All right, we're live.

Welcome to the April 3rd meeting of the Sharon School Committee.

This meeting will be conducted remotely over Zoom.

Attendance by board members will be remote, and remote attendance shall count towards a quorum.

The meeting will be broadcast live and recorded by Sharon TV. If you elect to enable your webcam, your image and background, broadcast with or without sound, as always, we will begin with public comments.

Ground rules, two minutes per person.

I'm going to need a timekeeper where I can do it myself.

Other than that, it is an open floor for the public, and folks should be comfortable.

So speaking about whatever it is their heart desires, I see no hands.

I will stop watching myself.

And first up, I see Judy Crosby.

Thank you.

Oh, I thought you said you saw no hands raised.

I apologize for gesturing wildly.

Got it. No, no, no.

All right. Okay. So I had three issues at the high school that I wanted to talk about.

They all involve equity and access.

First off, there's been indications from the administration, and I mentioned this at the policy subcommittee meeting, that they may be looking to tie grades or access to other privileges at the high school to attendance.

I am asking that the school committee dig into this and ensure that any changes of that nature only apply to unexcused absences, so that absences for religious holidays or for illness don't count.

Otherwise, you're going to have kids coming to school sick. It used to be that excused absences counted towards this rule, and it was bad.

Secondly, the override penalty appears to have been restored without your consent.

So you passed a program of studies.

It talks about overrides, but it does not talk about students who override being treated in a disparate fashion.

Students who have overridden this year have been told that if they want to drop down, they will have to stay in that class for the entire quarter and take the grade they receive, while students who receive recommendations get to drop down immediately.

This is illegal.

It's discriminatory.

This school committee in February 2020 voted to do away with this. Please dig in. You approved a program of studies.

This is not in it.

Lastly, there's a new schedule being proposed.

It cuts ACES, also known as ECOBLOCK, down to 20 minutes and moves it to the end of the day. This causes substantial disparate impact on students who do not have transport outside of the buses because they can't get to school before or after for additional help as readily.

They can't make up tests and do all the things that ECOBLOCK used to be there for.

It was put into the schedule, I think, over 15 years ago to help with stress at the high school. This is not a good plan, and it should be coming before the school committee.

Final thing, as nothing to do with the high school, if Policy is going to continue meeting at 11 a.m. on a weekday, locking out students and teachers from the possibility of attending, I respectfully ask that Policy reach out to Amy Tobey and Isaac and Schedule Sharon TV to tape those Zoom meetings so they can be replayed so everyone has access.

That's also an equity and transparency issue. Thank you.

All right. Thank you very much.

Amy Thaler.

Thank you. Sorry, you'll have to forgive me. I am in the car.

First, I'd like to set something straight on behalf of the Sharon Jewish Action Committee regarding the cancellation of Ms. Allen. The call for cancellation wasn't due to her book or National Hijab Day, but rather due to her anti-Semitic rhetoric that she presented on her social media channels.

When Sharon's Jewish students were opted out of the three hours of the mandatory assembly, they were bullied and called racist.

That is a very harsh accusation, not one to be taken lightly.

We are open and wanting to learn about all cultures represented in our town, but we don't want it to be at the expense or safety of our children with someone openly anti-Semitic or for other matters, someone who is Islamophobic or racist.

Thank you.

Thank you for your time.

I'll throw it over to Julie Rowe for correspondence.

Thank you, Avi.

Let me see where I had it.

One second.

Okay. Thank you. The school committee has received 11 pieces of correspondence between March 20th, 2024, at 9 a.m. and April 3rd, 2024, at 9 a.m.

We have received two updates from METCO, including information on the Persuasive Communication Series, Advocacy Days, and the Young Women's Leadership Conference.

We received a couple of letters to express support and emphasize the importance of a full-time athletic director for Sharon Public Schools.

A community member wrote to inform the school committee that they are appealing a recent public records request as a partial non-response.

