 This program is brought to you by cable franchise V's and generous donations from viewers like you great So I'm seeing a presence of a quorum. I'm going to call to order the meeting of the the special meeting of the Regional school committee at 533 p.m. And we'll begin with roll call attendance. Mr. Demling Demling present Mr. Harrington Harrington present miss Lord Lord present miss beaker Seeker present miss Spitzer Spitzer present Miss Dancer Stanser present and McDonald present Thank you all while we're waiting just I Think we should say that's being the whole thing about live and broadcast on Amherst media. Yes. Thank you. You're no problem I've neglected I've Forgotten to say that at our regular our regular meetings as well. So thank you for the reminder and This this meeting is being recorded and Broadcast live on Amherst media channel 15 as well as on Amherst media's streaming website And thanks to Amherst media for being such a good partner with us While we're waiting I also if it's okay with the chair just want to share I think I mentioned it before on screen, but I want to share it on screen that There's a Pelham school committee tonight at 6 30 so I will be departing this meeting at 6 25 Not because I don't enjoy the company But but because I have another meeting to prepare for and get the platform set up And I know for Margaret she'll have to leave not sure not soon Not shortly after that, but I just wanted to say that up front So that when I leave if there's conversation going I don't interrupt anyone to say that So I'll be able to be online till about 6 25 I will turn it over to Miss Cunningham to Facilitate and get started whenever you think we're ready Okay, I see there's a forum of the school committee But I'm wondering from either Tiffany or Karen if you know if there are more people who will be joining from the APA There are okay. I'm sorry. I left and then I hit the wrong button to I suspect that might have happened Okay, so we will take a few moments and wait for the rest of individuals to join us Okay, so I see that Miss McGee the president has joined so we will get started Welcome everyone and thank you again for coming together for this meeting Last week we began a conversation that ended on a positive note We discussed individual and perhaps collective decision-making processes And came to the understanding that many of you make decisions based on either your constituents The needs of the community The needs of educators and the needs of students and also I Recall the APA talked about the democratic process that they also use with their decision-making process So in addition to that we talked about misconceptions that both organizations wanted clarified One was that teachers don't want to be in school. The other was that the school committee doesn't care Then our final prompt last week talked about how can we get staff and students back to school safely? So we ended on a very positive note because the words creativity flexibility and trust Was mentioned in that conversation Now tonight, um, well When we left that conversation the apea was going back and they had a survey to review on monday And so on monday the apea informed the school committee That there was no mandate from their membership to reopen negotiations But yet they proposed two side letters to assist in two, um The return to school for two student groups Then on tuesday The school committee voted and passed a proposal that directed the superintendent to the words were develop and implement a plan For the return or the in-person Return to learning with staff who were willing to volunteer to work in person So now before we continue with today's conversation points I need to review the norms from last week And you staying on this call Is your way of signifying your agreement to abide by these norms So one of the norms was to assume positive intentions on behalf of everyone on this call One person speaks at a time using i statement or we statements if you're talking on behalf of your organization We're going to listen in order to understand We're going to focus on solutions And we will accept and expect non closure So with that being said I'm sure there are a lot of feelings From many of you on this call today with all the things that happened this week that I um talked about Some of the words that I heard from individuals not just educators, but just individuals who Either emailed or called Or that they felt blindsided unsupported and apprehensive But I also heard the words from individuals that they felt hopeful inspired and heard And many said that they're ready to hear what was going to take place with this call Because they're hoping that we can make some strides So with that being said I would like to hear from all of you starting with the union president and the school committee chair and The question or the prompt that I'm going to ask is I'd like to hear your words As to how you felt with the developments that occurred this week And how do you think the school committee and a pea will be able to meet the goal of collaboration? To have staff and students return safely So when you are answering, please state your name and your position so that everyone looking on can know and Understand where you're coming from when you're speaking and who you are. Okay. So with that being said We'll start with LaMica McGee I um Hello everyone, my name is Mica McGee and I am the a pea um president And I As usual come with a prepared statement. So I'll just go ahead and do that and it's directly related to Your question So We requested the previous meeting with you Under the direction of our membership to improve communications between The school committee and a pea Since that time our