[00:00:01]
[ROLL CALL]
GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.I AM CALLING TODAY'S FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER.
THE CALL OF TODAY'S MEETING IS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE SCHOOL BUDGET COVERING THE FISCAL PERIOD JULY 1ST, 2026, TO JUNE 30TH, 2027.
THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS A ROLL CALL OF MEMBERS PRESENT.
ONE SECOND, WE'RE GONNA HAVE IT.
YOU HAVE EIGHT MEMBERS PRESENT AND ONE RECORDED IS ABSENT.
WHILE WE FIX THAT, I CAN READ THE REQUIRED LANGUAGE OF THE LAW PURSUANT TO CHAPTER TWO OF THE ACTS OF 2025, ADOPTED BY MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL COURT AND APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR, THE CITY IS AUTHORIZED TO USE REMOTE PARTICIPATION AT MEETINGS OF THE CAMBRIDGE CITY COUNCIL AND ITS COMMITTEES.
PLEASE NOTE, THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDS THIS MEETING AND MAKES IT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR FUTURE VIEWING.
THIRD PARTIES MAY ALSO BE AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDING THIS MEETING.
IN ADDITION TO HAVING MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL PARTICIPATE REMOTELY, WE HAVE SET UP ZOOM TELECONFERENCE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, AS WELL AS IN PERSON.
EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES, AND SIGNUP IS AVAILABLE UNTIL SIX 30.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT, VISIT THE CITY COUNCIL SECTION OF THE CITY'S WEBPAGE.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK ARE POSTED THERE.
ONCE YOU'VE COMPLETED THE SIGNUP PROCEDURE, YOU'LL RECEIVE A LINK TO THE ZOOM MEETING.
TO WATCH THE MEETING, PLEASE TUNE INTO CHANNEL 22 OR VISIT THE OPEN MEETING PORTAL ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
WITH THAT, ALL OF TODAY'S VOTES, IF ANY, WILL BE BY ROLL CALL.
[COMMUNICATIONS FROM OTHER CITY OFFICERS]
I, UH, TURN IT OVER TO THE SUPERINTENDENT AND HIS TEAM FOR, I BELIEVE THERE'LL BE A PRESENTATION, A SHORT PRESENTATION.I WANT TO MAKE A COUPLE NOTES.
UM, ONE I TYPICALLY DO, UH, FOR FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
WE TYPICALLY DO A, A PUBLIC COMMENT AFTER THE PRESENTATION SO PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE RESPONDING TO.
AND ALSO THIS MEETING IS JUST ABOUT THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT BUDGET.
SO THERE'S A COUPLE PEOPLE WHO SIGNED UP, UH, PERHAPS THINKING THAT THIS, THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE ON THE AGENDA FOR TONIGHT.
WHAT I WILL ALLOW IS ANY COMMENTS RELATED TO THE SCHOOL, UH, DEPARTMENT BUDGET, AND ANY OTHER FINANCE RELATED OR BUDGET RELATED QUESTIONS FOR OTHER PARTS OF THE BUDGET ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR TONIGHT'S DISCUSSION.
UH, THERE'S ANOTHER HEARING NEXT, UH, TUESDAY ALL DAY, STARTING AT NINE O'CLOCK AND GOING AS LONG AS NECESSARY, PERHAPS TILL FOUR OR FIVE FOR ABOUT HALF OF THE CITY DEPARTMENTS.
AND THAT'S A TOTALLY APPROPRIATE TIME TO DISCUSS ANY OF THE REMAINING ITEMS IN THE BUDGET.
UH, SO WITH THAT, I WILL, UM, WILL JUST SAY, I'M WELCOME THE SCHOOL TEAM HERE AS IT'S, EVEN THOUGH I'M ON COUNCIL, I SERVE SO LONG ON SCHOOL COMMITTEE, IT'S STILL NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART.
AND AS SOMEONE WITH TWO KIDS WHO WERE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, K THROUGH 12, UH, VERY EXCITED TO HAVE THE REMARKABLE INVESTMENT THAT THE CITY MAKES IN THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
AND OF COURSE, AS WE KNOW, WE WANT, UH, THERE'S SOME QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS ABOUT HOW IT IS THAT WITH THE $293 MILLION BUDGET FOR JUST UNDER, YOU KNOW, 7,000 STUDENTS, ARE WE REALLY, UH, SPENDING THOSE FUNDS IN THE BEST WAY POSSIBLE FOR THE BEST OF ALL KIDS? SO BEFORE I TURN OVER TO SUPERINTENDENT CO-CHAIR, ZUBIE, DID YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING? OKAY.
I, MY FINANCE CO-CHAIR IS, UH, COUNSELOR ZUBIE RIGHT THERE.
SO SUPERINTENDENT, IF YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOUR TEAM, AND THEN ANY PRESENTATION, AND THEN THE PROTOCOL, OBVIOUSLY IN PAST PRACTICES THAT WILL GO TO COUNCIL QUESTIONS.
MADAM CHAIR, SORRY FOR THE INTERRUPTION.
BEFORE FOLKS START, IF EVERYONE CAN PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU'RE SPEAKING DIRECTLY INTO YOUR MICROPHONES.
UH, WE HAVE A LIVE CAPTIONER FOR THE CLOSE CAPTIONING VIA ZOOM, AND THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO PICK EVERYTHING EVERYONE'S SAYING UP.
WAS I APPROPRIATE OR NOT? OKAY.
AND, UH, TO START OFF OUR PRESENTATION, THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S BUDGET CO-CHAIRS ARE CHAIR DAVID WEINSTEIN AND MAYOR SIDIKI.
AND SO I'D ASK THAT THEY BE RECOGNIZED.
AND THEN MYSELF AND MS. WASHINGTON WILL INTRODUCE OURSELVES AT THAT POINT.
MAYOR SIDIKI AND, UH, OR COACH BUDGET CO-CHAIRS OF, UH, WEINSTEIN AND SIDIKI.
UH, SO, UM, I REALLY WANT TO, UH, THANK YOU FOR THIS, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THIS BUDGET.
UH, THIS PROCESS, UH, OF DESIGNING THIS BUDGET, UH, BEGAN WITH A DIFFERENT SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND A DIFFERENT CITY COUNCIL.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, THE NEW COMMITTEE, UH,
[00:05:01]
AND THE NEW CITY COUNCIL HAS REALLY DUG IN, UH, EVEN THOSE WHO, YOU KNOW, WERE REALLY JOINING THIS PROCESS IN JANUARY, UH, TO REALLY SHAPE WHAT WE, WHAT WE'RE PRESENTING TODAY.AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL HAS CONTINUED TO BE DEEPLY ENGAGED AS A CRITICAL PARTNER TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
THIS IS MY, AS A SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER, THIS IS MY SEVENTH BUDGET CYCLE.
AND I, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THIS HAS BEEN THE CYCLE IN WHICH THERE HAS BEEN THE MOST ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO BODIES.
MOST OPPORTUNITIES OVER THE GREATEST PERIOD OF TIME FOR US TO BE IN DIALOGUE AND, UH, BOTH HERE AND RESPOND TO QUESTIONS, FEEDBACK, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S STRENGTHENED THE PROCESS AND ALSO MADE IT MORE, UM, TRANSPARENT FOR THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
UH, YOU KNOW, I, I, I SAID, UH, SOMETHING TO THIS EFFECT WHEN WE, UH, PRESENTED THIS BUDGET, UH, TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE FOR OUR VOTE.
THAT IT'S NOT THE END OF OUR WORK.
THERE ARE GONNA BE ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL DECISIONS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE MAKING OVER THE COURSE OF THIS, UH, BUDGET CYCLE.
I MEAN, THIS, THIS FISCAL YEAR COMING UP, AND THERE'S SO MUCH THAT WE WILL BE DOING THAT ISN'T DIRECTLY REFLECTED IN THE DOLLARS, UH, OR THAT THE DOLLARS DON'T TELL US.
UM, YOU KNOW, SIMPLY HAVING THOSE FINANCIAL STRUCTURES IN PLACE, IT'S NECESSARY, DOESN'T GUARANTEE OUR SUCCESS.
SO I JUST WANNA LIFT UP HOW IMPORTANT IT IS, UH, HOW WE EXECUTE FOR OUR CHILDREN AND THE WORK THAT'S HAPPENING DAY IN AND DAY OUT, UH, IN THE CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THE EDUCATORS, THE CAREGIVERS, THE CHILDREN THEMSELVES.
UH, AND, UH, I REALLY WANNA APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT OF THIS COMMUNITY.
UH, ESPECIALLY IN A TIME WHEN FINANCES EVERYWHERE ARE MORE CONSTRAINED.
UH, WE'RE CERTAINLY MORE FORTUNATE IN CAMBRIDGE THAN MANY OTHER PLACES.
UM, BUT WE ARE FACING THOSE CONSTRAINTS AS WELL.
AND I'M GRATEFUL THAT AS A COMMUNITY, WE HAVE THE FINANCES TO BE ABLE TO DO MORE FOR OUR CHILDREN THAN MANY COMMUNITIES CAN.
AND I'M REALLY PROUD THAT AS A COMMUNITY, YEAR AFTER YEAR, WE MAKE THE CHOICE TO ACTUALLY DO THAT.
UM, SO I, I REALLY, UH, AND REALLY INVEST THIS MONEY IN OUR CHILDREN AND EVERYBODY WHO'S THERE TO SUPPORT THEM.
SO I, I DO WANT TO, UM, YOU KNOW, THANK MY FELLOW COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK THE, UH, PREVIOUS BUDGET CO-CHAIRS, UH, FORMER VICE CHAIR CAROLINE HUNTER, AND FORMER MEMBER JOSE LUIS ROJAS VIEL FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DID IN THE EARLIER PART OF THIS PROCESS, UH, WHICH MADE IT, UM, POSSIBLE FOR MAYOR SIDIKI AND I TO PICK UP ON THIS WORK AS BUDGET CO-CHAIRS IN THIS TERM, TOGETHER WITH NEW AND RETURNING COLLEAGUES AND BRING IT FORWARD.
AND I WOULD JUST TURN IT TO, UM, TO MAYOR SIDIKI, IF THERE'S ANYTHING FURTHER SHE WANTS TO ADD.
UH, JUST WILL SAY THAT I THINK THIS BUDGET, UH, MAKES SOME STRONG INVESTMENTS IN AREAS THAT HAVE ALWAYS BEEN, UH, KEY PRIORITIES, WHETHER THAT'S, UH, STUDENT SUPPORT, UH, LITERACY, MENTAL HEALTH, UH, INTERVENTION SERVICES, UH, FAMILY ENGAGEMENT.
UH, I THINK WE, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF CONVERSATIONS THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.
UH, THE TEAM TOOK FEEDBACK, YOU KNOW, RESPONDED TO THAT FEEDBACK.
AND I THINK THAT'S, UH, REALLY IMPORTANT.
I THINK MY SUPPORT FOR THE BUDGET AND MY INVOLVEMENT REALLY DOES COME ALSO WITH THAT EXPECTATION OF ACCOUNTABILITY.
AS WE CONTINUE TO MAKE THESE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT OUR RESOURCES ARE REACHING STUDENTS EFFECTIVELY AND THAT WE'RE TRACKING, UM, UH, HOW THINGS ARE WORKING AROUND INTERVENTION AND LITERACY AND STUDENT WELLBEING AND SO ON.
AND SO, UH, I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH CITY COUNCIL, UH, THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
UM, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME KIND OF THIS, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE MAYOR IS A BUDGET CO-CHAIR, AND, UM, IT'S BEEN, UH, REALLY COLLABORATIVE, UM, EXPERIENCE WITH THE CHAIR AND THE REST IS THE, UH, SCHOOL TEAM.
SO, LOOK FORWARD TO THE QUESTIONS THAT MANY OF YOU HAVE ASKED.
UH, AND I WILL JUST, UH, ADD THAT I FAILED TO INTRODUCE, UH, VICE CHAIR DUBY, WHO IS HERE WITH US TODAY, AND OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS I KNOW ARE, ARE TUNING IN AND HAVE BEEN A, YOU KNOW, ROBUST PART OF THIS PROCESS.
UM, SO, UH, CHAIR NOLAN, UH, I'M JOINED TODAY BY OUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, IVY WASHINGTON, AS WELL AS OUR DIRECTOR OF BUDGET AND FINANCE, UH, CHRISTINA RAD.
UH, I WANNA THANK THEM AS ALONG WITH THE ENTIRE FINANCE TEAM, UH, FOR THE WORK THAT WENT INTO PREPARING, UM, THE BUDGET THAT WE'LL BE SPEAKING TO YOU ABOUT TONIGHT.
UM, WE DO HAVE A, A DECK THAT WE'VE MADE A JOINT COMMITMENT TO MOVE THROUGH WITH EFFICIENCY, SO, UH, WE CAN GET TO YOUR QUESTIONS.
UM, AND CERTAINLY AT ANY POINT, IF YOU'D LIKE US TO REAFFIRM THAT COMMITMENT TO EFFICIENCY, PLEASE JUST LET US KNOW.
SO, UM, TONIGHT, UH, WE'LL BE GOING OVER OUR BUDGET TALKING TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE BUDGET PRIORITIES THAT WE'RE DEVELOPED THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, UM, AND TALKING TO YOU ABOUT OUR, OUR ENROLLMENT BASED, UH, INSTRUCTIONAL ADJUSTMENTS FROM ONE FISCAL YEAR TO THE NEXT.
AND AS I SAID, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE'LL, HERE TO TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS SO WE CAN, WE CAN
[00:10:01]
KEEP MOVING RIGHT ALONG WITH RESPECT TO THE BIG BUCKETS THAT, UH, AND I WILL SAY, AS I'VE I SAID TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS THROUGHOUT THE BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UH, WE REALLY, UH, OUR TEAM SEES THE ANNUAL SCHOOL BUDGET AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY ARTICULATE THE OBJECTIVES AND PRIORITIES OF THE ORGANIZATION, ALWAYS COMING BACK TO WHAT IS OUR SINGULAR MISSION, WHICH IS TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF STUDENTS IN ORDER TO POSITION THEM FOR POST-SECONDARY SUCCESS AND THE CORNERSTONE OF THOSE, UH, PRIORITIES, UH, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.AND A BIG PART OF THE ONGOING STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS THAT WE ARE ENGAGED IN ARE FOCUSING ON THE VARIABLES THAT WE KNOW ARE THE, ARE THE TRUE LEVERS FOR STUDENT SUCCESS.
AND THAT IS THE QUALITY OF THE, OF THE EDUCATION THAT THEY'RE RECEIVING THROUGH EDUCATOR EFFECTIVENESS, AND THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT AND OUR INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL COMMUNITIES ENJOY WITH FAMILIES.
THERE IS, AS I KNOW, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS PROCESS, UH, KNOW ALWAYS, UH, A SERIES OF OTHER, UH, CONSIDERATIONS AND PRIORITIES THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THIS PARTICULAR POINT IN TIME IN OUR HISTORY AND WHERE WE ARE AS, UH, SOMETHING THAT AS WE, WE ARE WHERE WE ARE BECAUSE OF THE, THE STRONG COMMITMENT AS THE CHAIR SAID BY THIS COMMUNITY WITH RESPECT TO THE UNIVERSAL PRESCHOOL PROGRAM, THE DECISION THAT WILL BE PENDING BEFORE US IN THE RELATIVE NEAR FUTURE AROUND THE FACILITY AT 1 58 SPRING STREET, AND ONGOING CONSIDERATIONS RELATED TO OUR EXPANDED LEARNING TIME PROGRAMS. WE CAN KEEP MOVING.
AND I'M JUST GONNA TALK VERY BRIEFLY ABOUT, UM, WHAT IS, WHAT UNDERLIES THIS BUDGET.
UM, THIS IS DATA THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY ALWAYS INCLUDED IN OUR DISCUSSION, BUT IT'S DATA THAT OUR, OUR COMMITTEE HAS BECOME VERY FAMILIAR WITH, UH, IN, IN, IN RECENT YEARS.
UM, THIS REFLECTS, UH, NOT JUST THE TEST SCORES THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE PRODUCING, BUT A PORTION OF THE EXPERIENCES THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE HAVING.
AND I THINK WHEN YOU LOOK THROUGH THIS SLIDE IN THE NEXT, I'M NOT GONNA GO THROUGH EACH DATA POINT, BUT I PROMISE YOU WE HAVE LOTS OF VIDEOS FROM PREVIOUS SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETINGS THAT WE CAN FORWARD TO YOU IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, IN THIS.
UM, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS STEADY IMPROVEMENT THAT NEEDS TO, UH, BE PURSUED WITH GREATER URGENCY SO THAT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS ARE EXPERIENCING THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT THEY DESERVE.
AND WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT ONE, UM, IF WE COULD, UM, WE ARE, WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING A FEW POINTS HERE THAT WE ARE PARTICULARLY PROUD OF, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO SPEAK TO TONIGHT.
UH, AGAIN, THIS, THESE ARE NOT SPECIFIC BUDGET LINE ITEMS, BUT WE'VE INCLUDED THIS DATA AS A, A, A SNAPSHOT, IF YOU WILL, OF, UH, WHAT EXACTLY IT IS THAT THIS COMMUNITY IS INVESTING IN.
IT IS, IT IS INVESTING IN AN ORGANIZATION, UH, THAT IS COMMITTED TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AND UNDERSTANDS THAT THERE ARE AREAS OF GROWTH THAT HAVE, UM, UH, BEEN PERSISTENT, UH, CHALLENGES FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR TOO LONG.
AND AS WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE, UM, ONE OF THE DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS SCHOOL DISTRICT TO DATE, UH, HAS BEEN THE FACT THAT ACROSS OUR DEMOGRAPHICS, UM, WE DO, WE SEE PERSISTENT ACHIEVEMENT AND OPPORTUNITY GAPS THAT WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO ROUTE OUT.
UH, I'M NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO A VERY SPECIFIC BUDGET PROVISION TONIGHT THAT IS ITSELF ALONE GOING TO DISMANTLE SOME OF THE INEQUITIES THAT ARE REPRESENTED IN THIS DEMOGRAPHICS, UH, STUDENT, STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS BY DEMOGRAPHIC SLIDE.
BUT WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT EACH AND EVERY DOLLAR WE SPEND NEEDS TO BE DEVOTED TO IDENTIFYING THE ROOT CAUSES OF THESE DISCREPANCIES AND THEN REDUCING, AND THEN ULTIMATELY ELIMINATING THEM.
AND MRS. MS. WASHINGTON IS WARMING UP TO, UH, TAKE THE MIC JUST IN A FEW MOMENTS FROM NOW.
UM, ONE, ONE THING THAT, AS PART OF THIS SORT OF SEQUENCING AND THE TIMELINE OF THE BUDGET PROCESS, IS WE DO NOT IN, IN, IN THE COURSE OF THE DISCUSSION AROUND THE OPERATING BUDGET, SPEND A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE CAPITAL BUDGET, BUT THE CAPITAL BUDGET AS THE, AS I KNOW THE, THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL KNOW IS, IS BEING DEVELOPED ON, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR AND IS INTENDED TO IDENTIFY, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE PRIORITIES THAT ARE NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF OUR FACILITIES ARE CONSISTENT WITH, UH, OUR EXPECTATIONS AS A COMMUNITY.
UH, I WILL SAY, AS A RELATIVE NEWCOMER TO THIS COMMUNITY, YOU HAVE SET A STANDARD, UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE INVESTMENT YOU HAVE MADE IN INFRASTRUCTURE OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST DECADE, UM, THAT I, I THINK THE COMMUNITY SHOULD TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN.
AND I THINK, UH, AS THE LEADER OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, I TAKE, I, I SEE IT AS A, A SENSE OF, OF RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MAKING GOOD ON THAT INVESTMENT.
PART OF THAT IS GOING TO BE WHAT IS OUR BIGGEST, UH, CAPITAL, UM, CHALLENGE AND, AND OPPORTUNITY OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT YEAR WITH RESPECT TO IMPROVEMENTS AT 1 58 SPRING STREET.
AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY, UH, ON THAT.
AND AGAIN, HAPPY TO ANSWER WHATEVER QUESTIONS WE CAN.
ALTHOUGH I WOULD NOTE THAT OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS, WE'LL HAVE A SERIES OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS IN WHICH WE'LL BE, UH, DISSEMINATING SOME MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION AS TO THE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES, UH, REPRESENTED BY THAT PROJECT.
SO WE MOVED DOWN, UH, JUST WITH RESPECT TO OUR FY 27 PRIORITIES.
YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT, UH, AND AGAIN, WE'LL TALK IN A, A SLIGHTLY MORE DETAIL AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION.
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UH, THERE ARE, AND ACTUALLY WE CAN JUST GO TO THE NEXT ONE.'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S, THIS IS JUST SORT OF SEEING THE TRANSITION FROM FY 26 TO FY 27.
YOU SEE THE LITTLE GRAY BOX THERE ON THE LEFT.
UM, IN ADDITION TO THE MACROECONOMIC, UH, CONDITIONS THAT, UH, THIS BUDGET HAS BEEN DEVELOPED, UH, UNDER, AND I KNOW THAT THE ENTIRETY OF THE CITY'S BUDGET IS BEING DEVELOPED, UH, WITHIN THAT CONTEXT.
UH, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM ALSO HAS AT THE MOMENT, NINE, UH, PENDING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING NEGOTIATIONS.
SO WE HAVE NINE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS THAT, UM, WILL EXPIRE EITHER AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR OR AT THE START OF THE NEXT, AS IS THE CASE, WHENEVER WE HAVE THAT LEVEL OF, UH, UH, INCOMING, UH, PENDING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING NEGOTIATIONS, THERE IS A DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY THAT COMES WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF EVERY BUDGET.
AND THAT IS THE CONTEXT IN PART, HOW OUR BUDGETARY PRIORITIES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED.
THAT BEING SAID, I WOULD ECHO WHAT MAYOR SIDIKI SAID EARLIER, WHICH IS THAT I DO BELIEVE THAT THE BUDGET THAT WE HAVE DEVELOPED IS REFLECTIVE OF OUR PRIORITIES AND POSITIONS US WELL TO ADVANCE, UH, THE INTERESTS OF OUR STUDENTS AND TO PURSUE OUR EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES.
WE HAVE SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON A MORE STRATEGIC USE OF THE TIME BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS, TIME BEING A CRITICAL VARIABLE, ALWAYS IN PUBLIC EDUCATION.
AND WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE USING IT, UH, TO THE GREATEST, UH, POSSIBLE IMPACT FOR OUR STUDENTS AT ALL TIMES.
IMPROVE STUDENT SUPPORTS IS AN SORT OF AN UMBRELLA TERM THAT WE USE FOR SOME OF THE SPECIFIC INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED, UM, FOR THIS YEAR.
UM, PARTICULARLY SUPPORTING SOME OF OUR STUDENTS QUALIFYING IN OUR HIGH NEED CATEGORIES, AND THEN OUR ENHANCED DATA SYSTEMS, UM, WHICH THERE IS, THERE ARE SOME BUDGETARY EXPENDITURES ASSOCIATED WITH, BUT I WOULD SAY THAT IN TRUTH, THAT REALLY REPRESENTS A REAFFIRMATION OF OUR COMMITMENT TO BEING A DATA-DRIVEN ORGANIZATION AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR DECISIONS ARE TRULY, UH, GROUNDED IN, UH, WHAT IS IN FACT GOING TO MOVE THE NEEDLE, UH, WITH REGARD TO THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF OUR STUDENTS.
AND IN THE NEXT SLIDE, WE JUST EXPAND BRIEFLY UPON THOSE, UM, STUDENT SUPPORTS.
I, I, I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE COUNSELORS QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, CONVEYED TO US OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS.
UM, AND WE'RE PREPARED TO SPEAK TO JUST ABOUT ALL OF THOSE TONIGHT.
AND ANYTHING THAT WE CAN'T, WE'LL CERTAINLY FOLLOW UP, UH, SUBSEQUENT TO THIS MEETING.
