeting on friday We're meeting on monday. This is not something that uh, we're pleased with we are noticing this trend in other places If you look in california a lot of districts are noticing the same trend that if you look at, um, race ethnicity as well as socioeconomic status or subsidized lunch status that there is a trend in who's, um, attending virtual classes And it's still we're not doing well enough as a district if that's our data that we're seeing And so, um, I want to make sure we get into the the content of the survey and don't leave that out But for us, we felt it would be remiss not to highlight that this data is not Displaying the feedback from all of our community or it's not proportionately sharing all of our community's feedback And we plan to do an awful lot with the data that we received on there our attendance piece um And and more soon on that so I don't want to invalidate what's what's what's going to succumb But I also want to say that there's a real gap here That we need to dig in on So I think the next slide is gonna. Oh, I'll do the next slide about themes But are there any questions about kind of who responded and how they responded? um Before I go on to themes and more of the content miss pitzer this isn't so much about who responded but just Trying to learn a little bit more about what you're saying about the trends you're seeing in absentee rates and the disparities there um Because that seems really concerning. I'm wondering have you seen higher absentee rates overall compared kind of year over year changes and is the Is this a decline that Is unique to this year? Or is the disparity that we're seeing unique to this year as well? Or is it something that's spinning and it's just been exacerbated by the pandemic so It's the latter So there there has been minor minor disparities in terms of attendance rate by some of these other demographic variables Nothing on the magnitude of what we're talking about in terms of distance learning last spring It was really hard to judge that now that we're collecting more accurate data um, we are seeing trends that are unacceptable And we need to do better as an organization and that might be you know We're still at the nascent stages of having the discussion But even the brainstorming that we're trying not to do we're trying to do the thing Where you dig into the data and don't come up with solutions So you understand it and like most conversations where there's a lot of emotions and concern We fail that trying to keep those lot boundaries clean But we are going to have to think about resource allocation and and what we're doing to ensure that In a virtual environment that all of our students have access to learning and again I think the focus so much last spring and and it still continues is the technology piece and you know anecdotally what we're hearing because you know We do have groups that have been noticing these trends at the school counselors and other folks who have been talking to principles It's not so much the do I have a chromebook and do I have wi-fi? There are other factors that seem to be influencing students access to the curriculum They'll get we'll talk about them in a couple minutes Probably less explicitly as tied to demographics as we are Exactly at this moment, but this is a market change from our typical enrollment and attendance patterns. Sorry. That was a really long I should have just said that last thing. I gave more context, but it this is This this was really really concerning information that we we have and the data was from September 15th till yesterday So it's you know, I asked for it monday Our talented is folks were able to drill down by school by demographic group by special education status By subsidized lunch and using something Doug will correct me. I think a pivot table I think if that's what it's called you're able to to really disaggregate in some pretty neat ways So You know, this is something, you know We were looking, you know, we do have some standardized measures that are coming in in terms of achievement But what we know is one of the highest correlations to academic achievement Probably the highest I believe is student attendance and the second one is staff attendance Right. Everything else comes after those two in other words if the kids not there the teacher is not there We know kids aren't learning and in this case not so worried about the staff attendance that looks pretty consistent You know compared to a typical year if not a little better in terms of the virtual but the student attendance and the Disparity between it is a high point of concern for us So again more soon on that but if there's any other questions before I go on I'm open to hear So, um This is you know, we are going to put these surveys out publicly But I think all in all they comprise something like 500 pages that all have to be scrubbed for personally identifying information So it's going to take a little bit of a while For us to scrub them. So, you know, we're going to do some overview piece But please note that we do intend for these to be public documents probably by the end of next week We'll have them all scrubbed Just if people mentioned individual staff members or their name kids names We want to scrub those in terms of anonymity And confidentiality, but otherwise we intend to we will be putting these up publicly So three big themes that came out of all that couple hundred pages of of analysis One is that online learning this year is being experienced much much improved from last spring And that's you'll see in a second, but that's being reported by all stakeholders by students by staff members and by caregivers That being said we get to the theme number two Which is that there were significant concerns expressed about student engagement Student well-being and connections to peers and to staff members. There's a lot of concerns about mental health and social emotional well-being And again, that was pretty consistent across stakeholder groups That those concerns were expressed The last one is is the more complex theme I don't know if themes even the right word, but You know this concept of screen time, which is certainly you can't help but You google you know distance learning and there's going to be articles about screen time There were you know equal amounts concerns about how much direct instruction was occurring As there was concerns about how much time is being spent on computers. And so it's hard to rectify those my Only thought on it is it's it's sort of an unfortunate situation that we wouldn't design school typically to be done on computer and so lots of there's a lot of mixed feelings and About the need to have that direct instruction that it can't just be task students do without adult support but to do that their screens involves and so You know the I'm not sure what to do with that theme except to note it and to suggest that there's a dynamic tension there That is hard to resolve and that's not an Amherst thing That's an and every district thing that's involved in distance learning at the moment We'll get in much more details. I'm going to turn it over to obed to take on The more detailed analysis that I'll come in the next couple slides, but Those were the three major themes that we found looking through all the data sets from all the stakeholder groups Questions about themes before we transition to more hard data Okay, turn it over to you, obed Thank you so much. Good evening everyone. I just wanted to say thank you first of all Mr. Dr. Morris for the introduction And helped me with this as well I just want to echo many of the things that he said but in particular that's the theme of how Remote learning is being experienced as an improvement from last year And my hope is that by looking at the more nuance in the data We'll be able to contextualize those more general themes And so with this survey we were able to see some data about student device usage and access So first and foremost we found that on average students are spending about roughly four and a half hours on daily live video calls and when you combine that with homework that comes out to about six hours and Students are have reported that they have access to devices that they need for remote learning activities As well as internet to be able to do their work and these are similar results that were collected among staff and families And so Further in this in these surveys. We asked staff Excuse me. We asked students and families about Whether the time that is spent on remote learning is that manageable and so as you can see in both Responses over half of the of the respondents indicated that the time was manageable But it's still worth noting that there are still Um Some concern about the manageability of the time in particular. I'm looking at the blue marker the barely manageable sign So we see that in the student responses about 22 percent of students that completed the survey indicated that the time was barely manageable And then for the family responses about 17 percent. So it's it's good to note that the time is manageable for Um, many students, but that may not be the case for all question Mr. Daly So like one in four students are a little less than one in four family members barely are not manageable I just wondering with If in the comments, um, if you if you noticed any examples of themes, and I know you haven't read all thousand comments yet, but um, but in in those so like that that can block of concern I would call it of Of people really not feeling like it's working. What what kind of things were mentioned? So I would say one of the things, um, that comes up a lot And it's not necessarily specific to this question Is the concept of the screen time? And that's been a major concern for students in that there's a lot of time spent on screens And so that doesn't leave enough time to do homework because you have like the meetings and things like that So I would say that that would be probably one of the more prevalent themes And obet if I could add I think just uh, the other the other half of what you said is the homework seems like You know again the student responses only came from secondary students and that seems like a particular stressor Uh, when students are spending that much time on screens So I think the the confluence of the combination of the direct instruction happening on screens and most of the work happening through Google classroom or things like that Um, I think I think I definitely read the same thing that obed Uh talked about. Um, I think the other piece. Um That it's probably worth noting is um We'll get to it later is that when we start disaggregating a bit Um, we see some differences in some of these responses. We didn't disaggregate this particular one But I think if you if you hold a couple slides, you'll see when