The town finance director shared an informational webinar on the Department of Revenue Division of Local Services.

A community member wrote to request that the district pull any support for the Massachusetts Teachers Association.

We received a letter to express concerns about the messaging around the cancellation of the Hijab Day speaker at Sharon Middle School.

A community member wrote with feedback on the public comment period of the March 20th school committee meeting and to relay their dismay regarding a rise in anti-Semitic narratives that are occurring in our community.

A community member wrote to share their feedback on the recent cancellation of the Hijab Day speaker and the injustice that impacted Muslim students and to express their concern regarding standards of fairness and equity in the district.

The school committee received the Sharon High School Library April newsletter that highlighted some March statistics on happenings in the library, the Massachusetts Teen Book Award nominees, and a reminder that April is National Poetry Month.

Thanks, Julie.

All right.

Do we have a student rep update here?

Please raise your hand.

You are the student rep and you are here.

Seeing no student rep, I will throw it over to Dr. Vitello for the superintendent update.

SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: Okay.

Thank you.

Along with a one-time request for funding for curriculum material.

So the next step will be, you know, looking for approval at town meeting.

We're reviewing positions.

We'll begin to post open positions, new positions and positions that become vacant as a result of staff shifts or retirements, resignations.

Prior positions include the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction administration, and athletic director slash assistant principal at the high school. So a combined position for those two and a new principal for Heights Elementary.

MCAS season has begun.

So if I'm walking in classrooms throughout this week and last week, you have students who are going through that testing period, which includes March and April.

Please watch for information about those dates.

Advanced placement exams will begin, will take place the first week of May. We have April vacation coming up after next week.

Also, notices are going out from each of the schools around the eclipse.

That's occurring on Monday.

Just kind of warning, you know, students about not looking into the sun during that eclipse and some other tips as far as safety.

There will be the best baseball field dedication to Coach Joel Peckham on Sunday, May 19th, with an additional ceremony prior to the home game on May 20th.

And our next school committee meeting will be on April 24th.

I see Adam has his hand up.

Go ahead, Adam.

I do. Thank you, Dr. Patello. Just a couple of quick questions. So you noted the hiring or the posting of the open roles and the priority open roles.

I just wanted to know, is there a kind of hiring committee for the Heights principal or how is that kind of community engagement working?

Yeah, I sent out a notice about that. And it asked for both faculty and family community members to express interest if they're interested in joining that committee.

I also have had a couple of school committee members who have expressed interest as well. So, yes, it will be a hiring committee made up of staff, parent guardians, and school committee members.

Fantastic. SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: Fantastic. Fantastic.

And the other question I had, you referenced kind of the beginning of kind of MCAS season.

I know there was the question raised about the MCAS currently scheduled across one of the grades over Eid.

Were we able to reschedule that?

We were not. We were not.

There's so many dates during this window that one of the, at least initial scheduling of one of the grades needed to be on that day.

We do have, part of the reason is we do have numerous makeup days and we would lose, you know, some of those makeup days at a time where we're historically, we've needed them all. So, we weren't able to do that. We've also continuously lobbied the state to try to move that window or extend that window.

But unfortunately, it's a no avail.

Thank you very much.

Julie?

Hi, Dr. Patel.

Oh, could, maybe in another general update, could we hear some more about, like, the progress of, I'm very excited about the new elementary literacy curriculum that we'll be getting, as well as the math curriculum.

And so, it would be great if we could get an update on, like, the status of that and what considerations are going into the selection of the type of books and resources that we're going to buy.

It would be great if we could have that another time, like, next time.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Yep.

All right. Seeing no more hands at the table.

I'll move us to our first discussion item, school choice, preliminary discussion and next steps.

Back to you, Dr. Patel.

Yeah. So, I'm going to start with a little overview for people who are, you know, in the audience who are new to understanding what school choice is. It's a program that has been placed since 1991 and it's covered by mass general law.

