HomeMy Public PortalAboutBrewster School Committee -- 2023-05-18 Minutes NAUSET PUBLIC SCHOOLS
MEETING MINUTES of the
Brewster Elementary School
MEETING DATE Monday,May 18,2023 @ 6:30PM - - --
Hybrid Meeting Via Town of Brewster Zoom
This meeting took place in a hybrid format pursuant to the law signed by Governor Baker
on June 16,2021 -An Act Extending Certain COVID-19 Measures Adopted During the State of Emergency, which
includes an extension,until March 31,2023, of the remote meeting provisions of his March 12,2020 Executive Order
Suspending Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Member Attendance
Chair Katie Jacobus,Judi Lech, Carol Jelinek, Sarah Sherman and Casey Mecca
Non-Member Attendance
State Representative Christopher Flanagan, Superintendent Brooke Clenchy,Director of Finance and Operations
Giovanna Venditti, Stony Brook Principal Keith Gauley, Eddy School Principal Steven Guditus, Brewster Select Board
Member Cary Hoffman and Brewster Finance Committee Liaison Robert Tobias
Call to Order&Declaration of a uorum Meetine Participation Statement and Recording Statement
The meeting was called to order at 6:30pm by Superintendent Clenchy,who also read the meeting participation statement
and recording statement. There were no agenda changes.
Reorganization -Nominations
MOTION: Ms.Mecca made a motion to nominate Ms.Jacobus as Chair of the Brewster Elementary School
Committee. Ms.Lech seconded the motion. Ms.Jacobus accepted the nomination. With no other nominations for
Chair,all members voted in favor.
MOTION: Ms.Lech made a motion to nominate Ms.Mecca as Vice chair. Ms. Sherman seconded the motion.
With no other nominations Ms.Mecca accepted the nomination -All members voted in favor.
Amanda Lapierre will serve as the committee secretary,with no vote required.
All members have been signing off on the warrant, so there will be no vote for warrant authorizers.
Unit 54 voting members include Chair Jacobus and Ms. Mecca and Ms. Lech. Chair Jacobus indicated sometimes all the
members will need to vote.
Subcommittee representatives:
• Policy-Ms. Lech will remain with this subcommittee.
• Central Office Budget Ms. Sherman will remain with this subcommittee.
• Negotiations -Ms. Lech will take on this subcommittee.
• Transportation-Ms. Jelinek will remain with this subcommittee.
• Strategic Planning-Chair Jacobus will remain with this subcommittee.
• Behavioral Health Task Force -Chair Jacobus will remain with this subcommittee.
• Superintendent Evaluation -Deferred appointment to further information about scheduled time.
• Cape Cod Collaborative -Ms. Mecca will remain with this subcommittee.
• PTO Liaisons -Ms. Sherman will remain with this subcommittee.
1 P a g c
Brewster School Committee May 18,2023
• School Council Liaisons -Ms. Sherman will continue with Stony Brook and Ms. Jelinek will remain with the
Eddy School Council.
• DEI Task Force -Deferred appointment.
Citizens Sneak
Mr. Tobias, speaking only as a citizen this evening,has two points he would like the school committee to consider going
forward:
I. Expand the financial forecasting beyond one year; he believes the District would benefit from expanding the
budget forecast out a few years at least.
2. Consider undertaking an in-depth analysis of consolidating schools within the District as he believes there is a
significant savings that could occur. He suggested a thought process of moving Grade 6 to the elementary school
and Grades 7 and 8 to high school, eliminating the need for a middle school. He believes that concept could help
to avoid significant capital repair costs at the middle school. His reasoning for the concept comes from the
declining school population.
Ms. Hoffman, the Select Board liaison to the school committee, echoes the comments of Mr. Tobias and feels a multi-year
forecast would be extremely helpful for the district to create. She also agrees it would be beneficial to have an in-depth
analysis of the utilization of the school buildings while maintaining a high level of education and program quality. Ms.
Hoffman would like to see a conversation begin about the capital needs of the district's school buildings.
State Representative Chris Flanagan
Representative Flanagan was pleased to visit the Committee and looks forward to working with the School and the
District in the future as he represents the Towns of Brewster, Dennis and Yarmouth.
He announced that the House had recently passed the FY24 Fiscal Year Budget and there are significant increases for
education, however the budget still needs to pass the Senate. He would like to return in June or July when the budget is
finalized and give further information on possible increases in funding for the special education circuit breaker,regional
transportation funding and the fully funded school meals program.
Representative Flanagan also asked to be included in discussion on possible renovations for elementary school. If MSBA
funding is going to be needed,he would work with Senator Cyr to try and advance the project funding needs.