BUT OUR STUDENT SUPPORTS HERE ARE, THESE ARE SPECIFIC INVESTMENTS AND INITIATIVES THAT WE ARE PLANNING TO UNDERTAKE IN FY 27 IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE ENVIRONMENTS THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE, ARE RECEIVING SERVICES AND THEIR EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN ARE IN KEEPING WITH THEIR NEEDS.
AND WITH THAT, MS. WASHINGTON CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, THE PROCESS THAT, UM, WE'VE UNDERTAKEN IN COORDINATION WITH THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE TO DEVELOP, TO DEVELOP THESE BUDGETARY PRIORITIES AND TO BE BEFORE YOU TONIGHT.
THANK YOU SUPERINTENDENT, AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
I'M THE CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOL CFO.
UM, AND WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I JUST AM GONNA SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, WE OFTEN GET QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS, AND WE DO TRY AND MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, UM, AND ACT ACTIVITIES EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
UM, WE MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INCLUDING CAREGIVERS AS WELL AS OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE TRANSLATORS AVAILABLE.
WE, UH, PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION, WE PROVIDE FOOD, WE PROVIDE, UH, CHILDCARE ALL IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS CAN, UM, INVOLVE THEMSELVES.
WE ALSO HAVE, UM, INCORPORATED A NUMBER OF EVENTS THAT ARE VIRTUAL.
BUT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK STANDS OUT THIS YEAR IS THAT YOU'LL SEE THE FIRST EVENT ON THE LIST ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE HERE IN THIS ROOM.
UM, IT WAS A JOINT MEETING BETWEEN, UH, CITY COUNCIL AND SCHOOL COMMITTEE WHERE THERE WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT DISCUSSION ABOUT THE, UH, ECONOMIC OUTLOOK FOR THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE.
UM, AND THAT CONVERSATION HAS BEEN ONGOING AND HAS BEEN OBVIOUSLY, UM, A THREAD IN, I'M SURE ALL OF THE BUDGET CONVERSATIONS THAT THE CITY HAS BEEN HAVING, BUT DEFINITELY HAS BEEN FOR THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, UM, THROUGHOUT OUR, UM, EVENTS, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND ALSO, UH, SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETINGS.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE HERE WE, UM, TRY AND ENGAGE STAFF AS WELL.
THOSE, UM, HAVE BEEN PRIMARILY VIRTUAL.
UM, AND THEN ALL OF IT CULMINATES JUST AS A REMINDER FOR FOLKS ABOUT PROCESS, UM, WITH A VOTE THAT THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE TOOK, UM, IN APRIL.
AND, UM, THEN THIS BUDGET HEARING TONIGHT.
UM, THE OTHER PIECE, UM, ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO NOTE IS JUST THAT, UM, WE ARE HOPEFUL IN THE FUTURE TO ALSO, UH, COORDINATE THE CITY I KNOW MADE SOME CHANGES TO HOW THEY DID SOME OF THEIR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ACTUALLY DID SOME OF THEIR EVENTS AT ONE OF OUR SCHOOLS.
AND SO I THINK WE, WE HAVE BEEN IN TALKS ABOUT SOME OPPORTUNITIES OF PERHAPS COORDINATING, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT, UH, THAT FOLKS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN BOTH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS AS WELL AS THE SCHOOLS CAN MAYBE, UM, FIND WAYS TO DO THAT ENGAGEMENT TOGETHER.
UM, AND WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SECTION AFTER THIS.
UM, REALLY WE'RE MOVING ON TO THE ACTUAL ADOPTED BUDGET INFORMATION.
UM, AND I, UM, CAN TAKE THIS FIRST SLIDE.
THIS IS, UM, ABOUT OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES AND WHERE THE FUNDING IS COMING FROM FOR OUR OPERATING BUDGET.
[00:20:01]
CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, WE, WE RECEIVED A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT CHAPTER 70 EDUCATION AID, AND SO THAT, MAYBE I'LL FOCUS ON THAT ON THIS SLIDE.
SO YOU CAN SEE 91% OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET IS FUNDED ACTUALLY THROUGH THE CITY'S BUDGET.
UM, AND THIS, UH, PIE CHART, THIS SORT OF, UH, BREAKDOWN LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT THAN OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE COMMONWEALTH.
UM, CHAPTER 70 IS A MUCH SMALLER PROPORTION OF OUR BUDGET THAN IT IS IN OTHER PLACES.
UM, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS WE RECEIVED WERE REALLY ABOUT WHAT WE COULD USE THAT FUNDING FOR.
UM, AND THE ANSWER IS ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT.
UM, SO WE ABSOLUTELY CAN USE IT FOR A VARIETY OF, OF THINGS, BUT IT ONLY ACCOUNTS FOR A SMALL PROPORTION OF OUR BUDGET.
SO, UM, IT WOULD OBVIOUSLY HAVE TO BE SOMETHING THAT FITS IN THAT 8%.
UM, WE ALSO RECEIVED, I THINK, SOME QUESTIONS AROUND HOW THAT FUNDING WORKS.
AND IT IS, UM, IT IS DRIVEN BY OUR STUDENT POPULATION AND THOSE DEMOGRAPHICS, BUT IT IS NOT NECESSARILY, UM, ALLOCATED IN, UH, SORT OF LIKE ONE FLAT PER PUPIL AMOUNT.
BUT IF YOU WERE TO TAKE THE NUMBER AND SORT OF DIVIDE BY OUR TOTAL POPULATION, YOU WOULD GET ABOUT $3,300 PER STUDENT THAT THE CHAPTER 70 FUNDING IS PROVIDING, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY FAR LESS THAN WHAT WE ARE SPENDING PER CHILD, BECAUSE THE BULK OF IT IS COMING FROM PROPERTY TAXES AS WELL AS THESE OTHER FUNDING SOURCES.
AND HERE'S THE PART THAT EVERYONE WANTS TO, WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT, WHICH IS THE PLAN FOR THE EXPENDITURES.
UM, NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, UH, TOTAL IS $293,500,000.
THAT IS A 4.7% INCREASE, WHICH IS 13.25 MILLION.
IT'S SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN THE TOTAL PERCENTAGE INCREASE, UM, FOR THE CITY BUDGET AS A WHOLE.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE BELOW, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THAT, UH, THE TOTAL BUDGET AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THAT INCREASE, UM, IS FOR OUR, OUR MOST IMPORTANT RESOURCE, OUR STAFF.
UM, SO SALARIES AND BENEFITS, UH, COMPRISE THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE BUDGET, ABOUT 83%, UM, AND, UM, ARE ABOUT $10.3 MILLION OF THAT INCREASE.
UM, AS, AND THEN THERE'S THE NOTE ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE.
I'M SURE THAT'S BEEN A TOPIC OF CONVERSATION IN OTHER BUDGET MEETINGS FOR THE CITY.
UM, THE NET DECREASE OF 18.48 FTES IS A, IS A VERY DIFFERENT NUMBER THAN WHAT, UM, OUR SCHOOL BUDGET TYPICALLY INCLUDES.
AND SO, UM, I THINK IT, PEOPLE MAY HAVE THE MISPERCEPTION THAT THERE WASN'T SOME BELT TIGHTENING BECAUSE THERE WERE, THERE WAS A DIFFERENCE IN TERMS OF THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE FOR US THAN THERE WAS FOR SOME OF THE CITY DEPARTMENTS, BUT THERE WAS ACTUALLY A REALLY, UM, A SHIFT AND A AND A REAL FOCUS ON EFFICIENCIES AND, AND IT'S BORNE OUT BY THAT NET TO DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF FTES.
UM, AND THEN THERE ARE A FEW OTHER, UM, SORT OF LARGER CHANGES OUT OF DISTRICT TUITION INCREASING BY POINT, UM, BY 800,000, UH, STUDENT TRANSPORTATION INCREASING BY 600, UM, THOUSAND.
AND, UM, THERE'S A NOTE HERE ABOUT MBTA PASSES THAT'S ACTUALLY JUST A SHIFT IN WHERE THE FUNDING IS.
SO THE $500,000 WAS ON THE CITY BUDGET, AND IT'S BEEN SHIFTED TO, UM, THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT BUDGET.
UM, AND JUST IT, NOTHING ABOUT THE PROGRAM HAS NECESSARILY CHANGED, IT'S JUST TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR FOLKS TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM AND PROVIDE THE STUDENTS WITH THOSE T PASSES.
UM, SO, UH, I JUST WANNA NOTE EARLIER WE, WE DISCUSSED THE IMPORTANCE OF SORT OF THE WHOLE BUDGET AND, AND THE SUPERINTENDENT TALKED ABOUT SORT OF GOALS.
MANY OF OUR, THE QUESTIONS WE RECEIVED WERE REALLY ABOUT THE ENTIRETY OF THE BUDGET AND INVESTMENTS IN MAJOR PROJECTS, MAJOR INITIATIVES, LITERACY, UM, SORT OF BIG PICTURE ITEMS. THESE NEXT SLIDES ARE REALLY ABOUT THE PARTICULAR CHANGES FROM FY 26 TO FY 27.
SO THEY DO NOT ENCOMPASS EVERYTHING WE MIGHT BE INVESTING IN A PARTICULAR, UH, FOCUS AREA.
IT'S REALLY JUST TO IDENTIFY THE, THE SHIFT AND THE, AND THE INCREASES AND DECREASES BETWEEN 26 AND 27.
UM, THE IMPROVED STUDENT SUPPORTS THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER.
UM, THAT IS PROBABLY, UH, OUR, OUR SORT OF MOST SIGNIFICANT IN TERMS OF FTE INCREASES THIS 11.56 FTE AND THIS ALMOST $2 MILLION INCREASE, UM, INVOLVED A WHOLE HOST OF SHIFTS, UM, IN THE HOPES OF SUPPORTING BETTER SUPPORTING STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH HIGH NEEDS.
UH, WE ENDEAVORED TO REALLOCATE AND, AND SHIFT HOW WE WERE DOING OUR ALLOCATION OF INTERVENTIONISTS THAT WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON THE NEXT SLIDE ABOUT, AS WITH, UH, PARAPROFESSIONALS, UM, WE ALSO INCREASED, UM, A SMALL, A SMALL AMOUNT, UH, OF OUR PER PUPIL ALLOCATION, WHICH IS BASED ON FREE AND REDUCED MEAL ELIGIBILITY.
UH, INCREASED THE TUITION AS I NOTED BEFORE.
UM, AND THEN AS THE SUPERINTENDENT MENTIONED
[00:25:01]
IN SOME OF THOSE EARLIER SLIDES, THERE ARE SOME, UH, SORT OF NEW PROGRAMMING THAT IS TO SUPPORT, UM, STUDENTS, SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS, AS WELL AS STUDENTS THAT, UM, HAVE PARTICULAR NEEDS.UH, AND THEN DOWN AT THE BOTTOM, THOSE LAST TWO SLIDES, YOU CAN SEE, UM, INCREASED GUIDANCE, STAFFING, AND THEN THIS FULL-TIME GENERAL EDUCATION SOCIAL WORKER THAT THE REASON, EVEN THOUGH IT'S ONE SOCIAL WORKER, THE REASON IT'S SO IMPORTANT IS THAT ACTUALLY MEANT THAT THE COMPLIMENT OF SOCIAL WORKERS, UH, ALLOWS FOR THERE TO BE ONE IN EACH AND EVERY OF OUR UPPER SCHOOLS.
I, WHAT I WOULD, JUST AS WE TRANSITION FROM THIS SLIDE TO THE NEXT, I THINK IF THERE WERE SORT OF A, A, A WAY TO, IN A VERY CONCISE FASHION, SAY STRATEGICALLY, WHAT DID WE TRY TO DO IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS BUDGET? FIRST AND FOREMOST, WHAT WE TRIED TO DO IS TO MAXIMIZE THE COMMUNITY'S RESOURCES.
IT'S, IT IS WELL UNDERSTOOD THAT WE ARE IN A VERY FORTUNATE POSITION WITH RESPECT TO THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENT THAT THIS COMMUNITY MAKES IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND WHERE I THINK WHAT I THINK HAS BEEN A GROWTH AREA FOR THE CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AS AN ORGANIZATION IS WE'VE NEEDED TO TIE THE BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS TO A SPECIFIC STRATEGY AND SET OF PRIORITIES AROUND WHERE THOSE RESOURCES GO.
AND OVER TIME, WHAT'S HAPPENED IS WE'VE HAD SOME INCONSISTENCIES ACROSS OUR SCHOOLS, AND WHAT WE'VE ATTEMPTED TO DO IS TO ESSENTIALLY RATIONALIZE THAT SYSTEM WHILE MAINTAINING THE HE HEALTHY STAFFING COMPLIMENTS THAT EXIST BECAUSE OF THAT INVESTMENT.
SO MS. WASHINGTON CITED TO THE GUIDE TO THE, THE SOCIAL WORKER AT THE UPPER SCHOOLS IN A $300 MILLION BUDGET.
I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY SORT OF HONING IN ON ONE SPECIFIC SOCIAL WORKER MAY SEEM AS THOUGH WE ARE SORT OF IDENTIFYING A, A SORT OF PRETTY DISCRETE PORTION OF THE BUDGET.
BUT WHAT THAT REALLY REPRESENTS IS THE DISTRICT MAKING A STEP TOWARD HAVING A MORE STRATEGICALLY ALIGNED APPROACH TO THE COUNSELING THAT OUR STUDENTS NEED IN THAT VERY CRITICAL, UH, UH, AGE BAND IN, IN OUR UPPER SCHOOLS.
AND IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU SEE THAT, UM, THAT IS ALSO TRUE WITH RESPECT TO OUR COMPLIMENT OF PARAPROFESSIONALS IN INTERVENTIONISTS AND COACHES.
IT'S NOT THAT WE WERE, IT WASN'T LIKE IT WAS THE WILD, WILD WEST IN TERMS OF WHAT SCHOOLS HAD, WHAT STAFFING RESOURCES, BUT THE FORMULA THAT WAS SPELLED OUT, THE BUDGET WAS NOT NECESSARILY REFLECTIVE IN THE REALITY, UH, ON THE GROUND IN INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS.
AND SO WHAT WE IN, WE ABSOLUTELY DID PRIORITIZE MAINTAINING STABILITY AND CONSISTENCY SO THAT THIS BUDGET DID NOT, WAS NOT DISRUPTIVE TO HOW OUR SCHOOLS WERE PERFORMING.
UM, BUT ALSO WE TRIED TO RATIONALIZE IT SO THAT, UM, WE HAD A CLEAR STRATEGY THAT ESSENTIALLY IDENTIFIED, UM, AND IT WAS PROBABLY REFERENCED BRIEFLY IN ONE OF THE OTHER SLIDES.
WE ESSENTIALLY HAVE THREE TIERS OF STAFFING.
WE HAVE UNIFORM STAFFING THAT EVERY SCHOOL HAS CERTAIN POSITIONS THAT EXIST IN EACH INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE ENROLLMENT BASED STAFFING, WHICH WHEN A SCHOOL IS OF A PARTICULAR SIZE, AND SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS ARE LARGER OR SMALLER THAN THE OTHERS, AND THEN WE HAVE SPECIFIC NEEDS.
SOMETIMES THOSE NEEDS ARE PROGRAMMATIC.
AND THERE ARE PROGRAMS THAT ARE HOUSED IN EACH SCHOOL THAT REQUIRE ADDITIONAL STAFFING, BE IT EDUCATORS, BE IT, UH, TEACHER POSITIONS OR PARAPROFESSIONAL POSITIONS.
UH, AND SOMETIMES IT'S BECAUSE THEY WERE, WE LOOK AT THE DATA AND WE SEE THAT THERE'S A NEED FOR A STRATEGY, UH, TO BE EMPLOYED IF WE'RE GONNA SEE THAT SCHOOL PERFORM AT THE LEVEL THAT WE NEEDED TO.
AND THAT, UH, THAT IS ESSENTIALLY HOW WE HAVE ANALYZED THIS BUDGET AND HOW WE'VE TRIED TO BRING A, A, A, A A, A STAFFING STRATEGY TO THE BUDGET.
SO IT'S NOT JUST, UM, ESSENTIALLY A MORE OF A A WHO GOT IN THE ROOM AT WHAT POINT TO ASK FOR PARTICULAR RESOURCES.
AND I THINK THAT'S A, I MY HOPE IS THAT WHILE TONIGHT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGETARY ASPECT OF THAT, REALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS TRYING TO GREAT GET TO A PLACE WHERE WE CAN MAINTAIN THE HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND HIGH STANDARDS THAT WE KNOW ARE NECESSARY IN ORDER TO AVOID THE VARIABILITY THAT CAN LEAD TO LOWER EXPECTATIONS.
AND THAT'S 'CAUSE I, I THINK THAT'S WHERE OUR STUDENTS SUFFER THE MOST, IS WHEN WE'RE NOT ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT LEVEL OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS ACROSS ALL OF OUR INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL COMMUNITIES.
AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS SORT OF THE FINANCIAL END OF THAT.
UM, SO I JUST, I THAT'S, THAT SORT OF ENCAPSULATES BOTH THE, THE LAST SLIDE AND THIS ONE.
BUT, UM, MS. WASHINGTON, HAPPY FOR YOU TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE REST OF THE BUDGET PRIORITIES.
UM, OUR NEXT SLIDE IS ABOUT EFFECTIVE USE OF BEFORE SCHOOL TIME.
UM, AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY OBVIOUS FROM THIS SLIDE IS THE, IS THE REAL CHANGE THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING IS THERE'S GONNA BE A SLIGHT ADJUSTMENT TO SOME OF THE START TIMES TO TRY AND ALIGN, UM, THE SCHOOL START TIMES AND ALIGN THE TRANSPORTATION, UM, THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MORNING TO BETTER SERVE FAMILIES AND STUDENTS, MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE GETTING ON TO SCHOOL ON TIME WITH PLENTY OF TIME TO EAT, GET READY, UM, SETTLE IN AND HAVE A, A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL MORNING.
UM, SO THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY, UM, EASY TO SEE FROM THESE SORT OF PARTICULARS ABOUT WHAT ARE THE BUDGETARY CHANGES.
UM, I'LL RUN THROUGH THEM QUICKLY, BUT JUST OVERALL, YOU CAN SEE THE PARENTHESES AT THE TOP.
THE, THERE'S ACTUALLY A SLIGHT NET DECREASE IN OUR FTES.
UM, BUT PART OF THE REASON THAT THE, THE DOLLAR IMPACT IS, IS POSITIVE AND IT'S MORE THAN A MILLION DOLLARS, UM, IS BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME SIGNIFICANT ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AMOUNT OF TIME, UM, SOME OF
[00:30:01]
THE EXISTING STAFF WOULD BE IN THE BUILDING.UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A, THERE'S AN INCREASE TO THE TRANSPORTATION STAFF, UM, THAT'S ALSO MEANT TO SUPPORT THIS COMMUNICATION WITH FAMILIES AND MAKING SURE THAT TRANSPORTATION IS RUNNING SMOOTHLY AND STUDENTS ARE AT SCHOOL FIRST THING IN THE MORNING.
UM, THERE ARE TRANSPORTATION CONTRACT INCREASES, WHICH HAPPEN EVERY YEAR.
UM, FOLKS ON CITY COUNCIL MAY ALREADY BE AWARE, BUT THERE WAS ACTUALLY A VERY LARGE STUDY, UM, BY THE STATE OF, UM, TRANSPORTATION THAT WAS MORE SOMEWHAT FOCUSED ON SPECIAL EDUCATION TRANSPORTATION, BUT THEY DID LOOK AT ALL TRANSPORTATION AND TRYING TO SUPPORT SCHOOLS IN, UM, IN MORE EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY, UH, GETTING WHAT THEY NEED FROM TRANSPORTATION FOR PROVIDERS FOR A GOOD PRICE.
UM, BUT THOSE ARE VERY HIGH COSTS FOR US.
THEY'RE THE MBTA PASSES WE DISCUSSED.
UM, HERE'S THE INCREASE IN OUR BULLET FOUR IS THE INCREASE IN OUR FOR SCALE PARA PROFESSIONALS.
THE SCALE PROGRAM IS OUR, UM, AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER, UM, PROGRAM THAT'S FOR STUDENTS WHO HAVE A VARIETY OF NEEDS.
IT'S ACTUALLY A VERY LARGE PROGRAM.
WE GOT A FEW QUESTIONS FROM COUNSELORS ABOUT THAT PROGRAM, SO WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THAT IF FOLKS WANT TO.
UM, BUT THOSE ARE STUDENTS WHO, UM, REALLY, UH, VALUE AND, AND, AND GET A LOT OF VALUE FROM HAVING A MORE ADULTS THERE FOR THOSE TRANSITION TIMES AND SUPPORTING THEM GETTING INTO THE BUILDING, GETTING OFF OF THE BUSES, UM, GETTING TO THEIR FIRST CLASS.
UM, SO THOSE, UH, PARAPROFESSIONALS WILL HAVE A SLIGHTLY LONGER DAY, ABOUT 30 MINUTES LONGER, UM, AND THEY WILL BE ABLE TO BE THERE, UM, SOME STAGGERED AND SOME, SOME MORE IN THE MORNING AND ALSO SOME MORE IN THE AFTERNOON.
THE, UH, ADJUSTMENTS TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AID ALLOCATIONS IS, IS SIMILAR TO WHAT THE SUPERINTENDENT DISCUSSED AROUND JUST RATIONALIZING AND MAKING CLEAR, UM, WHAT ALL OF THE SCHOOLS ARE GETTING, AND THEN THEY CAN ADJUST TO THE PARTICULAR NEEDS OF THEIR SCHEDULE OR, UM, OF THEIR PARTICULAR PROGRAMMING.
UM, THERE ARE, UH, IS A SLIGHT INCREASE TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PER PUPIL ALLOCATION FOR CURRICULAR MATERIALS.
UM, THIS IS ANOTHER ONE WHERE IT IS RELATED TO A VERY BIG CHANGE.
EVEN THOUGH THE BUDGETARY IMPACT MAY BE SMALL, WE'VE MADE A, A VERY LARGE INVESTMENT IN NEW CURRICULA, UM, BOTH IN ELA AND MATH.
UM, AND A LOT OF THE BUDGETARY INCREASES FOR THAT HAPPENED IN PRIOR BUDGETS.
UM, THIS THOUGH IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, THE ACTUAL PURCHASE OF THE MATERIALS IS, IS A VERY DIFFERENT COST.
WHEREAS BEFORE THERE WAS MANY CURRICULA BEING USED.
UM, MANY FOLKS HAD OPEN SOURCE, UH, THINGS THAT THEY WERE PRINTING OFF OR COPYING ON THEIR COPY MACHINE IN THEIR SCHOOLS.
NOW WE HAVE, UM, MUCH MORE CONSISTENCY AROUND THE CURRICULUM.
AND, UM, THE MATERIALS ARE, ARE DESIGNATED AND SPECIFIC TO, UM, THE LESSON PLANS, CURRICULUM STANDARDS, UM, THAT THE EXPECTATION IS THAT EVERYBODY IS USING.
AND SO, UM, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A BURDEN ON THE SCHOOLS THAT MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE IS PURCHASING THOSE SOMEWHAT EXPENSIVE MATERIALS.
SO TRYING TO OFFSET, OFFSET THAT A BIT.
UM, THOUGH IT ISN'T, IT ISN'T THE ENTIRETY OF THEIR, UM, BUDGET, AND WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT THAT IF FOLKS HAVE INTEREST.
UM, AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UM, DISCRETIONARY FUNDING FOR OUT OF SCHOOL TIME.
THE IDEA HERE IS THAT, UM, THE SCHOOLS HAVE A BUDGET THAT'S DRIVEN BY, UH, THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THEY HAVE AND THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THOSE STUDENTS.
UM, AND THEY OFTEN HAVE FIELD TRIPS THAT THEY DO EVERY YEAR, REGULAR THINGS, AND THEY MAY NOT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY OUT SOMETHING NEW OR GO SOMEWHERE NEW OR, OR EXPLORE SOMETHING.