The school choice program allows parents to send their children to schools and communities other than the one in which they reside. The law presumes that all districts will participate in school choice and admit non-resident students unless a school committee holds a public hearing and votes to withdraw from school choice by June 1st of each year. So, this is something that we make the decision on each year.

If districts do not participate in school choice, families can still enroll their children in a participating district school. So, for example, if we do not participate theoretically, one of our children could still participate and attend another district that has school choice.

Currently, Sharon does not participate as a school choice receiving district and has never participated since its inception in 1991. The way it works is a school choice tuition for students in regular education is $5,000 per student.

So, if a student was coming over to our district or we had a student going to another district, the sending district would send $5,000 to the receiving district.

There's also an additional increment based on special education costs and it's based on a cost calculation similar to the way that costs are calculated using Circuit Breaker.

Capacity for admission can be determined by district grades. So, you get to determine which grades, which schools, which programs that you have space for and that you're admitting to. Once admitted students are treated in the same manner as students within the district.

So, they become, you know, Sharon students until graduation.

And they're treated just like any other student.

And if you, if we, if there's a vote to do this, then you start that process by, or finish that process by July 1st.

So, if there's continued to be open slots, you can continue to accept students throughout the year.

So, some of the, you know, some of the pros around school choice is it offers an opportunity to welcome students from other communities.

You know, we definitely philosophically know from, you know, having people from different communities in our schools.

It, it contributes to, you know, the enriching our kids experience in, in providing for a even more diverse student body. It's especially good for districts that have access capacity to absorb students.

And you can add students strategically, you know, to try to minimize any kind of negative impact. Now, some of the considerations that make it more challenging are, you know, some of our programs are, you know, at capacity.

There's also challenges of hiring additional staff if necessary.

There's a need to ensure stability in our current programs, you know, especially looking at some of the changes around the new schedule or some of our enrollment levels at the elementary, in particular grade levels.

It's also a tight fiscal year. So, any kind of financial risk that might come with this, you know, would be of concern.

Like, the overall, you know, concept that I have is that, you know, school choice is, can be great, but it's also a complex issue with pros and cons.

And that we, although we really value the idea of having kids from other communities, there's complexities that we need to consider.

So, you know, some of the next steps.

First of all, I just want to make my preliminary recommendation is this year not to accept school choice students.

I mean, I've voiced time and time again that in theory, I really think the program can be a positive thing. But I think with all the different factors around enrollment in a new schedule at the high school, as well as tight funds, it makes sense not to, this does not seem like the year to begin.

We'll have some more discussion and feedback tonight. And then the next part of the process is we'll post for a public hearing for the April 24th meeting.

And at that point, we'll hear feedback from the community in a discussion and then a possible vote to participate or not participate or potentially, you know, do that the next meeting.

Great.

Anything from the table regarding the recommendation?

Julie wrote.

Yeah, I was just, I was just curious if we even had capacity at this point.

I mean, I think there are some grade levels like that we, you know, that you could consider taking a handful of kids.

Like, but like sixth grade is a big group.

So that would, that's a natural entry point. That would not be a point place this year where we would want to accept kids.

You know, the elementary levels, I'd say none of them are low. So, you know, I don't see, you know, a great place for, you know, elementary students entering this year as we're trying to keep class sizes as reasonable as possible.

High school, there's probably a couple of grades where we could handle it, a couple of kids. And it wouldn't be, you know, a major deal.

But there's not many places.

And considering that, it is nice when you have a school choice to have a little bit of a cohort so that, you know, there are students, they might not be coming from the same community, but, you know, coming in new. I mean, kids tend to welcome new kids in really great.

So it's not that much of a factor.

But considering we haven't done it in our kind of tight enrollment, I would say it's not a time to start.

Veronica?