membership has given us another directive to present side letters for limited discussion As a step to move forward and meeting the needs of students who cannot access The remote learning even with the awesome remote instruction that our teachers have been providing These are the two mandates we have at this time from our membership We're deeply concerned that the sc that the school committee sent an email directly to our membership regarding a bargaining issue Especially considering that we are in the process of improving communication Um, we did pull our membership prior to this meeting and these are some of the um The issues that we got back that the school committee Oh, we need to acknowledge that the process has become broken from the school committee's end Um that There are political incentives. They have political incentives incentives that teachers do not have Um people in power need to recognize their power white supremacy culture and sense of urgency A voluntary doesn't necessarily mean voluntary for everyone Um, we do want to talk about the side letters That's where we are based on the mandate of our members This takes time and there's a process Further media discussion erodes the trust necessary to make this complex process work And so this is some of the feedback that we got from our membership Right now we are looking forward to scheduling a time with the superintendent To discuss the side letters to continue the process of meeting the needs of our most vulnerable students Thank you Miss mcdonnell the floor is open Thank you um Just to recap and i'll look for you to nod Um, is cunningham to recap the questions. Um, how I felt about the developments this week and How can we as a group this group on this call the apea and the school committee? Collaborate or meet the goal of collaborating. Is that correct? Yes, I just want to pause. I saw someone else just join Is it okay if I say something just jump in? um, it looks like two People got um, perhaps they asked for a way to stream this meeting but instead accidentally got the Link to this meet So you're only supposed to be here if you are On this meeting if you are a member of the executive board of apea or the school committee. Thanks And if there's someone the apea feels like shouldn't be here you can perhaps put that in the chat um, because i'm the as the person who Um has control. Oh, there we go. It seems maybe like it's resolved Um, thank you karen. Um, just whatever I can do to help if there's someone, you know That I wasn't sure was on the executive board my apologies for not catching that sooner Okay Before we go further I Maybe I missed something in the chat. I see a carol ch. Is she supposed to be here also? She left Thank you. Okay Okay, we can continue. Thank you Okay Um, so to to answer the first question and I'm using that I'm talking about my own feelings. Um, I I have to admit I was disappointed with with the news. Um in your email on monday um about but I said disappointed because that's that's truly how I felt I was really hopeful that we would be able to um Come back and negotiate around um around new metrics. Um to meet the needs of our our community our broader community Um, but I will say that coming out of the meeting last week and hearing um our discussion and sort of how How you all make decisions and how sort of the decision making Happens within your within your organization Really sort of gave me that insight to understand sort of How you came to that? How you came to that conclusion? And so I found that actually really helpful. So I you know, I stayed in disappointment and didn't go to Any other sort of negative Or unproductive feelings. Um, because I I really truly um That that insight from our conversation last week about how you know, the I wrote down a quote and I can't remember. I apologize who said I don't remember who said it, but um, you know Trying to come to collective decisions. Um with which every one of your members can live with um That that really stuck with me. And so that is the lens through which I understand The the the decision and the the message that you sent us on monday um But I but I have to be honest. It was really it was still disappointing. Um, I Appreciate that we have sort of this open line of communication and and exchanging the emails and so that also So again, even with disappointing news and even if we don't agree um, and or even strongly disagree, um And sort of what we did. I think that the the the message in the email Um Was very candid and I thought very authentic and I really appreciated that And I think you know so long as we can continue conversations even if we're You know in strong disagreement and continue to respect the norms that Ms. Cunningham outlined at the beginning I think we can really make a difference. Um You know, we're not going to agree. We're not going to end up in the same places all the time And I understand that better now um And the other thing, you know in talking um with So family members or others um in the community About our decision-making process. I mean one of the I think you mentioned that um Ms. McGee Um in your opening statement is you know the way we make our decisions is very very different We're we're bound by sort of this parliamentary You know roberts rules um and and sort of the approach of how we how we make decisions as a body And that's like dramatically different from how your board and your organization makes decisions And and we we sort of have to hold that um and and and just recognize that and acknowledge that that's going to be a challenge for At every step of the way when we're trying to collaborate going forward Um and then to answer the second question. How do we meet the goal of