THAT'S ONE OF THE RESOURCES WE HAVE IN THE CITY.
UM, AND THE IDEA IS TO HAVE SOME FUNDING AVAILABLE SO THAT, UM, FOLKS HAVE THE CAPACITY TO TRY SOMETHING AND SEE IF IT IS OF BENEFIT TO THEIR SCHOOL BEFORE SORT OF COMMITTING THEIR OWN SCHOOL BUDGET TO IT.
AND WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THIS IS OUR THIRD OF THE, OF THE MAJOR PRIORITIES.
AFTER THIS, WE DO MORE, UM, ADJUSTMENTS AND THINGS THAT ARE DRIVEN MOSTLY BY CONTRACTS AND BY SORT OF REGULAR SPENDING.
THIS THIRD PRIORITY AREA IS ABOUT ENHANCED DATA SYSTEMS. UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE IT, IT INVOLVES, UM, ONE NEW FTEA NEW DATA ANALYST POSITION THAT'S REALLY MEANT TO SUPPORT THE SCHOOLS, UM, THE SCHOOL LEADERS, UM, THE TEACHER AND, AND THEY HAVE, UM, TEAMS THAT ARE LEARNING TEAMS THAT REALLY LOOK AT THE DATA OF THE STUDENTS AND THEIR LEARNING AND THEIR STUDENT OUTCOMES, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE IS SOMEONE WHO'S THERE TO SUPPORT THAT LEARNING AND THAT, UM, ANALYSIS SO THAT THEY CAN, UH, MAKE SURE THEY'RE ADJUSTING, UH, ALL OF THE WORK OF NOT ONLY THE CLASSROOM TEACHERS, BUT ALSO THE INTERVENTIONISTS THAT WE MENTIONED BEFORE, THE PARAPROFESSIONALS THAT MIGHT BE WORKING WITH SMALL GROUPS, UM, TO TARGET, UM, EITHER THE AREAS OR, UM, THE NEEDS OF PARTICULAR STUDENTS.
UM, AND THEN SOFTWARE THAT ALLOWS FOLKS TO, UH, ALSO REVIEW THAT DATA, UM, UH, ALIGN DATA ACROSS OUR VARIOUS SYSTEMS, AGGREGATE IT, UM, BE ABLE TO COMPARE THINGS.
UM, MAYBE YOU WANNA LOOK AT ABSENTEEISM ALONG WITH STUDENT OUTCOMES, RIGHT? THINGS THAT ARE COLLECTED BY DIFFERENT PEOPLE OR IN DIFFERENT SYSTEMS, MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS CAN LOOK AT THEM TOGETHER.
UM, AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UM, FUNDING.
WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF, UH, SOME STRATEGIC PLANNING, UM, AND ROLLING OUT
[00:35:01]
THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN.SO SOME FUNDING THERE, KNOWING THAT THERE WILL BE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH EITHER, UM, FINISHING UP THAT PROCESS OR PERHAPS COMMUNICATING ABOUT IT, ROLLING IT OUT, EDUCATING FOLKS ABOUT IT.
BUT I'M GUESSING THE SUPERINTENDENT MIGHT WANNA SAY A FEW WORDS EITHER ABOUT DATA ANALYSIS OR DISTRICT PLAN, JUST THAT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT.
I'VE GOTTEN FEEDBACK OVER THE TIME.
UH, WE, NO ONE WANTS TO PRESENT A BUDGET WITH CENTRAL OFFICE POSITIONS SCHOOL.
THE WORK OF SCHOOLS HAPPEN IN SCHOOLS, AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR 2200 EMPLOYEES WORK IN SCHOOLS CLOSEST TO STUDENTS.
I ALSO HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO BE HONEST, WITH THE SCHOOL COMMITTEES, WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, WITH THE COMMUNITY.
WHEN I SEE A, A DEFICIENCY OF, OF TYPES AND THE FACT THAT AT THE MOMENT WE'RE ESSENTIALLY A SOLO PRACTITIONER WORKING ON OUR DATA ANALYSIS, UM, IS INADEQUATE.
THAT BEING SAID, I, SO I'LL JUST, THAT IS THE, THAT IS, UH, OF THE 1.5 POSITIONS, UH, THAT ARE ESSENTIALLY NEW, UH, IN THIS BUDGET.
UH, IT IS THE POSITION THAT WE FOCUS ON DATA INQUIRY TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES SO THAT THEY CAN BE MORE DATA-DRIVEN, UH, ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL.
UM, AND IT A, THE INCREASE IN THE TRANSPORTATION OFFICE, WHICH IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE FACT THAT WE HAVE CARRIED FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, A 0.5 FTE THAT WE'VE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO FILL, UH, BECAUSE IT'S A 0.5 FTEI THINK IN PART, AND I THINK THIS IS AS PART OF OUR COMMITMENT TO ENSURING THAT OUR STUDENTS ARE AT SCHOOL EARLIER, UH, AND ABLE TO BECOME BETTER, UH, PREPARED FOR THE SCHOOL DAY.
UH, WE NEED TO IMPROVE OUR SERVICES ON THE TRANSPORTATION END, AND THAT'S JUST A, A COMMITMENT RELATED TO THAT.
SO, AGAIN, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OF THE QUESTIONS, BUT, UM, ESSENTIALLY WE KNOW WE ARE, WE VALUE DATA, WE HAVE LOTS OF IT.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO USE IT IN A MORE EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPACT STUDENTS.
OKAY, WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I'M GONNA, UM, GO QUICKLY THROUGH THIS ENROLLMENT BASED ADJUSTMENTS, BECAUSE THESE ARE VERY TYPICAL FOR US.
SLIGHT CHANGES IN ENROLLMENT MEANS, UH, REDUCTIONS IN SOME SORTS OF CLASSROOMS AND, AND INCREASES IN OTHERS.
UM, SO THIS IS VERY TYPICAL FOR US, BUT JUST VERY QUICKLY, WE HAVE, UM, SOME REDUCTIONS IN TERMS OF KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOMS. WE HAVE THE ADDITION OF A FIRST GRADE AT MORRISON AND PUBERTY.
UM, WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL THIRD GRADE AT KING OPEN OPENING, WHICH IS, UH, THE CONTINUATION OF A LARGER FIRST AND SECOND GRADE AS OF, UH, THIS YEAR.
SIMILARLY, WE HAVE A FIFTH GRADE OPENING AT BALDWIN, WHICH IS THE CONTINUATION OF A A GRADE BAND THAT HAS BEEN EXPANDING.
SO THERE'S AN A THIRD, FOURTH GRADE THIS YEAR.
NEXT YEAR THERE'LL BE A THIRD, FIFTH GRADE.
UM, THERE'S A SIXTH GRADE TEACHER AT DARBY VASSAL, UM, THAT'S A LITTLE LESS, UH, CLEAR CUT WHERE IT'S MAY, THE CONFIGURATION THERE MAY, UH, MAY CHANGE, BUT IT'S REALLY TO ALLOW THEM FOR THE ROOM.
THEY HAVE THE, NOW THE PHYSICAL SPACE AS THEY'RE IN THE LARGE NEW BUILDING, UM, FOR OUR LARGER SIXTH GRADE.
UM, AND SO IT'S TO GIVE THEM THE CAPACITY IF THEY HAVE NEED, UM, WITH THE SIZE OF THAT SIXTH GRADE CLASS.
UM, AND THEN THE LAST TWO, UM, BULLETS ARE REALLY NORMAL MOVEMENT.
THERE ARE CHANGES EVERY YEAR IN TERMS OF WHERE THE, UH, SPECIAL ED EDUCATION STAFF ARE ALLOCATED AND WHAT IS NEEDED BASED ON THE IEPS OF THE STUDENTS THAT WE HAVE.
YOU MIGHT NEED, UM, SLIGHTLY MORE, UM, RELATED SERVICES, UM, MORE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, MORE THIS, MORE THAT DEPENDING ON THE SCHOOL.
AND SO THERE'S ALWAYS A LITTLE BIT OF MOVEMENT AND A LITTLE BIT OF SHIFT.
UM, AND THERE IS THIS ADDITION OF A PSYCHOLOGIST THAT IS, UM, AN FTE THAT WAS AT, UH, THE KENNEDY LONGFELLOW, THE SCHOOL THAT CLOSED AT THE END OF FY 25.
UM, AND WE'VE MAINTAINED THAT POSITION BECAUSE, UM, WE'VE MAINTAINED ROUGHLY THE SAME NUMBER OF STUDENTS.
AND SO THERE'S STILL THE NEED FOR THAT, UM, CAPACITY TO SERVE OUR STUDENTS IN TERMS OF THE, WHAT THE PSYCHOLOGISTS DO FOR THE SPECIAL EDUCATION TEAMS THAT, UM, WORK AND SUPPORT IEPS.
AND THEN, UH, AT THE VERY BOTTOM, THERE'S A, A SMALL THING ABOUT THE LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT SPECIALIST, BUT IT'S REALLY A REFLECTION OF, UM, THE TESTING NEEDED AND SUPPORTS NEEDED FOR OUR NEWCOMERS, THOSE THAT ARE IN SHELTERED ENGLISH IMMERSION, AND THOSE THAT, UM, ARE TAKING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE CLASSES AND MAKING SURE THAT WE SUPPORT THAT COMMUNITY AS BEST WE CAN.
AND NEXT SLIDE IS OTHER INSTRUCTIONAL ADJUSTMENTS.
THESE, UNLIKE THE ENROLLMENT ONES, DIFFER, UM, FROM YEAR TO YEAR THIS YEAR.
THERE'S BEEN A NEED IN THE PAST.
WE'VE, UM, BEEN ABLE TO MANAGE THE INSTRUMENTS AND NEEDS IN THE, OUR VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT, EITHER THROUGH, UM, FUNDING THAT WE HAVE DURING THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.
AT ONE POINT THERE WAS ACTUALLY A, UM, PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING.
UM, SOME MIGHT REMEMBER, UH, AMOUNT THAT FOLKS WERE ABLE TO USE TO PAY FOR INSTRUMENTS.
UM, AND AT THIS POINT, WE REALLY NEED IT IN THEIR OPERATING BUDGET TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN PLACE THE ORDERS OVER THE SUMMER AND HAVE WHAT THE STUDENTS NEED IN THE FALL.
SO THAT'S WHY THAT IS, UH, SORT OF, THAT'S BASICALLY THE, THE ONE BIG INCREASE IN A BUDGET THAT YOU WILL SEE IN, IN ANY OF OUR DEPARTMENTS.
UM, AND IT'S REALLY JUST TO COVER WHAT WE EXISTING COSTS THAT WE, WE PAY FOR RIGHT NOW.
UM, THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT WILL MAINTAIN A NEW ELDERLY EDUCATION SCIENCE POSITION.
THERE IS, UM, AN INCREASE OF 0.5, UM, TO BRING
[00:40:01]
0.5 TO A 1.0 IN THE HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT FOR OUR COACH.UM, THERE IS, UM, A SLIGHT DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF HEALTH AND PHYS ED TEACHERS, UM, ACROSS THE DISTRICT, MOSTLY JUST HAVING TO DO WITH SCHEDULING.
AND THEN, UM, LAST BUT NOT LEAST, UM, THERE'S, UH, AGAIN, THAT FIELD TRIP FUNDING THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE SOME POSITION CONSOLIDATIONS.
I KNOW THE SUPERINTENDENT MENTIONED, UM, POSITIONS AT THE, AT THE CENTRAL OFFICE THAT THIS HAS TWO GROUPS.
SO THE, THE FIRST BULLET IS REALLY AROUND, UM, STRUCTURAL CHANGES ACROSS THE DISTRICT.
MANY, MANY OF THOSE FTES, UM, CAME FROM THAT CLOSED SCHOOL.
UM, SO I KNOW WE GOT SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, STAFFING CHANGES AND WHAT, WHAT WERE THEIR CONSEQUENCES AND WHAT WERE THE SHIFTS THAT HAPPENED BECAUSE OF THE CLOSURE OF THE SCHOOL.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THERE, THERE'S A NET, UM, NEGATIVE 30 FTE, UM, RELATED TO A NUMBER OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES AND A NET THREE, UM, FTE REDUCTION, UM, OF MANAGEMENT POSITIONS.
UM, AND THEN THAT, THAT THIRD BULLET IS REALLY JUST A MOVE.
SO, UM, IT'S SHIFTING, UM, SOME, UH, OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE IN THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY TO TO HAVE TWO SEPARATE DEPARTMENTS AND ELEMENTARY DEPARTMENT AND A SECONDARY DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND THEN OFF TO THE RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE SOME VERY LARGE NUMBERS THAT WE ALREADY DISCUSSED.
THOSE ARE BOTH COLAS AND, UM, STEP INCREASES AS WELL AS LANE INCREASES FOR THOSE THAT HAVE ACHIEVED NEW DEGREES.
UH, HEALTH INSURANCE INCREASES, OTHER BENEFITS INCREASES, UM, AND THEN SUBSTITUTE COST INCREASES.
AND LAST SLIDE, OPERATIONAL ADJUSTMENTS.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, SOME FACILITIES CONTRACT INCREASES.
THOSE HAPPEN EVERY SINGLE YEAR, AS WELL AS THE NEED FOR CUSTODIANS.
WE HAVE A, A, A VERY LARGE BUILDING THAT OPENED.
AND SO, UM, ACROSS THE DISTRICT, THERE'S, UM, A SLIGHT NEED FOR AN INCREASE IN CUSTODIANS, UM, INCREASE IN, IN, UM, POWER AND ENERGY AND GAS, UM, COSTS, TRANSPORTATION COSTS THAT WE MENTIONED EARLIER.
WE LOOKED AT THE ONES THAT WERE FOR, UH, TO AND FROM SCHOOL.
HERE ARE ONES THAT ARE MORE, HAVE MORE TO DO WITH GOING TO GAMES OR FIELD TRIPS.
UM, A FINANCE, UH, BUDGET SOFTWARE INCREASE.
AND THEN, UM, SOME COST REDUCTIONS THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT AGAIN TO, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE BALANCE.
SO THOSE ARE ALL OF THE SHIFTS, UM, IN THE BUDGET FROM 26 TO 27.
AND WE ARE HAPPY TO TAKE QUESTIONS, EAGER TO TAKE QUESTIONS.
UM, WE RECOGNIZE, UH, THAT THERE ARE VERY FEW DISTRICT ADMINISTRATIONS IN THE COMMONWEALTH WHO ARE SITUATED AS, UH, FORTUNATE AS WE ARE.
UH, AND THAT COMES WITH A, A SIGNIFICANT RESPONSIBILITY TO, UH, CREATE THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH OUR EDUCATORS ARE EMPOWERED, UH, TO SERVE STUDENTS.
AND THAT IS, UH, I HOPE WHAT IS CLEAR IN TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION IS THAT THAT IS WHAT WE ARE COMMITTED TO DO.
UM, AND AS THE CFO SAID, WE'RE VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO TAKING YOUR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, UH, MADAM CHAIR, POINT OF POINT OF, UH, INFORMATION FOR ME.
UH, I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING TARDY.
IT'S TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEKEND, AND I WAS APPRECIATING SOME TEACHERS, SO MY APOLOGIES FOR BEING LATE.
QUESTION, UH, TO YOU MADAM CHAIR, UH, IS THE STANDARD GOING TO BE TWO QUESTIONS PER EACH COUNSELOR, AND THEN YOU YIELD THE FLOOR AND COME BACK? RIGHT? I'LL GET TO THAT CHANGE.
I'LL BE, I WANT TO, UH, CHOOSE WISELY, AND I DIDN'T KNOW IF I HAD MISSED THAT, SO YEAH, YOU HAVEN'T MISSED IT, BUT I'LL, I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE.
FIRST, WE'RE GOING TO PUBLIC COMMENT, AND THEN I'LL, VERY GOOD.
SO I BELIEVE THERE IS AT LEAST ONE PERSON SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT WITH A COMMENT RELATIVE TO THE SCHOOL BUDGET.
MADAM CHAIR, I BELIEVE THAT PERSON LEFT, BUT I WILL CALL THE NAME JODI ECIC.
JODI IS NOT IN THE ROOM OR ON THE ZOOM, AND THAT IS EVERYONE THAT HAD SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON THIS TOPIC.
I I'LL LEAVE IT OPEN IN CASE, UM, THE, THE PERSON COMES BACK.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE NOT GONNA BE OVERWHELMED WITH, WITH PUBLIC COMMENT, I BELIEVE, UM, TO THE WHOLE COUNCIL.
AND IN RESPONSE TO, UH, COUNCILOR SIMMONS QUESTION, UH, THERE WERE MANY QUESTIONS SENT IN BY, BY THE BODY.
UM, AND WHAT I THINK WE'LL DO IS WE'LL GO AROUND WITH, I, I WOULD SAY, DEPENDING ON THE LENGTH OF THE QUESTION, EITHER TWO OR THREE, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S REALLY SHORT, QUICK QUESTIONS, IT COULD BE MAYBE THREE.
BUT OTHERWISE, LET'S START WITH A, A COUPLE FOR EACH COUNSELOR, BUT THEN WE'LL CONTINUE TO GO AROUND, BECAUSE THIS IS, AS WE KNOW, IT'S 30% OF THE, OF THE CITY BUDGET, IT'S $293 MILLION.
SO WE WOULD NOT WANNA GIVE SHORT SHRIFT OR NOT HAVE THE QUESTIONS RELATED TO THIS VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE SCHOOL BUDGET TO HAVE A, PEOPLE HAVE A CHANCE TO, TO ASK THOSE QUESTIONS.
SO I CAN MAYBE JUST GO AROUND THE ROOM AND WE'LL SEE.
WE'LL START OFF WITH, UH, COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY, AND THEN, WE'LL, I'LL JUST GO UP COUNCILLOR SIMMONS, MCGOVERN SUZIE, AND WE'LL GO BACK AROUND THIS ROOM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR VERY INFORMATIVE AND DETAILED PRESENTATION.
[00:45:01]
UH, I APPRECIATE IT, AND I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DO.UM, AND JUST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, EDUCATION IS MAYBE THE, UM, SINGULAR MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTION THAT ANY GOVERNMENT PROVIDES, UH, ACCESS TO ELITE PUBLIC EDUCATION, UM, I THINK IS CRITICAL, UH, TO, IT'S, I, I'VE, IT'S BEEN CRITICAL IN ANYONE'S LIFE THAT I'VE KNOWN THAT HAS GONE ON AND, UH, MADE A SUCCESS OF THEMSELVES IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT ALL OF THE TEACHERS IN THE CITY OF CAMBRIDGE, WHICH IS A VERY DIFFICULT CITY TO BE A TEACHER IN, UH, DOING THAT HARD WORK EVERY SINGLE DAY, I WANT TO PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND APPLAUD THEIR EFFORTS.
YOU KNOW, AND HAVING SAID THAT, I ALSO RECOGNIZE WE DO TO, TO THE SUPERINTENDENT'S POINT, WE SPEND A LOT OF MONEY.
WE SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON OUR, OUR, UM, ON OUR STUDENTS PER CAPITA, MORE THAN PROBABLY ANY OTHER COMMUNITY IN MASSACHUSETTS.
I'M NOT SURE IF I HAVE THAT RIGHT, MAYBE 41,000 PER STUDENT, UH, FOR 7,000 KIDS OR THEREABOUTS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.
AND I RECOGNIZE, AS DOES THE SUPERINTENDENT, THAT THE FOCUS ON OF ALL OF THIS SHOULD BE POST-SECONDARY SCHOOL SUCCESS.
WHAT ARE WE DOING TO SET THOSE KIDS UP WHO GRADUATE FROM CAMBRIDGE AND LATIN SCHOOL TO GO ON EITHER TO AN ELITE COLLEGE IN THE UNITED STATES OR A OUTSTANDING COLLEGE IN THE NORTHEAST, OR AN EXCELLENT COMMUNITY COLLEGE, OR EVEN GOING TO THE TRADES IF THAT'S THE, THEIR DESIRED ROUTE THAT THEY WANT TO TAKE IN THEIR LIVES.
I MEAN, MY FATHER USED TO SAY TO ME ALL THE TIME, I DON'T CARE IF YOU BECOME A PLUMBER, YOU'LL BE THE MOST WELL-READ PLUMBER IN THE HISTORY OF TIME.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I TAKE THOSE WORDS TO HOT.
UM, SO WHEN I, I THINK OF THAT, AND I THINK OF WHAT I'VE HEARD ABOUT OUR THIRD GRADE STUDENTS AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY'RE READING AT A THIRD GRADE LEVEL.
AND, YOU KNOW, I, SO I GUESS I HAVE A TWO-PART QUESTION.
ONE IS, WHAT IN THE BUDGET ARE WE DOING TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT ALL OF OUR THIRD GRADE STUDENTS ARE ACTUALLY READING AT A THIRD GRADE LEVEL? AND IF THEY'RE NOT, UH, ARE WE ADVANCING THEM INTO THE FOURTH GRADE? AND IF SO, WHAT ARE WE DOING TO SUPPORT THOSE KIDS GOING FORWARD? SO THEIR LITERACY RATES, UM, ARE AT LEAST AT, UH, THE MEDIUM ACROSS THE STATE.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO THE NITTY GRITTY OF HOW MUCH WE SPEND IN COMPARING APPLES TO ORANGES, BUT I THINK OF, YOU KNOW, THE, SOME OF THE TUITIONS TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, AND IT IS APPLES, SO ORANGES AND DEMOGRAPHICS AND, UM, SETTINGS AND, YOU KNOW, UH, TEACHER TO STUDENT RATIOS AND ALL OF THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK OF, YOU KNOW, THE CHANCES OF A TALENTED THIRD GRADER IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL HERE IN CAMBRIDGE, IS HE GONNA HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITY, UH, OR WILL HE BE IN A CLASS THAT, FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER IS HELD BACK? AND WILL HE BE ABLE TO REALIZE, OR AT LEAST APPROACH HIS POTENTIAL AT THAT EARLY AGE AND HAVE THE FOUNDATIONAL BUILDING BLOCKS TO BECOME THAT POST-SECONDARY SUCCESS STORY THAT WE'RE ALL WORKING TOWARDS? SO WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT THAT? IN MY MIND, FUNDAMENTAL ISSUE, UH, THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THROUGH YOU TO, UH, THE COUNSELOR.
I, WHAT I WOULD SAY, UH, COUNCILOR, IS THAT IT, IT IS A MORAL IMPERATIVE THAT OUR, THE, THE STUDENTS OF THE CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE READING ON OR ABOVE GRADE LEVEL, ACROSS THE ENTIRETY OF THEIR ACADEMIC CAREER.
AND YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT THAT THERE IS OVERWHELMING DATA TO INDICATE THAT WHEN STUDENTS ARE NOT, UH, WHERE WE NEED THEM TO BE AT PARTICULAR, UH, UH, POINTS IN TIME IN THEIR CAREER, UM, THEY'RE, THE LIKELIHOOD FOR SUCCESS IS SIGNIFICANTLY DIMINISHED.
I'M, I'M GONNA, I'M NOT GONNA SPEAK SPECIFICALLY TO THE POINT AROUND RETENTION, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S AN EXTREMELY COMPLICATED, UH, TOPIC THAT WE GRAPPLE WITH.
AND I, I WILL JUST, THE ONE THING I WILL SAY IS THAT OUR, UH, PROMOTION POLICY IS BASED ON THE BEST INTEREST OF THE STUDENT AND THE EDUCATORS CLOSEST, UH, TO THAT STUDENT, MAKE THOSE ASSESSMENTS BASED ON WHAT THEY BELIEVE TO BE IN THE BEST INTEREST OF, OF ALL STUDENTS.
AND WHAT I WOULD SAY WITH RESPECT TO WHERE OUR, WHAT THE DATA TELLS US AS TO WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IS THAT WE'RE DOING WELL, BUT, BUT, UH, NOT GOOD ENOUGH BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME STUDENTS WHO NOT, ARE NOT WHERE WE NEED THEM TO BE, WITH RESPECT TO HOW THIS BUDGET PRIORITIZES, BRIDGING THOSE GAPS TO ENSURE THAT ALL STUDENTS ARE WHERE WE WANT THEM TO BE OR AHEAD.