Representative Flanagan's email Christopher.Flanagan@MAHouse.gov and his cell phone number is
508.789.1084 cell.
Public Hearing: Participation in School Choice
MOTION: Ms.Mecca made a motion to move into a Public Hearing for the Purpose of Discussion in the School
Choice Program. Ms. Sherman seconded the motion and all members voted in favor.
Superintendent Clenchy does not recommend school choice at the elementary school level as it can have a large impact on
a small school budget. By adding even one teacher the additional cost to the budget is significant. Not only that,but that
student and any associated additional costs to educate that student will remain with them their entire school career. The
impact of an incoming student at the high school level can be accommodated much easier.
Principal Gauley added that he would rather not take elementary school students from other local schools and he feels it is
important to keep kids close to home and in their district.
2 1 P a g e
Brewster School Committee May 18, 2023
MOTION• Ms.Mecca made a motion to come out of the Public Hearing. Ms.Lech seconded the motion and all
voted in favor.
MOTION: Ms.Lech made a motion to continue as is and not enter in the School Choice Prop,ram. Ms. Sherman
seconded the motion and via roll call vote,all members voted in favor; 5-0-0.
Presentation: SEL Sona Bono and Jessica Smith
School adjustment counselor from the Eddy School Sonja Eddy, LICSW and from Stony Brook Jessica Smith,LICSW
gave a presentation that explained their functions within their schools.
Ms. Smith explained that the focus of the school adjustment counselor was to assist the students in learning the necessary
social and emotional skills to help them access their curriculum, make and keep friends,build resilience_and self-
confidence to be able to push through hard things and develop their skills to be positive community members.
Ms. Smith said that at Stony Brook she is able to go into every classroom once a week for 30 minutes to teach social and
emotional skills. Within the emotional skills category, they are taught how to express themselves. She is also able to
break down into small groups for children who need additional support. Also, lunch groups rotate so she can get to know
each student so they feel comfortable coming to her for support
Ms.Bono explained that at Eddy, she works one on one with two or three peers who are taught to work out and work on
conflict resolution. However, she does receive referrals from both parents and teachers and has found parents are much
more comfortable calling her to explain about issues at home and to ask her to check in with their student.
The Second Step Program of Bullying Prevention and Child Protection is also taught. The Bullying Prevention Program
is designed to teach students how to identify what bullying is and what to do. The students are taught the 3 R's -
Recognize,Report and Refuse and are shown how to be assertive about setting clear boundaries. Each student is taught to
know someone who they can report to -and how to report a situation.
Younger children are taught age-appropriate ways to protect themselves and to know what is "never,never"acceptable
and understanding the boundaries. They are also taught the different levels of touching,what is uncomfortable and how to
refuse and report it.
Both counselors feel their roles are especially important because the teachers do not have the time to deal with these
intense issues. They also give parents support with referrals,working with families who have financial challenges, act as
the gateway for families with mental health issues and overall,reminding parents that they do a great job!
Chair's Report
Chair Jacobus reported that both the school budget and the proposed override both received overwhelming support and
both passed even without the need for a count.
The budget represented a 5.54% increase while the town's request was 4%. The budget represents adding a fifth-grade
classroom teacher and maintaining four kindergarten classrooms.
Chair Jacobus noted that the Brewster Elementary School Committee is made up a variety of members that include retired
and current schoolteachers,parents, a mental health provider and a former Nauset graduate.
She also noted for the community's sake,there had been discussions about the idea of school consolidation. As the
committee watches enrollment numbers,they will be watching to see when there are only three sections per grade as
opposed to the current four sections.
3 1 P a g e
Brewster School Committee May 18, 2023
Cost drivers of the budget were transportation, utilities and special needs. Special needs costs at Stony Brook were up
11% and almost 15% at the Eddy school. The cost per student in Brewster is the lowest rate of any of the four member
towns.
One item that was not able to be funded was for a half time school psychologist. However, there is excellent school
programming.
Chair Jacobus appreciates the community supporting the school budgets, especially with a 60.5% approval of the override.
Principal's Report
In addition to the written report,Principal Gauley said that Kindergarten screening was held this past Tuesday and there
are 52 registered students making up four Kindergarten classes.
Also, a group of teachers who are a part of the creative learning program will be going to MIT and giving presentations on
their roles in the very successful creative learning program in the District.
The staff spotlight is on Donna Drown,the cafeteria manager who has been with the school for 17 years and who will be
retiring this year. Principal Gauley said he never has a worry about the cafeteria because Ms. Drown's dedication to the
students is remarkable.
Principal Guditus reported that Brewster in Bloom Parade was an amazing community event to participate in!
