everson is working the cameras tonight and everyone else is sports us that would have been great not to have to have the night shortened meeting but i also want to thank the committee because i know we always try to do a thoughtful job on topics whether it's a school calendar a budget or anything and for anybody who didn't follow last week's meeting we just didn't feel like we had all the information we needed to make the best decisions on these two topics so thank you there were body for coming out again tonight i also want to just give the superintendent a quick shout out if you look at the roads the softer tone in the c evening you'd think there was nothing the small but when she and i were texting it nine pm last night she said it's going to be an early morning call so i know she's been up all day because i talked to tony yesterday when we know that happened in he is just really great proactive so he drives it and he does not live in town and he had he said oh perfect timing i just came to pick up the truck so he'll swap out his personal vehicle for the plug truck with a plow so that as he comes in at four in the morning at four thirty he can do any trying up the seas and he really is on the road between four thirty and five o'clock when we're trying to make the decision and can tell so by the time i talk to tony about four forty four forty five he  had already talked to the d p w felt we'd be ready go on time seemed like other people in the area were feeling the same and then twenty minutes later he called back and said he had been around most things and thought we were going to go and indeed we were so really it's really good to have that kind of people to and gave us a little bit more time in the morning early morning hours so well and thank you debbie and it's probably interesting to the committee in the public to hear the process now it works but it's probably easier my know it's easier when you can make the call the night before yeah this was one of those type ones i don't like to have school days off but if we do the no brainers or at least a little the early morning ones and every easy is that usually is about conditions not accumulation so that can be good that's much more of a judgment call so  awards recently and frank did for his story about our beloved sam burns so public shout out to the reporter and to frank for their awards was impressive to read ok any of visitors want to be recognized ok seeing none approval code as is which were snow days were and this is continued your discussion from last week and i guess i will say i think it's my job to hear what the school committee decides and to make sure that we can make it happen whatever you think is best the committee last week did ask us to collect information about it whether how many conflicts could possibly occur in those days and i want to thank you for all of our principals because they did that we only had a couple of days to do that as you know and the principals all its q tip within their buildings with the same questions that i had given them in just a few days so that i could get the data to the committee on friday before i left for the week so whether it's helpful or not just so people know that if other people are watching we did not survey the entire staff and i just want to be clear it's not that other people rolls on important it's that we had a couple days to do it you have to make the sample size manageable and we felt it was best just to see how many conflicts teachers had because we felt that in other cases we could probably be able to manage a little bit a little bit so it has nothing to do with our value for the people's jobs it's just that we have to make going to get this turned over with data back in two and a half days and we have to really make sure that we just shrunk our sample size i just want to be clear on that so we had two hundred twenty three teachers respond and i also i want to thank frank for how we reported this last week and for taking the time as he always does to reach out and clarify because it isn't that there is some people aren't always familiar with how we teachers contractor teachers calendar works it isn't that teachers don't stay if the year goes on to the snow days or afterwards of course they do but people play in their personal lives as we all do in good faith given what we expected given what was approved for the calendar so that's what i guess the best way i could describe it which is how frank reported it accurately which is people in good faith may have paid me personal plans because it's rare that we ever go beyond the five snow days that's always suffice so the expectation that we go beyond five really is isn't there and there  you know in my memory so that's that's really all it isn't that people wouldn't be at work is that in good faith they've made plans with under a different set of expectations so about thirty teachers have conflicts on good friday about  conflicts on june twenty fifth which is the thursday currently our last day of school and about forty eight would have conflicts on that friday june twenty sixth so if we have one more snow day we go into that friday june twenty six mean this was from me late friday if you want to go back and look for specifically but then your interest was in two also it's a different data point but what's the best instructional day which is different from who has conflicts and so our teaching staff felt that eighty eight percent felt that the best which option for making up that six no day if the committee decides that you have interest and that do you think presents the best instruction play for students and eighty eight percent said friday april third good friday and twelve percent felt that there is a june twenty fifth commonly eles day it's a different sort of question people are going to have conflicts i think we discussed this last week people are going to have conflicts regardless  i know if that helps but that's the data that you know i think that's very helpful and again it would have been nice to be able to get up and the job on this last week and are giving you a night in tonight after early morning but i do think t class at the high school he was very interested in this discussion so on his own we love students with initiative thank you and he did a little survey of some of the students in his in his program as to what the students like so i'll just summarize for when you have ian survey in front of you i made copies that that most of the students you surveyed are willing to go to school on good friday they are also more than willing to extend the year into the end of june they absolutely do not want saturday and the don't feel very strongly or that they're really not too much in favor of going to school during the able vacation week so thank you ian for being a good student citizen and collecting some data on your own and showing some initiative so we can definitely think that's a good that's a good that's a good way for us to be in our discussion i think you know we do have the option to consider consider weekends or april vacation and i think the committee has taken those off the table so i think based on the feedback and again thank you for the very good input and the quick response from the redmond team and the team here's i think the choices are extend to friday june twenty sixth or have school on good friday and just to remind what you just said forty eight have conflicts on june twenty sixth thirty of conflicts on good friday and eighty eight percent of the