UM, ONE OF THE, AS I SAID AT THE BEGINNING, I DON'T THINK THERE,
[00:50:01]
THERE'S NOT ONE SPECIFIC LINE ITEM THAT I CAN POINT TO AND SAY THAT'S THE SPECIFIC MAGIC INVESTMENT THAT'S GOING TO, UH, MAKE ALL OF OUR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DREAMS COME TRUE.BUT WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT THE TOTALITY OF THE BUDGET HAS TO BE GROUNDED IN STRATEGIES THAT ARE GOING TO PROVIDE THE, ARE GOING TO CREATE THE CONDITIONS IN WHICH OUR EDUCATORS HAVE WHAT THEY NEED TO GET EVERY SINGLE STUDENT WHERE THEY NEED TO BE.
SPECIFICALLY NEXT YEAR, WE WILL BE PRIORITIZING, UH, BETTER PROGRESS MONITORING BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE DATA SYSTEMS WE HAVE ALLOW US TO IDENTIFY EXACTLY WHERE STUDENTS ARE AND TO DEVELOP THE STRATEGIES IN REAL TIME TO HELP BRIDGE THOSE GAPS.
NOT AT THE END OF THE YEAR WHEN WE LOOK AT A A, A, A COMM, UH, CUMULATIVE ASSESSMENT, BUT IN REAL TIME WHEN MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE MAKING THE TYPE OF PROGRESS THROUGHOUT THE GRADE LEVEL THAT THEY NEED TO.
THERE ARE OTHER INVESTMENTS THAT I THINK WE AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM HAVE MADE THAT HAVE PAID DIVIDENDS, AND WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO MAKE THOSE INVESTMENTS, PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO THE, OUR COMPLIMENT OF INTERVENTIONISTS, WHICH AS I SAID EARLIER, WE HAVE, UH, STRATEGIZED AROUND ADDITIONAL INTERVENTIONISTS WHERE WE'VE SEEN IN IN SCHOOL COMMUNITIES WHERE THEY CAN BE, THEY, THEY CAN ADD VALUE.
UH, WE HAVE A HIGH DOSAGE TARGETED TUTORING THAT HAS, UM, SHOWN, UH, WHEN IT IS, UH, DONE CORRECTLY AND DONE CONSISTENTLY AND DONE IN COORDINATION WITH EDUCATORS, UM, THAT HAVE STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE SCHOOL DAY, UH, IT CAN PAY DIVIDENDS.
THE LAST TWO THINGS THAT, AND THEN I, WE HAVE, AS MS. WASHINGTON REFERENCED EARLIER, WE'RE GOING INTO YEAR THREE OF A LITERACY, UH, CURRICULUM THAT IS MORE ALIGNED THAN CAMBRIDGE HAS SEEN IN RECENT HISTORY.
AND THE, AND, AND THAT IS A, IT WAS A CRITICAL INVESTMENT AND I'M DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO OUR CURRENT ADMINISTRATORS IN THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION FOR MAKING THAT INVESTMENT BECAUSE I THINK IT IS A VITAL NECESSITY.
AND I ALSO WANNA SAY THAT, UM, CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION TAKES TIME.
IT TAKES TIME FOR US TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE'RE STRIKING AN APPROPRIATE EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN THE ALIGNED CURRICULUM AND THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND ACTUAL EXECUTION OF INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE THAT IS NECESSARY.
AND WE'RE STILL MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF EVIDENCE TO INDICATE THAT WE'RE MAKING GREAT PROGRESS IN THAT FRONT.
FINAL THING, EVERY SINGLE THIRD GRADER, THE ONE THING THEY HAVE IN COMMON IS THAT THEY, AT ONE POINT, THEY WERE A KINDERGARTEN STUDENT.
AND SO WHAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO IN THE COMING YEARS IS MAKE SURE THAT THAT APPROACH TOWARD GREATER STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT THAT WE HAVE DONE, AND I THINK DONE, UH, WITH A LOT OF HARD WORK FROM OUR EDUCATORS BETWEEN FIRST AND FIFTH, REALLY FIRST AND EIGHTH GRADE, ALTHOUGH FIRST AND FIFTH GRADE IS WHAT WE'RE GOING INTO YEAR THREE ON, WE HAVE TO BE LOOKING AT, AND WE'RE BEGINNING TO, UH, WE'RE BEGINNING THE PROCESS NOW OF ENGAGING OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS IN THE PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN LEVEL, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE STRIKING APPROPRIATE, UH, THE APPROPRIATE, UH, BALANCE THERE WITH REGARD TO WHERE WE INCORPORATE NEW CURRICULUM SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A ST STURDIER FOUNDATION ON WHICH OUR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS ARE, ARE STANDING.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, LITERACY HAS TO BE THE FIRST AMONG EQUALS OF ALL, UH, UH, UH, INSTRUCTIONAL ENDEAVORS AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL FOR EXACTLY THE REASONS THAT YOU'VE SAID.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. WASHINGTON.
DID YOU HAVE, I JUST WAS GONNA ADD ONE OTHER THING THAT, UM, IS ANOTHER, UH, UH, ITEM THAT'S, UH, A FEW MILLION DOLLARS IN THE BUDGET, WHICH IS COACHING.
UM, SO I FEEL LIKE, UH, THE SUPERINTENDENT MENTIONED THE LARGEST, UM, EXPENDITURE CATEGORIES, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER ONE WHERE THERE'S, UM, SORT OF A COACHING CONTINGENT AT EVERY SCHOOL.
LITERACY, SPECIFICALLY ELEMENTARY.
UM, THAT I THINK IS ANOTHER, ANOTHER LINE ITEM THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT REALLY IS TARGETING THIS IN PARTICULAR.
AND IF I MAY JUST, UH, QUICKLY PIGGYBACK TO, TO JUST CLARIFY, UH, THAT AMONG THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'VE MADE THAT ARE, UM, I'M REALLY CONFIDENT ARE GONNA CONTINUE TO PAY OFF THE COMMUNITY WIDE INVESTMENT IN, UH, THE, UM, UNIVERSAL PRESCHOOL PROGRAM.
UH, AND ALSO, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, UH, THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MADE A COMMITMENT TO SCIENCE OF READING BASED LITERACY INSTRUCTION, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, AS A STATE IS SORT OF COMING DOWN THE PIKE, BUT WE'RE ALREADY DOING THAT.
SO THE CURRICULUM THAT WE'RE ROLLING OUT, UH, ALREADY REFLECTS THAT AS WE, UM, MADE SURE THAT ACROSS THE DISTRICT THERE WAS CONSISTENT, UM, A CONSISTENT APPROACH THAT WAS, UM, EVIDENCE-BASED, SO THAT ALL THOSE PEOPLE DOING THAT REALLY COMMITTED, DEDICATED WORK AT THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE LEVEL, WE'RE USING THE APPROACH THAT WE HAD REASON TO BELIEVE WOULD BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE APPROACH.
BUT IT'LL TAKE SOME TIME TO PAY OFF, AND I THINK IS GONNA BE REFLECTED AS ONE OF OUR, I ANTICIPATE ONE OF OUR KEY, UH, GOALS IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN TO TAKE THOSE NEXT STEPS AND THE REALLY, UM, REALLY RAPID PROGRESS TOWARDS, TOWARDS REACHING THAT GOAL THAT YOU CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED.
CAN I GIMME A SECOND? AND, AND MY SECOND QUESTION TO YOU IS THIS.
UM, AND I, I HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZE YOU USED THE WORD URGENCY, WHICH IS, I, I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT WORD YOU CAN MENTION TONIGHT.
AND I, AND I APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT YOU SAID THAT, MR. SUPERINTENDENT, BECAUSE A KID IS IN SCHOOL IN THE THIRD GRADE TODAY, ONCE IN HIS LIFETIME, HE'S THERE TODAY, ALREADY HAPPENED, AND HE'S NOT GONNA GET HIS CHANCE BACK TO TODAY.
AND WHEN I LOOK AT THE, UH, BUDGET, AND I CONSIDER ITS GROWTH OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS IN THE SAVE CAMBRIDGE, AND I LOOK AT THE RELATIVE IMPROVEMENTS AND LACK OF IMPROVEMENTS ACROSS THE SPECTRUM, UH,
[00:55:01]
IN CPS, AND I THINK OF OUR SINGLE GREATEST INVESTMENT REALLY, IS PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WE PAY SALARIES AND, AND, AND PEOPLE, AND WE'VE GOTTA SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS AND GIVE 'EM THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SKILLS THAT THEY NEED, UH, AND THE CURRICULA THAT THEY NEED.UM, AND I THINK WE'VE ALL, AT ONE POINT OR ANOTHER IN OUR LIVES ENCOUNTERED A SPECIAL PERSON WHO IS A TEACHER I KNOW I DID, WHO LIT A LIGHT, UH, IN US.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE HAVE THAT PERSON IN THE CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THAT PERSON SHOULD BE TRAVELING AROUND THE CITY AND SHARING HIS OR HER MAGIC AT EVERY SINGLE GRAMMAR SCHOOL, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
I KNOW IT HAPPENED TO ME AT THE OLD FITZGERALD SCHOOL, WHICH IS NOW THE PEABODY, AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE THAT DAY, CHANGED MY LIFE.
SO TO THE EXTENT THAT, AND I KNOW WE'RE SPENDING MORE MONEY ON OUR TEACHERS THAN MAYBE ANY MUNICIPALITY IN MASSACHUSETTS.
AND WHEN WE LOOK AT ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, EVEN THOUGH OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR COST OF LIVING IS MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE HERE THAN IT IS IN OTHER PLACES, WE PAY OUR TEACHERS A LOT OF MONEY.
AND TO THE EXTENT THAT WE ARE, NOT, IF WE'RE NOT, BUT THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN SUPPORT MORE AND GIVE MORE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, MORE, UM, INCREASED OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXCITEMENT, ENTHUSIASM, UH, WHATEVER IT MAY BE TO MAKE THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE AN EXCITING ONE, UH, AN ENGAGING ONE, AN INTERESTING ONE, UM, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT AN EDUCATOR, BUT I, I, I, WELL, I WON'T BORE YOU WITH THE STORY BEING AN ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, BUT I'M NOT ABOVE WEARING A COSTUME IN THE CLASS.
SO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO ENGAGE THESE STUDENTS WHERE THEY ARE AND WHERE THEY LIVE, AND TO EMBRACE THEIR CREATIVITY, BECAUSE AGAIN, A THIRD GRADER TODAY IS A THIRD GRADER IN THAT CLASS TODAY, ONCE IN HIS LIFE.
AND IF WE CAN ACCEPT THE URGENCY OF THAT, AND, YOU KNOW, I NOTE THAT YOU HAVE MADE SOME INVESTMENTS, UH, IN THE SCHOOL BUDGET TO DEAL WITH THAT AND TO GIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, I WOULD ENCOURAGE, UH, MORE MONEY TO BE SPENT, UH, ON THAT.
AND AGAIN, I'M NOT AN EDUCATOR.
I'M NOT, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T SYSTEMATICALLY SAY WHAT WORKS AND WHAT DOESN'T WORK.
UH, BUT FROM MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND FROM THE, THE CHILDREN AND THE EDUCATORS AND, UH, KIDS THAT I HAVE COACHED, I'VE LEARNED THAT IT'S AS SIMPLE AS ONE INTERACTION WITH ONE TEACHER ON ONE DAY.
AND THE URGENCY OF THAT MOMENT HAPPENS EVERY DAY, ALL ACROSS THE CITY, EVERY SINGLE DAY.
AND IF THAT LIGHT GOES ON, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO EXTINGUISH THAT LIGHT.
SO IF WE CAN DO THAT, LET'S SPEND EVERY DIME WE HAVE ON IT.
I FORGOT MY, MY QUESTION AFTER MY SPEECH
UH, THANK YOU, UH, THROUGH THE CHAIR TO, UH, MY COLLEAGUES ON THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
FIRST, LET ME JUST BEGIN BY SAYING, WELCOME.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU, CHAIR WEINSTEIN.
WELL, UH, VICE CHAIR DUBE, WELCOME TO THE FRAY, UH, SUPERINTENDENT MURPHY.
AND, UH, CHIEF EXEC, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, THE WOMAN THAT HOLDS THE, FOR US, UH, ALWAYS A PLEASURE.
I'M GONNA ASK A FEW QUESTIONS AND THINK OF IT THIS WAY IN ANSWERING, PUT IT IN THIS CONTEXT.
I DO NOT WANT YOU TO BUILD ME A CLOCK.
SO, THINKING ABOUT THE STUDENT SUCCESS PLAN, WE TALKED ABOUT THAT A LOT.
I REMEMBER BEING, UH, THE, THE YOUTH COUNCIL, I WANNA SAY IT, I KEEP CALLING IT THE KIDS COUNCIL.
I KNOW THAT'S NOT THE PROPER, PROPER NAME, BUT THEY SPENT A GOOD DEAL OF THEIR TIME IN THE STUDENT SUCCESS PLAN.
AND I WANNA SAY I BELIEVE THAT WE IMPLEMENTED IT IN A SCHOOL OR SCHOOLS.
AND SO MY QUESTION MORE SPECIFICALLY IS THIS, DOES THE STUDENT SUCCESS PLAN REQUIRE ANY PRIOR TRAINING FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION? AND IF TRAINING IS REQUIRED, WHAT IS THE ASSOCIATED COST? I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S FOR YOU, MS. WASHINGTON, UH, OR YOUR SUPERINTENDENT MURPHY, BUT, AND, AND IS IT, AND, AND WHERE IS IT? IS IT, 'CAUSE I COULDN'T FIND IT, BUT MAYBE IT WASN'T.
RIDGE AVENUE UPPER SCHOOL IS WHERE WE'VE STARTED THE PILOT OF THE STUDENT SUCCESS PLANNING.
I THINK THE, AND SO I WANNA JUST, UM, REAFFIRM YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF IT.
AND I WANNA, PARTICULARLY CREDIT CHAIR WEINSTEIN FOR HIS, UH, ZEALOUS ADVOCACY AROUND THIS PARTICULAR INITIATIVE IN RECENT YEARS.
UM, AND I THINK, UH, THE CHAIR MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WE WERE, WE HAVE A DEVELOPING STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS.
AND WHAT I ANTICIPATE IS THAT PART OF THAT STRATEGIC PLAN WILL INCLUDE, UH, THE CENTERING OF A STUDENT SUCCESS
[01:00:01]
PLAN MODEL.THE SPECIFIC NAME OF WHICH I THINK IS, IS SORT OF TO BE DETERMINED BECAUSE THIS IS AN AREA IN WHICH THERE'S SORT OF DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT AND SORT OF DIFFERENT NAMES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
I THINK ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE FACED AS A, AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT, AS THE CHAIR, AND I HAVE SPOKEN ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS, IS THAT, UM, WE HAVE TRIED A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES ALL AT THE SAME TIME, AT DIFFERENT GRADE LEVELS AND IN DIFFERENT SCHOOLS.
AND WHAT WE'VE TRIED TO DO WITH THE PILOT AT THE RIDGE AVENUE SCHOOL IS TO, UH, SORT OF NARROW THE FOCUS TO A CERTAIN DEGREE AND START TO BUILD THE, THE CAPACITY.
I THINK TO YOUR, YOUR QUESTION, LIKE, I THINK THERE IS A DEGREE OF TRAINING, AND I THINK WE HAVE TO DEVELOP THE SPECIFICS OF IT, BUT I THINK IT'LL BE A BIG PART OF OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING OBJECTIVES NEXT YEAR.
SO IS THERE A A, A COST ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRAINING? THAT'S, I DON'T THINK SO.
HERE'S THE STUDENT, HERE'S THE STUDENT SUCCESS PLAN.
AND IS THERE A COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT? DO WE, DO YOU DO IT BECAUSE YOU'RE A TEACHER AND THERE'S NO EXTRA FUNDING? OR IS THERE MORE FUNDING THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH THAT? CHAIR WEINSTEIN, UH, THANK YOU COUNCILOR SIMMONS, AND IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU AS WELL.
AND I, I THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED THIS WHEN YOU FIRST CAME IN, BUT I, I REALLY WANNA, AGAIN, CREDIT THE WORK THAT YOU DID AS CHAIR AT LAST TERM, AND THAT, UM, THAT THAT VICE CHAIR HUNTER AND, AND MEMBER ROJAS DID TO REALLY BRING US TO THE POINT THIS TERM OF FURTHER DEVELOPING THIS BUDGET, THAT AN EARLY STAGE OF SUCCESS PLANNING AT RIN JB RING, JB UPPER CAMPUS, UH, IS THERE IS DEFINITELY TIME BEING INVESTED.
PRIMARILY IT'S PROVIDING, UH, MORE COHESIVE SUPPORTS TO EDUCATORS THERE TO HELP THEM DO WHAT THEY'RE ALREADY TRYING TO DO.
UH, THEY'RE ALREADY TRYING TO PROVIDE EVERY CHILD WITH WHAT THEY NEED, AND WE'RE USING THE EXISTING STRUCTURE OF THE, UM, ADVISORIES MM-HMM
SO THERE'S NOT A, A HUGE AMOUNT OF COST THERE.
WE ARE A PART OF A COHORT OF COMMUNITIES, UH, WORKING WITH THE HARVARD GRAD SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, ED REDESIGN LAB MM-HMM
WHICH WAS ALSO FUNDED, ALTHOUGH THERE WAS AN INVESTMENT OF TIME FOR THE TEAM THAT CAME MM-HMM
FUNDED BY THE, UM, FUNDED BY THE ED SCHOOL.
SO I THINK, UH, THIS BUDGET DOESN'T HAVE, UH, ALL OF THOSE ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT MIGHT COME BECAUSE I, I, I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE INTENDING THAT STRATEGIC PLAN TO REALLY, UH, HELP US DETERMINE THE SEQUENCING OF WHAT WE DO.
AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO SHAPE WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE AS A COMMUNITY-WIDE, UH, INITIATIVE.
ALTHOUGH I ANTICIPATE THAT LIKE UNIVERSAL PRESCHOOL MM-HMM.
IT'LL, IT'LL BE SOMETHING THAT'S INHERENTLY HAS TO BE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY, WITH, UM, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
AND SO THOSE COSTS WILL, UM, YOU KNOW, POSSIBLY BE SHARED, BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT CHILDREN ARE GETTING 24 7 AND THEIR CAREGIVERS, THE SUPPORTS THAT THEY NEED WITH THE SCHOOLS IS A CRITICAL PLACE WHERE THEY ALL INTERSECT.
SO, THROUGH, THROUGH YOUR MADAM CHAIR TO CHAIR WEINSTEIN, IS THERE NO FINANCIAL IMPACT AT THIS TIME? SO, RIGHT.
WHAT YOU'RE DOING AT THE RANGE, UH, UPPER SCHOOL, IS BUDGET NEUTRAL? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? I THINK THE C FFO CAN ANSWER THAT MORE EFFECTIVELY.
WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, THERE HAVE BEEN MANY INVESTMENTS THAT I CERTAINLY HAVE ASKED.
OTHERS HAVE ASKED, DOES THIS HELP US GET THERE? ARE WE DO LAYING THE GROUNDWORK LIKE SOME OF THE SOFTWARE THAT WAS REFERENCED EARLIER THAT LETS US CONNECT DATA.
IS ALSO WHAT WILL LET US, LET US HAVE AN, AN ADULT NAVIGATOR ENSURE THAT WHAT THEY'RE LEARNING IS GOING INTO A SYSTEM WHERE THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT CAN ACCESS IT.
WHETHER THAT'S AN AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM OR ANOTHER EDUCATOR.
AND, AND THROUGH YOU, MADAM CHAIR, THIS IS, AND I'LL YIELD THE FLOOR IN A COUPLE MINUTES.
I, I NEVER WAS ABLE TO QUITE GRASP WHAT IS THIS COSTING US BE? AND THE REASON WHY I ASKED THAT IS, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT COSTS YOU, IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT COSTS, AND IF YOU'RE NOT MEASURING, WHICH IS THE SORT OF SUB-QUESTION, THE SUCCESS OF IT, THEN YOU DON'T KNOW IF IT'S BEING EFFECTIVE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED THE LAST TERM AND WE BECAME MINDFUL OF IS, WAS LOOKING AT WHAT WE DO THROUGH THE LENS OF, IS IT GETTING US WHERE WE WANT IN TERMS OF CHILDREN'S SUCCESS? AND I, WE GETTING THE BANG FOR OUR BUCK.
SO I, I MEAN, I, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF, IF MS. WASHINGTON WANTS TO ADD, BUT THAT'S WHERE I STRUGGLE AND NOW I'M A LITTLE BIT MORE CONFUSED IF YOU SAY, WELL, IT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, THE CITY.
IT, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S NOT FULLY BAKED.
SO JUST KIND OF TALK ME THROUGH THAT.
WELL, I DON'T WANNA GET AHEAD OF WHERE WE ARE IN OUR PROCESS, WHICH IS PART OF WHY I'M, YOU KNOW, LAYING OUT SOME OF THE MODELS THAT DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES ADOPT.
WE ARE LOOKING VERY CAREFULLY AT WHAT THAT PILOT, UH, IS ACHIEVING AND WHAT WE'RE LEARNING FROM THAT APPROACH IN CAMBRIDGE.
UH, BUT I THINK MOVING FORWARD, AGAIN, WITH A STRATEGIC PLAN, THERE ARE GONNA BE THOSE BENCHMARKS ABOUT HOW DO WE KNOW THIS IS SUCCEEDING? MM-HMM
HOW, HOW MANY CHILDREN ARE WE TRYING TO REACH? WHAT KIND OF SUCCESSES ARE WE ANTICIPATING THIS IS GONNA SUPPORT? SO WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE IF IN CAMBRIDGE, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS GETTING THE RESULTS THAT WE BELIEVE THAT IT SHOULD BE.
SO AS OPPOSED AT, AT THE SCA BEING REDUNDANT.
MADAM CHAIR THROUGH YOU, IT'S CURRENTLY AT THE RIDGE OF UPPER SCHOOL.
IT'S ONLY A PILOT, IT'S BUDGET NEUTRAL.
CAN I JUST JUMP IN QUICK ON ONE PIECE? I MEAN, WE TALKED EARLIER ABOUT HOW PART OF THE REASON THAT WE HIGHLIGHTED THE INVESTMENT
[01:05:01]
OF THE ADDITIONAL SOCIAL WORKER AT THE UPPER SCHOOL LEVEL IS THAT WE HAD AN INCONSISTENT STAFFING STRUCTURE ACROSS OUR UPPER SCHOOLS.THAT WAS PART OF THE REASON SCALING UP A PROGRAM OF THIS NATURE WAS CHALLENGING.
AND SO TO ONE SPECIFIC NON-BUDGET NEUTRAL, UH, PROVISION, I WOULD POINT TO THAT SPECIFIC, UM, SOCIAL WORKER, WHICH IN TRUTH IS, IS REALLY, IT'S TWO FTES BECAUSE IT WAS THE RETENTION OF THE SOCIAL WORKER THAT WAS BASED AT THE KENNEDY LONGFELLOW BEFORE IT WAS CLOSED.
AND BY NOW HAVING A MORE CONSISTENT STAFFING STRUCTURE ACROSS OUR UPPER SCHOOLS, WE'RE BETTER POSITIONED TO HAVE THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM BOTH IMPLEMENTED AND THEN ULTIMATELY SCALED UP STARTING WITH OUR UPPER SCHOOLS.
I THINK THAT THE REASON WE TALK ABOUT IT BEING AS BUDGET NEUTRAL COUNSELOR IS THAT THERE ARE SO MANY RESOURCES THAT WE ALREADY HAVE THAT TO ADD ON AN ADDITIONAL, UH, PIECE OF STAFFING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THIS GOAL THAT WE ALL HAVE WITH REGARD TO HAVING INDIVIDUALIZED PLANNING FOR STUDENTS.
