 This program is brought to you by cable franchise V's and generous donations from viewers like you Yes, I'm ready Okay, and Shawn I can see that we are connected to Amherst media and Are we allowing the attendees into the conference? Yes, okay Then given that I'm going to call the meeting to order Governor Baker's March 12th order suspending certain provisions of the open meeting law general law Chapter 30 a Paragraph 20 allows us to hold this virtual special joint meeting of the town council and school committee. I Will call upon each candidate by name Then the members of the school committee and then the members of the council at that time Please unmute your mic and say present. This will indicate that you can hear me and we can hear you Please remember to mute your mic after saying present Gaston De La Reyes President Brian Driscoll President Katie Lezdowski President Heather Lord Moving to the school committee Peter Demling President Ben Harrington He's on mute President, sorry. Thank you Allison McDonald present Perry Spitzer present and Now the town council shallony ball mill shallony on mute Present present Alyssa Brewer Present Pat de Angelis present present Mont Darcy Demond. Oh, sorry present Lynn Griesma is present Mandy Jo Hanneke present Dorothy Pam present Evan Ross present George Ryan present Kathy Shane present Steve Schreiber present Andy Steinberg Sarah Schwartz Given that we have a quorum of the town council president I am calling April 14th 2020 meeting of the Amherstown council to order at 602 p.m. Allison McDonald cheer the school committee will now call the school committee to order Given that we also have a quorum of the school committee present and calling the April 14th 2020 special meeting of the Amherst School committee to order at 603 p.m. Okay, this meeting includes audio and video It is being recorded and is available live on Amherst media There will be no public comment during this meeting Candidates school committee members and town councillors. There is no chat room for this meeting if you have technical issues Please let Sean or Athena know through the numbers that have been provided to you If technical difficulties arise a result of utilizing remote participation, I will decide how to address the situation Discussion may be suspended while we address technical issues and the minutes will note if a disconnection occurs Athena and Sean will be monitoring candidates school committee members and town councillors To make sure their connections are working and if necessary we will pause the meeting until they are reconnected The joint meeting that will be resumed on Thursday, April 16 at 6 o'clock Only if technical difficulties prevent the completion of interviews and vote to select a candidate I'm going to spend a little time just reviewing the process. So could you please put the slide up? That shows the timeline for filling the vacancy Let me begin by saying the process of selecting a person to fill a vacancy on an elected body is Described in the Amherst home rule charter section 4.1 C The process leading up to tonight in this meeting tonight is Consistent with that section of the charter It has been vetted with both the town council and the school committee and it appears as part of the packet for tonight's meeting Very briefly on February 21st Eric Nakajima sent in his resignation. It was effective March 1st On Monday, February 24th The town council began discussion of this process and the school committee began a similar discussion on March 2nd Both continued these discussions up to the point of publishing the set of questions on Tuesday March 3rd The notice of the vacancy was posted and a description of the Amherst school committee responsibilities and expectations on March 31st at 4 o'clock the nomination or the candidate statements were due and certification of a person as a Resident who is a registered voter began and on Friday April 3rd We posted their names as well as the first portion of the meeting packet along with the statements of interest and those certifications on April 8th We mailed packets to the candidates all members of the town council and the school committee Including those certifications and their statements of interest the process and timeline the announcements of the vacancies and of the candidates The Amherst school committee description and the question Questions for candidates. This brings us to tonight Allison McDonald chair of the school committee and I will ask the candidates questions We will do that in alphabetical and rotating order At the completion of the interview we may take a five-minute break After that the school committee members and the town council may wish to speak To candidates qualifications in relationship to the published description of the board's responsibilities and expectations But we asked that you not express which candidate you intend to vote for The winning candidate requires a majority of votes of the remaining filled seats on both boards Absences and abstentions at the meeting do not affect this requirement Therefore the number of votes required for a successful candidate is nine We will then proceed to a roll call vote Starting with the school committee and then the town council. This will be done in alphabetical and rotating order for each group If on the first roll call vote no candidate receives the required number of votes Then the process will be repeated until a candidate receives the majority votes as to find above The council president and the chair of the school committee may choose to insert a period of comment after each round of votes and After the vote is completed. There will be a motion to appoint the winning candidate So we will begin the opening statements and questions and a closing statements Allison McDonald will join me and asking questions. And so we will begin And I believe you can take the screen down now so the candidates can be seen as they're answering their questions Thank you Sean have you made that arrangement on the zoom that they'll be seen as on the screen Okay, thank you So we'd like to start with opening remarks the order for this round of the opening remarks starts with Gaston Then Ryan then Katie then Heather. I hope it's fine that I've called you by your first names So please shall we begin Gaston? You're not You're muted Thank you Very good Thank you so much for the opportunity. I'm here to answer the call for service I understand my job today is to convey the skills experience approach and values that I bring to the school committees My most relevant experience is serving over a decade on school boards including boards responsible for the oversight of school directors As well as PGOs Why did I answer this call? I became heavily involved in DC as a community liaison and then chair of the school's PGO my children's Spanish immersion Public school and this led me to many meetings with city councillors school district leadership I love this work, but I wanted to bring my contribution back to Massachusetts in Amherst And I arrived in 2018 ready to answer the call for public service and my abyss know-how and experiences in education Hence I've responded to this request for volunteers. Not only have I said an educational boards I am a teacher. I was teaching critical thinking to Boston Public School students in 1999 I currently teach business ethics specifically I help students formulate arguments to tap into their own sense of values and make the case for how businesses should be responsible in dealing with society I'm also in the journey. I've negotiated contracts large and small. I've briefed cases as a litigator And finally as on a personal note, let me tell you that I moved from Puerto Rico to Framingham, Massachusetts in the first grade I attended the public schools there and in the middle school I actually had one of these open classroom schools like Wildwood and Fort River. Thank you Thank you, Ryan Hi, good evening. First I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank the school committee and the town council for taking the time to speak with me and each of the other candidates tonight I wanted to quickly thank Ms. Lorde and Ms. Lozdowski as well as Mr. Delos Reyes for their willingness to step forward for what is a significant time contribution It's a bit of a background. My name is Ryan Driscoll. I was born and raised in Massachusetts I was fortunate to have been educated through the Northampton public school system College brought me to Boston where I lived for over a decade There that I met my wife Charlotte and we had our first child Leo As new parents, we needed to decide the best place where we would establish our roots and raise our family That is what brought my family to Amherst. That's what brought me before you today as a father And a member of the Amherst community. I'm completely floored and honestly embarrassed at the state and facilities while would in Fort River It's heartbreaking to me to hear children opting to keep their coats on during the school day in an effort to stay warm In the face of an inadequate heating system It's heartbreaking to hear concerns of teachers that damp conditions and deteriorating infrastructure may have a negative impact on their health Perhaps the greatest tragedy all of all That this complete failure to provide adequate space for learning has disproportionately impacted our students who are most at risk The candidate I do not claim to have all the answers I don't have a phd What I do have is a self-awareness to know what I don't know An humility to seek out insight from those best suited to contribute to an equitable solution The complex issues facing the school committee need to be addressed from multiple perspectives that are represent representative of diverse group of stakeholders As a new member of the Amherst community I can provide a professional perspective Kind of renewed sense of urgency to the challenges ahead I'm committed to doing this while remaining cognizant and respectful of where I come into this process And how I fit into the larger picture here. There's been a lot of positive progress in the last few years I believe that the school committee is on the right path. I support superintendent. Mr. Morris And I've given the opportunity I intend to ensure that this momentum continues to move forward in the right direction Thank you Katie Thank you Good evening everyone I feel privileged to be here among all of you tonight, especially given the current global pandemic In that spirit, I can't begin without acknowledging so many people who are suffering both directly and indirectly the effects of COVID-19 Tonight my objective is to demonstrate that my skills my knowledge and my experience Situate me as the best candidate to fill the vacancy on the Amherst school committee My presence here illustrates the strong desire. I have maintained since campaigning for the seat on the Amherst school committee this past fall During my campaign, I reached out to the current school committee members And together we work to ensure that the league of women voters forum offered Spanish interpretation services Reflecting all of our commitment to access Since then I have watched you work together in a spirit of collegiality And I would be honored to join the four of you and uphold that same spirit Like you I scored the compromise proposal of consolidating the three elementary schools into two And we'll work to ensure that decisions around the project will build our community not to bite us In many ways, I wish more than one of us could be selected this evening because I know the work is extensive Particularly in this cycle with many decisions to be made about infrastructure and the budget I know the workload and the time commitment is significant And I'm eager and perhaps more importantly ready to jump right in to assist you I have been following the school committee meetings closely since 2014 Attending meetings when agenda topics are of particular interest to me and later watching those meetings that I don't attend in person As I will describe in my responses this evening It is my passion and my commitment to the Amherst schools and our wonderful teachers and students That drive my desire to serve Amherst in this capacity. Thank you Heather Good evening I present myself as a candidate to fill the Amherst school committee seat left banked by Eric Nakajima's departure I would like to thank Mr. Nakajima for his years of commitment and service to the Amherst community and wish him well on his newest endeavor I'm running for the