staff felt the best instructional day would be to go to school on good friday yes so hollow pointed to the committee for discussion or thoughts personally you know had some qualms about good friday for just personal reasons it being a holiday for some of us but i actually talked to some some friends of mine even at my church services this weekend and i like the good friday idea good luck didn't to do it but i think it's best for the schools and since so many other businesses are actually open on good  friday i think that you know there will be families that will celebrate good friday with our decision without our decision but like i said i would reluctantly but recommend myself that of resignation to the fact that we have an unusual set of circumstances this year i don't i would not like to see this become a routine school day  right but i just i think it needs to be said oh yes but you know in this set of circumstances i think putting some valuable instructional time back in our school calendar would be a good thing i actually had an e mail from a parent who was watching last week's meeting and it was waiting for me when i got home from the meeting that said just that that you know it seemed like a good friday would be a more productive day for our students and you know it's again i guess i would agree sabbatical there you know for a lot of people it really is and certainly if people chose to keep their children home that would be an excused absence like it is when we go to school and other faiths really just absolutely the same tina while i am ready to go and i of course will are on the side of best instruction first instruct without as face a former educator why am i not surprised well i just wanted to state it clearly  friday then the other school good day to maybe not we're going to discuss this wednesday depending on what the committee decides our job is to make it work so it's possible we may go outside the regular day week schedule rotation i can't really answer that but there are reasons why we may not be able to we may have to keep the of a cycle and just insert a day in the cycle so i can't answer that but it's possible that it would be a different day lunch and go home yes but we don't do that but joe you bring up a good point good point that we haven't talked about yet a table tonight so never your thought would be to make an early release day probably there are a few things we need to look into actually about that it will definitely be an early release day know what the timeframe for the release we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves so we're waiting actually to see what committee decides and then we'll make it work and i'll let you know it will definitely not be a full day because people who would want to send their children to the instructional day and still participate in the afternoon religious observance traditions we wouldn't be in school all day but  of issues have been brought to my attention that we'd have to consider what would be the best actual schedule of the day when i get too far ahead of myself ok but that's good to know there would definitely be an early release to yes before we vote i wonder melissa i don't want to put you on the spot but i wonder if you have any insight you always y have school in to cover the six snow day that we've encountered on this year only with no pattern for seeing on this for this year's good friday in the sincere thoughts are with that day as well but but it's i think it's best for the school district and the students i mean i mean locked into what's but let's all say we're reluctant to do it yeah but i do think that you've already voted next y school calendar which is not include that is the school day so off to your all your points about not contain with the tradition you already not made it a tradition for next year so i just want an exceptional year yes thank you there's another factor too that we haven't by now we are aware of which is if we get another snow day which could be this week you know you're least now would have an option for friday june twenty sixth for if if we had you didn't we do this tonight and we had another snow day we'd be on to the correct which was your regionally approved last last day that people were counting on and then if we have one more at least we don't have that many conflicts when you get to friday you know really i think we have probably a number of conflicts that would be very difficult  you for the discussion with all those in favor ok so the motion passes the last day of school as of right now is wednesday june twenty fourth and we will be going to school on good friday left i did have an opportunity to talk to father steve this weekend and he is i think reluctant to i think he you know he has always been such an advocate for our children and he understands the importance of instructional days and obviously goes out saying he knows the importance of good friday but he appreciated the committee noting last week that this was an important consideration and i think he will respect the discussion tonight and  certainly the focus that this is not a long term plan and so next year schedule is already in place so unique year has been a unique year and hopefully this is the right decision the next topic is the school committee very concerned and just by way of reminder to set the tone for that discussion i think we've talked about this topic twice now i think the consensus of the committee been that it's too short a period to really think about appointing someone and even to the public before the election but then last week i made the point that our policy didn't technical and so you have something report on that i went back and reviewed my conversations with the town clerk's office which i can report on again for the committee's decision point anybody listening to it would be a good point yeah  i did i i did look at the statute it is consistent with our policy i mean our policy more or less reiterate what is in the statute and it does say you shall fill it it does not say within which timeframe at which is consistent with what steve discussed with glenn koocher from the massachusetts association of school committees and i actually talked to glenn koocher this morning myself and he also reiterated that towns do it differently nothing is really called out in the statute as far as a timeframe for filling that seat in some towns do choose when it is a short period of time to just let the election process take place in the town so that we wouldn't be running afoul of the statute if we chose to do that given that there would probably only be about three meetings between when we maybe not even that many maybe not even that many but when we could possibly appoint somebody and our own elections which are  anything they'd like to add all the way to my i just want to rate the success of the one of the time that i'm aware that this happened it worked well by us and it's even a shorter period time of time worked very successfully south on the presidents of success i'm ready to vote ok and i don't know that this requires a voter in action but i think because of deliberate i'm so much the prob we're just putting it into record if you guys i would think so we do want to make a motion of yes i would like to make a motion that we leave the our our school committee seat vacant and that it will be filled through the regular election next year school committee meeting this time in fifteen twenty six so i want to thank janet to work together to try to i mean