I THINK, UM, IT'S ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE'VE RUN INTO WITH HAVING REDUNDANCIES.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO DO IS TO EXECUTE WITH GREATER PRECISION AND ESSENTIALLY SET THE EXPECTATION FOR OUR EXISTING STAFF THAT THIS TYPE OF, OF PRINCIPLED APPROACH TOWARD GUIDED PLANNING FOR INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS THROUGH THEIR SECONDARY YEARS.
IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING TO SEE.
SO I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S, IT'S BUDGET NEUTRAL IN THAT THERE'S ALREADY SO MANY, UH, IN SO MUCH INVESTMENT IN THIS TYPE OF OBJECTIVE.
WE JUST NEED TO HAVE IT MORE ALIGNED AND BE ABLE TO MESSAGE MORE, UM, STRATEGICALLY AND, AND MORE EFFECTIVELY.
I THINK THROUGH YOU MADAM CHAIR, TO, UH, MS. WASHINGTON'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER WASHINGTON, WHICH IS A LOT OF WORDS, BUT I'D LIKE TO SAY THE TITLE.
UH, IT, I, I JUST, I'M STILL CONFUSED AND I DON'T WANNA HOLD THE, THE FLOOR.
I REMEMBER MEMBER FANTINI SPENT A LOT OF TIME, THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT HE WAS REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT, THE WHOLE IDEA OF THE, THE STUDENT STUDENT SUCCESS PLANNING.
AND, AND EVEN THAT CONVERSATION GOES BACK BEFORE THAT ABOUT WE HAVE IEPS FOR OUR SPECIAL ED STUDENTS THAT KIND OF WATCH THE CHILD AND HAS BENCHMARKS, AND WHY DON'T WE, THAT'S HOW I SEE THE STUDENT SUCCESS PLANS BEING THE SAME TYPE OF PLAN.
I'M JUST A LITTLE CONFUSED, MAYBE EVEN DISAPPOINTED THAT IT, THAT WE ARE NOT FURTHER ALONG WITH ARE WE GONNA DO IT OR WE ARE NOT GOING TO DO IT.
IF IT'S THAT IMPORTANT AND WE SPEND SO MUCH TIME AND TIME IS MONEY, I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S NOT MORE ADVANCED.
UM, BUT I WILL YIELD THE FLOOR.
I MEAN, LET ME HEAR FROM, UM, MS. WASHINGTON AND, UH, MANAGER.
I'LL YIELD THE FLOOR, BUT I'LL BE BACK THANK YOU.
I'LL JUST ADD ONE MORE THING, AND I'M NOT SURE IT WILL HELP.
I'M NOT SURE IT WILL ANSWER THE QUESTION, BUT JUST, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING CONCRETE AND HAS A CONCRETE COST, BUT I THINK IT STILL FALLS IN THIS, THIS BUCKET OF BEING BUDGET NEUTRAL BECAUSE WE WOULD BE DOING IT ANYWAY.
WAYFINDER IS THE, IS THE SOFTWARE THAT WE'RE USING AND WE'RE USING IT DISTRICT WIDE MM-HMM
BUT AT ROCK AND FOR THIS PURPOSE MM-HMM
THEY ARE REALLY USING IT IN THIS CONTEXT OF STUDENT SUCCESS PLANNING.
SO IT'S $70,000 FOR THE DISTRICT MM-HMM
BUT IT'S IN OTHER SCHOOLS THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY DOING THE PILOT, WHICH IS WHY WE THINK OF IT AS BUDGET NEUTRAL, BECAUSE ROCK WOULD HAVE IT NO MATTER WHAT.
BUT THAT'S WHERE THEY'RE USING IT TO LOOK AND SAY, WHAT IS THIS STUDENT'S AREA FOR GROWTH? WHAT IS THIS STUDENT'S STRUGGLING WITH? MM-HMM
IN TERMS OF THEIR, YOU KNOW, KNOW, UM, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING.
WHAT DOES THIS STUDENT, DOES THIS STUDENT SAY THAT THEY HAVE A TRUSTED ADULT? RIGHT.
SO THAT IS THE SOFTWARE THAT THEY'RE SORT OF USING TO CAPTURE MM-HMM
IT'S NOT AN ADDITIONAL COST BECAUSE WE HAVE IT ANYWAY.
AND WE WOULD HAVE IT EVEN IF THERE WERE NOT A PILOT.
BUT I, I, SO THAT, LIKE I SAID, IT'S STILL ENDS UP BEING BUDGET NEUTRAL MM-HMM
BUT THAT'S SORT OF A CONCRETE THING THAT IS BEING DONE AND HOW THEY'RE USING IT.
THAT DOES HAVE A COST, UH, THROUGH YOU, MADAM CHAIR.
WELL, THANK TO MS. WASHINGTON.
IT'S SOMETHING I'M GONNA FOLLOW.
I REALLY TOOK AN INTEREST IN IT LAST TERM.
I'M KIND OF DISAPPOINTED WE ARE NOT FURTHER ALONG, GIVEN THE MODEL THAT WAS EXPLAINED TO ME OR US I SHOULD SAY, LAST TERM.
SO I WILL CERTAINLY KEEP MY INTEREST AND LET ME END.
WELL, THE WAY I SHOULD HAVE BEGUN, I WANNA JUST TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU, MS. WASHINGTON, UH, LAST TERM AND THE TERM BEFORE, THAT YOU WERE ALWAYS VERY GOOD AT DOING YOUR OUTREACH.
AND I HEARD FROM OTHER PARENTS OR FAMILIES OR CAREGIVERS, WHATEVER WE'RE CALLING THEM, UH, HOW MUCH THEY APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE THE BUDGET IS OF, IS A RICH DOCUMENT.
MOST PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND IT NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU, WE WALK THEM THROUGH IT, BUT THEY APPRECIATE THE FACT THAT WE THINK ENOUGH OF THEM TO SET UP A SITUATION WHERE THEY CAN BE FED, HAVE CHILDCARE, AND BE ENGAGED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
SO FOR THAT, I JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE SUPERINTENDENT AND YOU, MS. WASHINGTON, FOR CONTINUING TO DO THAT WORK THAT I KNOW IS NOT EASY, BUT YOU DO IT AND I APPRECIATE IT.
SO I WANNA SAY THAT FOR THE RECORD, MADAM CHAIR, I YIELD, THANK YOU.
COUNCILLOR SIMMONS, COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN, UH, THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR THROUGH YOU.
UH, THANK YOU TO, UM, THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, THE BUDGET CO-CHAIRS, UM, THANK YOU.
SUPERINTENDENT MURPHY, CFO WASHINGTON, AND EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS.
[01:10:01]
I, I, UM, YOU KNOW, I SAT ON THAT SIDE OF THE TABLE 10 TIMES.UM, AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW HOW DIFFICULT, UH, IT CAN BE, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, WHEN, AT LEAST WITH THE CITY, YOU HAVE ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
I MEAN, THIS IS WITH SCHOOLS, THIS IS WHAT YOU DO, IT'S WHAT YOU WERE ELECTED TO DO.
AND IT'S SO INTENSE BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR KIDS, RIGHT? UM, AND SO I I I, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK, UH, THAT WENT INTO THIS AND IN, AND IN MANY WAYS, WHETHER, NOT SPECIFICALLY TALKING ABOUT WHETHER THIS BUDGET HAS EVERYTHING THAT I WISH WAS IN IT OR, OR, YOU KNOW, OR OTHER THINGS OR NOT, BUT THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE BUDGETS IN YEARS, JUST BY THE MERE FACT THAT A 4.7% INCREASE IS PROBABLY THE SMALLEST INCREASE THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT HAS RECEIVED IN 20 YEARS.
YOU KNOW, OR SO, AND WHEN YOU THINK THAT IT'S A $13 MILLION INCREASE, OF WHICH 11 MILLION OF THAT IS JUST EATEN UP BY SALARY, INCREASES AND INCREASES IN INSURANCE, UM, YOU WOULD'VE BEEN, YOU, YOU WOULD'VE BEEN IN A POS WELL WITHIN YOUR RIGHT TO SAY WE'RE NOT, NOT, WE'RE, WE'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING NEW.
YOU FOUND WAYS TO REALLOCATE, YOU FOUND WAYS TO MOVE MONEY AROUND SO THAT YOU'RE ADVANCING THE MISSION WITHIN, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, A VERY HEALTHY BUDGET, RIGHT? BUT ONE THAT IS MORE CONSTRAINED THAN WHAT IT HAS BEEN IN YEARS.
AND, AND THAT TOOK SOME FINESSE AND, AND, AND YOU GUYS DID IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND I I SHOULD SAY THEN WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU ALSO THINK ABOUT, WHEN YOU LOOK AT OTHER CITIES, RIGHT? AND I'M NOT TALKING LOW INCOME CITIES OR POORER CITIES.
I'M TALKING BOSTON AND BROOKLINE AND LEXINGTON AND BELMONT AND ARLINGTON, PROP TWO AND A HALF OVERRIDES BECAUSE THEY'RE FIRING TEACHERS OR THEY'RE LAYING BOSTON 400, I THINK WAS THE LAST NUMBER I SAW.
UM, YOU KNOW, CUTTING PROGRAMS, CUTTING LANGUAGE, CUTTING MUSIC, CUTTING, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMS, UM, THAT WE'RE NOT DOING RIGHT.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A LOT, AND WE DO HEAR A LOT ABOUT THE $40,000 PER STUDENT.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY EASY TO LOOK AT THAT NUMBER AND SAY, WELL, LEXINGTON SPENDS THIS AND SOMERVILLE SPENDS THIS.
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME MORE EDUCATION AROUND WHAT GOES INTO THAT NUMBER BECAUSE I, I DON'T THINK PEOPLE GET IT.
AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, I GOT A FRIEND OF MINE WHO MOVED TO BELMONT, WHO IS KILLING HIMSELF OVER HOW MISERABLE HE IS BECAUSE HE'S PAYING FOR HIS KIDS TO RIDE THE SCHOOL BUS.
HE'S PAYING FOR SPORTS, HE'S PAYING FOR ALL THESE PROGRAMS THAT HE GOT FOR FREE THAT GO INTO THAT NUMBER.
NOT TO MENTION HIS PROPERTY TAXES ARE A LOT MORE.
UM, SO I THINK SOMETHING TO SORT OF FURTHER EXPLAIN AND EDUCATE PEOPLE ON, 'CAUSE THEY JUST LOOK AT THAT.
I MEAN, THE NUMBER'S HUGE, RIGHT? AND, AND, BUT I DON'T THINK PEOPLE FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT GOES INTO IT.
UM, NOW THE REALITY IS THAT WE ALSO STILL KNOW THAT WE HAVE A, A STILL VERY MUCH HAVE A TWO-TIERED EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM WHERE SOME KIDS DO EXCEPTIONALLY WELL AND SOME KIDS, YOU KNOW, DON'T.
RIGHT? AND, AND WE STILL HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO TO MAKE SURE EVERY CHILD IS RECEIVING THE, THE WORLD CLASS EDUCATION THAT WE WANT THEM TO RECEIVE.
SO EVEN WITH ALL THESE PROGRAMS AND WITH ALL THESE THINGS WE GOT, WE GOT MORE TO DO.
AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW THAT ALL OF YOU KNOW THAT BETTER THAN ANYBODY.
'CAUSE THIS IS WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU DO, UM, IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET.
UM, I APPRECIATE COUNCILOR FLAHERTY'S QUESTION.
IT WAS GONNA BE ONE OF MY QUESTIONS AROUND, YOU KNOW, THE STUDENTS WHO WE, YOU KNOW, WE IDENTIFY WHO ARE, ARE, ARE STRUGGLING, PARTICULARLY WITH READING AT THIRD GRADE.
UM, I WAS ONE OF THOSE STUDENTS I COULDN'T READ IN THIRD GRADE VERY WELL.
UM, BUT I GOT DIRECT INTERVENTIONS, RIGHT? AND SO I HAD MS. ROSTEN WHO I WENT TO SEE THREE DAYS A WEEK AT THE, AT THE BALDWIN SCHOOL.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THOSE TEACHERS, MR. FLAHERTY, THAT I STILL REMEMBER.
THERE WAS A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HARVARD ED SCHOOL, UM, WAS CALLED THE READING LAB.
AND I WENT TWO OR THREE DAYS A WEEK AFTER SCHOOL WITH GRADUATE STUDENTS FROM HARVARD WHO, WHO WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO READ.
UM, AND SO I DO APPRECIATE THE BIGGER PICTURE KIND OF INTERVENTIONS THAT WE'RE DOING, AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, MOVING PEOPLE AROUND.
I DO ALSO THINK WE NEED REALLY TARGETED INTERVENTIONS SPECIFICALLY FOR, WE KNOW WHO THESE KIDS ARE, RIGHT? WE'RE NOT A HUGE SCHOOL SYSTEM BY, YOU KNOW, IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS.
SO, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR LITTLE MARK MCGOVERN? YOU KNOW, WHO'S IN THE THIRD GRADE WHERE YOU KNOW THAT IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE DOING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND WE'RE DOING ALL THESE THINGS, BUT AGAIN, TARGETED INTERVENTIONS FOR THAT SPECIFIC KID.
SO I'D LIKE TO, YOU KNOW, THINK MORE ABOUT THAT.
UM, I, UM, I'M ECSTATIC TO SEE THE BRIGHT PROGRAM GOING TO THE UPPER SCHOOLS.
[01:15:01]
MEREDITH FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL, UM, PLEASE DO THAT, THAT THAT PROGRAM, AND MEREDITH SPECIFICALLY HAS LITERALLY SAVED MY KIDS' LIFE.AND AS WE KNOW, CHILDREN ARE STRUGGLING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS AT HIGHER RATES AND AT YOUNGER AGES, EXTENDING THAT TO THE UPPER SCHOOL IS FANTASTIC.
AND I REALLY WANT TO APPLAUD YOU FOR DOING THAT.
UM, IN TERMS OF QUESTIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, I I LEMME JUST SAY ONE MORE THING.
THAT, YOU KNOW, I ALSO WANT TO JUST SAY SORT OF PUBLICLY THAT THIS IS A PARTNERSHIP, RIGHT? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, KIDS, IT'S NOT JUST ALL ON THE SCHOOLS, RIGHT? A LOT OF THOSE KIDS WHO ARE STRUGGLING IN OUR SCHOOLS ARE ALSO STRUGGLING OUTSIDE OF OUR SCHOOLS, RIGHT? AND SO IT'S WHERE THE CITY COMES IN AROUND, UM, CHAIR WEINSTEIN, YOU MENTIONED THE EARLY CHILDHOOD, YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA BE YEARS BEFORE WE ACTUALLY SEE THE DIFFERENCE THAT, THAT THAT'S GONNA MAKE.
BUT I'M CONVINCED IT WILL, UM, AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS. IT'S MAKING, IT'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING, IT'S FOOD INSECURITY, IT'S ALL THESE THINGS THAT I THINK WHAT YOU'LL FIND IS THAT A LOT OF THE KIDS WHO ARE STRUGGLING IN SCHOOL ARE ALSO STRUGGLING OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL.
AND SO THIS IS NOT JUST YOUR BURDEN TO BEAR, IT'S ALL OF OURS.
WE ALL PLAY A ROLE IN IT, AND WE SHOULD ALL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT.
UM, SPECIFICALLY, I'LL JUST THROW OUT JUST A COUPLE QUESTIONS.
UM, YOU, I THINK IF I READ IT CORRECTLY OR HEARD IT CORRECTLY, UH, 18.48 FTE CUTS OVERALL, UH, CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN THAT BETTER AND WHERE, WHERE THAT'S COMING FROM? AND I'LL ASK MY SECOND QUESTION.
THIS, THIS THANK YOU, UH, COUNCIL AND THROUGH YOUR CHAIR.
UM, THE, THE SHORT ANSWER TO THAT IS WHEN THE KENNEDY LONGFELLOW SCHOOL CLOSED, THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 75 FTES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT SCHOOL.
AND I, ONE OF THE SORT OF PREMISES ON WHICH THE, THE CLOSURE DECISION WAS MADE WAS THAT IT WAS NOT A BUDGETARY NECESSITY.
WE WERE NOT CLOSING THE KENNEDY LONGFELLOW BECAUSE, UM, OF A, OF A FINANCIAL CRUNCH.
UM, WE WERE CLOSING IT FOR A VARIETY OF OTHER FACTORS THAT WERE DISCUSSED AT LENGTH AT THAT TIME.
UM, WE PRIORITIZED AT THE TIME CONTINUITY, UH, FOR STUDENTS, UH, AND TO THE DEGREE POSSIBLE CONTINUITY, UH, FOR STAFF.
BUT THIS, THE, THE CONTINUITY FOR STUDENTS WAS SORT OF THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND STAFFING REASSIGNMENTS AND BEHIND BUDGETARY REALLOCATION.
BUT ESSENTIALLY IN THE FY 26 BUDGET, THE ENTIRETY OF THE KENNEDY LONGFELLOW COMPLIMENT, UH, WAS RETAINED, ALMOST RETAINED.
IT, IT WASN'T EXACTLY, IT WAS LIKE 69 OUTTA 75 OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
OVER TIME AS, UH, THROUGH ATTRITION AND THROUGH OTHER VACANCIES, REASSIGNMENTS WERE MADE, UM, SUCH THAT IT IS A TRUE STATEMENT THAT NO ONE, UM, WAS SEPARATED FROM EMPLOYMENT EXCLUSIVELY DUE TO THE CLOSURE.
AND AGAIN, THAT SHOULD BE THE CASE BECAUSE IT WAS NOT A BUDGETARY NECESSITY.
AND AT THE SAME TIME AS WE LOOKED AT OUR OVERALL STAFFING COMPLEMENT AND THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO US, UM, THERE WERE VACANCIES THAT WERE NOT FILLED OVER TIME.
AND THE NET REDUCTION TURNED OUT TO BE APPROXIMATELY 20 OR SO.
I THINK THESE SUBTEXT TO THAT, WHICH IS, IS PROBABLY SOMEWHAT EVIDENT IS THAT WHILE THE KENNEDY LONGFELLOW WAS NOT CLOSED DUE TO BUDGETARY NECESSITY IN LIGHT OF THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, IN LIGHT OF THE, THE INCREASE THAT YOU, UH, REFERENCED EARLIER IN YOUR REMARKS, COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN, UM, HAD WE NOT CLOSED THE KENNEDY LONGFELLOW SCHOOL, THIS WOULD'VE BEEN A VERY DIFFERENT BUDGETARY LANDSCAPE THAT WE WOULD BE NAVIGATING.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT, HOW WE WOULD'VE HANDLED THAT AND WHAT CHOICES WE WOULD'VE HAD TO MAKE, I'M GRATEFUL THAT WE'RE NOT IN THE POSITION TO MAKE THAT.
I THINK IT WAS THE RIGHT DECISION THEN AND THE RIGHT DECISION.
NOW I THINK STUDENTS ARE BEING, UM, WELL SERVED BECAUSE OF IT.
BUT THAT IS, THAT IS IN EFFECT WHAT, UH, I WOULD ATTRIBUTE THAT NUMBER TO.
SO OF THOSE POSITIONS, UM, ARE THEY, SOME OF THEM WERE POSITION, WERE, WERE POSITIONS IN RESERVE, ESSENTIALLY, RIGHT? UM, OR THAT'S WHAT WE, I THINK WE STILL HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF PARAPROFESSIONAL POSITIONS IN RESERVE.
WHAT WE DON'T HAVE, WHAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST ARE TEACHER POSITIONS THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY IN RESERVE.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T ADJUST IF WE NEED TO.
UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT IS ONE THING THAT WOULDN'T EXIST IN THIS BUDGET.
I WAS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IF, IF, BECAUSE HAVING A POSITION, AN FTE IN RESERVE THAT YOU DECIDE WE'RE NOT GONNA FILL AND WE'RE GONNA USE THAT MONEY SOMEWHERE ELSE, IS REALLY DIFFERENT THAN HAVING A BODY THERE.
AND SAYING, WE'RE GONNA, THIS PERSON NO LONGER WORKS, OR THE CAMBRIDGE RESOURCE.
UM, SO THAT OUT OF THAT 18 AND A HALF, SOME OF THEM WERE PEOPLE, UM, IN FACT, THEY WERE ESSENTIALLY ALL VACANCIES.
THEY WERE ALL VAS FROM, I MEAN, THEY WERE, IT HAPPENED OVER TIME.
SO IF, IF THERE WERE, THERE WERE 70 OR SO POSITIONS THAT WERE RETAINED FROM FY 25 INTO FY 26, UM, THERE WERE
[01:20:01]
ALSO VACANCIES COMING INTO FY 26 AND EVENTUALLY INDIVIDUALS THAT WOULD'VE BEEN, OR POSITIONS THAT WOULD'VE BEEN BUDGETED IN WHAT WE CALL THE STUDENT SUPPORT CATEGORY, WHICH WAS ESSENTIALLY A PLACEHOLDER DUE TO THE, THE CLOSURE OF THE SCHOOL THO THE, THOSE, UH, REASSIGNMENTS AND, AND HIRING DECISIONS WERE MADE.UM, AND THAT'S ULTIMATELY HOW THAT NUMBER EVENTUALLY SORT OF GOT WHITTLED DOWN TO, TO WHERE IT DID.
AND THEN LASTLY, UM, MADAM CHAIR THROUGH YOU, UH, LAST QUESTION, UM, JUST REAL QUICKLY, CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT, IT WAS ONE OF THE BULLET POINTS ABOUT THE SHORT TERM THERAPEUTIC LEARNING CLASSROOMS. CAN YOU JUST WITH RESPECT TO THE, THE BRIGHT, LIKE, UH, ROLE? YEAH.
'CAUSE THERE WERE TWO BULLET POINTS.
ONE SAID EXPANSION OF BRIGHT TO UPPER SCHOOLS, AND THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER BULLET THAT SAID SHORT TERM THERAPEUTIC LEARNING COMMUNITY.
SO I DIDN'T KNOW IF THOSE WERE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, OR IS THAT YOU TALKING ABOUT THE PROGRAM? I BELIEVE I'D HAVE TO SEE THE SLIDE, BUT I BELIEVE IT'S REFERRING TO THE SAME PIECE IN THAT WHAT WE'VE FOUND IS THAT, UM, PARTICULARLY FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO, UH, SEE AN INTERRUPTION IN THEIR EDUCATION, UM, THE PROCESS OF BECOMING REACCLIMATED TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY, SOMETIMES, UH, OUR SCHOOLS ARE NOT, UH, PARTICULARLY WELL SITUATED FOR THAT.
AND SO WE'RE DEVELOPING A SYSTEM, UM, IN WHICH, UH, ESSENTIALLY IS ALLOWS STUDENTS TO HAVE A, A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD AND TO RECEIVE THE WRAPAROUND SUPPORTS AND SERVICES, UM, THAT ARE NECESSARY TO ULTIMATELY POSITION THEM TO, TO FULLY REJOIN THEIR SCHOOL COMMUNITY.
SO THERE COULD BE A VARIETY OF CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THAT COULD, UM, UH, LEAD TO A STUDENT, UH, PARTICIPATING IN THAT PARTICULAR INTERVENTION SYSTEM.
UM, BUT I THINK IT IS, AND I THINK YOU WERE SORT OF ALLUDING TO THIS EARLIER, BUT I THINK IT'S A, UM, A NEED THAT IS, THAT WAS PRESENT FOR A LONG TIME, AND I'M GRATEFUL THAT WE HAD THE CHANCE TO BRIDGE IT HERE.
AND I, I JUST, I REALLY APPRECIATE, I THINK, YOU KNOW, COUNCILOR NOLAN, MYSELF, COUNCILOR SIMMONS, WERE, AND I KNOW COUNSELOR, UH, MAYOR SIDIKI WAS, HAS BEEN ON THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE A LITTLE MORE RECENTLY.
UM, WHEN I GOT ON THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE IN OH FOUR, NOBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING, NOBODY.