we do disaggregate by things like students with disabilities Um, and the age of students, uh, we see some real differences in the data and um, we you know We could have done 60 slides and disaggregated everyone But but I think it'll become more clear in the next couple slides. Uh, what I'm referencing Okay, so this this is when we uh started to look at How independently students can complete their work? And as you see here, this is based off the responses from students in the 7th to 12th grades So as you can see here, most students are able to complete their work. Um, whether that's each assignment independently or most assignments And so what we decided to do was to disaggregate This uh exact question by school levels. So elementary middle and high school And we also compared those responses to the same to the responses to the same question from last spring So as you can see here, um in the transition from spring, which is on the left To this year, which is on the right more students And the on the elementary level are being able to complete their work But it's still worth noting that there is still A good amount of students that need assistance. And so in particular I'm looking at the the purple the blue and the red And when we get to the middle and high school, um, we see a similar trend But it's just a little slightly different that while more students are completing their work independently The amount of students that need help is reducing And we see that similar trend among the high school as well If I could comment there's one more disaggregation we're going to show But I think we want to show spring to now to show uh, both as obed said, uh, things are Families are reporting that this is uh an improvement from where we were in the spring And as obed noted, there's still significant percentages even at the high school Of family of families who are suggesting that at least half most are Each activity There does need to be support. So I think it's it's important to note both the progress And the still isn't easy. So I think we sort of want to hold both And as dr. Morris mentioned, we also disaggregated by Families whose children receive special education services. And so We see a little bit more variability in this response with 12% only 12% of students being able to complete their work independently On each assignment and then so yeah, we see a lot more variability on that front And a lot more so is requiring assistance I think there's a question miss mcdonnell. I'm sorry. Oh, sorry, mr. Dunlin. I was staring at the number Back did its own survey of parents um with their experience with um With remote learning and and some of those challenges and this this tracks pretty consistently But um, I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was it was the majority of students and families that felt like um That the the independent nature of not just completing the tasks, but actually engaging in the learning objective Was was quite challenging And there was kind of a long tail to their data as well where you had You know a smaller percentage who were really exceptionally struggling and then a smaller percentage that We're reporting almost no benefit, right? So it's um It's interesting when you're looking at a survey of thousands Sometimes those averages are good indicators And then you know with the district that's that's so large with so many different types of students Even a small percentage of students that are really struggling is obviously a major issue so um, it's um I find it helpful that you know two surveys came out from different angles and arriving at at more or less The same conclusion for this population students Yeah, and anecdotally, we didn't do the again, we could have disaggregated Uh indefinitely, but um, we're hearing similar trends for English and English learners as well Um, so, you know, we had active conversations with you know, kitty Richardson our yellow coordinator and she's hearing from staff Similar trends and and we're hearing it from um staff members in the schools as well So, you know, it's hard again We could have done 80 100 slides and gotten everything But we wanted to pick some of the highlights because we think they're indicative of Kind of the larger experiences that um students having both of the aggregate and then um at the smaller group level Any other questions for Obed before we transition to um a new um a different set of slides a different set of data Okay, so in this aspect of the survey we wanted to inquire About how students staff and families were perceiving the remote learning process And so we asked about things that were going well in the aspects of the of the remote learning that were more challenging And so for students In the student survey, this was primarily focused on coursework specifically We got to more general aspects towards the uh end of the survey and we'll discuss those later But as far as coursework, there was a range of responses And something to note is that there wasn't there weren't any Subjects that stood out as solely positive or solely negative So one student a student may have um mentioned For example math, but then math could have been something that wasn't so They didn't go so well for another student. So no single subject was Solely positive or negative. So it kind of suggests Um a student by student basis on the class When we came to staff um, this was more focused on the aspects of teaching and so Some positive aspects were that the technology allowed staff to facilitate community building among Between them and their students as well as between students Um staff also reported that they're getting more facility with the online platforms with um required for Remote learning and that there's more of a consistent and predictable routine from day to day And lastly, they also reported that um remote learning allows Considering the current context more safety for for both students and staff And when we got to the families in reporting about the positive aspects of their children's Coursework, there was a similar reaction. No single subject. This is uh, yeah, there was no single subject that stood out as solely positive or negative but there was also a theme of Of parents and families acknowledging that remote learning is not comparable to in-person learning However, the classes generally are beneficial and they have improved from where they were in the spring And if we're going and now we're switching to more challenging aspects It was like we mentioned before there were a range of responses among students about their coursework when we got to the staff sort of Primary challenges were providing formal assessments Maintaining consistent student engagement. Dr. Morris touched upon this earlier That for example, let's say student logs in that isn't necessarily mean that they will be engaged throughout the class So that's a common theme that emerged among the responses staff also reported Struggle with being able to obtain information on how students are Understanding their material and how they're progressing in their classes in addition to how they are doing their well-being um in other two themes were a lack of time for prep not enough time for prep and again the screen time And when we got to families as we mentioned earlier with the more general themes there was a concern among families about the social emotional development of students and And the struggles that remote learning poses for peer relationships Again similar to the staff there was a concern about student engagement And how all students were being engaged while they were learning and lastly um There was also a concern that with remote learning While students may be completing their task and their homework. They're still concerned that they may not be necessarily learning in the process Just want to pause to see if there's any questions or comments from the committee before we transition Okay, so moving on we also asked students about The level of personal connection that they felt in this new in this virtual environment And as you can see here almost half Indicated that it was the right amount, but it's also worth noting That all over a third indicated that it's somewhat too disconnected. And so that's something to Be aware of as well as for the other responses from staff and and the families So you see the same thing here for the staff the ratio between the right amount and somewhat too disconnected Is a even a little bit is even closer than it was for the students um And you see more much too much too disconnected That's something that raised as well and then among families. We see that same trend as well. So while Many people are acknowledging that There is some level of connection. It is also worth noting that for many people um They still seem to feel disconnected from their teachers and um their peers Yep, and just to summarize obits points. Um, all three were roughly consistent that slightly less than half Of respondents felt like the right amount of connection a personal connection was occurring Um, and that's we did ask this question last year. This is a significant improvement from where we were So I want to thank staff for all the work they've done That's been a major focus of the professional development that we had in late august and early september is on this topic And um, this is not a critique of staff members. This may be a limitation of the structure Right. Um, I don't feel like staff are not emphasizing this or not doing their best efforts on this at all Um, it may just be that for for significant numbers of both staff members families and students That the nature of a virtual environment lacks the personal connection that's possible Uh in in schooling that people are more accustomed to so I want to be really clear that that this is a large improvement I want to thank staff for all their efforts in this regard And suggest that this is still an area of significant challenge for all of us And to note, you know, there are some differences as as obed noted Um And there's a lot of consistency in all three data points So if you think of triangulating data or trying to get data from multiple sources telling the same story Rarely do we get it? Um, they're three from three stakeholder groups that all pretty much align the same way these do Any questions or comments on this section? Moving forward, we also inquired about how Respondents were feeling as far as their level of satisfaction with academic rigor in comparison to last spring. So Again, we took the responses Um, and yeah, we analyzed them and so for among the students I mean comparison to last spring and using How classes went then About almost a third were very satisfied with academic rigor And a little over a third were somewhat satisfied And then when we consider the staff as well, we see similar