collaboration? I like I just want to say you all showed up We all showed up and that is in my mind amazing Um, and that's how we collaborate is we keep we keep this door open We keep talking even when we're really disappointed or hurt in sort of decisions and actions that others of us take to keep that line of communication going um and You know one of the things we talked about last week was was sharing ideas and um, you know, whether it's through side letters or plan development, however power we move forward um that you know this the idea of identifying um Teachers who are willing and interested in teaching in person and we started with the you know with the higher needs group um Working together and talking about ideas of how we can make that happen and and coming to some, you know Uh, we may not always agree on exactly how to implement that But I think you know using these conversations that we're having as a way to share those ideas and bring those ideas forward um And then just also being comfortable with the fact that we're going to make different decisions And and come to different places at times and hopefully We will all have felt heard and and that the ideas are are respected and and ideally represented in sort of where we land in solutions Thank you both for your answers to that question or to that prompt and now the floor is open for any member Of either the ap ea or the school committee to also respond to that. I will repeat it again It says I would like to hear your words as to how you felt with the developments that occurred this week And how do you think the school committee and ap ea will be able to meet the goal of collaborating? To have staff and students return safely Please state your name and position when responding So the floor is open for any of the two Uh organizations to speak Ms. Jagdish You're on mute I'm mongla jigdish. I teach second graders at wildwood and I am the ap a intervened co-chair I'm really seeing something very different here when we meet together and then what I see happening in school committee I really felt like the spirit of collaboration that we were building with school committee Was seriously fractured by school committee's actions on tuesday Um that action and the subsequent letter directly to arp staff I really feel like there are a huge violation of the trust that we were hoping to build I And I have to be honest. I really don't see a future for Collaboration between ap a and school committee if school committee continues these kind of tactics Making decisions Without us and then sending something out To our membership is not collaboration in my mind In our last meeting we were asked to assume positive intentions And I'm not seeing those positive intentions here and I'm having a really hard time Assuming positive attention positive intentions here when What happens after these meetings that we have together doesn't reflect that I'm really hurt that school committee didn't reach out to us We were going to have a meeting two days after school committee's meeting and this is where we thought that that collaboration and working together could really happen and Um school committee decided not to wait and talk with us and went ahead unilaterally. So That's how I'm feeling right now Thank you for stating that If I'm hearing you correctly You need to be able to build And feel like there's real actual trust From the other end So that you can feel like that you're able to collaborate and it's something that's genuine. Is that correct? Okay, thank you All right, um the floor is still open any member from the school committee or ap ea who's willing to speak Also, please make sure you state your name and your position Mr. Demling Yeah, Peter Demling and rest and uh, and respond regional school committee. So um, you know a little bit on how I felt, um Uh, I mean disappointed I think would be a pretty I'm not sure how I could It was very disappointing to hear that um that we can't at least start talking about changing the MOA um, I uh, we We got again a massive amount of public comment from our families um, and vast majority of it wasn't saying You need to change The MOA in this specific way. It was saying please start the talks with the ap a about changing it and um You know the request was made a while ago and so to to have that not moving forward shuts a major door towards potentially getting kids back in and so um You know that was really hard. However, um You know, I want to I want to honor and respect what what, um, miss miss jag just said this very difficult to share in a public Uh body like this and I think One of the biggest problems with uh challenges. I should say with resolving conflict is just to identify the conflict And uh and be authentic with it. Um, so I I Really appreciate hearing that. Um You know in terms of um Uh, what miss conningham is saying about focusing on solutions in the second part of this question about I can meet the goal of collaborating to meet needs, you know, where can we find this collaboration? So You know the the end of the um the the motion the the action that we passed, um Instructs the superintendent to work closely in collaboration with the ap a leadership in implementing um the voluntary return and um, you know when I read the ap a statement It did start to talk about specifics. Um about concerns about protections Uh for for staff and um, so just in terms of, you know specific Um concerns, I guess I'd want to hear a little I would Um, appreciate if hearing a little more about that so that we could Understand and then address those concerns. So when we you know protections can mean a lot of things Um, there's a lot of you know safety guidelines Uh and protocols that were worked