seat because I believe The Amherst school committee and community would benefit greatly from my lived experiences my professional experiences And my passion to dismantling white supremacy Classism heteronormativity Ableism transphobia And working to elevate voices that tend to be silenced as mine was for many years Bell Hook's piece called marginality as a site of resistance has helped me use my voice And inspires me to pay it forward. I live and breathe anti racism and continuously work on anti oppression I have been informed by my life growing up with trauma and living in poverty a black woman of mixed race parentage Living with the disability and fluidity Many of our students can be found at these sociocultural locations and the variety of needs They have often go unnoticed and unmet My lived experience alone does not qualify me for this position Because that does not necessarily equip one with the analysis and the tools to educate the others and dismantle systems of oppression It is the years with undoing racism On organizing collective and the anti-racism consultant committee that have prepared me for this position It is the 20 years in the amherst schools and different roles working with our students our families and our teachers and staff That has prepared me for this position It is the commitment to inclusivity and listening to the voices of our families and students That has made it imperative for me to apply for this position. Thank you for your consideration So the next the beginning of the questions to which you each have one to maximum two minutes As the first one is based upon your opening statement And the description of the responsibilities of x and expectations of school committee members Is there anything else you would like to add that additionally describes Your ability to fulfill these responsibilities and expectations. This time we begin with ryan Thank you. I spent the better part of the last decade working as an administrator at harvard university here i was responsible for the for government reporting responsibilities as well as the facilitating a payment of annuities required to Sustain their intellectual patent portfolio My employment at harvard allowed me to pursue graduate graduate studies in civil rights community engagement and nonprofit management as means of professional enrichment Uh, without this opportunity. I wouldn't have been able to afford to do this otherwise Uh, I'm currently employed by the university of massachusetts amherst where I regularly review accepted research proposals from the nsf and the associated budget With each proposal, uh, many each project Um, I have experience reviewing and managing the post-war process in accordance with university policy guidelines and Federal regulations, which I think would be analogous to the role of this position Thank you Katie you're next Thank you The primary duties of the school committee include the hiring and evaluation of the superintendent and the review and approval of the district's budgets I briefly spoke to my ability to fulfill these responsibilities in my statement of interest In my 20 years work of experience in the education sector I have evaluated in-service and pre-service teachers again and again Both locally and internationally. I have mentored and supported teachers to help them achieve their professional goals In our own district through my work as a school equity task force members since 2014 I have advised the school committee on ways to include equity oriented goals of this for the superintendent Equally important is my experience in the non-profit sector, which well situates me to guide the district budget process each year In my professional work I regularly write grant proposals for considerable sums of money and develop budgets in collaboration with my colleagues the need to analyze budgets Practice fiscal responsibility and think beyond a one-year time frame are necessary skills for the selected candidate I ask that you select someone this evening who is adequately prepared to responsibly oversee over half of the town's budget I have volunteered in various capacities in Amherst since moving here in 2010 I have met people through my roles and as an lsc basketball coach a religious educator a neighborhood food project coordinator at the Amherst survival center By attending regular potlucks for Lucio Perez and helping with pgo events at port river Furthermore, I'm connected to people through my profession and as a graduate of UMass and through being the mother of an elementary school student My circles are vast and varied which connects me with constituents from a variety of settings And I see myself as a build a build bridger and someone who collaborates well with people with diverse opinions These connections will help me facilitate the communication between the public and the district Thank you Heather you are next Thank you My opening statement speaks to interpersonal and interpersonal strength in the multiple intelligence framework I have other skills that I'd like to let you know about right now I served in management positions in restaurants and in theaters I have managed the budget at smith new world theater and as a restaurant manager I was a coordinator for new world theaters project 2050 which worked with youth scholars and artists at Amherst college to learn about Inform about and perform about systems of oppression and look at a time of a be no clear majority in this country I have a masters in education through UMass Where I focused on multicultural curriculum So I understand curriculum scaffolding backward design and I've learned how to use my discourse analysis training to deconstruct biases I recently finished a rigorous master's program at smith while a single mother who was working So I have energy and perseverance My second master's is in social work And that has helped me to navigate conflict and better see other people's positions when they are in opposition to mine so In social justice circles, we have different views on how to accomplish equity Some believe we need to burn it all down and begin again as the system is embedded in patriarchy white supremacy Others believe we need to find ways to work within the system and effect change that way Holding both opinions is important to me and finding ways to work together towards our goal Is one thing that I hope to accomplish Thank you Thank you Gaston Thank you. So, you know, it's humbling to be a fellow candidate with Heather Ryan and Katie and I think that the difficult decision tonight is the the council and the school committees clearly So I see my role is just trying to help you make the right decision for the school committee the children in the town I am a relative newcomer I moved here first in 2004, but just back now in 2018 Which is really the year that amherst was reborn and so that gives me a fresh perspective So I can hit the ground running as far as the Work of governance. I have the experience to do that But in many respects, I have fresh eyes to what's going on in the schools and the challenges So I am innocent of the struggles that preceded the new town charter And I think that that may be a disadvantage an advantage. Excuse me I'll just also put in perspective that when Anastasia Ordonez became a member of the school committee She was also relatively new to the town. So that is a precedent In the school committee Finally, just to kind of add a little bit more about myself I have been concerned with many of the issues that Heather is speaking about for a long time and I studied philosophy, but I also studied courses at the education school anti-racist multicultural education education for political and social change and I look forward to Continuing that work. However, I have the opportunity to do so. I have the Experience of a mother who was an educator and have learned alongside her career About the challenges of running a school system. So thank you so much We're going to move on to the next question Similarly based upon your opening statement Is there anything else you would like to add to the reasons you are interested in serving On the Amherst and Amherst-Pellum regional school committees And why should we select you and we begin this time with Kate? I'm interested in serving because I feel I have the skill set that can be put to good use to advance the mission of the Amherst public schools To support the wonderful teachers and our diverse student body I want to invest my time and experience to help tackle the financial challenges to come With the dual lenses of an educator who understands what resources are necessary and an administrator who understands that difficult choices will need to be made I believe you should select me because my experience in education complements the experience of the current school committee members They have proven themselves to think critically about the topic at hand often through their own professional lenses As an educator with expertise in teaching and learning I offer a vantage point in terms of how policies and decisions will impact the students that we are here to serve For example, my phd program focused on language policy and practice And my knowledge of bilingual education models can help to ensure the success of our dual language program I believe strongly in the coming on this program for numerous reasons It's a direct reflection of our district's mission and it attempts to address the enrollment challenges We experience possibly helping to retain families that might otherwise choose a local charter school with an immersion program It benefits all of our students who are enrolled studies show that multi-linguals are better problem solvers more creative and better planners Skills that will assist students throughout their education and beyond Also, I'm aware that a significant percentage of students receive special education services And as a parent and foster parent my children have directly benefited from these services Many parents are drawn to our district because of the quality of emmer special education services And I believe these programs need to be supported As an educator, I know that some of these services will unique to a single student by way of an IEP or 504 plan Often leads to more effective instruction and thus better learning outcomes for all students Thank you Heather I'm grateful to katie's commitment to having a translator and it is of utmost importance We have a bilingual and on the way to being by cultural elementary program. We need accessibility for our families I'm not yet proficient as a spanish speaker, but i'm committed to getting fluent as soon as possible Well on my way It is a necessity and I have been learning with the goal of being bilingual as soon as possible This speaks to my capacity and openness to learning as a physically able body person I used to take that privilege for granted and didn't have to think about the accessibility in buildings I learned to look at buildings that I go to now and think about it from another perspective Would I feel welcome? Would I feel I don't belong? It's an important value to me learning what I don't know and increasing my capacity to use locations Where I'm privileged as an activist for those who don't hold that privilege My ability and openness to learn is a value. I feel is important to the school committee. Thank you Thank you And guest on Thank you. I I guess I'd like to speak to what you would get if you have me as a member of your committee And I'm first of all a very critical thinker. I challenge assumptions I try to make sure that the group knows why we're asking the questions that we're asking I try to clarify the issues I like to put in the time outside of the actual meetings to develop ideas and draw up Whether it's agreements to have a potential alliance with a private or public sector institution Whether it's to explore an idea that has not been yet developed So it can be discussed at the next meeting. I like to collaborate and highlight What it is that the group has to decide about so that if there is disagreement The group knows what we're disagreeing about and what positions we have to take in order to Reach a reasonable disagreement That reveals that we all still care about the same things but take different positions about how to get there Ryan We have responsibility to provide our children with the competitive education and exposure to a diversity of ideas I would be personally Personally, I'd be disappointed in myself if I remained on the sidelines during the transition As I said