trends with a third of staff Being very satisfied with the academic rigor in comparison to last spring And a third of staff being somewhat satisfied When we asked families this, uh question almost phrased slightly differently They were asked to rate how the level of rigor and challenge of their child's Um classes and homework And so you see here over half indicated that it was the right amount of rigor Um, something to note is that about a quarter of families did respond that the rigor was somewhat too little and In addition to that question, we also asked respondents In comparison to last year the level of overall satisfaction with the remote learning process With a remote learning approach from the district and so for students Again, about 30 36 indicated that they were very satisfied Um, 35 indicated that there was somewhat satisfied For staff about a quarter indicated that they were very satisfied And almost 40 and 43 indicated that there was somewhat satisfied And when we get to the family responses, um, we see about a third a little over a third My families were either very satisfied and a little over a third were somewhat satisfied So in comparison to last year as we saw on the general trends, there is an improvement But as I hope as you be able to see there are nuances within that data And lastly we asked students and families to provide some feedback on what the district and staff can be doing to better support them So among the students Theme that came up was A request for The district and the staff to consider how best to use class time, especially When classes are already lengthy less homework More breaks in between classes and more individual check-ins Would be helpful and in this sense check-ins refer to just like wellness check-ins to see how students are doing Among families there was a request for more community building opportunities Although they they mentioned that that's something that was going well. They request that this be done more And as dr. Morris mentioned, we continue to disaggregate these feedback results by school level and When disaggregated it showed differences. And so among the elementary school parents there was a request for more use of paper resources and assignments that can be turned in And something a theme of that would especially for younger students I noticed a trend and parents wanting to Use paper resources because this would allow their younger students in particular to be able to practice skills such as like their writing skills or Comprehension and literacy skills. So using paper resources would help in that regard When we get to the middle school and high school There was a request among parents for more consistent and frequent communication from the administrators Um And when we get to the high school specifically many parents are requesting More rigor and homework, especially for their their student their children that are college bound juniors and seniors Mr. Demlin Yeah, it's a really interesting um disaggregation on the family side here. I'm thank you for putting that together the um So, uh, so dr. Morris two questions one on the elementary use of paper so I feel like we have to press it preface 50 of our comments with we're not epidemiologists But our understanding of kovat has evolved right since march and there is I think it's safe to say generally speaking less concern about physical Um materials transmission than there was initially um At least when this all started Um, so I don't know how that impacts our capacity for the rest of the year To act on on this kind of request where we more Regularly or at a higher volume are providing physical materials to students. Um, so that was one question the other on Um on the homework. It's it's funny. I've I've gotten some individual parent feedback And it's kind of been all over the place on the homework. I've gotten and pretty intensely all over the place You know not reconcilable consistently some saying. Oh my gosh, my student needs more homework and others saying Literally that their student has four or more hours of homework a night and feeling like there's not a consistent homework policy Per school or grade or whatever. So I don't know if you could talk about maybe homework policy and whether that's evolved or or or not Would get in in this new remote setting So on the first question We do have systems set up where elementary teachers can arrange physical resources and students or families come to pick them up On a regular basis. Um, I know Some of our schools started the year with like a general pickup for every kid and a box that people can refresh with papers and Schools have slightly different systems with that But I think we do have ways to be able to do that that have worked pretty well so far And I think it's more just continuing and refining that work The homework piece, you're right. I think you described it well as there's intensely different responses We've had families saying you can penalize my student But I'm not having my kid be on a screen more than they're already on a screen and they're just not going to do their homework To the other extreme of my kids getting no homework and they need it So I do think there's intensely held beliefs Around that and I think as a result we are trying to work through Through our school leaders and department heads curriculum leaders to try to get More on the same page as it relates to homework You know, both our middle school and high school on different schedules And they typically were in the past. That's another adjustment is If you're having semester long classes versus year long classes That's you know, one thing is about a value of 80 minutes instead of You know a significantly shorter timeframe, but another piece is what becomes homework and what doesn't Um, and so I think you're right to note that that's an area that we have to grow in and get more consistent And we'll still have lots of um people expressing broadly divergent viewpoints On the value of that work. I think what obed said was really important was That was really coming a lot from juniors and seniors Our middle school students and ninth grade students were not asking for More homework. Um, and I think it's it's worth noting that there perhaps there's a developmental difference As well as uh, where are we in terms of preparing for post high school? um experiences, so I think I agree with you that we're not at the most consistent place. We need to do some work and also that Uh, we will not make everyone happy with Uh, any decision that's made, but I think the more consistent we are the better often is and it's more clear for families and students and Staff members. So we're working on it Miss spitzer um Yeah, I just want to lead with you know, thinking Obed and everybody else involved in this for all of the hard work not just on this survey, but over time I think it's especially, you know for somebody who's still in college. Yeah, really appreciate The the quality of the of the work you've been doing. Um I I guess I have a question about the We've been getting a lot of surveys over time, you know, I think we're doing more surveying than Correct me if I'm wrong, but it feels like we're doing more surveys than the district has ever done And so this isn't so much a Thought, you know about this survey in particular But more about the practice of the surveying that we're doing in our community because I think it's It's an important way of getting feedback and it's something that I'm happy we're doing a lot of I'm not trying to be negative about it, but I think um, you know, I took the survey as a parent and um And I also got some feedback from parents as well, you know, and I'm wondering about like the the The process when we're creating these surveys in terms of trying to get feedback from Those people are going to be taking like pilot surveying and I know we don't have a ton of time We don't have a ton of resources But is there a process in place where we're trying to get some feedback because I for one, for example Was curious about this idea of doing the comparison to last spring because the way those questions were phrased for me Were sometimes really tricky to think about Compared to last spring how satisfied are you with the rigor when actually what I think I'd like to be able to say is like Like have a few questions about the comparison to last spring But I think as a district we actually want to know like how satisfied are you with this rigor? Overall and how satisfied are you with the way we're performing, you know Just in general because if it is especially as we're talking more long term About this is going to be what we're doing You know, I I wish it weren't true. I wish we were Going to be pivoting to in-person learning quickly, but it seems like we're not So I guess I'm curious about the decision to frame the survey around this comparison to last spring And if there is an idea of kind of just thinking about it not in comparison to last spring because everybody kind of acknowledges That last spring was really challenging in so many ways. I think we did as best we could but It's not the standard that I'd want to be comparing us to I'm happy really happy to see we're doing a much better job and both as a committee member and as a parent I I really feel like we are doing a lot better Um So two those are two points. I'm sorry. I was a little long winded Okay, um, so, you know, I actually was thinking, you know, and you've raised this point before carrying I think it's a good one, uh about how to get more access and I actually wonder if there's a role for and I'm not putting you on the Right, I don't want to make anyone who has an idea then responsible for implementing that I mean, that's an effective leadership strategy. It's not what I'm trying to employ right now um, but um, I do think as committee members, you're closer to the parent community and I think seen as more kind of Uh neutral non-staff resource So I do wonder whether there'd be a committee member to next time we're doing a survey who might be able to You know with our support gather a focus group and share feedback on that because I think that'd be actually a fabulous role And I mean that's authentically for a committee member to play because you are connecting with The people who elected you And and I think your your access point to get community feedback would be pretty high And so I do wonder if there's a committee member to and not the needs to be decided now But who would be interested in in kind of running those, you know Focus groups are getting feedback that then goes back to administration because I think I think it'd be a great role for committee members to be involved with I'm more than happy to um At least lead that effort but uh After school hours is my only I will definitely not be able to do it even