out by a lot of people on this call during uh that are in the moa But uh, you know the distancing the a ch the protocols for when there's a positive case Uh, etc, etc. Um, but uh, I mean my my understanding would absolutely still be in place in this kind of volunteer plan But um, so maybe it's those kinds of things But that you're thinking about when you say protections, maybe it's additional things Um, but in terms of you know with that practical implementation about you know, what are those concerns with this kind of a plan? um, I would I would appreciate the opportunity to hear that Thank you So once again the prompt is I would like to hear your words as to how you felt with the developments that occurred this week And how you think the east school committee and a pea will be able to meet the goal of collaborating to have staff and students return safely What I've heard so far is that more genuine trust is needed. My apologies miss um baker you may go So i'm karen baker. I am a teacher at summit academy and the vice president of a pea um at the last meeting You know a week ago. I felt hopeful and excited um some of the things that I heard that seemed particularly positive was that people were using words such as Let's be creative. Let's be flexible. And what I heard was we're going to um You know in an informal way start to throw out some thoughts about Uh, I'm not even sure what but I thought it would be along the lines of what we said when we suggested the agenda, which was um something along the lines of exploring the possibility for meeting the needs of Students whose needs are not currently being met something like that. Um And you know, it seemed like we started off really well and so Then I was confused. I felt very confused that That wasn't seen as a positive process by people apparently um because rather than continue the communication Um that we had started the communication went directly to the staff of the school district And with very specific directives about what staff should do and What the administration should do So I I I don't understand how that is collaboration And Finally um We you know Part of my confusion too is we offered Two side letters, which we haven't gotten responses from you on. We're not sure what you're thinking is on that at all um It sounds like you're not interested in them because it sounded like what you proposed Has nothing to do with them. I may be wrong and I'd like to hear about that in some context, but um While we While we said we don't have a mandate to To open the MOA we Are offering the option to negotiate by presenting the side letters And we are discussing and we proposed exploring more possibilities. Um, so we're not closing doors here We want to follow a process, which I thought was understood And You know, we may still be interested although we are also Taking it back. Um, and wondering if this process is really real Thank you, miss baker I believe the response that you're looking for And the response to some of the thoughts that mr. Demling had will come through The answers to my next prompt. Um at this time I saw miss fitzer Thank you during, um Or say miss cunningham Um It's been a hard week. I I will echo that I similarly Um felt disappointed when I heard that the negotiations weren't going to reopen regarding the MOA I've also just been feeling very torn. Um because I hear and as a I'm a parent and I um I've often been hearing many parents in our community Saying loudly that they are interested in in-person learning and I know there's a large segment of the population in our town Who has opted out of in-person learning and you know, they're not calling us and telling us, you know About their happiness with their remote learning and I have um And I want to you know echo again that I do believe the teachers have been working probably harder this year than any other year um in you know Performing excellently with um with remote learning, but I still hear members of the community who feel like Remote learning is not working for them. And so I hear those voices loudly and I am also feeling Really worried I guess about their relationship between our teachers and our community and specifically the school committee and the apa um And so I'm just I've been very much torn because I I do value this relationship I did have positive feelings coming out of um last week's conversation and I was hoping um that we could take this a little slower than I think um they moved but um Again, I want to just echo. I'm feeling um like Collaboration will only happen if we keep talking to each other. And so I I'd like to See if we can keep showing up. Um And I'm gonna do my part to continue showing up. So thank you everyone Thank you. Ms. Spitzer Once again, the floor is still open for any apea or school committee member to speak Mr. Harrington Yeah, I just have to preface everything that I have to say right now with The fact that this is the hardest week for anyone to ask me how I feel about this week Right as we as we saw at the school committee. Dr. Morris Explained to folks that that I'm dealing with with folks that are close with near and hearing me getting ready to be furlough Right. So my week started off with disappointment Just just just like you all thought that we were at this collaborative point and it's not it's not your fault. You don't you don't You guys you guys had a mandate, right? Like I mean you were looking for a mandate, right? You have a democratic process and it worked out the way it did, right? I'm disappointed in that I'm also still optimistic, right? At no point did I think that we were going to be at loggerheads for this long period of time come cool by eye it out for an hour And then that we were