AND TO SEE IT NOW GROW INTO SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE BUDGET AND PART OF THE GOALS, KIDS CANNOT LEARN WHEN THEY'RE ANXIOUS, WHEN THEY'RE DEPRESSED, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN THEY'RE WORRIED.
UM, AND TO SEE THAT THAT GROW INTO WHERE IT IS TODAY, ALSO PART OF THE $40,000 PER STUDENT, I DON'T KNOW MANY SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT HAVE THOSE SUPPORTS WE HAVE, UH, IN THAT CATEGORY.
AND SO, UM, I JUST WANNA APPLAUD YOU FOR THAT.
UM, COUNCILLOR SUZI, UH, THANK YOU, CHAIR NOLAN.
I'M IMPRESSED WITH ALL THE SUPPORTS, DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUPPORTS AND, UH, TARGETED TUTORING, PARAPROFESSIONALS, TEACHERS, COACHES, ALL THESE THINGS.
I AM HOPEFUL THAT THEY WILL, UM, ALONG WITH THE CULTURE OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND CELEBRATING THE GIFTS OF EACH CHILD WILL RESULT IN, UM, BETTER OUTCOMES FOR ALL OF OUR KIDS.
UM, I WANTED TO ASK A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
ONE WAS THAT I UNDERSTAND THAT THE BALDWIN SCHOOL HAS ADDED AN EXTRA KINDERGARTEN AND FIFTH GRADE CLASS.
YOU, YOU HAD MENTIONED THIS, UH, REQUIRING THE ART ROOM TO MOVE INTO THE BASEMENT AND ILLUMINA ELIMINATING AN AFTERSCHOOL SPACE.
HOW CAN THE CITY MAKE OTHER SCHOOLS MORE DESIRABLE SO THAT THE BALDWIN ISN'T SO CROWDED IN SPACE CONSTRAINED? AND, AND YOU HAD MENTIONED THAT THERE WAS A THIRD AND FOURTH GRADE CLASS THAT WAS LARGE, WHICH IS WHY THEY HAD TO ADD ANOTHER FIFTH GRADE.
I WAS LISTENING, UH, EARLIER, AND, UM, IT WAS SHARED WITH ME THAT THE BALDWIN SCHOOL THERE WERE LIKE, IT WAS THE TOP SCHOOL THIS YEAR.
IT'S WHERE LIKE 70, THERE WERE 70 APPLICATIONS, I GUESS, FOR THE KINDERGARTEN AND, UH, 28 STUDENTS ASSIGNED.
SO WHAT, WHAT'S THE SECRET SAUCE THERE AND HOW CAN WE DUPLICATE IT THROUGH YOU CHAIR, UH, TO COUNCILOR ZUI? SO, UH, I WOULD SAY THAT, UM, I DON'T THINK THERE'S, I DON'T THINK IT'S, IT'S A, A SECRET WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE BALDWIN.
THERE ARE EXCELLENT, UH, EDUCATORS WHO ARE WORKING EXTREMELY HARD, UNDER EXTREMELY STRONG LEADERSHIP TO CREATE THE TYPE OF CONDITIONS IN WHICH STUDENTS ARE GOING TO EXCEL.
UM, IT IS TRUE THAT THERE'S AN, I WOULDN'T, THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL KINDERGARTEN CLASS THAT WILL JOIN THAT SCHOOL COMMUNITY NEXT YEAR.
UM, THE UNDERLYING, UH, RATIONALE WITH RESPECT TO THAT, UM, IS I WOULD SAY TWOFOLD.
ONE, UM, OUR, UH, SOCIOECONOMIC, UH, COMPOSITION OF OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES ARE GENERALLY REFLECTIVE OF OUR COMMUNITY AT LARGE AND CONSISTENT WITH OUR CONTROLLED CHOICE POLICY.
WE DO HAVE A VERY SMALL NUMBER OF SCHOOLS THAT ARE OUTLIERS IN THAT RESPECT.
AND THE BALDWIN IS, IS ONE OF THOSE SCHOOLS.
UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS FOR THAT, AND THERE ARE CONDITIONS THAT INDUCE THAT OVER TIME.
[01:25:01]
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S NOT, UH, WE'RE NOT ACTING INCONSISTENT WITH THE POLICY.IT'S JUST THAT THE POLICY ITSELF THERE ARE, ARE ORGANIC FACTORS WITH RESPECT TO, UM, ATTRITION AND, AND OTHER, UH, AND, AND SIBLING PREFERENCES AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE THAT, UM, THERE'S GOING TO BE AN, THERE IS THAT WE ARE THERE, THERE IS ALWAYS THE POTENTIAL FOR A DEGREE OF IMBALANCE.
THE BALDWIN IS PARTICULARLY IMBALANCED, AND IN AN ATTEMPT TO BRING THE SCHOOL MORE IN LINE WITH THE UNDERLYING, UH, UH, OBJECTIVES OF THAT POLICY, AND TO, UH, ONE OF THE OTHER UNDERLYING OBJECTIVES THAT POLICY OF ANY CHOICE POLICY IS TO ACTUALLY HONOR FAMILIES CHOICES.
AND SO WHAT WE DID BY ADDING A KINDERGARTEN TO THE BALDWIN, WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A RELATIVELY SMALL CHANGE, IS BY ADDING ONE SINGLE KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM, WE MOVED THE PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES WHO WERE ASSIGNED TO A SCHOOL OF THEIR CHOOSING FROM 75% TO 82%.
WE ALSO PROJECT OUT FOR THE KINDERGARTEN CLASS TO MOVE FROM A 21%, UM, PAID LUNCH PERCENTAGE TO A 27% PAID LUNCH PERCENTAGE.
IT IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE THAT THERE ARE SOME LOGISTICAL LIMITATIONS TO THAT BUILDING, AND THERE WILL BE SOME COMPROMISES AND SACRIFICES MADE.
AND I'M GRATEFUL TO THE, TO THE STAFF AT THAT SCHOOL, UM, FOR, FOR THE, FOR THE FLEXIBILITY THAT THEY WILL, THEY WILL SHOW.
UM, HAPPY TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS, BUT COULD WE MAKE SURE THIS IS RELATED TO THE BUDGET? UH, SURE.
I WAS JUST RESPONDING TO THE QUESTION, BUT, AND IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT YOU.
I AM GENTLY ASKING MY, UM, COLLEAGUE, I, I THINK IT DOES RELATE TO THE BUDGET BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, USING OUR $42,000 PER PUPIL TO ENCOURAGE, UM, STUDENT SUCCESS ACROSS THE BOARD.
AND IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THERE'S GREAT STUDENT SUCCESS AT THE BALDWIN.
SO THE QUESTION IS, UM, WE'RE PROVIDING ALL THESE DIFFERENT SUPPORTS AND, UM, YEAH, WHAT DID, WHAT IS IT, AND YOU'VE DONE A GREAT JOB EXPLAINING, UH, THAT MIGHT ACCOUNT FOR WHY SO MANY PARENTS AND SO MANY CHILDREN WANT TO GO THERE AND HOW YOU'RE TRYING TO PROVIDE MORE BALANCE THROUGH YOU CHAIR.
I THINK WHAT I WOULD SAY IS IF WE SPEND THIS MONEY WISELY, AND IF WE HOLD OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE AND HAVE THOSE HIGH EXPECTATIONS ACROSS ALL SCHOOLS, THEN ONE, UM, THE COMMUNITY WILL, WILL BE REWARDED.
'CAUSE YOUR MONEY WILL BE SPENT WISELY.
AND ULTIMATELY ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS WILL BE IN VERY HIGH DEMAND.
ANOTHER QUESTION IS, UM, AND IT'S SORT OF SIMILAR TO THE OTHER, BUT DIFFERENT, HOW CAN WE ENSURE THAT ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS, INCLUDING UPPER SCHOOLS, MAINTAIN HIGH ACADEMIC STANDARDS? IS THAT RELATED? HOW IS THAT RELATED TO THE BUDGET? UH, LOOK, I IT'S TOTALLY AN IMPORTANT QUESTION.
HOWEVER, IF OUR CITY SOLICITOR WAS LISTING, SHE WOULD BE SAYING, YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE IT RELATES TO THE BUDGET.
AND I THINK WE ALL FEEL THE SAME WAY, OTHERWISE, WE'D ALL BE ASKING DIFFERENT QUESTIONS.
UH, COULD A MINDFULNESS PROGRAM DISTRICT-WIDE BE ADDED TO THE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS OF CARTWHEEL SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND SOCIAL WORKERS? I UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS AN EVIDENCE SPACE, LOW COST, NON PATHO PATHOLOGIZING INTERVENTION THAT HAS INCREDIBLE RESULTS ACROSS THE BOARD FOR STRESS REDUCTION, BETTER FOCUS, INCREASED SELF-COMPASSION AND TRAUMA HEALING.
WE DO HAVE SOME IMPORTANT INVESTMENTS IN THAT REGARD THAT I ASKED, UH, CFO WASHINGTON TO SHARE WITH YOU.
AND, AND I, I CAN'T TAKE CREDIT.
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY COMING FROM OUR, UM, OUR
THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE QUESTION AHEAD OF TIME.
UM, SO, UH, WAYFINDER, WHICH WE MENTIONED EARLIER, IT'S OUR SEL CURRICULUM.
UM, AND, UM, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE IT WAS CLEAR THAT THE MINDFUL PRACTICES ARE ACTUALLY A PART OF THAT CURRICULUM.
UM, AND THAT THEY ARE PART OF THE, WHAT IS HAPPENING FROM PRESCHOOL THROUGH FIFTH GRADE.
SO IT'S ACTUALLY ALREADY BUILT IN, UM, TO THAT COMPREHENSIVE SEL CURRICULUM.
UM, ALSO, THE MAJORITY OF THE SOCIAL WORKERS ARE INCORPORATING MINDFUL PRACTICES INTO THEIR INDIVIDUAL AND THEIR GROUP WORK WITH STUDENTS.
UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THE, THE DIRECTOR THAT OVERSEES OUR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING PROGRAM, UM, NOTICED NOTED THAT THERE WERE TWO GROUPS AT CRLS THAT BOTH WERE USING MINDFUL BREATHING IN THEIR GROUP SESSIONS AS SORT OF A, A WAY OF, UM, UH, INCORPORATING THAT INTO THEIR, THEIR WORK.
UM, AND ALSO THERE'S A MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION GROUP, M-B-R-M-B-S-R, UM, DURING WIN BLOCK, UM, AT CRLS.
I DON'T KNOW, I'M, WHAT TIME DO THEY MEET? I DON'T, I KNOW, RIGHT? WE ALL NEED THIS.
UM, UH, SO THE SOCIAL WORKER, WHO'S THE TRAINED FACILITATOR, UM, OF THAT IS LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL WAYS TO OFFER STUDENTS AT CRS EITHER WITHIN THAT GROUP OR WITHIN SOME OTHER CLASSROOM SETTING, SORT OF ACCESS TO THAT WORK.
UM, AND I, I FEEL LIKE I'M NOT SURE HOW FAMILIAR PEOPLE ARE WITH WIN BLOCK.
I FEEL LIKE YOU WOULD PROBABLY DO A BETTER JOB EXPLAINING HOW THAT
[01:30:01]
WORKS.WIN BLOCK STANDS FOR WHAT I NEED, AND IT'S ONE OF THE ALIGNED PRACTICES THAT WE'VE INCORPORATED, INCORPORATED INTO OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, AGAIN, MAKE GOOD ON THE FINANCIAL INVESTMENT THAT THIS COMMUNITY IS MAKING.
AND THEN JUST THE LAST PIECE WAS JUST, UM, WE ALSO HAVE THERAPISTS.
SO THE THERAPISTS THEMSELVES ARE ALSO IN INCORPORATING MINDFULNESS PRACTICES INTO THEIR COUNSELING SESSIONS IN THE CASE THAT, FOR THOSE THAT ARE ACTUALLY GETTING SPECIFIC COUNSELING, UM, SO THOSE WERE THE, THOSE WERE THE NOTES WE WERE ABLE, I KNOW THAT MAY NOT BE EXACTLY THE PIECE THAT YOU WERE THINKING OF, BUT IT IS ABSOLUTELY A BUILT INTO THE WORK THAT FOLKS ARE DOING.
UM, SO I, I, UM, I GUESS I'LL YIELD, I DO HAVE A ONE NUTS AND BOLTS QUESTION, WHICH IS, SO I, I WASN'T CLEAR FROM THE BUDGET WHETHER WE'RE SPENDING EIGHT OR 20 MILLION FOR OUT OF SCHOOL PLACEMENTS FOR A HUNDRED STUDENTS.
UH, I THINK WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN SAYING IS THAT FEDERAL GRANTS COVERED 12 MILLION, WAS THAT RIGHT? COR CORRECT.
SO THE, THE 20 MILLION, UM, FIGURE IS THE TOTAL COST, AND THEN THE 8 MILLION FIGURE IS WHAT'S ON THE OPERATING BUDGET.
SO THE REST OF IT'S COMING FROM, FROM GRANTS OF ONE TYPE OR ANOTHER.
UM, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR WORK.
AND REMEMBER, WE CAN GO AROUND AGAIN AFTER THIS.
WHAT I'LL DO IS GO TO, UH, COUNCILOR AZI, THEN IF, AND THEN COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER.
SHOULD I GO TO JUST, WE WERE GONNA GO IN ORDER HERE,
SO, UH, VICE MAYOR ZE, AND THEN IF THE MAYORS QUESTIONS, OR COUNCILLOR SABRINA WHEELER, COUNSELOR ZUBIE, AND THEN MYSELF.
UM, THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING ALL THESE QUESTIONS.
I'LL TRY TO KEEP MY REMARKS BRIEF.
I WAS GONNA SAY, IT WAS NICE TO SEE THAT SCHOOL ENROLLMENT IN GENERAL WAS INCREASING ACROSS ALL THE, UH, GRADE LEVELS.
UM, I THINK THAT'S THE ENCOURAGING SIGN OF A HEALTHY SCHOOL SYSTEM.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK COUNCILLOR MCGOVERN SPOKE A LOT ABOUT HOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THE 4.7% INCREASE WAS IMPRESSIVE GIVEN, YOU KNOW, KNOW PAST EXPECTATIONS OF, YOU KNOW, STAFF AND OTHER THINGS.
UM, I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT FUTURE GROWTH A LITTLE BIT IN THAT, YOU KNOW, THE 4.7 IS STILL A LITTLE BIT FASTER THAN THE OVERALL BUDGET GROWTH OF 4.1%, AND I THINK THAT THAT, YOU KNOW, IS FINE FOR THIS YEAR.
IS THE EXPECTATION THAT THE SCHOOL BUDGET WILL CONTINUE TO GROW FASTER THAN THE OVERALL BUDGET GROWTH INTO THE FUTURE? WELL, THROUGH YOU CHAIR, WHAT I WOULD SAY, COUNSELORS, THAT THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT WILL ALWAYS ZEALOUSLY ADVOCATE BEFORE THE CITY ADMINISTRATION AND THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE FUNDING THAT WE BELIEVE IS NECESSARY TO SERVE THE INTEREST OF OUR STUDENTS.
UM, I, I THINK IT WOULD BE A LITTLE PRESUMPTUOUS OF ME TO SPECULATE AS TO WHAT EXACTLY THAT RATE OF GROWTH WILL BE.
BUT I WOULD SAY THAT THE RATE OF GROWTH OVER THE PREVIOUS FIVE YEARS, UM, WAS ESSENTIALLY UNPRECEDENTED.
AND I THINK THAT, UM, DEPENDING ON HOW OTHER VARIABLES EVOLVE, UH, WE WILL ALWAYS, UM, FULFILL OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SPEND THE COMMUNITY'S MONEY WISELY AND IN SERVICE OF OUR STUDENTS.
UM, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE UNWISE TO PRESUME THAT THERE COULD BE A RATE OF INCREASE OVER THE CONSISTENT WITH THE PERIOD IMMEDIATELY PROCEEDING THIS FISCAL YEAR.
UM, BECAUSE I, I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY SEEN IT BEFORE, AND I, I DON'T KNOW ANY SORT OF, UM, FORECAST THAT COULD SUGGEST IT'S THAT THAT IS LIKELY.
SO I THINK THAT, AND TO THAT END, I WOULD SAY THAT GIVEN THE RESOURCES THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED HERE THIS EVENING, UM, I'D BE HARD PRESSED TO MAKE AN ARGUMENT THAT, UM, WE NEED AN INCREASE AT THAT LEVEL IN ORDER TO ADVANCE THE INTERESTS OF OUR STUDENTS.
WE CERTAINLY NEED A HEALTHY BUDGET.
I THINK THAT WE ARE THE ENVY OF COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COMMONWEALTH, AND I DO NOT THINK THAT THIS IS RECKLESS SPENDING BY ANY MEANS.
UM, BUT I THINK THAT FOR, AS, I GUESS AS THE, UH, MEMBER OF THE TEAM RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THAT, THAT THAT INVESTMENT IS TRANSLATING INTO STUDENT SUCCESS AND QUALITY EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES, I'M MORE FOCUSED ON HOW DO WE IMPROVE OUR PRACTICES AND EXECUTE AT A HIGHER LEVEL SO THAT REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENT IS WE'RE DOING RIGHT BY THE COMMUNITY IN THAT REGARD.
UM, I THINK THAT BROADLY MAKES SENSE.
I THINK THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN MORE RESTRAINED THAN IN THE PAST IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET.
AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, IT IS GOOD TO HAVE A HEALTHY BUDGET WHERE YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO FUND.
UM, I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT'S ON MY MIND IN PARTICULAR, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE KIND OF ESCAPED SOME OF THE WORST OUTCOMES OF THE BUDGET.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, BOSTON IS LAYING OFF TEACHERS, AND IF YOU HEARD THE CITY MANAGER'S REMARKS, HE WAS, YOU KNOW, IN THE BELIEF THAT WE WERE TWO YEARS BEHIND BOSTON IN TERMS OF THE WORST OUTCOMES IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET.
SO I DO GET A LITTLE BIT NERVOUS LOOKING INTO FORWARD PROJECTIONS OF, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS ALREADY, YOU KNOW, UH, SMALLER GROWTH THAN IN THE PAST.
AND I THINK THAT THERE MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE NEVER KNOW HOW EXACTLY THE FUTURE PLAYS OUT, BUT IT MIGHT BE EVEN MORE DIFFICULT AND REQUIRE EVEN SLOWER GROWTH IN THE FUTURE.
[01:35:01]
QUESTION, AND I'LL KEEP IT TO TWO QUESTIONS, WAS JUST THAT, YOU KNOW, I WAS REMARKING A LITTLE BIT ON THE, UM, MCAS RESULTS IN THE BACK, AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ALL THE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT DOES MCAS MEASURE AND ALL THOSE SORTS OF STUFF.BUT TO TAKE IT AS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT POINT, YOU KNOW, UM, I DO LIKE SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THIS IS BROADLY TO ACROSS THE STATE AS WELL, OF RESULTS HAVE GONE DOWN OVER TIME, RIGHT? WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE 10TH GRADE, UH, E-L-A-M-C-A-S WAS PEAKING AT, YOU KNOW, 67%, AND NOW IT'S AT 56%.
THE 10TH GRADE MATH MA PEAKED AT 63%, NOW IT'S AT 57%.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S GENERALLY TRUE BOTH IN THE STATE, BUT ALSO ACROSS GRADE LEVELS HERE.
AND I WAS JUST WONDERING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WE ASSUME, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, BUDGET GROWS, THERE'LL BE MORE RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS, PEOPLE SHOULD EXPECT BETTER OUTCOMES OVER TIME.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU THINK WILL BOUNCE BACK? OR IS THIS, YOU KNOW, KNOW A RELIC FROM COVID OR FROM OTHER SORTS OF THINGS AND PERHAPS SOMETHING WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO EXPECT OVER TIME? THANK YOU, COUNCIL, AND THROUGH YOUR CHAIR.
UM, WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENT THIS COMMUNITY MAKES, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT TO EXPECT TO SEE HIGH LEVELS OF ACHIEVEMENT ACROSS ALL DEMOGRAPHICS AND IN EVERY INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL COMMUNITY.
SO I THINK, UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE IMPUDENT FOR ME TO CLAIM THAT ANY, UM, STAGNATION IN ACHIEVEMENT IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE FUNDING STREAMS IN THIS COMMUNITY.
I, I JUST DON'T PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT.
I THINK IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, CREATING THE CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR STUDENTS TO HAVE THE QUALITY EXPERIENCES THAT THEY DESERVE.
AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, I'M CONFIDENT THAT THE ACHIEVEMENT DATA WILL FOLLOW.
UM, I WOULD ALSO SAY THOUGH, IN, IN LARGE PART, DUE TO THE, UH, TIRELESS WORK OF OUR EDUCATORS, WE HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE STATE ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS FOR THE EXTENT TO WHICH OUR ACHIEVEMENT DATA, PARTICULARLY IN MATH, GRADES THREE THROUGH EIGHT, HAVE ACHIEVED OUR PRE COVID LEVELS.
UM, AND WE'VE SEEN STEADY PROGRESS IN ELA AS WELL.
AND I'M CONFIDENT THAT WITH CONTINUED IMPROVED EXECUTION AND SUPPORTING OUR EDUCATORS THROUGH IMPROVED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AND INSTILLING THE ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS THAT ARE NECESSARY IN EVERY ORGANIZATION, I BELIEVE YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE CONTINUED PROGRESS IN THAT REGARD AS WELL.
BUT I THINK THAT THERE'S, THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE FLUCTUATIONS IN DATA.
WHEN YOU TRY TO DO NEW THINGS AND MAKE NEW INVESTMENTS LIKE NEWLY ALIGNED CURRICULUM, YOU CAN SEE BUMPS.
AND YOU'LL, YOU MAY SEE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME.
BUT, UM, WE HAVE NOTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT, FRANKLY, WITH RESPECT TO THE LEVEL OF INVESTMENT.
AND IT'S ON US, I BELIEVE, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MAXIMIZING THE IMPACT OF THAT INVESTMENT.
THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT ANY INDIVIDUAL PLACE THAT WE MIGHT NEED SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES, FUNDING HUMANS, WHAT HAVE YOU TIME, WE, WE DEFINITELY USE SOME MORE TIME AND TIME COSTS MONEY.
BUT ON ON THE WHOLE, THE, THE EXTENT TO WHICH THIS COMMUNITY'S VALUES ARE REFLECTED IN HOW YOU'VE PRIORITIZED EDUCATION AS SOMEONE WHO WORKS IN THIS FIELD, IS SOMETHING THAT I'M, I'M DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR.
I'LL JUST CLOSE WITH THIS AND SAY, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE ANSWER.
AND YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY ON THE POINT OF THREE TO EIGHT, I THINK IS A POINT WELL TAKEN.
I THINK AT SOME POINT IN A SEPARATE CONVERSATION, WE CAN TALK MORE ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK A CONVERSATION YOU GUYS ALREADY HAVE A LOT, BUT ABOUT THE HIGH SCHOOL IN PARTICULAR.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBERS REALLY HAVEN'T BUDGED IN THAT SAME WAY.
UM, ONE COMMENT AND ONE QUESTION, UH, COMMENTS ECHOING WHAT COUNCILOR MCGOVERN SAID OF THAT.
EXCITED TO SEE, UH, PRE-K CALLED OUT AS A PRIORITY.
UM, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN WORKING ON REVAMPING OUR BUDGET PRIORITY PROCESS, UH, ACTUALLY FOR FY 28 AND GOING FORWARD.
BUT ONE OF THE THREE PRIORITIES WE VOTED ON WAS, UM, CHILDCARE, PRE-K AND AFTERSCHOOL.
UM, SO THANK, UH, THANK THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE FOR THEIR PARTNERSHIP ON THAT PRIORITY AND THE CORD TO CONTINUING ON TO BUILD OUT THOSE PROGRAMS. UM, WITH THE COLLABORATION OF SCHOOL, SCHOOL COMMITTEE, UM, THE QUESTION I HAD WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE TALKING ABOUT FINANCIALLY UNCERTAIN TIMES FOR THE CITY AND OUR BUDGET PLANNING FOR THE CITY AND, AND THE SCHOOLS.