did working hours, but Yeah, no, I mean, I think that's going to be true for Soliciting feedback from a group most likely of families is they're going to have a hard time doing it either because they're working Or they're supporting their own children's distance learning So yeah, I mean we could we could work out the logistics of it But I do think um, it'd be a really nice way for the committee to be connecting with the larger community as well Is there um, so anybody else in the committee that is interested in and Exploring that with miss spitzer or just reach out to miss spitzer. Maybe if you are interested Any other questions? Nope So, um, I mean, maybe I'll close by saying a couple things one is again thanking obed for his work Over the last couple months We're excited to be cheering obed on from the sidelines as he continues his career and goes into Being a school psychologist, which is his his next step in graduate school. So we're thrilled for him and thrilled for the field So, um, appreciate his service thinking that relates to the service, uh, this survey rather we are I'm going to be taking this in as well as the demographic information I kind of talked bluntly about at the beginning And trying to use this to better our approach towards distance learning and make sure we're reaching Uh and more effectively Teaching all of our students We know we're in better shape than we were last spring and we've invested a lot of time energy and resources to get there And yet we still know we're not there and as it looks like and again not to do the doomsday thing But restating what I said to be in the meeting, you know There's no indication that we won't be on a long-term school building closure that we'll be relying on distance learning For an extended period of time. So we have to get this right and we have to get it better than how it is working right now And so we'll come back to the committee and we'll be able to share Uh are thinking about that, you know in the next couple weeks, but uh, we're digging in deep to the survey Not just what we shared here, but but the multiple hundreds pages of of anecdotal and qualitative Feedback as well as the quantitative pieces that we're shared tonight. So that's sort of our next step on it is digging in and um And making this using the survey to better our students experience and then Perhaps with terry's help offering a fine survey. Maybe as we hit mid-winter To check in how it's going. Um, you know that many months in and seeing if any of the adjustments are realized the adjustments The impact of the adjustments are realized in the data that we gather Okay, thank you very much event Okay, so moving on to our next item Um We are looking at a quarter one budget update So, um, I guess turning that over to you dr. Slaughter Yep, Doug. Do you have this the pages or do you want me to project them? I'm happy that if you'd like if you could project them, that'd be great. Thank you And we'll we'll start with the memo. I think first The memo, okay It's going to take me a second to pull it up. So why don't you you can definitely start and then I'll get it up in a second There's not a lot of great visual and that is a lot of text but uh I want to start with the memo first, which was which was an attempt by me to explain sort of the circumstances which we're operating relative to financial support from the federal level through the state to help us Every as we navigate this year in the in the pandemic But also to sort of point out where we're headed relative to that And so I wanted to start with just the the complexity of it and the fact that there are five different sources of Of potential revenue that have arisen this year The different ways in which they support us and the different funding levels in which they support us and so That's really the first sort of a page or so of the of the memo is to start, you know, sort of outlining those those different programs that are there and It's one thing to keep in mind is, you know, we have the municipal cares act and and the municipal the federal cares act Is really split into the bottom four choices. So there's the theme of which is our, you know, standard federal emergency relief and management agency support of during disasters the other four all stemmed from the cares act that the that the federal government passed and Distributed out to states and so the state of Massachusetts split things up in a couple different ways to help us out And so I just want to articulate those a little bit and in there differing, you know, for rules of the road as it were and and to to also recognize The extreme and diligent efforts of a whole host of staff in trying to get our heads around what we needed When we needed it where we needed it how much of it we needed and while at the same time sort of several, you know Presuming there would be these funds to help cover those costs And so, you know, as you can see in the in the second table there. It's a series of of school specific grant programs that the state put together and and the funding we got at each of the different districts And that is correct. $23 is the right number there on on film It looks funny because what they did is you submitted a cost and then they give you a percentage of that Based on how many people applied this thing? So it seems a little unusual, but it wasn't true Award for $23 the key thing to keep in mind about all of those is is we've committed all those funds and and or spent them already And to be perfectly honest the cares act money that we have For Amherst directly with the town and for the region through the the town of Amherst predominantly, but the other communities It's pretty much all committed and so at this point the money is Is is spent or is accounted for or is is Projected to be utilized most of it by the end of december because that was the requirement of those funding sources And so needless to say one of the things that that is Significant concern as we move ahead Is is a couple of things one is the timing so there's certain things the state, you know some rules they put in place Relative to what would be deemed FEMA eligible expenses Many of which are not truly FEMA eligible or they you know as the rules are more and more defined relative to FEMA Uh, we're still required to sort of apply for them and then get rejected And then the state will will reimburse us the rest So there's a timing issue there. It's not that we won't Get reimbursed for those and as we were planning the spending we knew that those funds weren't necessarily going to ever be FEMA eligible But at the same time we still have to kind of go through the mechanics of that But there's a timing issue because we have to wait for FEMA who's getting requests from every community in the nation Uh to to sort of get back to us and say no that doesn't apply And then we can really reach out to the state for reimbursement. So it's a timing issue So that that creates a cash flow problem potentially for us And mostly it's it's a headache for me not so much The fact that we won't get reimbursed Is it it is a timing issue because when we will truly be able to Take in those resources to cover those costs Is indeterminate at this point Needless to say the invoices from the companies we bought stuff from are showing up every day And so that's that's one concern we have as we go through the just mechanics of how that works And that's one thing but the second piece I think is more critical is the fact that there's a number of the things that we are purchasing currently and Less so with goods or materials Although some of that but more with services that we are we are purchasing Uh to support our students in a number of ways. Those don't magically disappear on December 30th Um, and so we've got a number of things that we're going to need to continue at least through this year Maybe into next year To support our students and to make our schools safe for our staff so they can support our students um, and You know at at this moment without another Cares act or something similar to support us Things are going to get very difficult very quickly and and to be honest we we're making plans now But it really if we don't have something identified the next few weeks We're going to have to take some significant action Within our budget this current year to just manage our resources to to still provide what we need to for the students and and to Get ourselves to the end of this fiscal year and and prepare for fiscal 22 And then it looks like mr. Demerlin questions. I'm going to pause and give him a chance to ask that question Mr. Yes, I appreciate you being so clear and direct about the situation. Um I just lost the phrase that you just heard. Um Uh that you just used um that you made in the next few weeks need to take some. What did you say good clear? Clear action. Could you could you like describe? Like what what you mean by that a little a little further if you could Well, you know, one of the things that you know has happened to us in years past when when uh, you know Finding for Christ's needs have happened is that we go into uh spending freezes. So any Uh discretionary spending at all that we have we we will freeze and so we won't buy any more material goods and that sort of things, uh, you know That's a small part of our budget, but it can make a difference. Um, we went into last spring We went into a frost. I think it's the term we use instead of a freeze. So it was really Trying to limit our expenditure, uh and be very very conscientious about our choices there That's you know an immediate first step that we take. Um, it it could involve changes to uh Staffing and and some of this will depend upon as as as dr. Morris indicated, you know What's our likelihood of being in person the building will change If if we know we're going to be not in our building for extended time. Can we restructure ourselves in a way? that uh Reduce our labor costs to be perfectly blunt and and and so didn't Morris may want to speak more Uh specifically to that issue, but but it's it's really A circumstance where a lot of things are off the table You know or or on the table that might not normally be considered on the table. Sorry Um, and I think another thing, you know, and we'll touch on this a little bit as we talk about our our You know the actual quarterly, you know first quarter sort of expenditure is Is some areas we know we won't be spending as much money on That we have anticipated and had to plan for spending money on That we won't so transportation for example utilities is another one off top of my head There are a few of those kind of things that will come in under budget. There are other things that Uh because of the unpredictability of our circumstances We have the plan to do things that we may not have to do and so we have to be