The Walk,Ride and Roll event was a successful event again and many thanks to the Brewster Police for their participation
and support.
Superintendent's Report
Superintendent Clenchy reported that in addition to her written report, she wanted to thank the four towns for supporting
the schools in their towns and the district as all budgets were passed successfully.
The construction at the NRHS continues to move along at a steady pace. Students have been asked if the project is
interrupting their school day and thankfully,they did not feel the construction had an impact on their classes.
Superintendent Clenchy also reported that there will be key leadership changes taking place at the Middle School,the
NPS Treasurer's position,the Wellfleet Elementary Principal's position and the Director of Student Services.
Lastly, she thanked the members of the school committees who were re-elected for their continued commitment to serve
the schools,it is not an easy job!
Dr. Robin Millen: Diversity Equity and Inclusion Presentation
Director Millen gave a slide presentation on the district's "diversity, equity and inclusion"initiative. Essentially the goal
is to make sure each and every student is included and feels they belong and that they feel safe,because every child
matters.
Over the past two years the focus has been on two areas, creating the link to the strategic plan and providing high quality
instruction with deep engagement and a focus on belonging.
The DEI Task Force has been working with the consultants on how to create a culture of belonging within the school
district and the school community that circles back to the goals of the strategic plan also.
4 1 P a g e
Brewster School Committee May 18,2023
Director Millen said that within the next five years all staff will be trained in this initiative. There is a book that has been
given to staff that is titled"Belonging through a culture of dignity".
Dr. Millen closed by noting there is so much more to just the overview in the curriculum and a focus on inclusion and
belonging, it will happen in the teachers approach and by including the parents so that it will filter into the community.
2023-2024 NPS School Calendar
Director Millen explained to the members how the final draft of the school calendar came to be. She detailed the
feedback given by over 300 parents, caregivers and staff and their feelings towards many holidays and school closures
proposed in the original draft of the 2023-24 school year calendar.
The consensus was to eliminate the school closures because of added holidays and end the school year as soon as possible.
Director Millen noted that while the additional added holidays were removed from the draft calendar, it will be a policy
that those students who do celebrate those religious holidays will be given an excused absence and will not be penalized
academically for the day missed. Further, large school functions like spirit week or the prom will not be scheduled during
special holidays where a student could not attend due to religious reasons.
Additionally, the half days for professional development will be coordinated with the Provincetown Public Schools to
help those families who have students in both school districts.
Finally,the school year will end on June 18 if no foul weather days are taken.
MOTION: Ms.Jelinek made a motion to accept the 2023-2024 Nauset Public School calendar as )resented. Ms.
Sherman seconded the motion and via roll call vote, all voted in favor.
FY23 Dashboard Report
The FY23 Expenditure Report was included in the Committee packet. Director Venditti reviewed the packet with the
Committee and gave detailed analysis of the reason for any variances over$1000.
The Eddy School line of fuel oil has been encumbered$28,956. At the end of the year, the amount of fuel will be checked
and capped off if necessary. The rest of the funds will be unencumbered and added back into the bottom line of the
budget and those funds will be used to cover the FY24 prepayment of the Pre-K expenses as was budgeted for FY24.
Mr. Tobias was concerned that the Eddy School budget was in a deficit while Stony Brook had a surplus that was going to
pay expenses in FY24. Director Venditti explained that in mid-June she will be requesting monies from the Special
Education Stabilization Fund be transferred to fund the budget deficit. The deficit was from unanticipated special
education costs that were not budgeted for in Fiscal 23. An encumbrance for$50K will be requested. Director Venditti
added that there will be a meeting with the Brewster Select Board in June to request access to the Special Education
Stabilization Fund.
Approve Surplus
Principal Guditus said there was a variety of outdated in the inventory at Eddy School that were no longer able to be used
and would ask them to be considered surplus so they can be properly disposed of or recycled.
MOTION: Ms.Lech made a motion to declare surplus to the items listed in request. Ms.Jelinek seconded the
motion and all members voted in favor.
5 1 P a g e
Brewster School Committee May 18, 2023
Retorts and Information
All reports were deferred to a future meeting.
Future A ends Items
None
MOTION: Ms.Mecca made a motion to approve the minutes of March 16 2023 and March 20, 2023 meetin s.
Ms. Jelinek seconded the motion and all voted in favor.
ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION: Ms.Lech made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:32 pm. The motion was seconded by Ms.Mecca
and all members voted in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Amanda Lapierre
Recording Secretary
Documents Available Upon Request
SEL Presentation
DEI Presentation
Chair's Report
2023-2024 NPS School Calendar
FY23 Expenditure Report
Surplus Report
6 P a g c
Brewster School Committee May 18,2023