before I put my name forward to help ensure that the school committee continues to make what I believe is positive progress I will do anything I can To ensure that the handoff and leadership is clean that we continue to move forward as a district and as a community I pride myself as being someone who is pragmatic process oriented and a team player There's no room in the process for ego. The best solution should be pursued regardless of where it originated I believe this puts this frame of mind between a position where I could do a good job facilitating conversation Among the school committee's numerous and diverse group of stakeholders This is especially true of groups who are typically underrepresented in the process We can't rely solely on people's ability to come to us We need to bring the discussion to them on their terms to ensure that the process is equitable and that feedback The feedback that we have is comprehensive Uh as of last week nearly a hundred students uh in the Amherst public school system We're trying to adapt to learning remotely without access to wi-fi Uh, Mr. Harrington, uh, as rightfully said in the past that some could argue that there is more than one Amherst This is something that needs to be kept at the forefront of every decision Uh, and we need to ensure that the process is equitable for all stakeholders in that Or something I'm committed to Thank you I'm gonna move on to the next set of questions. So just take a breath No pause Um, this is regarding your experience with the Amherst public schools And the first question which we will start with Heather Is what is your past or present experience or connection with the Amherst elementary or Amherst Pellum regional public schools Heather Thank you Truth be told there isn't enough time in this minute or two to cover It all is the journey that spans 43 years of my life when I started kindergarten at Fort River in 1976 My early life would have me move move around Amherst Pellum and experience the different elementary schools And then move away before touching back for eighth grade for a few months And then landing back permanently as a junior in the high school All together I attended 17 schools across four states from kindergarten to graduation which At the time increased my appreciation for Amherst And helped build my perspective I've worn many hats with the Amherst school From student to parent advocate tutor substitute music director Part of the pgo resident director to the eight high school scholars at the abc house student teacher student adjustment counselor intern And presently serving on a couple of committees connected to UROC on doing racism organized committee where a group of teachers administrators and staff come together And we actively work on dismantling the institutional racism in our schools. Thank you Thank you guest on Thank you. So I have two children in the schools Fifth grader at wildwood and an eighth grader at the middle school rising to the high school My wife and I moved back to Amherst for our kids to attend the schools in my first fall here I supported the pgo bringing my experience from a pgo with a Kind of a huge budget in comparison and shared some best practices Earlier this year. I joined the newly reforming school council at the middle school and um Have tried to help get that institution formalized supporting with the little bit that I can do taking minutes and That is the that is the extent of my experience with the Amherst public schools Thank you. Um, ryan Yeah admittedly, I did not attend Amherst public schools I did have the fortune opportunity to be educated by the Northampton public school system And I believe both districts are committed to the academic achievement of every student And social justice and multiculturalism In preparation for our conversation today, I contacted almost everyone in the staff directory on the arps AP rs website Tillis to solicit their feedback and their experiences Those who chose to share their experience demonstrated a clear passion and dedicated interest In seeing what's best for our students This is perhaps the best conveyed by a teacher at the middle school who said Quote nothing warms my heart more than to hear my name called in a store Restaurant or on the street and embrace the adult that they become They being their former students Uh, I was encouraged that the majority of respondents reported that they feel they are provided with adequate resources to do their job effectively Uh, I have friends who are teachers in neighboring districts. I know for a fact that they Are put in positions where they subsidize their classroom budgets with their own salary My first exposure to the schools was as a substitute teacher when my partner and I moved to town 10 years ago We had just Returned from the peace corps in west africa and we rented on chestnut street And I was just beginning my phd at umas and to supplement my graduate stipend. I Decided to substitute teach I substituted at wildwood the middle school and the high school After the birth of our son and having fallen in love with western massachusetts We wanted to settle here, but before purchasing a house I did some tours of elementary schools in neighboring towns Our decision to purchase a home in amherst was driven by the racial and ethnic diversity of the student body That was apparent in the amherst classrooms And that the district's mission statement also upholds the academic achievement of every student and a commitment to social justice My son began his three-year tenure at crocker farm preschool in 2014 before moving to fort river where he is a current second grader Additionally throughout the past six years our foster children have attended fort river as well as the head start program I'm also connected to the district through my volunteer work since its inception in 2014 I've been an active member of the school equity task force attending monthly meetings over the past six years Some of the accomplishments during that time include the establishment of the restorative justice program at the middle school and high school And the development of a policy that was passed by the regional school committee in 2015 Titled climate data collection and analysis the policy aims to prioritize the use of Participatory methods to explore issues related to the ARP school environment and community Including issues of racial multicultural and social justice climate as experienced by teachers students and parents I sustained my commitment to sc tf because it serves to uphold the district's mission statement The same mission that drew us to this district to begin with Thank you We're going on to the next question is what do you think is one strength and one area for improvement in amherst elementary and the regional schools We start with Gaston So I would say that the strength I'd like to highlight is the sense of decency in the system Reflected in the incorporation of restorative justice at the high school the attitude towards immigration You feel it in the offices of the schools the enthusiasm for the coming on this program The effort to promote the seal of biliteracy There's a sense that even if there are disagreements about the Strategy that you're going to speak to people who share your fundamental values And those values are fundamentally about a sense of decency and caring And so I would suggest that that is not something that any school district can easily Recreate you either have it or you don't I think amherst has it As for a weakness to highlight I um, honestly, I am concerned that too many of the hours of my Children's time in school is uninspiring And I would contrast that with the very engaging time that they have in many of the specials The group based activities project based activities and for example tech and art And I would like to see much more of the standard so-called curriculum be project based and inspiring to children across the board fine Right, so it goes without saying that our teachers are our biggest asset another thing that My answer to follow that's predicated on Is that we need to address the achievement gaps in terms of a systemic weakness? I know that we've made progress on that and I appreciate amherst's commitment to doing so In terms of our elementary school I support the dual language program My wife is bilingual. We encourage When we're reading our child books At night we do it in two languages weaknesses of the Amherst elementary schools clearly Fort River and Wildwood The conditions are unacceptable and frankly infuriating infuriating but I know We all here already know that so I don't want to kind of Continue to hammer that home, but it just still Kind of it blows my mind that it's gotten to this point In terms of a PRS strength high school in terms of key performance metrics outperforms the state and A A lot of them student performance on standard as testing graduation rates graduates to pursue post-secondary education In terms of weaknesses Based on the conversations I had I'm honestly concerned about the middle school. There's been a lot of overturned Turnover and leadership and I think it's taken a toll on the organizational culture It's going to be completely anecdotal of the conversations I had But it's something that I would want to Explore to the extent that it's appropriate as a school member My school committee member Sorry, sorry. I had to mute myself because it's our phone rang. Katie. Please go ahead. Thank you At the elementary level. I believe one of our many strengths is the retention of our teachers Consistently over the past decade. We retain close to 88 percent of our teaching staff This helps to create and sustain the strong school culture and community that we have in our schools One area that I know is being addressed by the district which needs to be Continued which needs to be a continued area of focus is the hiring and retentions of teachers who better reflect the diversity of our student body Diversity takes on many forms, but in particular. I think of racial and ethnic diversity Studies show that students of color are more successful in their education when they're taught by people who look like them Over half of our elementary students identify as students of color Yet only 25 of elementary full-time employees are people of color and this includes all staff not just teachers As with the elementary schools at the regional level our diversity of our student body is an asset for all learners Over 20 of the district students are students with disabilities more than a quarter are economically disadvantaged and 45 identify as students of color This diversity is a strength and undoubtedly draws families to our town including new university and college faculty staff and students However, the desi report cards for our regional district shows There are disparities in terms of how our students are experiencing their education One example that illustrates this is the disparities among the high school dropout rates Among our population that identifies as Hispanic for example This rate is close to five percent in the past few years compared to the rate of the entire population which is closer to 1.4 percent It is um about 10 percent for high school English language learners In terms of discipline students of color are twice as likely to receive disciplinary action than their white peers In recent years the district has made a more concerted effort to address discipline disparities to close the opportunity gap And to hire and retain teachers who resemble the demographics of the student body, but there's still work that needs to be done Thank you Heather Thank you One strength in the school system is the people. I know that's broad and big But I have seen the impact of the people who care for our students The bus drivers the administrators lunch servers teachers custodians and the paras Taking the time to learn the name of a sibling to hear a joke or to ask no How are you really doing? I've seen them come together to spend hours to fundraise to make sure distance learning can be more equitable I've seen some of them at black lives matter rallies and restorative justice workshops I've seen them standing in the rain recently to hand out meals during this time of crisis to make sure that children have access to food And I've seen them get creative to find ways to let the students know they are loved and missed One area that I feel is imperative Of improvement that I feel is imperative is to stop the ways in which we continue institutional and structural racism Without