prepared to spend if all things arise Um, you know, we feel we've bought a fair amount of pve and and hopefully enough to sort of carry us through Uh, most of if not the rest of the year if we don't go in person We've got more pve than we know what to do with if you know, like if if for some reason and i'm not saying this is going to happen But I mean if if we were to not go back to in person school until I don't know take a date August and next year We've got a lot of ppe on hand that that won't get utilized but we will So we won't be buying any additional On the other hand if we go to in person school sooner and we start going through and utilizing a lot more of those types of items then we may need to make an additional purchase later in the in the year And so we've got to be making plans about those resources how much we use um as we go along so it's it's going to be uh You know, there are going to be some very difficult conversations and and actions that we have to take to to keep our budgets within the money that is available to us and so it's uh It's uh, it's going to be a busy year to say the least in that regard If I could add um, just briefly uh, particularly with the chair, um to dr. Slaughter's response I think I just want to add two specific things This one is just trying to figure out the cost structure and resource allocation depending on the model So, you know, dr. Slaughter referenced, um some of the materials, but also, you know If we were going to be a virtual school indefinitely, we would have different cost structures and resource management Um, if we weren't then we would we would adjust that so We are starting to have to plan on that second scenario where we're in virtual for an extended period of time Um, I think the second thing this is getting a little ahead of myself because we we want to see what the financial picture is from the town of amherst Um, because that has not just because of the amherst public schools But that has large implications for the region as well. Um, given it's about 79 or they're about Is um, if we are going to have a particularly difficult year next year I think we're actually gonna actively going to have that very difficult conversations if we choose to Spend the full amount of school choice reserve funds that we allocated for this year's budget um Once that money's gone that money's gone And so I don't say that lightly But it is going to have to be something that that comes up for the committee Because if we're feeling like we're going to need those funds next year um Because of what the financial picture Describes we may want to actively have some of the conversations About what we do this year. Um most years there is a direct connection between one year and the next This is a an unusual year that we opted to use significantly more choice reserve funds than what we're bringing in We don't do that. We've never done that before we did it because the extraordinary circumstances We found ourselves in and find ourselves in now And so if this is going to look like it's an ongoing thing We really do have to have some very challenging conversations what we do with this year's budget and the impact on next year's budget as well So we'll know more about that on monday. And that's why i'm just foreshadowing I don't know what monday is going to be. Um, I don't know what mr. Mangano is going to present He talked to us a couple weeks ago with some initial thoughts and I have not Move back to him. So once we have that information, I think we will actually have to talk about this year's budget And depending what model we're in, you know, where resources go So we'll come back to that in a couple weeks. Um, so I don't that's probably as far as I'm willing to To to get in specificity because we want to see what f y 22 What the beginnings of that look like and right now that's not a known thing It's 5 30. I think on monday for anyone in the public who's interested in watching That presentation for what it's worth as well That's right. And so the last point so the last point in the memo and Is Along the lines of what what dr. Morse was just speaking of but one other thing that I'll mention is that What we're seeing in a lot of schools are seeing is a drop in enrollment I think that's happening, you know, not just to public schools, but I think well charter schools are public schools But they're also in in that regard choice Students are down a lot of school districts The really tricky thing I'll point out relative to the coming year for us and and and again This harkens back to an earlier comment sort of tended Morse mentioned about our representative dom reaching out to the to the representatives in in legislature around educations around Chapter 78 and and so Your enrollment in october of This year october of 21 is utilized when they calculate the chapter 78 in roughly january You know december january when they're putting the budget together for fiscal 22 And so to have a significant drop this year, but then potentially regain those students next year Is is going to be a difficult circumstance for a lot of of districts um and so Along with that of course is is the similar thing that might happen or will happen relative to to school choice Is that we we have a revolving fund that helps us sort of smooth out peaks and valleys in our enrollments in in Uh in school choice, but we have it there as a resource and we utilized it for for fiscal 21 The difficulty is is that as we move into fiscal 22 and beyond We can't continue to do that because we're our our You know our income level from from school choice versus our expenditure from school choices out of balance in a pretty significant way This year and potentially next year depending on the choices we make and and how things are are going to play out so that's really the last point on the memo is is how those two pieces are are Are shaping up as we as we move into budget season and Wanting to make you aware of you concerns we have and things we're going to need to be Deciding debating and and seeking understanding from and advocating for as we move into budget season I think i'll pause there in case there are other questions relative to to that memo Mr. Gemley Yeah, so not specific to our district, but um, so in general when you talk about this idea that on december 30th Everything but the s or grant expires and so If we don't identify a new grant program in the next six to eight weeks that Significant and severe financial actions will need to be taken Like you just described in general what those kinds of things would be I'd imagine every district in the commonwealth is in the same boat, right and so Has this come up in conversations with with rep dome or with senator cumberford or Or have there been initial conversations with the town because I mean If we're first sitting here at the school district, we either Put our hat out to the town or the state or we reduce the size of the hat, right? And nobody wants to reduce the size of the hat and so i'm wondering If this must come up on like superintendent calls and whatnot, so i'm just wondering what the thinking is Yeah, everybody's Fingers are tired from being crossed for so long. Um, and um You know even in this fraught political national environment It did look like two weeks ago There was at least some movement to getting a deal done that have funds for schools and then and obviously it didn't happen Um, so it is a major concern. I think we've got some unique pieces You know some of the spending we did like at wildwood and the fort river was pretty large scale Spending around, you know changing structures, particularly at fort river was a pretty expensive project We've purchased significantly more Ppe per staff member Then what was recommended by the state? So, you know, I think we are well suited For a while on that front again. I don't anticipate not I don't want to I don't like the phrase deed a bit eat a dead horse But like, you know, I don't see us coming back in person particularly soon So, you know an odd way that makes me feel more comfortable With the ppe and we've had a very small percentage of our students come in for a total of seven days So we are well stocked so to speak And so, you know, I do feel we'll have the last round of air quality testing Done, I think uh next week and the results maybe the week after that So, uh, you know, I do feel like we're getting to the end of some of the unknowns that uh, and they're they're trending to the positive In terms of the initial reports we received from the consultant. So, um, I do think, you know, we're feeling I'm feeling You know comfortable, but they're you know, we don't know what the future holds. Um, And I think that's that's the hard thing But you know in terms of some of the variables that we're hanging out there Do we need to change entire schools hVAC systems and things like that? You know, again, we we keep on getting individual rooms that need some work that our staff can mostly handle Or we don't use a room or two in a school But um, we've been really pleased with with some of the large-scale work. So I do feel like we're I want to say over the hump, but I think we we have some variables that we've Uh, could have went either way that went in the way of the district Thanks to the good work of our facilities and maintenance crew over the years Um, but we don't exactly know what the winter and spring will hold And I think that's sort of the the unknown variable that, um, makes it particularly difficult to plan for So our long-winded way of, um Honestly not answering your question. So, um, that that's sort of where But that that is where I am in my thinking and in terms of superintendents We all just assume that we'll get to the end of second quarter and third quarter and and have less of an idea of exactly where we are In our budgets than we've ever had before And have to adjust from there. Um, just because our spending patterns are wildly different than they've ever been Okay So I think I'll I'll take us into the the quarter run reports that the two reports are are very very similar to each other So there's not uh, I'll probably talk of them in in uh, in in sort of Simultaneously, I guess is a way to describe it Um, I mean the short story is that for most areas of budget we're we're doing fine, uh, you know, the You know, we've been doing a lot of spending but it's been The money we were just talking about and not, you know, our own budget We've been spending our own budget as in many ways as we would have expected Um, you know, there are three areas in in both of these budgets that I that I will Point out is areas that you know are deeply concerning to us and we are going to have to take action and Utilize funds within the budget to move to those areas, but also Uh, you know, hopefully we'll get some support