going to be on the same sheet of music, right? Like it's going to take time It's going to take effort and it's not going to be easy and I think for us to be You know collaborative we're going to have to understand that there's going to be bumps We all need to keep our eyes on the prize, right and focus on what's important But yes as far as feelings in this week this week, so that's how I feel Um, mr. Tebedal. Thank you. Mr. Harrington. Mr. Tebedal Uh, Ben, I think I can echo the same comment about how much this week has stopped for a number of reasons, but I guess what I'm wondering is what What is the school committee's hope going forward at this time with specifically with this group? I think we At the start of money we had hoped to bring forward two proposals of ways potential ways to get moving And now I'm I'm kind of sitting at this meeting at a loss for What next steps look like so I'm hearing that from you also I think will be really helpful for us So mr. Tebedal, we will answer that in the next prop But with this one we're just talking about, you know The um, what was stated your words how you felt with how things went this week, uh, miss dancer Um, Margaret stancer. I'm a representative from palim and I'm on the regional committee um I have difficulties I I get pretty emotional here when I'm trying to talk in front of people like this, so I guess I will just say um, you know, I would love to see the kids back in school Um, I was torn at the school committee meeting um Because I feel like we need to keep talking to each other and I hope Perhaps in response to miss tibido in a way that We can keep meeting and that we can start to move forward with the side proposals that were made as a way To actually do something and find out can we do this? Is this going to work because that may lead us to be able to doing more? so I hope sincerely that we're going to start talking about those proposals Because the sooner we do the sooner we can make some progress. So That's Thank you Okay Rose Hi, um, i'm christin rose and i'm a special education teacher in the building blocks program at fort river. Um I think like everyone else is saying this week was really hard. I think that um I felt um the same feelings of hope after our last meeting and and positivity I felt hope After our members meeting on monday where although we didn't have the mandate to reopen um the moa we we did have great movement and um And we voted unanimously to move forward with the preschool and intensive needs program side letters And and that felt wonderful and hopeful and like we were starting to move in the right direction in the spirit around that was We we really need to figure out ways like this group was talking about of meeting our most at-risk students right now In finding solutions safe solutions To helping those who are not able to access the remote learning in the same way To find solutions for them and to get them what they need and it felt very hopeful um When I was watching the school committee meeting on tuesday, um, I I started feeling pretty positive around the dialogue Around the in-person learning and then I felt pretty great disappointment when the motion passed for the Mandate um for the superintendent to push all students in in february. It it felt like um We've just Lost what we were building. I started worrying about the intensive needs students and preschool students actually being able to get in um Soon I started worrying about what that meant for our staff members who did volunteer and would essentially be doing that outside the moa if we hadn't changed the moa and So I felt a lot of worry and I think this week The the positively that that came from this week for me was the apa membership really opening up communications and coming together in the moment and many voices being heard and having Um support of the whole membership We were able to call a meeting hours before this meeting and we had members arrived giving their input and giving responses And and I think that felt promising Just that so many people are so deeply invested whether it didn't matter what their opinions were But they're so invested in helping find a solution for this um As far as moving forward. I I just think we need to To be really transparent with each other of our intentions I think we have to communicate with each other before communicating to others and I think that um We need to remember that even though We might have different Ideas of how to get there our goals are the same and our goals are to get kids Learning safely and in person as soon as we can and I also don't want us to forget The the pandemics role In this and and to bring it back to that, you know, I think it's really easy to bring back everything that's happening to Kids are suffering because of remote learning. They're suffering because of a pandemic And we're all doing the best we can to address the situation And and I want to bring it back there is our our center in solution finding due to the situation we're all in It's really hard situation Thank you I just want to make sure that everyone who wanted to respond to that prompt has had an opportunity before we move on to the next um miss pretel Yes, my name is elizabeth pretel And i'm the math coach at wildwood and i'm also the treasurer for the apa Uh, I just to have a very short statement that one of the important pieces of the side letters is that Those proposals are coming from the staff those proposals are coming from the teachers who are there the staff who are who are working with those students and so Just to as a reminder that this like my colleagues said before that This process takes time Because you have these really thoughtful staff members who are thinking