exaggeration. I experience it see it and hear about it on a daily basis sometimes multiple times a day I understand that most of the time it is a well-intended person who doesn't realize that which they do From the preschool board book where you eat your colors the yummy red strawberry and the yummy blue blueberry And then for black they had a burnt bagel To the first grade teacher who was connecting with a black student during free time But proceeded to use the building materials to construct handcuffs and handcuffs Up to the high school to the student who discusses can we use the n word or says mulatto Or in a class where the black student didn't have a pencil He got scolded a minute later a white student asked for a pencil and was handed one without the scolding We got a lot of work to do And the strength that I mentioned the people is what is needed to get to a place where we can Decolonize our implicit and explicit curriculum and we can be more aware of our implicit biases Our privileges and sharpen our anti-oppression lenses to catch things more quickly. Thank you Um, we're going to switch to allison asking the questions and she will begin with the next one with ryan Thank you win Um So the public often has a limited understanding of the role of the school committee plays in school or district decisions such as Math curriculum the hiring of principles or an addressing parent complaints about an individual teacher What is your understanding of the role you as a school committee member should play in these types of decisions? And as lin mentioned, we're going to begin with ryan Thank you. Ms. McDonnell So the school committee's policies are meant to be a broad statement of direction If we were running a corporation the school committee would be the board of directors Under this analogy, uh, mr. Morrison the superintendent. He would be the ceo The he I'm sorry As a ceo, he would be responsible for or is responsible for the administration and the implementation of the school committee's policies And it's on the school committee not to micromanage I would see someone as my role as a school committee member. I would really embrace the community average portion of it um That's all I have thank you And move on to katie next First and foremost, I understand the role of the school committee member is to evaluate the superintendent and oversee the budget In addition school committee members act as liaisons between the public and the district School committee members should actively seek feedback from their constituents and share it with the district in order to address it Additionally, the school committee should ensure that information is being disseminated broadly to the public I see it as the school committee's responsibility to ensure that decision-making processes taken to consideration Constituents feedback and other information be it information from working groups current research consultancies reports The role of the school committee will vary depending on the situation with respect to the math curriculum It is the role of the school committee to hear from teachers and administration on the problems They are trying to address and to seek input from parents and students where appropriate The committee should be presented with the proposed solutions and discuss the advantages and disadvantage Advantages to each and make a decision on whether to move forward with a curriculum change as recommended by staff and administration The school committee should request updates on a regular basis on the implementation of the new curriculum to monitor its progress And change course is necessary The hiring process of building principles is a process led by the superintendent and the human resources director with guidance from the school committee I know this process has recently been adjusted to ensure more equitable practices and representation from various stakeholders Finally in terms of parent complaints of a particular teacher You should first be directed to the building principal or to human resources And now heather Thank you First I'd love to increase the public's understanding of the school committee and how the school committee is used to benefit the school system As I understand it the issues mentioned do not Specifically fall into the purview of the school committee Decisions that include math curriculum and the hiring of principles is addressed by the superintendent And addressing a parent's complaints about an individual teacher would be addressed by a principal or the superintendent's office Having said that in the dual role of accountability that is in the next question Um, the school committee could be available to the superintendent to support and set goals Should they determine they would benefit of it. Thank you Thank you. And now um guest on Thank you. So, uh, I have the experience being on a board that was responsible for the Hiring and oversight of the executive director. I went through this learning curve And it it took me a little bit of time to be honest to understand what it is not to try to micromanage and Get into the operations of the school in this case the school system, but rather to create the conditions for the success of the superintendent and to run interference with the state and the federal governments to make connections To parts of the town government that can collaborate and support the schools To strategize on stakeholder management by which I mean Reaching out and connecting to parents and local business but to support fundamentally the success of the superintendent and the Institutions that it is the superintendent's responsibility to manage Okay, thank you Moving on to our next question and this one will start with katie The committee is expected to collaborate with and hold the superintendent accountable at the same time How would you approach this dual role to achieve the best outcomes for students? katie I appreciate the fact that the students are at the heart of this question In school governance, it's easy to get caught up in the many issues and tasks on the table And lose track of why we're at the table in the first place Students should inform the work everything from creating the agenda to decision-making processes and especially in terms of criteria That are set for the superintendent evaluation process My career has allowed me extensive opportunities to work directly with and to evaluate others My approach to collaborate while holding the superintendent accountable will reflect the balance that I've mastered in terms of supporting and Evaluating which entails building trust and building a mutually respectful relationship If elected I see it as my responsibility as a school committee member to collaborate with and support the superintendent Will also be willing to ask tough questions when appropriate I imagine it is similar to how the town counselors work with the town manager I would strive for the committee to set clear and measurable goals for the superintendent as early in the school year as possible This provides clarity and guidance for the superintendent as to where he should prioritize his time and effort There will never be enough time to tackle everything So the committee needs to collaborate with the superintendent to determine the district's priorities as he is the primary conduit To building principals teachers and ultimately students Goals should be student-centric where possible and the committee needs to ensure that throughout the year There are ample opportunities for the superintendent to check in on the progress towards the individual goals And adjust as necessary If we are all effective in our roles, he will successfully meet the objectives and the district both the students and staff will benefit Thank you Next up heather Thank you The dual role is one I hope to have with all of my relationships. We collaborate and we hold each other accountable to me It's part and parcel of reciprocity I understand this is an institutionalized version of That but what I'd like to do is also recognize much of what we hold as institutional follows white supremacist culture I understand that there needs to be the institutional side of accountability with the evaluation and reportable data That is accessible to others Can we find ways to deconstruct some of that while still being accountable to desi? Maybe not And there are other issues that need to be prioritized But maybe we can approach it in ways that are a little bit different What is important for me to hold on to when bringing accountability forward is to be clear Fair and kind in the delivery If the environment is contentious We won't be able to put our best selves forward and serve our students Difficult conversations and conflicts will come up and if we have a framework for them. We can navigate it with less tension. Thank you Thank you My next guest stone Thank you. So I don't see these two roles as really distinct Informal terms the relationship of the superintendent with the school committee is arm's length. It's mediated through a contract I don't consider that the role of a member of the school committee is to be loyal to the superintendent My obligation if I am on the school committee is to respect and inspire the superintendent to be an ally and a facilitator to ask How can we help you? What do you need? because My accountability the school committee's accountability is for the success of the superintendent So I think the school committee exists to serve and create the conditions for the success Of the superintendent to perform the legwork that contributes and makes it possible for the superintendent to succeed Thank you and Brian So I would approach this in terms of just always Remaining focused on what we're there to accomplish as the committee in collaboration with the superintendent And like we said, what's in the best interest of our students should be at the center of all decisions Going into the process. I know that there may be inherent difficulties given the dual role But ultimately we're all there for the same To accomplish the same thing How to be cognizant of which role I needed to be in at any given time. I suspect there's Maybe some difficulty in the fluidity That goes along with balancing the two I haven't had the opportunity to meet mr. Morrison person, but I've been very impressed with his work He seems like a smart guy and he's incredibly well spoken and I have a lot of respect for him and I think honestly Amherst is fortunate to have him Thank you Moving on to our next question and this one will start with Heather How do you deal with differing views when engaging in a committee decision-making process? Again, we'll start with Heather At the heart of it. I believe we have the same desire to serve our students I hold that truth to be self-evident and then understand that we're all Different we have different ideas of what that truth looks like Hearing the differing views with an open heart and mind is necessary And then being inclusive of the fact that our socio-cultural locations will inform us in a variety of ways to how to get there Granted, there's the external pressures that come with being a public school System and needing to be accredited by the state with our consequences for not checking the necessary boxes So it's a balance working to find a compromise within the constraints. We have before us is the goal I will use my training in restorative justice and social work to support hearing each other's differing views Figuring ways to build bridges and cultivate common grounds because we are better together. Thank you Next we have Gaston Thank you. So I would start by saying that I would be much more uncomfortable if there weren't differing views on a committee and I would then see my my first role to try to Make sure that we have covered all the perspectives that we need and try to find the disagreements before we Reach a consensus. So once we get the conversation going my first question is always have we done our homework? Have we turned the stones over that we need to turn over before we can make a good decision here? What principles are at stake? What are we really making a judgment on and what are we staking our personal? conviction on when we Execute this decision. What judgments are we making? The other question is how important is it to have consensus on this question? The more important consensus is on giving question the the longer and the harder that it makes sense to struggle And see if we can find how to construct the choice so that the group can come together Thank you