for those things From potentially another, uh, you know sort of outside source Um, but I think I'll talk about the sort of positives first, you know, things like, uh, you know, uh, substitutes You know the substitutes we've used you see none in in region, but in amherst there are some That's largely paying our own staff to cover for each other if they need to be out You know having other people come in has been a much much smaller thing Uh, our salaries have been very very modest. Uh, there are positions we intentionally did not fill And have held open, uh to uh, you know in anticipation of Of uh needing that revenue to help support other things Um, and as you go through most of the rest of the green areas, uh, you know, they're spending at pace of about 25% Is the percent of budget used or it's a little above that at time Sometimes that's about encumbering money in preparation for spending that will happen fairly soon Um, you have some encumbrances and things, uh, that that come up and where the line share of the spending happens early in the year So in the is department, there's a number of Software renewal that that happened at the beginning of the year that happens in some other departments as well And so you look at those and see 70% spent out of the is sort of blind and and you know You worry that you won't get there from here But but you know, there's a big chunk of of expenditure in the early part of the year in those in those areas um, the three areas that we marked and and you know, uh Thought about most deeply is is that contracted service area of our sort of payroll area Part of why that's at that level right now is is over the summer So after july 1 but over the summer there was a a significant amount of compensatory services that we've had to to to to uh To offer to kids and and to provide to children Um, and that was a needless to say above budget. Um and and much of it if not all of it is is was ineligible and remains ineligible for for support from these supporting uh grant monies from the state and and the feds and so that's You know, it's a tricky area and as we move forward, there's there's going to be continued expense in that area Doug can I just jump in so compensatory services are typically services that are delivered for students with special needs when they haven't Receive the services as that are consistent with their IEP so, um desi put out the state put out a guide to help us understand given last spring's uh experience, um How to provide compensatory services and as dr. Darls slaughter describes, uh Well that part of it is perhaps, you know, mostly complete Um with the current service delivery model we have we are anticipating Needing to provide continue to provide Compensatory services for students who can't access some of their services virtually to make effective progress towards the IEP So that's one of the reasons and red isn't just that it's at 29. It's actually that we imagine that number to grow over time um So it is a cause of concern for us financially. We're always going to do the right thing by kids and Sometimes the right thing by kids isn't inexpensive. Um, but particularly for our students of special needs We are providing additional services. We're trying to front end that service So we don't need compensatory services next summer and we think that's both in the kids best interest in the fiscal best interest um, but um You know, we didn't budget for that And so that is a cause of concern fiscally Not a cause of concern educationally. It's it's the right thing to do. We're gonna do it Uh, because that's what we do. Um, but I just wanted to share that it's a special education Not all contracted but much of what we're talking about here is contracted services for students of special needs Right and and to build on that. I think the next area of concern is is under, uh, special education expenditure And it's labeled slightly differently between the two, uh, the embers and the and the regional charts, but but nonetheless, uh, you know, it's a similar Uh, you know area of concern and and and expenditure. There are things we are doing in a remote environment That, uh, again, you know, uh, there is some support and there has been some support from these cares programs and cares acts funds But we're not sure what that entails as we move into the the second half of the of the fiscal year and so, uh, You know, it it's not that we can't do the work we need to do We have requirements and and obligation both moral and legal Um, that we need to to take care of and and so, uh, that we'd have to You know find the financial resources to make those things happen the way they need to Um, the third area is in the facilities area. And again, I think this this gets into you know, sort of back to the idea of of some of those, uh efforts and and, uh activities that we're doing to keep our building safe and clean and sanitized and materials that we're buying to protect staff if they're in the building and you know, even though The kids aren't in school. There are people in our buildings. And so there is work that's being done and and ongoing Uh, that is different than we've done in the past relative to our cleaning and sanitizing procedures. And so I'm in the office, but you know pretty much every day and uh, there are things they're doing in my office every day That's very different than in years past and that's not a complaint or I'm glad they're doing them But at the same time those aren't uh, you know, those weren't uh necessary budget for Um, and like I said as we go into the second half of the year the the resources that we've applied to to uh fund those types of activities and those things Um You know are there's not a support sitting out there for us right at the moment So we have to really keep an eye on that as we move ahead You know, you know the bright spots, uh transportation will cost us a little bit less Uh, you know utilities will probably cost us a little bit less um You know There are a few other areas like that that will uh by nature of of how we're operating this year Will will come in under what we thought we would Which will help support, you know the areas of the budget that are going to be above what we expected That's always the the thing we do is we work through our budget um So I think, you know In the memo that I shared with you and then also here on on on these two documents for both, uh, the regional schools and the and the ember schools, um You sort of articulate the the circumstance we find ourselves in we're sitting as is in the case For quite a while now in a lot of unknowns And uh, you know, we're we're beginning to get a handle on How we're approaching that Uh set of unknowns but but again, uh, we're going to have to be Nimble and I think quite frankly clever depending on what happens relatives to support from the outside um So I think I'll I'll stop there and and entertaining any questions that people have relatives this budget So I I have an initial question, um, and I I think you said this so maybe this is just a sort of restating for Make sure i'm understanding it is when you talk about the compensatory services, um, and sort of that being read in both both budgets um And and that the concern is not just where we are In the first quarter, but where we may end up as as the year progresses thinking about that year progresses is that of a concern Considering that we will that we are very likely to continue in an all remote environment and so that will just keep getting bigger or And if it were um, if we were in back into some more, um in person services That sort of become a little bit less of a a red a red flag, um on the budget Um, it's a little hard to be explicit in the answer because we haven't received the compensatory services guide for this year You know, we were talking about last spring Um, but I think the anecdotal feedback and I think a school member referenced the CPAC survey a little while ago indicated that um Families are expressing concern about whether they can effectively receive the services all their services virtually, um and um I think that could lead to Conversations about how those services and how those how the progress and how goals are met individually it really depends on the students some students may you know, the virtual environment works really well and There's students with special needs and and they may be making effective progress that way But if there's evidence that there's regression And that services aren't delivered then both we have an ethical and then you know Potentially legal obligation to provide those compensatory services So, you know, I think there's a really broad group we think about students with special needs, but there certainly are students with special needs um, whose families are expressing real concerns about the nature of Making the goals towards progress and whether they're able to access their resources and services that The need to so I think you know, it's a we're you know, Dr. Brady's working really hard We do thanks staff who are doing in-home services um, but even that some of the goals around social emotional functioning and Socialization are hard to realize in in that setting as well. So You know, it's It's something we're keeping an eye on but I think as dr. Brady always says the I and IEP is individual So it really does range based on the special need of the individual student Mr. Demlin Yeah, I mean, I would just add a brief comment, you know, just to add some context to that since you know The c-pack meetings where we've discussed The survey results which include a lot of comments and parent feedback is that I mean what we what we know for sure What is absolutely clear is that we have a non-zero number of students with significant special needs Who cannot access Their education through the remote environment And point blank that like that's that's full stop. I mean, and you know, you can you can go Talk about what well, what is that number exactly? Um, but it's definitely non-zero and it's definitely more than a handful So I think as it relates to the context of this budget and what we project going forward if if If we do end up being mostly remote for the year is that we're definitely going to have some level of compensatory services You know like dr. Morris says it depends on the ip, right? You got to like make that assessment and And you know levels in the details, but um, but it's it's it's certainly Certainly reality and I think I think the the c-pack survey and the feedback from parents that c-pack has made that Very clear is that we have some number of students who Who you know have not progressed since march and and it's it's it's through no fault of the effort of the staff or the or the district Um, um, you know that that's never come up as a theme Um at all it's it's just the