you're to try to put together some proposed school committee dates which doesn't mean that they can't change mondays of each month traditionally you have one meeting in august just prior to the opening of school so that would take place on monday august twenty fourth and given this draft for your consideration we typically of one meeting and in september this year was a little bit different because you reverse do actual personal conflict i thought you had in you were you had two meetings of september one an october but this puts you back to what you traditionally do is a committee which is one meeting late august one meeting in september and then then you go to the first and third monday scenario unless the school make a sion week falling on the third in which case you fall to the fourth monday and that happens in january february april and then town meeting and it was nice enough to put all the pertinent dates right on your calendar so the town election in two thousand and sixteen would be on may to the town meeting is on the ninth so your school committee meeting is the week after that because you have taught me so it's great pretty much is what you typically do so and could i just add although it's not on our calendar and we do know consider this until the end of school but fourteenth of september falls on russia shot on the meeting on december seventh falls on the first day of hanukkah you know that's a longer holiday celebration but they don't know if that would it be difficult to move those or would it be i certainly think it was a member minos respectful thing to do i think considering come situated said on the other that's the first and so i think that i think some consideration should be given to move in moving the september we would have had one just at the end of august anyway right which i'm sorry which meeting i think this is a school committee decision you're really thinking i'll stick with kosik with my opinion i think i could make either one work i think sometimes that's my job just to see what the will of the committee is and just make it work i would be inclined to move it to the twenty first and if we have a hurricane or an unusual set of circumstances and i think we should probably have an earlier meeting to make sure everything is on track but i think given every and if everything is going according to plan i think the convene within a matter of hours we can if there's anything that's a crisis that needs a motion that we accept the calendar with the amendment for the russia show of the day and of course keep all congratulations to the girls and boys basketball i mean you know the girls won both of their playoff rounds last week on tuesday and thursday and they will be playing in the third round of the playoffs on wednesday mesozoic community college the boys basketball team also won their first two rounds of playoffs last wednesday and friday night and they will be playing in the third round on tomorrow night tuesday at brockton high school so unbelievable the successful season congratulations and can't wait to see what you do this week but just even up till now tremendously successful it's been the games in a very exciting and they've worked really hard so the regulations are both those teams first ere we're looking to bring in dunes here so we get a lot of the nitty gritty ironed out today so we continue to work on that we're in good shape for that a lot of things have happened as you can understand it's very neat process so we're in about step three or four of the service certification that you need to bring international students here on f one visas we had a meeting with the ice the immigration the federal government who has security immigration that well we are meeting today really and we had everybody there high school people in the bill and we really outlined everything that would be happening and what support to be here for the students so we do expect by the spring that they will be interview with and kids will be applying s applying for the high schools they want to come to me through the program so we're moving along making great progress and the only other thing is we do realize that springs for a season starts two weeks from tomorrow and we have a tur field that could be used especially with all the slush that's going to be happening everywhere else and it is covered with several feet of snow so bill and i have been working to to contact a company which built it today recommended by our friends at gillette stadium wh specialized equipment and we're going to look into the cost of clearing the turf field safely and so that doesn't damage the field but so the kids can start using it because i don't know everybody else in massachusetts going to be playing but i'm sure the turf is going to be the only service available for quite some you i just sent it out late today you do know the project contemporary competitiveness is a summer program that the committee voted to support for current seventh eighth and ninth graders who will be incoming eighth ninth tenth graders and that is the opportunity for that six week liv information i was snowed out along with a lot of other things so we just rescheduled it to next week and that email went out to all parents of students their grade level tonight and i believe it's next thursday thursday this next thursday night right at the ahern middle g day which is an annual event and i saw our students go into a full day of seven hours special training and then they wound the afternoon up around one thirty to three thirty with  an outstanding display of concerts from what they learned in a very compressed day and you know an intense taylor inning and was again really impressed it was terrific staff was great our transportation department helped our students get there in the morning around six thirty safely and also safely home during a pretty good snowstorm coming up from the western part of the state and i want to superintendent because there is an excellent workshop day for high school students and all kinds of things with drama which will be happening around october twenty three and i would like  g so i was well i just want to make sure that it would it would do nothing for me personally so i wanted to explain it to you first so that people would not sit around a conflict of interest although there is absolutely no benefit to me whether they come or not and then i'd be more than willing to explain it to them but i'm for at last on the information whatever it's what is i would feel comfortable doing it that way to raise a question that way right thank you anything else i mean just again another club for a parent technology night on tuesday march tenth it's a different format than years past so people really have an opportunity to go into sessions or to come here in the media center and talk with students and teachers see some of our mobile devices that we've deployed in the schools and have a much more hands on experience with teachers and students or to do one question for presentation two so it's a different format and more about the evening and what parents have been able to walk away from that evening so it's more geared toward that evening taking feedback in that format might play out in a different way are good at that evening  if there was a component there for it we definitely take and that's one of the reasons for the different format this year people wanted to have more opportunities to see more things than have gone to a more intimate conversation with teachers and students