and next Ryan Yeah, I think that's really well said If there isn't dissenting opinion, you probably don't have everyone at the table that you need to make an informed decision Uh, a healthy debate is part of the process as long as it remains respectful Uh, I believe it's through well informed dissenting opinions That the best ideas emerge As a general rule, I make sure that I don't take things personally I would always remain focused on the big picture and what we're there to accomplish as a committee Uh, and just have this up a war in snow. It's not about me. It's not about anyone individual If that were the case, there wouldn't be a committee Um, and that always just I would just try to remain sensitive to The other to to understanding where the other person is coming from and know that My life experiences are not uh, or or may not be representative of theirs Thank you and next katie Thank you I can't help to wonder how everyone's doing right now Um, my career offers me ample opportunities to work with a diverse set of people who come from different backgrounds and hold different perspectives During my time as a peace corps volunteer 10 years ago I often had to step outside of my comfort zone in hearing people's beliefs about controversial topics be it gender roles or perspectives about the united states I have found that asking questions to better learn and understand people's perspective is often the first step in bringing up issues that have not been considered I believe that discussing varying viewpoints can strengthen and further justify a particular decision When things become tense I often fall into the role of a facilitator and work to ensure that various viewpoints are considered I am very much a process oriented person and want to ensure the process of arriving at a decision Is a positive experience for everyone involved I believe that valuing and respecting different views can lead to a deeper understanding And a more vetted and acceptable outcome Thank you For our next question. We're going to start with guest on This question is is there anything in your work travel or other plans that will keep you away from ammers? So that you're not able to attend meetings in person regularly and fulfill other duties of the committee Again, we'll start with guest on sure. Thank you. So, um, I'm uh, lucky to be teaching 100 online for uh, george washington even before the coronavirus pandemic and so gratefully The answer is no and even when I am teaching I Can schedule to not have to Be away Tuesdays Mondays. I've been an active member of the board of licensed commissioners and Have not missed a meeting So the answer is I am prepared to Be in person and make the commitment to the committee Thank you next step ryan Yep, I'm available and fully committed Submitting a statement of interest is not something that I took lightly It was a decision that I gave a lot of thought to I had a conversation about my wife about it because uh, it is a time commitment and some of the responsibilities as a parent and uh Uh around the house will inevitably fall to her if this is uh, something I'm dedicating so much time to But no, I'll be around and I don't foresee anything that would prevent that and honestly, hopefully we are meeting in person At some point in the near future Thank you. And next, uh, katie Thank you. I thought a lot about this. Um, when I ran in the fall in terms of how do we draw in People to run for office and I think a lot of what we need to think about is how do we make it accessible for those who are serving and building democracy As a mother, I have various challenges. Um, and at the same time, I think being a mother of a young child often gives me A critical vantage point to really think about what our students are experiencing Um, I had the luxury of working locally and have flexibility in terms of my schedule There are times when I do travel internationally Um, but provided technology is allowed to tune into Meetings such as this one. Um, there are certainly ways to to work around that Thank you And next heather When I opened I talked about having been in 17 schools and um as great as that was I was committed to not Putting my children through that. So I'm committed to staying in Amherst for a while Um, even post graduation because she wants to come back So I do not foresee any Conflict of me being able to serve. Thank you Thank you. And now for the next questions. We'll turn it back over to Lynn Who remembered to unmute so take a breath while I get organized for our next round um Next set of questions are about the mass school building authority and the new building The school building project that was accepted by the msba in december Is one building the k through five or six That would replace port river and wildwood schools With the location of the project as yet to be determined As a member of the school committee, what will you contribute to the work of this project? And we begin with ryan Thank you Again, uh, as I said before I want to be respectful as to where I am coming into this process There's been a lot of thought and work An effort already that's already gone into this So i'm not coming to the table with a checklist of things that I want to personally see done In terms of where I would start from day one of giving the opportunity To work on this project. I would I would have a conversation with the school committee members As well as other people who have been involved To see what their priorities are And I'd be helpful or happy to help out in any way That I can Generally, I would approach this role As someone who would be Uh in the forefront of the community outreach required for this project and the decisions involved As you said the location the location still has to be determined. There's a lot of Difficult naming questions that are still out there. Um And community engagement is going to be a central part of making sure that those answers. Um Are adequate As I stated during my campaign this past fall I'm committed to ensuring the success of the compromise framework proposed by the superintendent I would imagine that mr. Backelman will soon put out a call for volunteers to serve on the school School building committee this committee will work within the msba framework to address the many aspects of the school building project Such as the site construction approach and design options If elected I would be willing to serve on the school building committee if the current force school committee members so choose Concurrently the school committee will be charged with developing the educational plan Building on the superintendent's model of a single k through five or k through six school of 600 students or less to replace the Fort river to replace fort river in wildwood I can contribute my research ability to work through developing an education plan that can garner support from teachers parents And the community at large It is my goal to keep the public informed every step of the way And to work to create opportunities for the public to participate throughout this process Heather One way I would love to contribute to this project is to work with the community Holding time and space to hear concerns fears and challenges that come up with the idea of having a larger elementary school than this town is used to The town was split around this issue and I saw it become a polarizing Thing a few years ago If we can come together and find areas of overlapping ideas and build upon that I'm committed to working with the community around that Perhaps even helping people understand how unhealthy those two elementary schools are presently There made me need to be some healing around previous events before we can Have the other conversations and I'd be happy to facilitate some of the sort of justice activities around that The others will be to serve on other committees like finding the location looking at the budget Maybe even having an equity consultant committee Or any committee that needs a volunteer. Thank you That's strong Thank you So the short answer is that I would contribute whatever the school committee Asked me to that i'm in a position to help with I want to recognize that dr. Morris and his presentation Recognize that consensus may not be achievable and so in that regard I would like to Support creating a framework for respectful disagreement and a sense that even if Different members of the community don't get their exact wish that it's something that everybody owns and feels good about specifically I would like to make sure that this major investment that is going to serve the town for decades Is as good as possible and that means Trying to ensure that we get the experts that can contribute and ask the right questions about how we're pursuing this project architecture tells stories architecture shapes learning it has psychological impacts and Amherst has the opportunity to kind of set the state of the art and have a facility that Leads the way for for some time and I would like to bring my experience Structuring complicated corporate deals and do whatever it takes to make this project a success Thank you The next question is what challenges do you foresee in moving the school project forward? And what are your ideas to meet those challenges and we begin with katie In moving the school project forward many important decisions will need to be made including whether sixth grader where sixth graders will be educated Whether crocker farm will be expanded how to read district the two new enrollment zones And whether there might be preschool at the new building among others Given people giving people information will be vitally important and letting them share their thoughts and including them in the decision making process Will help move the town forward This is a large challenge, but I know We can get there and I will do everything in my power to facilitate a healthy process that will unite our community I will work to ensure that decisions around the project will build our community not to bite us I think the critical element falls on the school committee to ensure that information is being disseminated in its entirety In an accessible and timely fashion while some residents may pour over lengthy reports I suspect that the majority of our residents need brief informative and easy to access information We saw the success of dr. Morris's consensus plea last year A short video that summarized the elementary school building proposal and the msba's need for town consensus The video was hosted on amherst media Disseminated by way of mr. Dr. Morris's weekly newsletter and shared again and again on facebook and other social media I would advocate that dr. Morris provides regular regular updates to provide to keep people informed about the progress and topics at hand I believe we need to start by identifying the common goal that we all share Building a school that we can all be proud of ever There are still people who believe that small schools or neighborhood schools is the only acceptable version of amherst That is okay This is where conversations are needed and a compromise could be possible I was one personally was against the large school because I had a fear rooted in my racial justice background That was not being acknowledged or responded to I couldn't vote for a school that might have ended up doing more harm to the students of color Why am I supporting this project now? Because I found ways that that fear can be addressed and I feel confident that provisions and accountability can be in place to assure Our growing that we're growing our equity And after being in one of the elementary schools for a year I Physically understand how imperative it is that we move as fast as possible By engaging in good practices Um, there's also going to be a budgetary challenge that will need to be addressed as some residents don't want their taxes raised And although living in an apartment complex, I don't pay amherst taxes directly. I know it's a burden for many homeowners So I see this is something else that will be a challenge that we will need to address and figure out. Thank you Ryan So even though i'm new to amherst i'm sensitive to what a divisive issue this has been for the community The msba required a demonstrated consensus on high little high level issues And frankly they should have There appears to be consensus on high level issues. Uh, but with that said as the process Moves forward and we're faced with increasingly granular decisions The opportunity for divisiveness is going to emerge It's going to