nature of of some students with significant special needs and and and what we can deliver in the Any other questions for miss fitzer? I'm I'm just wondering when we'll get an update on the transportation savings if um, just because it it is a That's the one potential positive If we can continue to stay closed That might offset and and then this may be going back a little bit To the memo, but I mean here we're looking at these expenses, but what we also want to be looking at is the potential Revenue and and you mentioned in the memo At the very lint and the whole harmless provisions of the state student opportunity act Which this past year mitigated any drop in aid due to lower foundation enrollment will likely not be able to be fully sustained in fiscal year 22 Is that because of the advocacy by the that I'm getting that My memory is blanking right now, but there was a movement to to change the whole harmless, um Language and I'm just wondering if anybody had an update on The fate of that and if that's what you're referring to here. Is it the potential for that? um Right, you lost into that political movement I can aim to the second part if that's okay. Dr. Slaughter So I think that's what I referenced towards the beginning of the meeting with Representative Dom and some of her advocacy of the education commission um My job is to advocate for the Amherst public schools Amherst regionals, you know schools and Pellum Uh, I think the counter argument to that is that hold harmless uh in a financially In a resource poor environment that massachusetts may be in Um massachusetts last year passed the student opportunity act which was to was intended to greatly fund Um areas that had lower funding Uh, typically urban areas areas of high concentrations of poverty The idea of where that money is going to come from is really an open question now So I think it's not just a boston-based group that's raising this it's um It's a little bit larger about how is the state going to fund its commitments to equity uh in funding of districts and and I'm always going to do the advocacy my job is to do the advocacy That's why you know talk to representatives and and all that but I do want to be fair that there are people who Are working in urban districts when they hear hold harmless Um, and they're not going to get the millions of dollars that they were Uh, rightfully entitled to you based on student opportunity act Right the pie may not be big enough to do both of those things And so I think there is an authentic policy debate about how to approach that Uh my job because that's what I'm paid to do is going to be an advocate for these three districts But I want to also balance the equation that if I was working for the Worcester public schools or the Holyoke public schools And I heard the Amherst regional schools talking about hold harmless because we have students who went to private school I might have a different policy interest than what we might all share In our self-interested way rightfully self-interested. That's what we're here to do Um, so, you know, I wouldn't yes, there is an advocacy group doing work on that But there are other people who are not part of a boston-based advocacy group who are also advocating You know, if there has to be funds cut it shouldn't come from student opportunity act because that's supposed to be an equalizer and Hold harmless is sort of this relic of a political compromise a long time ago. And how are we maintaining it? So i'm not advocating against our own interests. I just want to balance that Um in in an environment where finances are going to likely be very tight in the commonwealth There's going to be some really hard decisions that the commonwealth makes on that And I think there's legitimate arguments to be made at a policy level on both sides of that debate Sorry for that like long-winded piece. I just wanted to be really really fair about that and Basically, I need to say it and i'm absolutely still gonna, you know, do all the things I can to bring more resources to our districts Can I just say I wasn't trying to advocate on either side of that? I'm just trying to understand the status of it because I know it had been of debate and I'm and it sounds like the status is Undetermined yet and it hasn't been Figured out. Oh, yeah No, I think it's still, you know, I just wanted to point it out because there was all this medius coverage that I think wasn't all that helpful Probably in defining some of the core issues in the bait and so at this point what we got from what I received from Via rep dom is that there's recognition on the education committee that this is something that needs to be discussed and worked out And they're dedicated to trying to problem solve it and that's where we are And Dr. Satter, did you want to add to that? Just a small thing? I would suggest, you know the the My intention was less about the policy question more about just the broader Um, you know sort of in the memo my my indication was was much more focused on the fact that you know The state revenues are going to be down How much they're going to be down? We're not sure and that'll probably have a negative impact on just the resources available Regardless of how they ultimately get sliced within the chapter 74 million that policy question is also an important one that's gotten a lot of Presses as the superintendent mentioned And I think it's a complex enough one that Personally and this is a personal opinion. I'm not sure they're going to resolve that in Three months, uh, you know, so they'll probably try to come up with some You know Modest compromise to to manage the crisis of the financial crisis that will will be in for the coming year And then, you know, hopefully that'll foster the deeper richer conversation that needs to happen around That whole policy issue Yeah, so just to answer miss spitzer's question real quick the status of the whole harmless advocacy It's it's really two parts one is pre pandemic as part of the SOA bill itself There was a study required By desi and the dor to study Minimum local contribution and part of that is is is how hold harmless fits in in that So that's so that's the advocacy Letter that we did a few meetings ago As in input to that study so that study is there and it's going off and whatever the schedule that happens In addition, there's this whole unknown of omg what's going to happen with funding for schools next year Right and and given all the political uncertainty Everybody's kind of freaking out right now about what's on the table and what kind of dramatic things could happen And so outside of that other normal process that study that we input into There is fear that things like hold harmless and other things regional transportation reimbursement all these other kinds of things that we rely on Could get slashed and and as everybody fights for this pie. That's too small. So that's kind of two two parallel threads any other questions Miss spitzer, I think the question about one will know more about transportation Didn't get answered Um, I'm sorry. I could I can report on that. I forgot that you'd ask that question. Um, so, you know, we have negotiated a It's an moa a memorandum of agreement With our bus company we have a single company now instead of two with our with our contract You know, there's a there's a few provisions that are sort of, you know around Specific things like sanitizer on the bus and who's doing it and how much that cost. Those are pretty minor There are some things around how they'll support us around Bus monitors if we don't have enough staff that can perform that role and they do have staff That can perform that role, but the the primary one That has the biggest impact is the is that on on remote days like The ones we are in currently We negotiated a 75 percent of the full cost and part of the reason for that in the spring. It was 50 percent That was a different circumstance in that circumstance they laid off all their drivers so all their drivers were claiming and and and Taking unemployment In the fall in order to keep and retain the drivers Especially in a circumstance where they may be on and then off and then on and then off They feel like we know, you know, they need to keep them on payroll and and in order to essentially survive and to retain the drivers They needed to be able to support some form of payment to those to those staff during these remote only days And so that's why the percentage is a little higher. Interestingly, there's a small provision in the in the arisal Existing contract that you know, if you're not a lawyer and you read it You might see the same sort of oh 75 percent for one of those kind of days So it's parallel to what's a structure that exists in our contract now, but So, you know, the more days that we spend Remote our transportation costs are three quarters of what they would be so there's 25 of that chunk of the budget But then when we do transport there's potential for additional costs above what we expect because of the You know number of kids that will fit on a bus By virtue of the rules that are in place um The monitors that will be on the on those on those buses, etc. So You know, it's hard to tell at this point depends on, you know The longer we are remote the more likely it is we we save some money relative to what we budgeted But it's a little hard to tell exactly what you know to quantify at this point. I guess the way to describe it Is anybody that it hasn't asked any questions have any any questions Seeing none great Thank you. Dr. Slaughter. That was thorough and helpful Dr. Morris Just um, I just want to do a kind of agenda check So, you know, we do have a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday that doesn't have too many new items on the agenda Um I'm not doing anything else tonight. I'm not pushing anyone But I just want to note that we're you know, um because of the depth of the conversation the questions You know, we're at two hours now and um, I just wanted to at least give the the committee the opportunity If they wanted to look at the agenda and see if what they wanted to keep and what perhaps they Want to push on next week since we we don't have that many heavy items next week Yeah, I was I was thinking along the same lines So I I'm going to sort of survey the room and I I might propose that we move um We I think we can tackle the next item The superintendent goals vote and then maybe the the next two items d and e we move to The next week's meeting and those are the discussing the advocacy work for f y 22 And then beginning the conversation Or exploring the the calendar and school year structure for f y for school school year 22 um So I'll just glance around my screen to see what the committees are thinking about on that um Seeing lots of thumbs up. Um, and just as a as a