Yeah, thanks, Avi. Thanks, Dr. Patello. Yeah, that was really the point of the question I was going to ask, because I know last year you had been a little bully pulpit on this idea, which I appreciated for sure. I think I learned a lot about the upside of school choice that I really hadn't appreciated prior.

But this year, you're signaling that you're concerned.

And is it specifically around our enrollment numbers that have just shifted enough so that now you feel like it's just too tight to make it a year where we're going to, that you're recommending that? I just wanted to get your thinking on what changed between last year and this year in your mind. Yeah, I think, again, I think there's very few grade levels where we'd want to even consider it this year.

And some of those critical ones like grade six or grade nine are not ones that I would recommend either.

So, you know, with that in mind, I don't think it's time to start it.

What I want to just continue to try to iterate is I do think it's a good program. I think it like I look at it as a positive thing.

And, you know, if we have a situation down the line where we have a couple of grade levels that are kind of under enrolled and we're looking to, say, maintain the same number of sections in order to do that feasibly, you know, is to add some kids. That would be a time where I would be looking to say, let's consider it then.

Gwen?

Thanks.

So I tend to agree, Dr. Patello.

I philosophically, I'm not a hard no on school choice.

I think there are benefits to it. To your point about sometimes it's nice to have a cohort.

I know that last year we had talked a little bit about, you know, maybe we just try with one student or two students or sort of a softer, you know, on ramp to the program.

I guess if we're talking philosophically, I also feel like the idea of having a cohort, if we were ever to do school choice, I think it would be better to have a cohort coming in together versus having just one or two kids coming in because I feel like that transition would be harder for singular students.

And I think the kinds of resources we would need to dedicate to that on sort of like the counseling front or sort of the school counselor front, I think that would be different kind of on like an on ramp. So I know that we're not we're not suggesting it for this year, but I think it was I like the idea of if we ever do it, that it would be sort of a cohort fashion.

So all right, recognizing that we will have a public hearing, as is required by law on April 24th, our next meeting.

But also recognizing this is an issue that has been a little bit polarizing before in our community.

And I think the earlier that we can signal where we feel like the committee is going here, the better.

So, again, the hearing obviously could introduce viewpoints that would change any of our viewpoints right now. But having heard Dr. Botello express his recommendation of a no, is there any appetite for a straw poll here? I know for me, we've heard a couple people say this year they support Dr. Botello's no for a handful of reasons.

I would add to that that I also recognize that this is a particularly difficult year.

And in addition, I think, you know, there's a there's probably a lot of reasons why Sharon has been reluctant to introduce school choice for as long as school choices existed.

Probably the biggest one being that we find ourselves in tough budget situations always just given our tax makeup.

But my biggest my biggest motivation right now at this moment is just people have expressed to us in the past that sometimes they leave meetings like this a little unsure of the temperature.

And then, you know, we might show up at our next meeting with folks feeling like, you know, they've heard blowing in the wind that this is something that's going to happen.

I think it's lost on people sometimes that school choice is required to come before us.

And then it's not agended because it's because it's being introduced and asked for by administration.

It's being agended because we're required to discuss it annually and open up a public hearing. So I just want to be clear and no one is is forced to express your view at this moment.

But for me, I would just publicly express that for this year, I would definitely be a no again pending any new information introduced by the public during that hearing that radically changed my view.

Julia, I see your hands up.

I was just I think you made a lot of sense what you just said about taking the temperature of the room. But on the other hand, I think since we have a public hearing scheduled, maybe we should just let the people speak.

Because I feel like if we already if it's like already a done deal, then maybe people will say there's there's no point in speaking.

So I would I would say let's let's just save it for the next.

Just meet yourself in the middle.

Did you mean to meet yourself? Oh, no, I just saying I would leave it till I would leave it till next meetings so we can hear what people have to say and then move forward.

But I feel like if we discuss it right now, it's a done deal.

And people might just feel discouraged from even saying anything.

So I do want to be careful in my tone here to address your comment respectfully.

This is listed on the agenda as a discussion item.