outside of the box being creative trying to figure out How do we do this? together Safely And I think we already stated in the last In the if you read the notes from the last meeting we had And I believe that you stated it also dr. Cunningham that Teachers staff they want to be with the students. I mean, that's why we have the profession that we do So, you know, we like, uh, miss rhodes just finished saying Uh, the pandemic has created a big mess for us and the only way we're going to get through it is with patience and time and creative thinking And collaboration Thank you miss seager before you go miss pertel. You just reminded me of a clarification I wanted to make from the last meeting. I am not doctor It's just miss cunningham. So for everyone in the community My mom would love it if I were but I am just miss cunningham. Thank you Miss seager, please go ahead Sure, um I felt after hearing about the Um About not reopening or talking about the the memorandum agreement again. I felt disappointed like others when the school committee have said Um, I know there's the side letters. I felt concerned about those because of the timeline and how long it's going to take to go back and forth Um, I'm concerned about a series of these letters that could take months potentially to work out um, I'm concerned because we've been asking to renegotiate for months now So I'm really glad that we're talking But we've been asking for a while and so I'm just really concerned that the process is going to take a very long time um So in that sense too, I've been frustrated I've also been really curious a lot of what we talk about at the school committee is out in the open I realize we have executive sessions for um working out contract negotiations and things like that But our communication like the other night's meeting is all out in the open um But you know, so we don't know I don't know what goes on Um at union meetings. I probably shouldn't but I'm curious so that feeling is there um I'm concerned in those 31 pages of comments the other night about parents saying That they're looking and considering options for the fall which takes more students out of our school for however long um that concerns me budgetarily because of what might happen What other cuts might happen? Um, and those are my personal concerns um and I I am so Given the whole week all around I'm really mixed on things But I I am truly appreciative that everybody is here tonight to talk about it because I think that's Uh in terms of what's gonna move us forward. That's definitely gonna heart help. Sorry. I'm reading my notes Um, it's definitely gonna help so I'm I'm just really grateful everybody's here and that we're talking about this. Thank you Thank you. Just a final. Is there anyone who would like to speak who hasn't had an opportunity as yet? Or miss Todd Hi, um, I'm margaret. Todd. I'm a pair educator at wildwood and unit c chair for apa um I just wanted to voice my opinion. I feel like um I feel very Unheard I guess is How I want to say I feel like the last meeting we all came together and it felt Collaborative and I felt like everybody gave beautiful statements about, you know, the process in which we Do the things that we do and how it gets done and I feel like the school committee just didn't hear what we had to say And they and it just felt like the the letter that was put out was blunt was kind of blindsided Not just to me, but I had other teachers Asking me that the wording What does that mean? Does that mean everybody has to volunteer? It just felt very, um The language was very ambiguous and very broad and it made everybody go into a panic and I just felt As a as a union member as a staff member as a community member as a parent I felt very unheard and that My opinion or the opinion of people in my position like me Doesn't matter and the families that are the loudest get heard and the families who are not the loudest get thrown away And I would like for us to go forward because like everybody said we all have the same goal these kids are Are our hearts and we want to see them succeed and thrive and be the best versions of themselves But you guys have to understand that it takes a it's a it takes a village where the apa is a village and it takes us time to talk about things and You know, it's gonna take time and I know it's a worry, but it just is what it is And I just really hope that we can Do something so that The kids in our community have better Thank you for that Once again, I just want to make sure everyone has had an opportunity to speak Okay So at this point, I'm going to do a time check it is 6 15 And I know that we were scheduled to end at 6 30 However, I felt it was very important that everyone had an opportunity to just talk about how they felt because like I said, there were so many things that happened this week one with the The survey and the apa members deciding not to reopen the Negotiations on the moa. I know a lot of people felt a certain way and then once they got the letter About the directive to the superintendent. I know a lot of feelings were also opened with that So I knew that for this call regardless of what it was going to be important Just to hear how people were feeling and just to make sure that we were ready to start talking about how we move on I didn't hear Many say that they did not want to move on there were stipulations as far as working towards building trust and having more conversations and Making sure that things are transparent and communication is occurring before Information is sent out. So those were the things that I heard that people on this call would like to see happen so that we can continue to remain open and Do what's in the best interest of our kids