comment So we we have the meeting um, we've mentioned that um, the amherst school committee is has a joint meeting with the Amherst town council and the Jones library board of trustees On monday, um, which is the annual Amherst town financial indicators meeting for the next year's budget Um, and then right now we have tentatively a meeting of just the regional school committee on tuesday november 10th Um, so if I'm seeing everybody is pretty much okay with that. So we'll make that um change Um, and we can come back to this when we get to item f future agenda planning Um so the uh Next item is our is item c the superintendent goals, which are also The second time we've talked about it. So we um dr. Morris presented these at um, our last joint meeting um, my understanding is The pelham school committee has has already voted on these so the um It's just the region and the amherst school committee that need to um review and vote on these as our Mike, uh, dr. Morris's goals for this school year Thank you for projecting this there any, um Questions comments discussion before we move to a vote. I'm not seeing any. Uh, so, uh, would Somebody from the region like to make a motion? um I move that the regional school committee approve um these superintendent goals as presented for The 2021 school year towards second Okay, moved by spitzer second by lauren. We'll take a roll call vote Um, mr. Demley Mr. Harrington Miss kenny kenny. I Miss lauren lord. I miss seeker seeker. I miss spitzer spitzer. I Mr. Sullivan Sullivan I and mcdonald I Motion passes seven to zero unanimously um And I will move for the amherst school committee to approve the proposed superintendent goals for the school year 2020-21 Is there a second second Moved by mcdonald second by herrington. Let's take a roll call vote. Mr. Demley Mr. Harrington Harrington I Miss spitzer Spitzer I And mcdonald I That motion passes unanimously five zero lord. I yeah, sorry And I even wrote it down in alphabetical order Um great so um as discussed we will move the next two items to our next um regional school committee meeting um and For next week for that meeting so the amherst meeting is amherst committee's meeting on on monday um With As part of that joint meeting And then the region meeting on tuesday we have the um moa for uh afsc me Um to vote on that um graduation requirements For the school year If I can just give one sentence of context not to discuss but just that is um looking at the high school's graduation requirements Understanding that we're in a different schedule this year and given last spring We'll be bringing our proposal to adjust the graduation requirements Um for the high school and for summit academy. It's been worked on collaboratively with the administrative team at both schools So the context is that we'd like to present um an adaptation Um given the courses the different schedule and the different amount of courses students were able to take to make sure that um no students are penalized for the um COVID related changes that we've had to make so that's the discussion point next week Okay, um should Seeing the uh financial indicator summaries should they should that be a joint meeting with amherst next week as well or I was thinking that it might be good to actually have as a region meeting because the amherst School committee will meet in a public meeting where they're able to talk about that and ask questions Whereas the implications for region seem making sure that our regional colleagues are aware of What's being presented amherst because it has implications. So that's I mean, I'm not I'm not went to that but that was my thinking okay Miss spitzer I was also wondering if we should make it a joint meeting just because I feel like the changes to the calendar and the school year structure Will actually be very relevant to amherst. I can't see us changing one without the other like It could be able to talk about what the impact on the elementary schools would would be nice. I think at that meeting It's probably the first two items would be region only and then The others okay great any other comments thoughts from the committee miss spitzer sorry, I I just think because um of what dr. Morris brought up with the Issue with different apps and t rates I'm not saying it should be on the november 10th meeting, but it seems like a topic worthy of future discussion at a school committee meeting Again, it's it's feeling like there's a lot on the 10th and maybe we'll get more data later on too That might make it a richer discussion in the future, but I'd love to stay updated on that and involved in the conversation Mr. Devin I don't know if this would be a sub bullet under a general advocacy item, but there's a a growing push statewide to Advocate for no mCAS this year and some for mCAS moratorium senator cumberford has been involved in some of that the masc annual Assembly is voting on it this saturday as like a delegate assembly, but in addition school committees are also Voting on it. It's not like it has to be next week thing, but Given that masc is voting on it this weekend Some and our community may be interested in it as well maybe something for I don't know the 17th of the 24th, maybe any other thoughts just to note that I think the 24th is tuesday night, which is The week of thanksgiving not that we the group couldn't meet but and I know many people aren't traveling, but it may still Be a time that people want to Yeah I'm not going anywhere, but uh, but you know just wanted to note that for people. Yeah I was trying to remember when that was and then we've also noted that tentatively looking to schedule the four towns meeting for the for the region Either the fifth or the twelfth. Um, though, I think our preference is the fifth Um, so more to come on that any other thoughts right now if anybody has any, um, any thoughts after this meeting Feel free to email me Um Afterward at any time before Uh, looks like we're pretty full for the 10th, but for the 17th. Um, have plenty of time for that Great, so we'll move on now to a warrant report. Um Um, Ms. Pisser, I don't know if you have any for the region. I do have some for the for Amherst Are you do you want to go first? I do I need to It'll take me just a moment to open each one. So if you have it yours ready, okay, I'll let you go first I will Pull mine up. Um Okay, so um I authorize by my signature on october 16th um wages um payroll for amherst amherst school district of 18 513 dollars and 32 cents And as I mentioned, uh, oh, sorry, that was the payroll period ending october 7th that I signed on the 16th I have four so just so folks are prepared um I authorize by my signature to payables the amount of 170 371 and 25 cents For an abhorrent dated october 23rd 2020 This includes general fund expenses of 52 503 dollars and 88 cents revolving fund expenses of 26 500 dollars grant fund expenses of 2638 dollars and 73 cents FEMA fund Of 20 722 dollars and 89 cents covid relief grant of 5 394 dollars CARES fund CARES act fund and the amount of 62 611 dollars and 75 cents And I signed that on october 29th I Also authorized by my signature for the payroll period ending um november 4 um The amount of 18 534 dollars and 77 cents um, and I signed that on october 30th and last I authorized by my signature to payables in the amount of 639 129 dollars and 94 cents for a warrant dated november 4th um, and that was Actually, there's no detail as to where that was from Uh, so that was signed today Mr. Spitzer. Yep So, um, I opt I also have four I authorized by my signature to payables in the amount of 300 22209 dollars and 22 cents for a warrant dated october 21st 2020 and this included general fund expenses of that amount And I signed that on october 22nd 2020 I authorized by my signature to payables in the amount of 390,000 328 100 328 dollars and 47 cents for the warrant dated october 23rd 2020 and this included general fund expenditures of 177 140 dollars and 92 cents revolving fund expenses of 32 846 dollars And 33 cents and grant fund expenses of 180,341 dollars and 22 cents And I signed that on october 28th 2020 um I approved I approved a transfer of funds um From the district treasurer student activity master account to replenish funds Expended from the principal student activity account um And this was a transfer in the amount of 23,275 and 47 cents um And that was Let's see the date I think it was october 29th 2020 I approved that I authorized by my signature to payables in the amount of 622,625 dollars and 16 cents for a warrant dated um october 4th 2020 and this included general fund expenses of 621,136 dollars and 24 cents revolving fund expenses of 1257 dollars And grant fund expenses of 231 dollars and 92 cents and this was signed also on october 4th 2020 And that's it Thank you Um next is gifts and I don't believe we have any gifts in our packet tonight um So we'll move on to the next um if somebody from the region would like to make a motion Mr. Sullivan Wrong button before we do that can we go back to future agenda planning and so that I have a question about The jlmc Would you like should we put that on here? Well, I just felt that that was like a place where I could ask my question So I I didn't realize that that email from sasha today was asking me directly for agenda items Because I you know, we haven't heard anything back from you about what was going on with the other half of the um discussion team So I didn't know that We were gonna do anything because I have one agenda item I would put on there But I don't think everyone would like it So I am waiting to hear from the rest of the committee what they would like to see us put on that agenda for when they do meet That input from the read from the regional school committee Yes, please Dr. Morris I was gonna say would you want me to add that to the agenda for next Tuesday night? Because it's making a posted item so that the committee could all have time to think about it and discuss it Is that okay with you mr. Sullivan? It is because my agenda item would be pretty strong So we'll we'll add it to Tuesday's meeting In preparation for the next jlmc Okay Thank you Oh now I'll make I'll do that other thing Go for it. I make a suggestion that the regional school committee disband for the evening Motion to adjourn mr. Sullivan I'll second that World call boat because there's no discussion mr. Demling Come on. I miss spitzer Spitzer I Mr. Sullivan Sullivan I Mr. Harrington Harrington I Miss lord lord. I miss seager Seager I Miss Kenny Did you say I? Yeah, McDonald I Um, so the region is adjourned and I'll move that we adjourn the Amherst school committee. Is there a second lord second Live by McDonald's second by lord and roll call vote mr. Demling Demling I miss spitzer Spitzer I Mr. Harrington Harrington I Miss lord lord I And McDonald I we are adjourned