We are slated to have a discussion here tonight.

Your point is well made that.

And I think if you I'm not sure if you caught what I had to say or what you or not. I think I mentioned three times within what I had to say that for the hearing is certainly something that could change my viewpoint.

Nothing is a done deal for sure.

And I have no idea how the other members of this committee would vote.

I actually expressed that although I'm a no right now, there exists a world in which someone makes a point during the hearing that either changes Dr. Patel's recommendation or changes my feeling. But it is slated.

It is agended as a discussion item.

Adam.

Yeah, thank you, Avi. I would say at present, I'm also leaning no.

I also want to call out that the 24th, I think when we said we would kind of our next meeting when we have the public hearing is the second day of Passover.

And so for anyone observing that holiday, the holiday ends at 8.22 p.m.

So I don't know if as we're scheduling the agenda and where we're placing the public forum or maybe reopening the public forum after that time could allow people to participate.

Otherwise, obviously, you know, we can always receive feedback at our school committee email address if folks would like to make their opinions heard.

Veronica?

Yeah, Avi, I appreciate your wanting to convey to folks certainly that, you know, this has been an issue, obviously, that we have historically felt a way about.

And so I appreciate the fact that while we're keeping an open mind, and I certainly express that, that, you know, I had this real epiphany last year when Dr. Patel was talking about ways that we could maybe add value in addition to the value of the kids themselves, but to strategically increase and add a little revenue in places where we might want to use a couple of kids who, since we're paying for a classroom anyway, right? Bringing kids in a particular year, like that's a really great way of thinking about this as not just a value add for the children that we're getting to get to know, but also they would bring some dollars that would help enhance some programs.

And so I actually was never given that perspective on it prior to Dr. Patel explaining it last year. So I'm open to hearing what people's view is of that for sure next year, but given where we're at, and given Dr. Patel's recommendation, I would lean toward supporting Dr. Patel's feelings on the matter this year.

And so to make that public, as you've asked, that is where I would lean as well.

But having learned something last year, after all the years that I've been listening to these conversations, there's always room for ideas that I might not have heard before. So I'm open, but I'm leaning in the direction of Dr. Patel's view.

Sure.

Thank you.

Julie.

Thank you, Bobby.

I'm excited to share my discussion opinion.

I think that in general, the risk is too high.

We, I believe something we found out last year, and I could be, I could be wrong about this, but instead of us school district receiving 5,000 a child, I think we get 3,500 per child, which to me makes it, you know, rather less appealing.

But even so, I think that the risk is very high, especially in a budget season like this.

And so if I'm wrong about the 5,000 versus the 3,500, please let me know. I think you're speaking to typically we get like 75 to, you know, a little bit more of the revenue that comes into the town.

So theoretically, we could get less than the 5,000 and 75% of that.

Yeah.

Great.

Shauna?

I have to agree with my colleagues in that at this point, I am not a proponent of school choice.

While there are certain benefits to, you know, mainly the kids, which is why we're all here, I think that the reality of it and the execution of it does not benefit our community as a whole as where we are right now financially, but also in terms of kind of the needs of our own kids and what we are trying to do for our own kids here in-house.

So that's kind of where I am.

And, you know, again, I could be swayed either which way by a very, you know, prolific speaker.

But at this point, this is kind of where I'm at.

Thank you for sharing that.

All right.

Seeing no more hands, we will move to our next discussion item, Policy Subcommittee General Update to the School Committee.

Turn it over to Policy, or I will call on Policy Subcommittee Chair, Adam Shane.

Yeah. Thank you, Avi. So I just wanted to give a quick update on Policy Subcommittee.

We had a meeting last Thursday, March 28th.

As noted, it was in the morning, so it's not at the easiest time for everyone to attend. And we covered at that point kind of, or initiated conversation, I should say, on a number of policies.