and reopen in schools So the next prompt that I had was that knowing that some educators and families Families in the community Are looking for that safe return to buildings for the staff and students What protections? I know we have that side letter, but what protections are you asking the district to ensure is in place? And what protections can you currently ensure? From the side of the school committee. What protections can you currently ensure will be in place? So knowing that the side letter is there. I know the apa would like to Also hear from the school committee as to what are your plans in regards to the side letter So I know that's a lot And once again, we only have about 12 minutes to start the conversation But I want you to know that we don't have to get to everyone tonight because there is another meeting scheduled for next week Okay, so with that being said, I'd like the school committee Ms. McDonald to talk about the protections that you can that you can ensure will be in place for the safe return to staff Thank you um and I just want to say again, thank you everyone all of you for for showing up. Um I tear um I'm a seeker sentiment. I Truly grateful that you're here. That's a real testament to The strength of your organization and your and your courage to to come forward Even with all the strong emotions that you that you all described. So I appreciate that um, I'm going to answer the question and then and then also cycle back to um Clarify a couple of things But the question about the protections and in our minds we We worked really hard or our bargaining teams worked really really hard to come to agreements for health Safety and health protocols and protections in our in our existing moa and in our minds Um that they still hold and we're committed to those. Um, there's no in in our minds. They the those health and safety protocols and And protections that that we agreed to And settled in our moa Um are still very much the ones that we hold um and expect the district to abide by in in any situation of in school in school buildings in person education so um I apologize that that wasn't sort of understood But I hope that sort of us saying that and I'm sure that you know as as the other My colleagues on the school committee speak that you'll hear the same from them as well. We have no intention of Backing away or changing those those particular protocols and protections that are in there Um, but I do want to cycle. Oh, and I think the other question was about the existing side letters um We um, we are looking at those and you will have a response Probably before our next meeting um and sort of like and how we're going to Move forward in that. So we're not ignoring those um by any means um, but I do want to go back and clarify um, because I've also heard not just tonight in this meeting but some misunderstandings um or Um and confusion as you all have expressed, but I've heard that also from from others um in what we what we actually were asking for in in the in the motion that we voted on um the and that discussion and that potential vote was in in our public document and and um I believe communicated in in email as well, but the the motion does not actually say all students in February Um, and I you know, I understand there's a lot of it's like a really complex multi Um, uh level motion, but just to read it It's as many students as possible within the safety guidelines of public health officials Um, and then it says starting in February. So we're looking for um the superintendent in collaboration with with this group as well as the community To define what that looks like Um, so if it looks like that we're bringing in pre-k and higher needs in you know in February And other groups will come in Later, then that's a decision that has yet to be made. Um as part of sort of the implement, you know figuring this out So and we recognize that all students maintenance, you know Not all students want to be in person. Um, um or or can be in persons. We know that as well So going forward the complex Decision-making process in implementation planning process, but we're hoping that it begins in February and as miss seeker commented About taking time and we we recognize that it takes time And at the same time we have a community That's been waiting for these conversations and this discussion and these creative solution finding to be beginning since october and so We want it. We want to work together. We want to sort of get get ideas on the table I've heard some ideas from teacher conversations that I've had over the past couple weeks That are really interesting ideas that I think definitely would be We should lift those up as we begin looking at how we're going to do this going forward but Just to be clear our community is not quite does not have the same kind of patients level at this point for a drawn out Like really in-depth Detailed collaboration at this point It's taken us three months just to get here to where we're talking to each other If we if it takes us another three months, that's our community and our families are not going to Be thrilled with any of us at that point. Um, and it does worry me like miss seeker mentioned um About the future of our district frankly if if we if we can't sort of work a little bit more quickly than we have been Okay And I'd like miss McGee to respond to the prompt. Uh, thank you. Um I think that that we have been Moving forward. Um, actually pretty well. I like to remind people that it was requested that we we open The negotiations during the same week we signed And so for us to have gone through the herculean effort that so many members worked on To then be asked to directly after that reopen again I will say that as