I THINK ALSO FINANCIALLY UNCERTAIN TIME FOR CITY WORKERS AND, AND SO WANTING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE, UM, THINKING ABOUT THAT FOR ALL OUR CITY WORKERS, ESPECIALLY SOME OF THE, THE LOWER PAID ONES.
UM, AND WANTED TO ASK ABOUT, UM, PARAPROFESSIONAL SALARIES.
UM, I KNOW THIS IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST A BUDGET ISSUE, ALSO TIED TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
UM, BUT WANTED TO, UH, ASK HOW THE SCHOOL BUDGET, UH, AND DISCUSSIONS WENT AROUND THAT, THAT ISSUE AND HOW, UH, I THINK THE, THE SCHOOL'S BUDGET HEADING INTO FY 27 IS SET UP FOR THAT.
AND, AND THROUGH YOU, UH, CHAIR NOLAN, UM, AS I'M SURE THE COUNCIL'S AWARE, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, NEGOTIATING, UH, NEW
[01:40:01]
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS WITH EACH OF OUR BARGAINING UNITS.AND, UM, PROBABLY NOT A LOT OF SPECIFICS I CAN PROVIDE WITH REGARD TO THAT.
BUT I, WHAT I WILL SAY MORE BROADLY IS THAT I'M ALWAYS GRATEFUL WHEN THERE ARE SHARED INTERESTS ACROSS THE BARGAINING TABLE.
AND I THINK ENSURING THAT OUR, UH, PARAPROFESSIONALS AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT STAFF ARE, UH, WELL COMPENSATED IS DEFINITELY A SHARED INTEREST BETWEEN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND OUR BARGAINING UNITS.
THAT'S ALL I HAD FOR NOW I YIELD BACK.
UH, MAYOR SIDIKI, DID YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR YOU'VE ALREADY, YOU
SO, UH, COUNCILOR COCHAIR ZUBI, THANK YOU, THROUGH YOU CHAIR.
ALSO JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE WORK IS NOT EASY.
AND SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR EFFORTS ON THAT AND AGREE WITH WHAT COUNSELOR FLAHERTY SAID, UH, EARLIER BACK THAT EDUCATION IS SUCH A CRITICAL PART OF WHAT WE PROVIDE IN THE CITY, ESPECIALLY SKILLS LIKE CRITICAL THINKING.
CURIOSITY, UH, I'LL TRY TO KEEP MY QUESTIONS SHORT.
UM, I, I DUG A LITTLE BIT INTO THE BUDGET AND SOME, SOME OF THE THINGS STUCK OUT TO ME.
UM, ON PAGE 95, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF CHANGE AT FLETCHER MAYNARD IS, IT SEEMS TO BE THAT A PARAPROFESSIONAL AND TEACHER ARE BEING REMOVED OUT OF THEIR STAFFING ACCORDING TO PAGE 1 58.
IS THAT THE CASE? THROUGH YOU CHAIR? THANK YOU, COUNSELOR AND COUNCIL, I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT INTRODUCING MYSELF BEFORE THE HEARING.
UM, I, THE, THE FLETCHER MAYNARD DID HAVE A, A A ONE CLASSROOM REDUCTION IN KINDERGARTEN, UM, BASED ON ENROLLMENT AND BASED ON ENROLLMENT UNDER THE, THE CHOICE POLICY.
SO, UM, THAT IS WHAT THAT IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO.
IT'S AN, IT'S AN ENROLLMENT SHIFT.
AND JUST MORE LARGELY ON PAGE 1 54, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE PARAPROFESSIONALS IN INSTRUCTIONAL AID CHANGE? YEAH, HI, THROUGH YOU CHAIR.
UM, ON PAGE 1 54, I BELIEVE THAT IS THE SUMMARY OF ALL OF THE CHANGES AT ALL OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
UM, SO IT'S A, IT'S COMPILING THE DIFFERENT, UM, ENROLLMENT SHIFTS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER.
SO IT INCLUDES, THAT INCLUDES THOSE MULTIPLE KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM CHANGES, REDUCTIONS THAT WE HAD ON THE EARLIER SLIDE, AS WELL AS SOME OF THOSE SHIFTS THAT I TALKED ABOUT FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION WHERE IT'S NOT NECESSARILY, UM, A REDUCTION DISTRICT WIDE.
IT MIGHT BE A MOVE, UM, IT MIGHT BE SHIFTING STAFF ACROSS.
SO THAT PAGE IS THE SUMMARY OF ALL OF THE ELEMENTARIES.
SO IT'S A TOTAL, UM, DECREASE OF 7.01 FTES.
AND THAT INCLUDES THE, LET'S SEE, WE HAVE THREE KINDERGARTEN, UH, SHIFTS, RIGHT? SO THAT WOULD BE SIX OF THE FTES RIGHT THERE.
UM, SO IT'S REALLY, UM, JUST REFLECTING ENROLLMENT SHIFTS.
THAT'S A LITTLE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND AND DEFINITELY HAVE A CONCERN AROUND THE FLETCHER MAYNARD PIECE.
I RECOGNIZE THAT PART OF THAT IS DUE TO ENROLLMENT, UM, BUT KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT SPECIFIC SCHOOL ITSELF IS SERVING THE GREATEST PERCENTAGE OF LOW INCOME STUDENTS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF THE PARAPROFESSIONALS, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT TOO, AS YOU WERE SPEAKING IS, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GIVING STUDENTS THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED.
AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT PARAPROFESSIONALS, INSTRUCTIONAL AIDES AND ALL, UM, THOSE TYPES OF ROLES CAN PROVIDE.
I, I'LL GO AHEAD AND FOLLOW INTO MY NEXT QUESTION IS RELATED TO PAGE 180 3.
AND I'M SORRY, CO-CHAIR ELSIE, WE JUST, ONE OTHER THING THAT'S RELATED TO YOUR, I'M SORRY.
UM, JUST ALSO WE, OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS HAVE SHIFTED OUR SCALE PROGRAM AROUND, AND SO THE FMA USED TO HAVE SIX OF THOSE CLASSROOMS AND NOW HAS FOUR.
AND THOSE ARE SORT OF HIGH NEEDS STUDENTS AND ALSO HAVE, UH, AN A HIGH RATIO OF PARAPROFESSIONALS.
SO THOSE CLASSROOMS TYPICALLY HAVE ONE TEACHER AND THREE PARAPROFESSIONALS.
AND SO FOR THEM TO REDUCE TO FOUR, WHICH IS SORT OF WE FIGURE ARE, UH, A MORE IDEAL SETUP FOR OUR SCHOOLS.
SO OUR SCHOOLS HAVE, WE NOW ONLY HAVE FOUR OF THOSE CLASSROOMS AT KING OPEN AND, UM, FMA AND SOME OF THE OTHER LOCATIONS.
AND SO YOU MIGHT NOTICE THAT IT'S A REDUCTION IN PARAPROFESSIONALS, BUT THEY'VE ACTUALLY MOVED WITH THE STUDENTS THAT NEED THEM THE MOST AS OPPOSED TO THAT THEY HAVE BEEN TAKEN AWAY, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO THAT'S, I JUST TO, SINCE YOU BROUGHT UP THOSE STUDENTS THAT SORT OF LIKE NEED THOSE SUPPORTS THAT THERE ACTUALLY IS, UM, A VERY GOOD REASON FOR IT SHIFTING AWAY FROM FMA, TRYING TO SORT OF CAP THAT NUMBER, UM, OF THOSE CLASSROOMS AT THAT ONE PLACE.
SO WHERE WOULD THAT BE REFLECTED IN THE BUDGET IF THE SHIFT WAS REMOVED OUT OF FMA? WHERE, WHERE WOULD I BE ABLE TO FIND THAT ADJUSTMENT YOU'RE SPEAKING TO? I THINK THAT'S, THOSE ARE THE PAGES THAT YOU'RE SEEING.
THOSE ARE THE, THE PAGES THAT YOU WERE REFERENCING, RIGHT? AS YOU'RE SEEING THE STAFFING BEING MOVED ACROSS THE DISTRICT RIGHT.
TO AWAY FROM THAT SCHOOL AND INTO SOME OF THESE OTHER SCHOOLS THAT ARE SERVING THOSE STUDENTS.
[01:45:01]
TERMS OF THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD ON PAGE 180 3, UM, I, I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A CHANGE TO THE DIRECTOR OF EQUITY AND AN INTRODUCTION TO A STUDENT SUPPORT ROLE IN THE OFFICE OF EQUITY INCLUSION AND BELONGING.ARE YOU ABLE TO HELP ME UNDERSTAND THOSE TWO PIECES? UM, AND WHO WILL BE TAKING ON THE WORK OF THE DIRECTOR OF EQUITY IF THAT POSITION WILL NO LONGER EXIST? SO HISTORICALLY, WE'VE HAD BOTH A CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER AND A DIRECTOR OF EQUITY, AND AFTER A LONG AND ILLUSTRATIVE, UH, UM, CAREER, UM, MR. FERNANDEZ, UH, WILL BE RETIRING AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR.
AND WE ARE MAKING AN EFFORT TO, UM, TRY TO INCORPORATE THE WORK OF THE OFFICE OF EQUITY INCLUSION AND BELONGING, UM, MORE DEEPLY INTO THE ORGANIZATION SO THAT THERE ARE, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S SORT OF GREATER INTEGRATION BETWEEN THE WORK THAT OEIB DOES AND WHAT OUR SCHOOL SUPERVISORS ARE DOING.
AND SO THAT, UM, IT, IT'S ESSENTIALLY JUST TRYING TO REDUCE THE OVERALL LIKE MANAGEMENT TO PUT THE RESOURCES MORE INTO THE WORK THAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING IN SCHOOLS.
SO I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S A, A SHIFT IN, IN STRATEGY PER SE, OTHER THAN TO TRY TO MAKE IT MORE DEEPLY INTEGRATED INTO, UH, THE WORK THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY HAPPENING IN SCHOOL COMMUNITIES.
WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN INTO THESE SPECIFIC PERSONNEL PIECES YET, SO I'M NOT GONNA MAKE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT HERE.
BUT, UM, I'LL SAY THAT WE'VE GOT SOME GREAT PEOPLE WORKING IN THE OFFICE OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION AND BELONGING.
AND MORE SO TO THE STUDENT SUPPORT PIECE.
CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND KIND OF WHAT THAT ROLE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IN THE SCHOOLS.
IT'S, UM, PART OF THE, WHAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER WITH RESPECT TO OUR UPPER SCHOOL, UM, IT, IT IS NOT TECHNICALLY A BRIGHT PROGRAM.
SO I WANNA BE, CHOOSE MY WORDS CAREFULLY HERE.
BUT IT'S, IT IS A, A SYSTEM THAT IS MODELED AFTER BRIGHT AND WE HAVE COME UP WITH A NAME FOR IT, AND IT'S, I'M JUST, I APOLOGIZE, BUT IT'S, IT'S ESCAPING ME NOW.
IT WAS, UM, AN ACRONYM THAT WAS DEVELOPED SUBSEQUENT TO THE BUDGET ADOPTION.
BUT I REMEMBER WHEN IT WAS BROUGHT TO ME, I REALLY LIKED IT.
AND I WILL DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AND SHARE THAT WITH YOU.
UM, AND THAT, UH, THE STUDENT SUPPORT POSITION, THAT SYSTEM IS GOING TO, UH, REQUIRE A LOT OF CROSS DEPARTMENTAL WORK.
AND SO THE POSITION, UM, IS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR SCALING UP THAT NEW SYSTEM AND THAT NEW INITIATIVE AND HELPING TO INTEGRATE THE WORK ACROSS, UH, DEPARTMENTS AND, AND ACROSS GRADE LEVELS.
IT WILL, UM, IT, IT WILL, IT, IT, IT WILL REPORT TO THE LEADER OF THE EQUITY DEPARTMENT, BUT THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF SUPERVISION OF THAT SYSTEM BY THE DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING.
UM, 'CAUSE THAT'S ESSENTIALLY MORE CONSISTENT WITH, UM, THE OBJECTIVES OF TRYING TO REACCLIMATE STUDENTS TO THEIR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES AND BETTER PREPARE THEM TO, TO MOVE FORWARD AFTER THE TYPE OF EDUCATIONAL INTERRUPTIONS THAT I REFERENCED EARLIER.
UM, AND ALSO THE, THE, IT'S DESIGNED AS A ONE YEAR POSITION FOR THE PURPOSE OF, UH, ENSURING THAT WE, UM, ARE ABLE TO GET THAT, UH, PROGRAM, UH, WELL SITUATED IN.
IT'S HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND THAT A BIT MORE.
I, I, I WILL NOTE I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED.
UM, YOU KNOW, PUTTING SOMEONE IN A LEADERSHIP POSITION IN THE CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION STAFF FOR STUDENT SUPPORT AND RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S LIKE A SCALING PIECE TO THIS, WHILE ALSO CHANGING SOME OF THE STUDENT SUPPORT FACING POSITIONS LIKE THE PARAPROFESSIONALS SHIFTS THAT ARE HAPPENING.
IT, IT'S NOT MAKING THE MOST SENSE IN MY HEAD.
AND I, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF MESSAGE THIS SENDS TO STUDENTS AND FAMILIES THAT ARE FACING CHALLENGES.
UM, ESPECIALLY YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU SAID EARLIER, LIKE THE, THE WORK OF SCHOOLS HAPPENS IN SCHOOLS, AND SO THE IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, THAT SHIFT IS, UH, RAISING SOME CONFUSION FOR ME.
UM, I DO HAVE SOME OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT, UM, NOT URGENT AND, AND HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP ON THOSE.
SO I'LL ASK TWO QUESTIONS AND THEN WE'LL SEE IF WE GO AROUND AGAIN.
JUST SO PEOPLE KNOW, THERE WAS NO ANNOUNCED DEAD CERTAIN TIME FOR THIS MEETING TO END.
UM, AND I DID SEND THESE IN ADVANCE, SO I'LL SEND, UH, SOME VERSION OF IT.
UH, THE FIRST ONE, UM, FOLLOWS UP ON SOME OF WHAT WAS ASKED, BUT, BUT WITH A VERY SPECIFIC, UM, QUESTION.
THE, THE DISTRICT CONTINUES TO SEE A DROP OFF IN ENROLLMENT FROM GRADES FIVE TO SIX.
IT IS THE LARGEST SINGLE ATTRITION IN THE DISTRICT.
WE LOSE A COUPLE, BUT WE LOSE 12% OF OUR STUDENTS FROM GRADES, UH, FIVE TO SIX.
AND THEN THERE'S A VERY LARGE JUMP UP.
WE GET 25% MORE NINTH GRADERS THAN WE HAVE EIGHTH GRADE.
THEN WE GRADUATE EIGHTH GRADERS IN CPS.
SO THAT FACT SHOWS THAT OUR MIDDLE SCHOOLS ARE STILL NOT SEEN AS DELIVERING THE QUALITY EDUCATION THAT WE ALL WANT.
SO THE QUESTION IS, HAVE WE CONTINUED TO DO EXIT SURVEYS? SO WE KNOW IF THAT WILL CHANGE IN THE FUTURE BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE A POTENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE BUDGET IF JUST 5% OF THOSE STUDENTS STAYED.
WE SAW ALREADY DARBY VASSAL HAS MORE SIXTH GRADERS THAN CONTRACTUALLY ALLOWED.
[01:50:01]
ABOUT THE BUDGET IMPLICATION OF NOT LOSING THOSE STUDENTS IN THE MIDDLE GRADE SINCE OUR UPPER SCHOOLS ARE CONFIGURED FOR A HUNDRED STUDENTS ONLY, AND WE KNOW IF WE KEEP MORE OF THOSE, THEN WHAT, WHAT IS IT THAT BUDGET PLANNING IS GONNA DO IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THAT, UM, IS TAKEN CARE OF? SURE.UH, THE FIRST THING I WOULD, SO I WOULD START WITH SORT OF A, A JUST A BIG PICTURE COMMENT, WHICH IS, I THINK IT IS AN IMPUDENT STRATEGY TO COUNT ON ATTRITION.
I THINK THAT WE WANT TO BE BUILDING UP OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES IN WAYS IN WHICH NO ONE WANTS TO LEAVE AND EVERYONE WANTS TO COME IN.
THAT IS ABSOLUTELY FULLY AGREED.
THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY WHAT OUR CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE WOULD INDICATE.
AND I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING THAT AS PART OF OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS, I THINK WE HAVE TO DO SOME, SOME REAL THINKING ABOUT.
THE SECOND THING I WOULD SAY IS THAT, UH, MS. WASHINGTON REFERENCED EARLIER THE ADDITIONAL SIXTH GRADE TEACHER AT THE DARBY VASSAL UPPER SCHOOL.
UM, THAT IS A LONG PLANNED INVESTMENT ON THE BASIS THAT THE DARBY VASSAL HAS BEEN BUILT TO ACCOMMODATE A LARGER COHORT OF STUDENTS.
OUR CURRENT FEEDER PATTERN DOES NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO I THINK PART OF THE VERY COMPLICATED LONG-TERM PLANNING DISCUSSIONS THAT WE AS A SCHOOL SYSTEM HAVE TO DO IS I THINK WE HAVE TO THINK THROUGH FIRST AND FOREMOST, WHAT IS THE SYSTEM AND THE STRUCTURE THAT IS GOING TO BEST SUPPORT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS.
AND I WOULD PARTICULARLY SAY OUR MOST VULNERABLE STUDENTS, BECAUSE IF WE DON'T START WITH THAT INTENTIONALITY, UH, I THINK IT'S, THE HISTORY HAS PROVEN NOT JUST IN CAMBRIDGE, EVERYWHERE THAT OUR MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS END UP, UM, IN SPACES AND IN PLACES IN WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, BY HAPPENSTANCE.
AND I THINK WE HAVE TO BE MORE STRATEGIC, MORE INTENTIONAL ABOUT THAT.
I, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, AND I THINK THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF INCONSISTENCY ACROSS OUR 11 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COMMUNITIES, WE DON'T HAVE A UNIFORM SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO EXIT, UM, SURVEYS.
UM, I I, IT'S CERTAINLY AN INTERESTING SUGGESTION AND IT'S SOMETHING I WOULD ABSOLUTELY WANT TO CONSIDER, BUT TO YOUR POINT AT THE MOMENT, IF WE WERE TO TALK EVERYONE OUT OF LEAVING, UM, WE WOULD HAVE ANOTHER CHALLENGE ON OUR HANDS.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO START THINKING STRATEGICALLY ABOUT.
I MEAN, THE WHOLE POINT IS THAT WE DON'T WANNA BE RELIANT ON ATTRITION, AND YET WE'RE SET UP RIGHT NOW, OUR BUDGET IS PREDICATED ON ASSUMING THAT LEVEL OF ATTRITION.
SO I'M JUST, AND I'M HOPING IT CHANGES BECAUSE WITH ALL OF THESE INVESTMENTS IN THE BUDGET, HOPEFULLY WE WILL SEE THAT.
UM, THE SECOND QUESTION, UM, OBVIOUSLY IT'S, IT TIES TOGETHER A LOT OF, I THINK WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, WHICH IS WE DO SPEND MORE THAN $40,000 A STUDENT, JUST TO PUT IT IN CONTEXT, THAT'S ALMOST DOUBLE THE STATE AVERAGE ON A PER STUDENT BASIS.
SO THE QUESTION IS, WHAT AREAS ARE BEING EXAMINED FOR GREATER COST EFFECTIVENESS AND USE OF THOSE BUDGET DOLLARS NOW, SORRY, UM, COUNCILOR FLAHERTY, BUT THE DISTRICT ALREADY SPENDS TWO OR THREE TIMES WHAT OTHER DISTRICTS SPEND ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND IT'S NOT YET REFLECTED IN MY VIEW, IN OUR RESULTS AS MUCH AS IT COULD BE.
I THINK IF WE DID MORE EFFECTIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, GREAT.
BUT THE, THE REAL QUESTION IS, THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF INVESTMENT WHICH IS NOT DELIVERING.
AND SOME OF IT MAY BE, WHICH I'VE SAID A NUMBER OF TIMES IN THE PAST, IS IF IT'S PD OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM, WE WANT THE TEACHERS IN THE CLASSROOMS TO GET AS MUCH SUPPORT AS THEY THEY CAN.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW THAT LESS THAN A THIRD OF OUR LOW INCOME AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS ARE MEETING THE STANDARDS IN BOTH ELA AND MATH.
SO WHAT IS NEEDED TO REACH THESE GOALS OF HIGHER PROFICIENCY? HOW LONG BEFORE WE SEE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS? I KNOW IT TAKES A FEW YEARS FOR CURRICULUM, BUT WE REALLY, AS COUNCILOR FLAHERTY AND OTHERS HAVE SAID, AND I, MY KIDS WHO WENT THROUGH THERE, MY SON, BY THE WAY, IS A MATH TEACHER.
SO HE DEALS WITH THIS EVERY DAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, HOW IS IT THAT WE ENSURE WHETHER IT'S THE INTERVENTION, THE COACHES, PARAS, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, LIKE ALL THOSE ARE GREAT INVESTMENTS, BUT IF WE'RE NOT TYING THEM VERY DIRECTLY TO HOW IT IS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO INFLUENCE IN THE CLASSROOM TEACHING MM-HMM
THEN IT'S NOT INVESTMENTS WE SHOULD BE MAKING.
WE SHOULD BE REDEPLOYING THOSE ASSETS.
SO I'M REALLY CURIOUS AS TO, AGAIN, THE QUESTION IS WHAT, HOW ARE WE, WHAT, WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO MEET THOSE GOALS AND HOW QUICKLY ARE YOU COMMITTING TO, IN THE DISTRICT TO SEEING RESULTS? UH, THANK YOU CHAIR NOLAN.
UM, WHAT I WOULD SAY TO THAT IS WHEN COUNCILOR FLAHERTY SPOKE OF MORE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING, I GUESS IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE MICROPHONE, BUT I HEARD BETTER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING.
SO THAT WAS JUST HOW I INTERPRETED THAT COMMENT.
AND I THINK THAT I WOULD DEFINE BETTER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AS BEING MORE TARGETED IN MORE SPECIFIC WITH REGARD TO, UH, THE CAPACITY THAT WE KNOW WE NEED TO BUILD WITHIN OUR EDUCATORS AND WITHIN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES.
AND I THINK TO YOUR QUESTION AS TO WHAT DO WE NEED, AGAIN, I, I THINK THAT'S A CHALLENGING, IN A BUDGETARY CONTEXT, I THINK THAT'S A CHALLENGING QUESTION FOR THE CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO ANSWER.
BECAUSE WHILE I THINK WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO ZEALOUSLY ADVOCATE FOR THE TYPE OF ROBUST
[01:55:01]
INVESTMENT THAT THIS COMMUNITY MAKES, I THINK THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE ARE MORE IN THE REALM OF EXECUTION THAN THEY ARE IN, IN TOTAL RESOURCES.SO I THINK I TAKE YOUR QUESTION TO BE HOW ARE WE GOING TO EXECUTE BETTER? AND WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT THE REASON WE START THE BUDGET CONVERSATION TALKING ABOUT THOSE TWO CORNERSTONE GOALS OF EDUCATOR EFFECTIVENESS AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IS BECAUSE IN OUR ASSESSMENT, AND I THINK THERE'S A, A GENERAL CONSENSUS REPRESENTED ON THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE FOR THIS, THOSE ARE THE TWO LEVERS THAT WE UNDERSTAND ARE MOST LIKELY TO BE IMPACTFUL WITH REGARD TO THE QUALITY OF THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE STUDENTS HAVE.
NOW YOU SAW THE, THE, THE SLIDES RELATED TO THE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA.