One, regarding student absences and excuses, specifically in regards to how we should consider treating or handling absences due to holidays, given the shift in our calendar.

We also discussed IJOB, which is Community Resource Persons or Speakers, to help clarify how the school committee's role should be moving forward with regard to kind of speakers that the community is concerned about.

So at this point, we are very much in kind of information gathering mode, as has been our practice.

We've kind of delegated different policies to different members of the subcommittee.

So I'll be working on the student absences and excuses policy.

Veronica will be working on that Community Resource Person and Speakers policy.

Wen is also going to be working on a review of Section I, which is instruction.

Each of us individually will work with administration, community members, educators, students, et cetera, to work to collect and incorporate feedback and bring back a draft for the policy subcommittee to review.

And then, if appropriate, bring to the larger table.

Our next meeting is on Thursday, April 11th, a week from tomorrow.

It is still at 11 a.m., and we will do what we can to try to engage with Sharon TV to increase visibility and make sure, at the very least, that that meeting is recorded.

In addition to those policies that we referenced, we'll start looking at Policy ADF, which is the wellness policy, as well as anything else that is applicable.

And that is my update.

Happy to take any questions, if there are any.

Are there any questions for Adam?

I think you covered it.

All right. I appreciate that, Adam. Thank you for that update.

Okay. Moving to decision items.

I need a motion to approve the minutes of 3-20-24.

So moved.

Second.

Adam. Adam.

SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: Sorry. SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: Yes. Sorry.

Yes. Veronica.

Yes. Adam's a yes. Veronica.

Yes.

Yes.

Julie.

Yes.

Shauna.

Yes.

I'm a yes.

Motion carries.

6-0.

Next up, we have a motion.

I need a motion to authorize the Student Opportunity Act's submission to DESE.

So moved.

Second. Second.

All right. Adam.

Yes.

When?

Yes.

Veronica. Veronica.

Was that a yes?

Sorry.

Yes.

All right. You hear it. Shauna.

I'm going to abstain.

I didn't have a chance to review it.

Okay.

Julie.

Yes. And I am a yes.

Motion carries 5-0.

All right. Next up, I need a motion to approve out-of-state overnight field trip DECA, California International Career Development Conference, April 25th to May 1st, 2024.

So moved.

Second.

Adam.

Yes.

Wynne.

Yes.

Julie.

Yes.

Veronica.

Yes.

Donna. SPEAKER_UNKNOWN: Yes. Donna.

Incredible job. Congratulations.

Yes.

And I am a yes.

Motion carries 6-0. And then under items, not reasonably anticipated, more than 48 hours in advance of the meeting, we received a last-minute submission on an overnight field trip for the History Club to go to a competition in Virginia.

They were fortunate enough to qualify a little late for this meeting, but they do really need a commitment from us one way to the other.

And so it's in your packet. So hopefully you all had an opportunity to review it. And I would entertain a motion to approve the overnight field trip to Virginia of the History Club.

So moved.

Second. Second.

All right.

Adam.

Yes.

Wynne.

Yes.

Julie.

Yes.

Veronica.

Yes.

Donna.

Yes.

And I'm a yes.

Motion carries 6-0.

All right. Are there any announcements before going to executive session?

All right. Seeing no announcements.

Pursuant to MGLC 30A S21A3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation with the STA and to discuss strategy with respect to pending litigation, Brandon Palmer versus Sharon Public Schools et al.

MCAT docket 22NEM02601.

And pursuant to MGLC 30A S21A722FG to review and approve and consider the classification of executive session meeting minutes if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining litigation position of Sharon Spookamy and the chair so declares not to return to open session.

Can I get a motion?

So moved.

Second.

All right. Wynne.

Yes. Saw your mouth.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Veronica.

Yes.

Adam.

Yes.

Donna.

Yes.

Julie.

Yes.

And I'm a yes. Motion carries 6-0.

See you all in executive session. Everybody else.

Have a terrific evening. Thank you.