be challenging to address a lot of this Questions that are still outstanding in terms of identifying and gardenering support for a specific location dealing with the reconfigurement of grades Uh, and that's that that's all before you're even getting into the design process And that give and take involved with a project of that scale I understand that I skipped gastron. Excuse me for doing that, but gastron. Please come on. Sorry Okay, thank you. So I share my fellow candidates concerns. So let me just identify two particular Issues and opportunities one is how do you organize a process that actually brings in the views of the community? And uh creates a sense of ownership and influence over the design and construction of this project And the opportunity in successfully doing that is to get the focus that a new building creates To create institutions that survive The the the erection of this building and that become part of the fabric of the school system number one The other concern I would point out is that there's this question about Is the sixth grade going to be part of the school or not? And I just want to highlight the importance of bringing in the communities in uh, Leverett and shoots very as well as Pellum to participate in that thought process because Whatever is done in that respect is going to have an impact on those neighboring towns And so to create a communication process early on that brings in those Perspectives from those school committees. I think it's going to be important for the success of the the regional system And I'm going to now turn it back over to Allison Thank you And we now move into another section of questions about upcoming issues facing the school committee and for this question Next question will start with heather What is one important issue? You believe the emmerced elementary school committee will need to address over the next 21 months Heather Thank you The msba project is the issue that will take much focus For the next 21 months for the emmerced elementary school committee This will take connecting with community contractors figuring out the budget finding compromises that are inclusive And I'm sure there will be difficult conversations to have It's imperative that our students have as Superintendent Morris outlined in his proposal presentation a high-quality learning environment with natural light Healthy breathing and no sounds of other classes overwhelming those of us that get distracted by it This pandemic COVID-19 is also going to impact the budget as well And I anticipate that they'll be lasting impacts on the revenue and much to figure out Thank you Next guest on guest on are you there? So a very serious concern that I have is with the transition plan And how uh kids are going to be taken care of while this project is being developed And so I would want to make sure that we're being very proactive and also learning from other school projects that have Taking place in the state So how do we take care of kids so that their primary memory looking back on elementary school? Isn't the years that they were displaced because of this project that will not necessarily Contribute so much to their personal education. That's that's number one and another opportunity kind of shifting from the school project is To create foundations for the curriculum design in the classroom to be more decoupled from the MCAS and trying to to to succeed on the test and Thinking about the MCAS is more a reality check on the course design rather than a driver of curriculum design Thank you Thank you The next ryan So certainly COVID-19 response is truly the most pressing issue at this immediate point in time There are challenges in the short term and as it's already been acknowledged There's going to be a long-term budget implications Uh, I think we're just beginning to appreciate which are going to lead to some very difficult decisions In terms of the elementary school project That's going to certainly uh be be pressing and challenging a share of goth zones insight into Making sure that there's a suitable transition plan for students Who'll have to endure the construction and the project without receiving any of the benefit directly And as always the underlying question is how do we continue to work towards addressing the achievement gap Thank you The next katie I think i'm in agreement here with my Hello candidates Um a number of weeks ago My chosen topic would have been ensuring that the elementary school building project makes good progress And while we need to maintain those efforts with the advent of COVID-19 We have immediate and pressing issues facing our district in particular the impact that we'll have It will have on the budget and on students and families The district has been working diligently to provide distance learning to all students accounting for differences in access and support And while we are in the throes of it now I believe the aftermath will be equally challenging When the moment does come to return to school It will be helpful to have thought through what it will look like Even during this process to fill the vacancy constituents have been reaching out to me expressing their concern I think the more we can begin to think through what the summer and fall could look like the better off will be Thank you Moving on to the next question Similar to the previous one. What is one important issue? You believe the emmerced regional school committee will need to address over the next 21 months and for this one We'll begin with Gaston Thank you. Um, let me bring to attention a an issue that I know well from my experience with the pgo and dc Many of you know that over the last two weeks Pgo's have successfully raised a lot of money to address the issue of hotspots and that's Incredibly important to address this need But having pgo's with substantial budgets creates important governance Issues and it also matches organizations that do not necessarily have governance structures that are up to the Experience of managing significant budgets. And so there's an incredible opportunity and Tapping into greater fundraising The pgo that I was a chair of had a budget over 250 000 dollars that had built up over the years So does emmers and it's related towns want to go in that direction? If so, I think it is important to give leadership and create structures so that that is well managed One of the opportunities for greater budgets from the pgo's is to address Um, what I see is a is a fundamentally problematic reality right now that children have to pay for sports For example, so my view Children should and families should not have to choose to figure out budgets for things like sports and after school activities But that raises a question. Where's the money come from? It could come from pgo's But then we need leadership to address the governance issues that that would create Thank you Ryan We're faced with issues regarding shrinking enrollment. Uh, I'm also very concerned about the state of the middle school I'm I'm hesitant to uh bring this up because I realize it may not be perceived as Being beneficial, but um, I'm concerned that teachers don't Feel they have adequate support when it comes to difficult uh behavioral decisions I don't want to be labeled as the disciplinarian of the candidates. Um, but I feel like I would be doing a service to the Teachers and the staff members who were willing to share their experience with me And their concerns if I didn't at least address it Thank you Next kitty The budget will be a significant challenge for the regional school committee, especially with the financial impact of covid 19 and when that's better known There are likely There will be likely be a need to review the operating budget in the next few months in order to match expenses to reduce revenues In addition, reaching agreement on the assessment method has been a perennial challenge And I understand that discussions at four towns meetings have not been easy Apportionating costs of a district such as ours where one member town is so much larger than the other three is a difficult endeavor Sorry for the dog It will be important to consider the impact on the regional budget and how costs are apportioned If a recommendation is made to move sixth graders to the middle school And only amherst decides to move forward with that change The regional school committee will need to work through this process with guidance from the superintendent and the financial director To ensure a solution is found that is palatable to each member town Thank you and next heather My answer would have been different a month ago when there were no fatalities in massachusetts and now we're at 957 And on our way to 26,000 fatalities nationally to covid and I certainly didn't understand what was to come This pandemic has an impact on every aspect of what we do The vendors that we have contracts with And we'll have contracts with the budget the gap in learning that is often supplemented with the summer programs that may not be possible So supporting the amherst regional public schools to address that the impact on the staff the families the students the community As of today, I know personally of nine amherst families that have lost an aunt an uncle A brother a sister a father to covid 19 and that number will increase as the days go by The behaviors and the traumas that will be present in everyone and the looming potential of a second wave Will need to be considered and addressed in some ways As a member of the school committee, I believe we will need to find ways to support Each other mitigate the consequences and advance the health and wellness of our school community As the nation faces an economic crisis if not recession our budget else is also going to feel the brunt of this pandemic And I feel that this but awful Thank you. All right. Everybody take a breath. We're on the home stretch We only have two more rounds to go Um, we're going to talk a little bit about community engagement and then we're going to go on to your concluding remarks The question regarding community engagement. We will start with ryan Um, in what ways could the school committee increase engagement and input for more residents and more diverse mix of residents with important to upcoming school committee decisions And we begin with ryan So as is the case with community engagement, there's There there are shortcuts. So a lot of this is just going to be being dedicated and working hard and when it comes to Work ethic i'm absolutely relentless I won't be out hustled Leading up to today in preparation for this conversation. I created a survey through google forms uh, and I um come the school's website for um, the staff directory and then circulated that message out to staff members maintenance workers teachers counselors So I think it depends on the situation as to what's the most appropriate way of doing it. Certainly if you're dealing with More sensitive or or truly truly difficult conversations. The survey is not going to cut it I think we just need to be aware that uh, we can't always Belie on the fact that uh, these open open forums are truly representative of how the public feels so, uh, I would support proactive outreach lady This is an incredibly important consideration and an area where I believe we can make some improvement To answer this question I had conversations with amorous media representatives as well as town hall staff to discuss what is already being done And to assess feasibility of some of the ideas I have But before making certain Suggestions my background in research causes me to pause It is challenging to identify ways that might increase community engagement without having a baseline Without having the baseline data that helps to identify who is and who is not engaging and why or why not I would advocate that an important first step would be to gather data to identify the barriers of engagement Which would then inform the best approach to increase engagement Tools that can sample a portion of amorous population do exist and can be tailored to find out the information that we see In the meantime, I would suggest we follow the lead of our leadership Getting out into the community is an important first step Events like the monthly cup of joe with mr. Backelman or office hours with district representatives Is a start to connecting with residents in talking with amorous media? I understand that while there are logistical considerations It is feasible to take school committee meetings on the road and offer them at various locations Going