THE, I I THINK A POINT THAT WE CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH IS THAT THE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT DATA IS VALUABLE IN SO MUCH AS IT IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE EXPERIENCE STUDENTS ARE HAVING.
AND WHEN WE SEE THOSE GAPS, THEN WE HAVE TO PRESUME THAT THERE IS A DISCREPANCY IN THE EXPERIENCE THAT STUDENTS ARE HAVING.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY.
I DO BELIEVE STRONGLY THAT THE INVESTMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, AND AS I SAID EARLIER, I'M DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION FOR THE INVESTMENTS IN THE PRIORITIZATION IN THE ALIGNED CURRICULUM.
I THINK THAT IS A NECESSARY COMPONENT TO START TO SEE THE RESULTS THAT YOU ARE CALLING FOR.
IT HAS TO BE COUPLED WITH A RECOGNITION THAT IT COMES DOWN TO INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE.
AND INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE IMPROVES WHEN THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IS QUALITY IN THE SENSE THAT IT'S TIED TO WHAT EDUCATORS ARE ACTUALLY DOING.
IT'S NOT JUST DRAGGING GROUPS OF EDUCATORS INTO PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE SAKE OF SAYING THEY WERE SUBJECTED TO THIS NUMBER OF HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING.
AND I THINK THE REASON THAT YOU, YOU, THAT THE CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION TAKES TIME IS THAT IT TAKES TIME FOR US TO BUILD THE INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY TO MAKE SURE THAT ONE, THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING IS ON POINT AND IS BEING DIFFERENTIATED ACROSS OUR EDUCATOR GROUPS AS NECESSARY.
AND THAT'S, I THINK, A BIG STEP FORWARD THAT WE MADE THIS YEAR.
AND THEN I THINK IT TAKES TIME FOR OUR EDUCATORS TO HAVE THE LEVEL OF FLUENCY THAT IS NECESSARY TO BE ABLE TO STRIKE WHAT I FREQUENTLY REFER TO AS AN EQUILIBRIUM BETWEEN THE ALIGNMENT IN THE CURRICULUM THAT WE'VE INVESTED IN AND THEIR PRACTICE AS A PROFESSIONAL.
AND I THINK, SO THAT I, THAT'S, I, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC TIMELINE FOR THAT, BUT I THINK THOSE, THAT'S THE NECESSARY SEQUENCE.
I THINK WE'VE MADE THE CORRECT INVESTMENTS.
I THINK WE HAVE TO PRI PRIORITIZE THE CONSISTENCY AND I THINK WE HAVE TO EXECUTE ON THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AT A HIGHER LEVEL.
AND THEN I THINK YOU'LL SEE THOSE RESULTS.
I WASN'T SUGGESTING OVERALL MORE INVESTMENT.
I REALLY WAS WITHIN THIS BUDGET, YOU'VE CLEARLY SAID THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA GO.
AND YET I'M SITTING HERE SAYING, HOW DO WE KNOW MM-HMM
THAT THAT SPECIFIC SET IS GOING TO GET US WHAT WE WANT.
AND I'LL ALSO NOTE, I AGREE, WE'RE ABOVE THE STATE, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, IF YOU LOOK AT THOSE SCHOOL DIFFERENCES, THERE ARE SCHOOLS WAY, WAY ABOVE AND SCHOOLS WAY, WAY BELOW.
AND IF THAT IS NOT ACKNOWLEDGED, IF THAT IS NOT PUT ACROSS AS, TAKE THE BEST TEACHERS AND HAVE THEM HELP THEIR, THEIR COLLEAGUES, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT CAMBRIDGE ALWAYS DOES, ON AVERAGE, WE'RE OKAY.
BUT IT TURNS OUT NO, THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE DOING WAY BETTER AND MANY PEOPLE LEFT BEHIND.
SO I DID THAT WAS TWO QUESTIONS.
I PROMISE AND MADAM LET GO AROUND ACTUALLY, ONCE I SUPPORT YOU ON WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IN TERMS OF WITH THE SIT, WRITE THIS DOWN.
'CAUSE I'M AGREEING WITH YOU, THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN OFTEN.
UM, BUT JUST SIMPLY PUT, WE CAN'T BUY OURSELVES OUT OF WHAT WE ACTED OURSELVES INTO.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, A MORE BRIEF STATEMENT THAN YOU GAVE ME, BUT THAT'S GENERAL MY, WHAT I WOULD SAY IN SUPPORT OF THAT.
UM, SO IF PEOPLE HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WE CAN GO AROUND, UH, AND SEE IF THERE'S OTHERS.
COUNCILOR FLAHERTY, JUST, NO, I DON'T, BUT I WANT, DO I, I WANT TO JUST MAKE SURE I'M DOING THE MATH RIGHT 'CAUSE I, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M JUST HELPING YOU.
MY, MY MATH WAS BELOW PAR STILL IS WHEN I LOOK AT, UM, THE STAFF ALLOCATION ON A PER SCHOOL ENROLLMENT AND STUDENT NEED BASIS, AND I LOOK AT THE RATIOS OF EACH ONE OF THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS THAT'S LISTED HERE.
DO I DIVIDE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF OR DO I DIVIDE, I'M SORRY, THE STUDENT ENROLLMENT BY THE CATEGORY THAT'S LISTED INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF TO GET THE RATIO OF, UH, TEACHER TO PUPIL? IS THAT
OH, SO MY QUESTION IS LOOKING AT THE STAFFING, DO I DIVIDE STUDENT ENROLLMENT BY THE INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF NUMBER TO FIGURE OUT THE RATIO FOR EACH SCHOOL? THAT'S ONE WAY TO CALCULATE IT.
THAT INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF RATIO, UM, WOULD BE TEACHERS PARAPROFESSIONALS, RIGHT? IT WOULD INCLUDE COACHES,
[02:00:01]
IT WOULD INCLUDE EVERYONE THAT'S IN THAT UNIT.SO YOU, I I THINK IF YOU WANTED TO LOOK PURELY AT, UM, SORT OF CLASSROOM TEACHERS TO STUDENTS, YOUR BETTER WAY TO DO IT WOULD BE AT THE BACK WHERE THERE'S THE, UH, STAFFING DETAILS SECTION THAT OUTLINES TITLE BY TITLE.
AND THERE THERE'S A CATEGORY THAT JUSTICE TEACHERS, THAT'S THE CLASSROOM TEACHERS.
AND YOU COULD DIVIDE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS BY THAT NUMBER, AND THAT WOULD TELL YOU MORE ABOUT THE SORT OF CLASSROOM RATIO THAT PEOPLE TYPICALLY TALK ABOUT.
THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTION.
THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN GOVERNOR, DID YOU HAVE OKAY.
COUNCILOR SUZI OR, UH, COUNCILOR SABRINA.
I DO HAVE, I'LL JUST ASK ONE, AND I THINK IT'S VERY, VERY QUICK.
UM, BECAUSE THE INVESTMENT IN CURRICULUM IS NOTED OF HOW INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT IT WAS, IS WAS THE FUNDING THEREFORE DOUBLE FOR THE IMMERSION PROGRAMS BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE, YOU KNOW, THOSE SCHOOLS NEED INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, WHATEVER THEY'RE DOING, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, EVERYTHING IN TWO LANGUAGES.
I THINK IT ACTUALLY ENDS UP BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN DOUBLE
UM, AND PART OF THAT IS THAT BOTH IN SOME OF OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSES AND IN SOME OF OUR SEI CLASSROOMS AND IN SOME OF THE WORK THAT THE ESL STAFF IS DOING, THEY NEED MULTIPLE GRADE LEVELS FOR THE SAME GROUP OF STUDENTS.
SO IT ACTUALLY IS VERY COSTLY FOR THOSE SCHOOLS.
AND IT ENDS UP, I THINK, ACTUALLY BEING MORE THAN DOUBLE, UM, PARTICULARLY IN OUR THREE DUAL IMMERSION SCHOOLS.
BUT YES, THAT INVESTMENT IS SIGNIFICANT IN THOSE AREAS JUST 'CAUSE OTHERWISE THOSE STUDENTS ARE BEING LEFT BEHIND AND ARE NOT GETTING IT, YOU KNOW, IN THE SPANISH AND CHINESE AND, UH, AND PORTUGUESE IMMERSION.
SO I THINK, UH, THERE WERE A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS HERE, BUT I, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THEM AFTERWARDS ABOUT, ACTUALLY I'LL JUST ASK ONE 'CAUSE IT WAS SUCH A TOPIC.
WHAT'S THE STATUS OF THE INVESTMENT MADE IN ENSURING ALL EIGHTH GRADERS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE ALGEBRA? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UH, CHAIR NOLAN, AND, UM, SO IN, IN THE SUMMER OF 2024, THERE WAS A, A DECISION MADE TO, UM, EFFECTIVE THE SCHOOL YEAR 25, 26 FOR ALL STUDENTS IN EIGHTH GRADE TO TAKE, UH, MATERIAL.
THE, UM, ACTUAL NAME OF THE COURSE IS ALGEBRA EXPERIENCE OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT, BUT IT'S THE ILLUSTRATIVE MATHEMATICS, UH, ALGEBRA CURRICULUM.
UM, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT, I THINK RESPONSIBLY BECAUSE OF THE, UH, STAFFING COMPLIMENT THAT WE'VE INVESTED IN.
AND PART OF THE RETENTION OF, UH, AND THE SORT OF STRATEGIC STAFFING THAT I REFERENCED EARLIER AND TRYING TO RATIONALIZE THAT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT IN ADDITION TO CLASSROOM TEACHERS, THERE'S SUFFICIENT, UM, INTERVENTION STAFF, COACHING STAFF AND SPECIAL EDUCATION STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL STUDENTS HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY.
WHAT I'VE SAID TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, UH, WHAT I SAID AT A, AT A LISTENING SESSION EARLIER THIS WEEK, AND WHAT I'LL SAY TO YOU IS THAT I THINK IT IS A STRATEGIC DECISION THAT WE NEED TO MONITOR VERY, VERY CLOSELY AND LOOK REALLY CLOSELY AT THE DATA.
IT IS NOT THE CASE THAT WE EXPECT, UM, ALL STUDENTS TO HAVE, UH, TO NOT TAKE TO, TO MOVE ON TO GEOMETRY OR ALGEBRA TWO, AS IN NINTH GRADE.
THERE WILL BE SOME STUDENTS WHO STILL TAKE ALGEBRA IN NINTH GRADE.
AND DEVELOPMENTALLY, UH, I THINK THE, THE CONSENSUS AMONGST, AMONGST MOST OF OUR INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF IS THAT IS APPROPRIATE.
THE REASON THAT THIS IS A CHALLENGING QUESTION IS THAT WHEN WE MADE THAT STRATEGIC DECISION TO ESSENTIALLY CONCENTRATE ALGEBRA CONS, IT'S MORE THAN IT TAKES ALGEBRA CONCEPTS, I THINK MIGHT BE THE ACTUAL NAME.
UM, BUT THE, UH, WHEN WE MADE THAT DECISION, WE WERE MAKING THE DECISION UNDERSTANDING THAT A NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO WERE ALREADY MOVING ALONG THEIR K TO EIGHT ACADEMIC CAREERS HAD NOT EXPERIENCED THE, UM, MODESTLY ACCELERATED APPROACH TO ILLUSTRATIVE MATHEMATICS DURING THAT TIME.
AND THAT WE WERE SORT OF SPEEDING UP A PROCESS THAT IF YOU LOOK AT THE DATA, UM, I, I JUST, YOU KNOW, FULL DISCLOSURE, I HAVE SOME RESERVATIONS ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW IS EIGHTH GRADERS ARE ALL TAKING ALGEBRA.
WE UN WE CAN DO THAT AGAIN BECAUSE OF THAT HEALTHY STAFFING RATIO, PARTICULARLY AT ONE OF OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES THAT WAS NOT NECESSARILY AT THE SAME PLACE FROM AN ACHIEVEMENT PERSPECTIVE, WE KNOW THAT A SIGNIFICANT COHORT OF NINTH GRADERS WILL CONTINUE TO TAKE ALGEBRA AND WE HAVE TO LOOK CLOSELY AT THE DATA GROWTH GAPS AND ACHIEVEMENT IN THE COMING YEARS TO DETERMINE EXACTLY AT WHAT LEVEL CAN WE, UH, RESPONSIBLY ACCELERATE THAT INSTRUCTION.
AND SO I JUST, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THOSE, THOSE AREAS WHERE WE'VE MADE THE COMMITMENT, WE'RE MAKING THE INVESTMENT, KIDS ARE TAKING THE CLASS.
I WANNA LOOK AT THE DATA VERY CLOSELY IN THE COMING YEARS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT BY THOSE STUDENTS.
NO, JUST LIKE THIRD GRADE READING, EIGHTH GRADE MATH, THOSE ARE MARKERS THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR 20 YEARS.
I ALWAYS HONOR THE ALGEBRA PROJECT BIRTHS HERE IN CAMBRIDGE PRECISELY BECAUSE THERE WAS NOT THE COMMITMENT.
AND I ACTUALLY WOULD HOPE THAT TEACHERS ARE NEVER SAYING THAT MOST KIDS
[02:05:01]
CAN'T DO THIS BECAUSE THAT THEN SENDS A MESSAGE THAT THEY CAN'T.SO I THINK WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT OUR LANGUAGE AND I'M SORRY, BUT IF EVERY SINGLE KID IN SO MANY OTHER COUNTRIES CAN DO IT IN SIXTH OR SEVENTH GRADE, I THINK WE SHOULD UP OUR EXPECTATIONS HERE.
AND I KNOW IT WAS A BIG INVESTMENT, SO I WANTED TO ASK BECAUSE IT WAS A, SO WE, WE WE CAN TUSSLE ABOUT THAT LATER.
WELL, JUST TO BE CLEAR, I I'M NOT, I'M ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT IT AND I, I APPROVE THE CHANGE, SO I'M, I BELIEVE ALL STUDENTS CAN DO IT AS WELL.
PROVIDED WE'RE BUILDING THE SUPPORTS WE NEED ACROSS THE ELEMENTARY AND UPPER SCHOOL CONTINUUM, IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE PREPARED TO DO THAT AS LONG AS, AND THE TEACHERS BELIEVE THEY CAN DO IT, AND TEACHERS BELIEVE THAT TEACHERS THEMSELVES CAN DO IT.
YEAH, NO, I JUST ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT, ABOUT THE INVESTMENT.
IT WASN'T A SERIOUS INVESTMENT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE BODY? ALL RIGHT.
MOVE ADOPTION ON, UH, ON, UH, UH, MOTION BY, UH, COUNCILOR MCGOVERN TO MOVE THE $293 MILLION SCHOOL BUDGET TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL WITH A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION DISCUSSION.
JUST, UH, WHILE WE DISCUSS THIS, I JUST WANNA APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT IS POURED INTO ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS, TO YOU ALL TO OUR EDUCATORS, BUS DRIVERS, AND SO MANY OTHERS.
UM, WANNA APPRECIATE THAT WORK.
AND AT THE SAME TIME, I CAN'T SUPPORT A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION ON THE BUDGET CONSIDERING THE QUESTIONS I'VE ASKED AND SEEING THE VOTE IN THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE WAS CLOSE.
UM, I THINK WE STILL HAVE SOME MORE WORK TO DO TO ENSURE THAT THE INVESTMENTS WE'RE MAKING ARE TRANSLATING INTO THE OUTCOMES THAT, UH, THE OUTCOMES AND THE CARE WE ALL WANNA SEE FOR OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILY.
SO HOPEFULLY LOOKING FOR SOME MORE IMPROVEMENT BEFORE I CAN SUPPORT THIS BUDGET, I'LL YIELD.
ANYONE ELSE HAVE A COMMENT BEFORE WE GO? JUST A QUICK QUESTION BECAUSE I'M JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M ALL, WHAT WAS THE VOTE OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE? FIVE TO TWO.
I THOUGHT IT WAS FIVE IN FAVOR.
UH, UH, COUNCILLOR BINNER WHEELER.
THANKS, MADAM CHAIR THROUGH YOU.
UM, UH, YEAH, I WAS MENTIONING THE, THE APPRECIATE THE WORK OF THE SCHOOL STAFF ON THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I THINK AS WAS MENTIONING THE INTRODUCTION, THESE BUDGETS IN THE FIRST, UH, YEAR OF A TERM WERE ALWAYS A LITTLE TOUGH BECAUSE THEY STARTED WITH THE PREVIOUS SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL.
UM, AND IN THIS CASE WE HAD AN ESPECIALLY LARGE TRANSITION IN TERMS OF MEMBERS BETWEEN THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, UM, CURRENTLY AND THE PREVIOUS ONE.
UM, SO I'LL USUALLY DEFER TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS ON THE SCHOOL BUDGET.
UM, I DO JUST, YEAH, I WANNA TRY TO REFLECT THAT THE VOTE, UH, FROM THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE HAD A LITTLE BIT MORE VARIETY THIS YEAR THAN IN PREVIOUS YEARS WHEN IT WAS CLOSER TO UNANIMOUS.
UM, AND I THINK THAT TRANSITION WAS, UH, WAS SIDE TO THE TRANSITION AND WANNA TRY TO RESPECT AND REFLECT THAT.
SO I DON'T THINK I'M READY TO VOTE WITH A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION AT THIS TIME.
WOULD BE HAPPY TO SEND IT FORWARD WITH A NEUTRAL RECOMMENDATION, UM, AND LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO ENGAGE WITH OUR PARTNERS ON THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE, INCLUDING AS WE START PREPARING THE FY 28 BUDGET, WHICH STARTS AS SOON AS WE, UH, FINISH PASSING THIS ONE.
THERE'S A MOTION ON THE FLOOR.
SO I THINK THAT'S WOULD BE, YEAH, I'LL JUST SAY, I MEAN THE, THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE IS ELECTED A DULY ELECTED BODY IS ONE OF THEIR MAIN JOBS TO DO THE BUDGET.
THEY UNDERSTAND THIS AND WHAT THE SCHOOLS NEED BETTER THAN ANY OF US DO.
WE DON'T WANT THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE WEIGHING IN ON OUR POLICE BUDGET OR HOUSING BUDGET OR ANYTHING ELSE.
THAT'S WHAT WE ARE ELECTED TO DO.
I JUST, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S DISRESPECTFUL TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE AND THE EFFORT THAT THEY'VE PUT IN TO MAKE A POLITICAL DECISION.
AND I'M GONNA VOTE PRESIDENT OR I'M NOT GONNA PUT IT FORWARD BECAUSE THERE MAY BE ONE OR TWO THINGS WE DON'T LIKE IN THE, IN THE BUDGET.
THEY ENGAGE IN THE, IN A VERY THOUGHTFUL, THOROUGH COMMUNITY PROCESS.
THEY HAVE DEBATED AND ARGUED AND DISAGREED ON THESE ISSUES AND THOUGHT THEM THROUGH.
MY MOTION IS NOT GONNA CHANGE.
MOVE TO A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION.
I'D LIKE TO CALL THE QUESTION.
I I DO WANNA SAY I I THINK WE SHOULD RESPECT THAT UNLESS IT'S A RUBBER STAMP.
EVERYBODY ON THIS COUNCIL CAN VOTE HOWEVER THEY FEEL.
SO I DON'T TAKE ISSUE WITH ANYONE VOTING THEIR CONSCIENCE.
I THINK IT'S AN IMPORTANT ROLE AND I WOULD NOT WANT US TO ACTUALLY BE IN A SITUATION WHERE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE IT'S A MEANINGLESS VOTE, WHICH MEANS, AND I HAVE BEEN ON THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE SIDE, SO FOR A LONG TIME, SO I SAY THAT KNOWING HOW IT MIGHT LAND, BUT AGAIN, POINT OF INFORMATION.
THE COUNCIL IS, I'M SPEAKING, UM, IT'S A POINT OF INFORMATION.
I ACTUALLY USUALLY YIELD THE FLOOR TO JUST FIND OUT WHAT POINT I'M YIELD BECAUSE I WANNA FINISH.
SO, WELL THEN I'M GONNA SAY IT ANYWAYS.
I THOUGHT HE CALLED THE QUESTION AND THAT'S NOT DEBATABLE.
I CAN I JUST FINISH COUNCILOR MCGOVERN THE CHAIR.
YEAH, YOU DID CALL THE QUESTION.
SO, SO I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT WE ALL HONOR THAT EVERYBODY'S INTENTION AND THEIR VOTE IS RELATED TO HOW THEY BEST SEE THE CITY MOVING FORWARD.
I HAVE VOTED NO ON THE, UM, ON SCHOOL BUDGETS IN THE PAST.
I AM HESITANT ABOUT THIS ONE BECAUSE I DON'T SEE A LOT OF CHANGE, AND YET I DO SEE THE
[02:10:01]
EFFORT THAT'S BEEN PUT IN AND I, UH, HOPE THAT THIS CONVERSATION AND THE HARD CONVERSATIONS ARE HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY WILL MOVE US FORWARD.SO I WILL BE VOTING YES FOR THE RECOMMENDATION.
ON THE QUESTION BECAUSE THE QUESTION WAS CALLED, AND WE DON'T HAVE OUR ATTORNEY HERE.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS WHEN SOMEONE CALLS THE QUESTION, IT IS NOT DEBATABLE.
BUT IF WE'RE GOING TO DEBATE, CALLING THE QUESTION, I WILL NOT BE CHASTISED BY MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT THE VOTES THAT WE NEED TO TAKE.
I AGREE WITH THE, UH, MY COLLEAGUE MR. WHAT'S YOUR NAME? COUNCILOR MCGOVERN.
WE HAVE, WE, WE CAN VOTE THE BUDGET UP AND DOWN.
I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE MAKING COMMENTARY ON HOW THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE RUNS ITS SHOW.
WE MIGHT NOT LIKE IT, BUT IF WE DON'T LIKE IT, THEN WE SHOULD RUN THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
AND IF WE'RE NOT, THEN LET'S RESPECT THEIR POSITION.
SO I'M GONNA YIELD THE FLOOR, THE QUESTION'S BEING, BEING, BEING CALLED.
WELL, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO CALL THE QUESTION.
I THINK WE CAN JUST GO TO A ROLL CALL.
WHAT'S THAT? THERE'S TWO, THERE'S TWO VOTES.
SO WE HAVE TO VOTE TO CALL THE QUESTION AND THEN WE'LL VOTE.
WELL, OR WE JUST DO ROLL CALL, RIGHT? IF WE'RE GONNA GET TO IT NOW, I'LL WITHDRAW THE THE QUESTIONS, BUT I WANT TO GET TO VOTE TO WITHDRAW ALREADY.
NO ONE'S GONNA CHANGE THEIR MIND.
YOU CAN, YOU'RE WITHDRAWING AND WE CAN JUST GO STRAIGHT TO ROLL CALL AS LONG AS WE GO TO THE VOTE.
DID YOU WAS COUNCILLOR FLAHERTY WE'RE VOTING ON COUNCIL FLAHERTY INFORMATION.
IS THIS VOTE ABOUT, WE'RE VOTING ON THE MOTION.
WE'RE VOTING ON THE MOTION TO FORWARD THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE BUDGET TO THE FULL CITY COUNCIL WITH A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION.
I WILL BE VOTING YES WITH A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION BECAUSE I HAVE ABSOLUTE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE IN THE LEADERSHIP OF SUPERINTENDENT MARTIN.
WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF A ROLL.
AND YOU HAVE SIX MEMBERS RECORDED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
UH, WE HAVE THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE MORE, UH, FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING NEXT TUESDAY, STARTING AT NINE O'CLOCK WITH THE REMAINDER OF THE, OF THE BUDGETS.
VERY IMPORTANT FOR ANYONE WHO IS NOT SENT IN QUESTIONS FOR THOSE DEPARTMENTS, PLEASE GET THEM IN BY WHAT DAY IS TODAY, WEDNESDAY, BY THE END OF THE DAY TOMORROW, SO THAT THE STAFF CAN PREPARE.
AND YOU HAVE EIGHT MEMBERS RECORDING THE AFFIRMATIVE.