as far as working together I found that the work that we've been able to do with Mike and Doreen assistant superintendent assistant superintendent. We've been able to communicate really well Not just the executive board but also In the in the part of the the moa was to create a safety committee That was joint management and I think that we've created a really good working relationship In that aspect and we we're really looking forward to um, building a good working relationship with the School committee our issue. We obviously have different responsibilities in our decision making process And so the issue is not, you know, we understand that we have different constituents. However, it really has been how Um, it has communicated there are, you know issues that that we disagree with With the superintendent assistant superintendent. However, I will tell you know Mike is pretty good about saying And Doreen are pretty good about saying okay And communicating what they need to communicate with us. It's not something that we have to hear Through the media and it's not something that goes directly into our membership And I and so I want to be clear that we understand that that there's a difference in constituency But the issue for us is and how um How the communication happens and often we feel uh sites wiped or thrown under the bus because the communication is happening either in the media and in this instance, um, which was really upsetting to us is that it went directly to Our membership considering that we're the exclusive bargaining agent um, and so we really felt that that was It needed to be communicated to us first um, and there's also this uh On continuing and I'm and I'm even hearing it here tonight This continued narrative that there is some difference between educators in the community. We are the community We are parents We are activists within the community And so we have the utmost Concern for the safety of the community Which is why we put this in place. I think Kristen Said it best is that understand that that the reason we're going through all this is because we're in the middle of a pandemic a pandemic that has taken so many lives in america uh, so and I understand the the urgency And and parents to want children back into the classroom We do too, but not at the cost of safety not at the cost of the health of Um of the community and so I just want to make sure that we keep that in the forefront Yes, we all want to be back in the classroom What we want to be back in the classroom In a way that ensures the safety of Everyone in the building in in our in our school buildings And I also like to say I look at this as an opportunity For us to come together during difficult times. This is what the community needs to be doing We know that that there's been so much trauma. I mean, there's a pandemic going on There's also a lot of social unrest that's going on that that that we are having to To constantly we're being fed, you know things in the media daily and so we have so much trauma That we're managing Um to try to be pushing forward even when we have to do this in a thoughtful way We have to do this in a thoughtful way You know when our students are back in the buildings, you know, what are we going to be Providing for them not just the state health and safety, but there's a social emotional piece that comes to Them being back in the buildings too not just for students and staff and the community. I mean We're we're we're all kind of a little bit broken at this point. So that is why We feel like this cannot be a rushed process We need to really collaborate and work on this together and I believe we can do it You know, I believe the more brains involved Then the more we can get to where we need to be and I think in our in our other committees where we're working together jail msc Um, I think that we have a good real work in relationship Recently we started meetings with the superintendent assistant superintendent and those meetings seem to be going well I'd like to see the same thing happen here Okay, thank you. So, um, miss mcgee In addition to many of the things that you were saying one of the things that I think I heard is one of the protections that you would like us to ensure Uh, is in place is transparent communication from everyone here at this table But the um, it is now 6 29 And that is the prompt that when we start back next week thursday that we will continue with because for this There are many people who will have to go on to the pelham school committee Meeting or would like to hear that. So it's not that I I would I um Feel that we The conversation is going nowhere and i'm ending it it's that right now I know that a lot of people do have other um obligations at this time But it's very important that when we meet back next week that we continue with this conversation with that second prompt And with keeping everyone in mind As far as the safety and the protections that we're looking at so that all who wishes to Can return in a safe and healthy manner So I do want to thank everyone for showing up and being here because it was important Even though there were um things that made you feel like violated unheard unseen Um, there's still hope right there's still hope because we all came And we're all here and we're still talking and so I do thank you all for that And with that being said, I'd like to turn the meeting back over to miss mcdonald Thank you. Um Uh, and I will make a motion to adjourn the regional school committee. Is there a second? second Moved by mcdonald seconded by spitzer and a roll call vote mr. Demling demling I um miss lord lord I miss seager seager I miss spitzer spitzer I And mcdonald I the region school committee is adjourned