to the people might help foster public comment from those less traditionally represented And would and as would offering interpretation services for portions of the meetings Especially now with our dual language program I would also advocate that school committee agendas and meeting minutes meeting minutes be made available in spanish Thank you, Heather Thank you for this question. This issue is the backbone to me. We are better together and that means all of us I feel i'm here. Oh, I noticed on the school committee page. We have an email for feedback I'd love to set up an anonymous google form to give feedback as well because there are people in our community That do not trust us or the administration as it were Speaking up or out can and sadly sometimes does have a retaliatory response Historically and presently there are strong reasons why some of us don't trust authority An anonymous Google form is a way of lifting up a voice that is important to be heard Having access to translators and making our meetings if not translated in real time But then the translation Subtitled on the website would be a step towards more inclusivity as well I heard a current school committee member talk of being at one of the family nights at an elementary school I would like us to be present that the schools on their community night Perhaps even with a table and information and a couple of us available to talk to the parents increasing our visibility and accessibility I would love also to have input from our students They talk about like engaging their voice and hearing what they could use or need or what's working What's not working either through a google form or feedback box And in my dream with no budget I would love us to throw a family student appreciation cookout at Roth Park Real River and war memorial to come together as community celebrate and free more visible Ultimately finding ways to reach out differently offering child care transportation Perhaps going into the communities and being available Is going to be necessary to gain more input and more inclusive To in our community. Thank you That's strong Thank you. Um, yeah, I love the idea of having more more parties the the feeling of community at the Events that do occur is is fantastic and I would love to see that magnified I want to speak in particular to getting constructive and critical feedback from families. I Have no trouble reaching out to a principal and requesting a meeting because I have a concern about a classroom But I've spoken to many of my kids friends parents And I know that they are not comfortable doing that And so this is a problem to solve because this is feedback that is essential to succeeding It is important to know what parents are experiencing and what their children are experiencing And I think that there's a gap of information So I think it's a question of setting the goal and then being creative So let me just kind of brainstorm with you for a second. I can imagine Meeting parents at drop off with an ipad that has like six options of different kinds of issues Would you like to have somebody reach out to you about this that or that and you kind of initiate the contact? It's an it's an invitation to reach out. You meet parents at the bus stops Um, yes, it takes effort. It would take time. Um, but it's an important turn to make from parents who are simply not used to Raising critical questions about the experience of their children and it's essential information to succeed in the school system Thank you We're now going to go to conclude concluded comments and again, we're limiting you to Did I skip cast on again? No, okay. That's an old message. Thank you. Um, We're going to go to including statements and in this case, we begin with katie and you're limited to two minutes. Thank you I want to thank you all for this opportunity and the time that you've put in this process Even amongst the covet 19 challenges As I outlined in my opening statement My objective this evening has been to demonstrate that my skills my knowledge and my experience Situate me as the best candidate to fill the vacancy at this time As we all know, we are at an incredible point in our town's history We need to consider how the elementary school building project intersects with other townwide Infrastructure demand and the importance of prioritizing our schools in the capital plan The person you choose tonight should be ready to not only swear in tomorrow, but to hit the ground running I'm well versed on what's been happening and I'm ready to work collaboratively with the team to do the difficult work in the months ahead I love emmer schools and I want to work to retain what's great about them while continuously addressing our challenges I want to support our wonderful teachers and students And I want to see a successful elementary school building project that unites the town I ask that you provide me that opportunity by voting for me this evening. Thank you very much Heather In closing, I want to thank all the candidates for putting yourselves forward to serve I thank you emmers town council and emmer school committee for your commitment to emmers and the emmer schools I'm grateful for the opportunity to come before you as a candidate for the emmer school committee In your consideration, please know that i'm a hard worker familiar with education from varying perspectives I live and breathe social justice and racial equity I commit to always bring my best self and if there's a deficit in my knowledge I'll do the work to fill in that gap in my understanding I bring all my experiences, education, understanding and passion to the table to serve emmer schools And look forward to working together With you all to be the best versions of ourselves you can be Thank you Thank you Gaston So let me say again, I'm you know humbled by the the contributions and perspectives of my fellow candidates and My main point I want to make to the town council and the school committee is that you know, I'm at your service If it's to serve on the school committee or in any other respect that you would like to ask for my help I'm very keen to provide the assistance that I can with the skills and perspective that I bring to the table As far as serving on the committee, I will I enjoy bringing Fun to service. I like to work with people and enjoy the experience And so you will get someone who is committed and Brings a light touch to the hard work Thank you Ryan Yeah, I second that I I'm appreciative of the privilege to Have the opportunity to speak with the town council and the school committee tonight I thank the school committee for their dedication. I thank the town council for their dedication to ammers And leading us through this new form of government Uh, thank you to the candidates who chose to step forward. Uh, as Gaston said, uh, I'm here to help in any way I can If you feel like I'm a good fit for the school committee, I it would be a privilege to serve and I would approach it with the most amount of professionalism and Do everything I can to make sure that things continue to move forward Uh, I want to thank the teachers the facility managers the administrators who took their time to share Their experiences with me coming into tonight Uh, and on a personal note, I'd like to thank my wife, uh, Charlotte for her support and for encouraging me to pursue this opportunity And I'd like to thank my mom mary and both my sisters who have always been there and who I suspect are watching right now Thank you before we take a break. I just want to thank all four candidates and Let me just say I know we have a tough choice ahead of us Uh, each of you has worked hard to come forward with your statements your answers to your questions I encourage all of you no matter what the outcome you consider running in the future for the school committee Or some other position in town and to remain active in our community So with that we're going to take a 10 minute break We will come back and reconvene at seven 15 No, 745 745 Thank you As you return, please, um Let us see that you're back I think I'll make once your buddies I can't hear you because you're breaking up Alyssa was that you Okay, I'm going to First of all asked that the candidates not only mute but actually Turn their video off Okay, and then I'm going to go could you repeat that? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Could you repeat what you just said? Yes, I asked the candidates to mute and turn their video off. Thank you Uh, I'm going to go through the tally vote or I'm starting the roll call just to make sure everybody's connected again Uh, Peter Demling Ben Harrington present Allison McDonald present Harry Spitzer present Shall shallony present Alyssa present Pat present Darcy present then grease Murray present Mandy Joe present Dorothy She's not in her chair. Okay. I'll come back to Dorothy Evan present George present Kathy present Steve as a Andy Sandy I mean Sarah I'll answer to anything. I'm here present. Thank you. I'm sorry about that Dorothy, have you returned? There she is Dorothy, can you just unmute and make sure you're still connected properly? Present The next period in our agenda is optional school committee members and town counselors may wish to speak to candidates qualifications in relationship to the published description of the board responsibilities and expectations But we ask that you not express which candidate you intend to vote for I will ask that you are going to use the raise the hand that's in you you have to have the participants listed And you have to have the raise hand function off to the right Just make sure you can see that and let me know if you cannot school committee is going to go first Please use the raised hand function to let me know if you would like to speak And I will I will call on you in order that your hands are raised When I have called on you, please unmute your mic Make your observation and then mute your mic and then after that I'll go on to the town council So is there anybody from the school committee at this time? He would like to make an observation or comment, etc Peter Please unmute Okay, can you hear me all right Yes Okay, so um I want to first thank all the candidates again for applying As we all know it's not easy to run for office in this town More so in the middle of a crisis and even more so in this particular format of open evaluation without the privacy of a voting booth So truly thank you everyone for for stepping up and making this a robust process So, you know with respect to matching up the candidates to the published description of the board responsibilities and expectations I've heard many good things from all the candidates tonight As well as in their statements and emails we've received from the public But there's no way I could cover here. Um, I you know, I do want to share why I find myself particularly impressed With how well how the lord matches what I think the school committee Uh needs right now. Um, I like that she's an amherst resident a graduate of our high school A lifetime amherst resident excuse me a graduate of our high school A former marx meadow crocker farm and middle school parent A former resident parent of amherst high school students and a current Amherst high school parent which is then complemented by her Volunteer and work experience in our schools on the marx meadow pgo or her marx meadow In wildwood internships for her masters in ed focused on multicultural Education substitute teaching here for the last decade and her recent for river internship as school adjustment counselor For her masters in social work That's a lot of direct and lived experience as a student Parent and staff member in our schools that I think would really help broaden the perspective of the committee. Um, I like her Six years of experience on amherst racial equity and her social justice work in the schools through uroch Now i've had the chance to attend some of the uroch events and i've seen that heather it is not afraid to ask the hard questions Or have uncomfortable conversations On the contrary i've seen her demonstrate that the practical work of undoing racism requires listening to the lived experience of others and then constructively But firmly engaging with those in power. I think that would be a really valuable voice at our table I like her unambiguous support for the one building one project compromise proposal that And I like that it comes after having voted no before for the school committee to be able to demonstrate a coalition. Um And given that our committee is just unanimously voted to extend his contract I like that she's expressed clear and strong support For the performance and leadership of our current superintendent You know, we have a new and very difficult fiscal reality ahead of us There's no sure coating that and I think we're going to need a school committee united with the superintendent on this particular front So that there's no doubt with the public about the urgency to replace both fort river and wildwood as soon as possible And I see heather's voice as a big part of our being able to communicate that message as broadly as possible um, and finally I love the letters we've received that speak so highly of her kind heart and Compassion to help others and just to quote from one that really resonated with me She is a creator of events that hold meaning to families often not heard from And understands the struggles many families face She is sought out by community members because of her ability to connect You know, we talk so much about outreach and rightfully. So I think uh hers would be a really valuable voice in our committee. Thank you Are there other comments from school committee members? Please raise your hand Alison mcdonnell Hi, thank you. I there's a lot of us to go through and and it'll be a very very long night I'm not going to speak very much other than to echo the the gratitude for these four eminently qualified strong candidates that have stepped forward in this In this time and you when you submitted your statements of interest we were just getting into the This crisis and it is a big road ahead of us and and so I appreciate The courage that you've had and the willingness for you to serve that survey town and our students and and that's uh Like I said, I want to hear from other folks, but I just wanted to say thank you very much We have a really tough decision tonight. Thank you Very Thank you. I also want to keep my comments brief But I would like to state that I thought was highly impressed by all four of the candidates who stepped forward and I want to encourage everybody who Who stepped forward tonight to You know, not be discouraged. We can only choose one person tonight and I hope that everybody will continue to be engaged and You know look towards other ways of serving both the schools in the town of maemors, so I just want to thank everyone And um, I'll keep it at that Is there anybody else from the school committee ben? Yes Yeah, I kind of just wanted to echo everyone else's sentiments. Thank you all for uh For putting yourselves forward. It's definitely not an easy task and um Based on what I see here tonight. This is going to be a very difficult decision and I think we came up with four very Very well qualified candidates there. So thank you for all putting yourselves forward Any other comments from school committee members Ben, please take your hand down Thank you. Okay. Uh, we're now going to move to town council members and comments Dorothy you have your hand up Please unmute. Yes, right. I think I did not understand what you said in the directions Um, I thought you said we were not to indicate who we were going to vote for I did ask that you not do that Okay, so I I see public speaking Okay, well, thank you. So is that going to hold? I would prefer that it hold but um, this is an opportunity to weigh your Interests or your I'm sorry Uh to talk about candidate qualifications Okay, well, um, I have a lot to say but I won't say it all now Um, but I do think that one of the biggest I mean, again, I I agree with everybody. I I think that it's a very talented group of people and I hope that all of them Can play continue to play and a larger role in our school system Um, because it was very rich field But I think that some of the biggest challenges we're going to have are in fact financial dealing with the financial fallout of the coronavirus And so I think that that's one of the things that we have to look for um in another school committee member to make sure that they can handle the Intense work that is going to be going on not in terms of just of the regular budget of the school system But also in terms of how to get the best building That we can afford Which is going to be a real challenge because I don't think we want to make the mistake That I gather was made in the past of saving money by getting two getting one plan and putting it in two schools And you know, I taught in an open classroom school and we didn't have the problems that these do so obviously there were Some money could have been spent better or maybe it was This was a cheaper way to do it But it's going to be a very big challenge to make the school the town deserves With the money that we will have at our disposal. So I think a candidate with financial experience is greatly wanted Sarah Schwartz you have your hand up So I also wanted to say how impressed I was with all four candidates and I also wanted to say that maybe we could have more specific um direction on what we are or are not supposed to ask or Say about people's qualifications because for me, I don't know that I felt that it was um All that helpful or appropriate to have someone on the school committee who was so powerful basically Just campaign for one person Okay um Kathy Thank you. Um, you know, I I don't am I I think you're not unmuted Hi, um, I I just want to start off saying is um as I listened to the four and took notes I thought too bad. We can only pick one um, and then my second thought is As we deal with the substantial issues that are going to be facing the schools in the coming 21 months, I'm hoping we can find a role for the other three whoever the other are So I think the key to me Fitting with what the role the school committee is going to play is around fiscal We have not faced the kind of fiscal crisis that the schools are going to face Thankfully for quite a long time and it's going to be living with uncertainty based on what I heard At the state level today. We won't know yet And we might not know for a few months What the health of the state budget is going to be so living with What do we how do you live with that in uh, you're going to still have to run the school system? Um, so I I think it's really important that on day one The person who comes in understands the complexity of the regional school system budget as well as the elementary school budget plus We're trying to build a new school and we really want to keep that project moving forward and there are series of decisions They're going to have to be made and you want the full support of the superintendent as he's making those decisions But also trying to be creative about it So the school committee members can play different roles as as to move that project forward So I think we need an all hands on deck and we really need The type of skills and insight that's in combination with the true love of the air moist You know, that wasn't put in the school committee You've got to love the town But you've got to love the town love the teachers love the students and love being an educator And the role what education can be so so I think we're looking for a fit that might not be The same fit we would have looked at for a year ago. Thank you Um, shallony you have your hand up? Yes, um, again, this is going to be such a difficult decision to make I wish we could vote for all four and again, I'm sure there are opportunities for everyone to To participate. Um, that being said, um What I mean, we all are in agreement that some of the important things that I don't know The front and foremost are the budget The the building and then the community engagement and hearing all the skills and education Um In the candidates, I think we can agree that It's to me it feels like everyone had the skills everyone has the educational background Has the experiences has a willingness and as Kathy pointed out a love for for this town and I I saw that in each one of you so The one thing that I'm looking for now in in addition to all of this that's there is What is the lived experiences of people? What? What what is the lens that people can offer in the midst of this uncertainty and crisis And this is not something that can be taught in any school This has to come from the individual's own lived experiences their own diversity their own background and their sensitivity to To certain populations or different populations that education cannot teach So I really encourage us to look at the candidates and see who Among them can engage Different parts of our community that may not have a voice or that are not reflected in the budget making and so forth Yeah, that's all I know. Thank you Are there any other counselors who have comments at this time? I'm seeing none And so I'm going to take that we're going to move on to the tally vote Okay, this is a roll call vote The winning candidate requires a majority Of votes of the remaining filled seats on both boards Absences and abstentions at the meeting do not affect this requirement Therefore the number of votes required for the successful candidate is nine We will then proceed to a roll call vote starting with the school committee And then the town council this will be done alphabetical and rotating order for each group If on the first roll call vote no candidate receives the required number of votes Then the process will be repeated Until a candidate receives a majority of votes as defined above Council president the chair of the school committee may choose to have an additional period of comment And after the vote is completed there will be a motion to appoint the winning candidate When you state your candidate We do not want statements of additional support just name the name Of the person that you are supporting. Okay So We will start this time with Peter Demlin Please state your candidate's name and then Go back to mute heaven lord Ben Harrington Katie Lasdowski And are you there there you look frozen? Katie Lasdowski No, I got Ben. I got you Allison you need to unmute Oh, I um, sorry. I didn't hear you call my name. Um uh So Allison mcdonough, um, uh, Heather lord Okay Harry spitzer Heather lord Chalene mullman Heather lord Al-alice Brewer Heather lord Pat DeAngelis Katie Lasdowski Darcy Dumont Katie Lasdowski Lynn Griesper is Heather lord Mandy Jo Hanneke You need unmute I know it wasn't working. Um Gaston de las Reyes Dorothy Pam Katie Lasdowski Evan Ross Heather lord George Ryan Heather lord Kathy Shane Katie Lasdowski Steve Schreiber Steve Schreiber Heather lord Andy Steinberg Heather lord Sarah Schwartz Katie Lasdowski It's gonna be cool Okay I have 10 votes for Heather lord Six votes for Katie Ladowski And one vote for Gaston I would like to make a motion that Heather lord be appointed to the vacancy on the school committee For the period of the rest of this term Is there a second? Second Chalene Chalene has made a second Is there any other discussion? The motion be for the We had a draft motion Can I read that? Please thank you because I couldn't find my draft motion today. Thank you To select Heather lord a registered voter of the town of Amherst to perform the duties of a member of the Amherst school committee until newly elected members of the Amherst school committee are sworn in on January 3rd 2022 And that is the motion and it's been seconded And is there any further discussion? Then I'm going to do a roll call vote so that we see where we are in our final vote This time I will start with Ben Harrington Say yay or nay? Yay Allison McDonald Yay Gary Spitzer Yay And Peter Demling Demling yay And Alyssa Brewer Yay Pat DeAngelis Unmute Pat Yay Darcy Demont What are we voting on? We're voting on the motion to have Heather lord fill the vacancy That since she received a majority of the votes Okay, yay Lynn Griesmer is yay Mandy Jo Hanneke Yay Dorothy Pam Abstain Evan Ross Yay George Ryan Yay Kathy Shane Yay Steve Schreiber Yay Andy Steinberg Yes Sarah Schwartz Yay And Shalini Balmille Yay The vote is 1640 Against one abstention No absences Heather we would like to thank you if you'd like to unmute and just Allow yourself to be seen by the public Thank you very much Heather This has been a difficult process. I want to thank all of the candidates Again, we want to see all of you active in our schools. We want to see you all active in our towns And if we could have picked four It would have meant some other people would have had to go off the committee and we don't want that either So have a good evening. Thank you for all your efforts to come together for this very special meeting The meeting is adjourned