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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm 12/02/2025Approved 01-13-26 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 02, 2025 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar-A) An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 virtually and in room 3AB of the Town Hall. The open meeting session was called to order by Chair Jenn Walsh #0 04`p'(n' 0 . "\ t . 0 Members Present: Administration Present: Jenn Walsh, Chair Michelle McKeon, Superintendent Lynn Cavicchi Amy Bright, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning Diane Ready Jessica Davis, Assistant Superintendent Student Services Steve Schoonveld (arrived at 6:06) Matthew Violette, Director of Finance and Operations Members Absent: Jenifer Sellon The chair asked for a motion to enter into Executive Session under Exception No. No. 3. To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares regarding a revised paraprofessional evaluation tool and paraprofessional overtime hours. Motion by: Lynn Cavicchi / Diane Ready ROLL CALL Vote: Lynn Cavicchi aye Diane Ready aye Jenn Walsh aye Motion Carries 3— 0 Return from Executive Session at 6:37 pm. Public Speak: Terry Fleming, Fruit Street asked the committee to consider the cost of AP exams or at least improve the communication to parents. The cost by college board is $99 but we charge $120. It is frustrating to see that most other districts charge only the $99. Administrative Reports: None High School Student Representative Report: Senior Amy Zajac updated the committee on our winter performing arts and sports programs. The Unified Basketball staff game was a success. Best Buddies held their annual Friendsgiving event and the Mansfield Buzz was awarded grant money to purchase equipment for their Friday shows. Approval of Warrant: None Approval of Minutes: None Committee Updates: None New Business: Update on the paraprofessional evaluation tool During executive session the committee approved 4 —0 the MOU for the revised evaluation tool. This effort was requested by the bargaining unit as part of their contract negotiations. Consideration of the MHS World Travel Club field tfp to Portugal2027 Page 1 of 6 Approved 01-13-26 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 02, 2025 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Mansfield High School is requesting permission to hold its annual World Travel Club trip in the summer of 2027. This year the trip is to Portugal. Superintendent McKeon introduced the trip by noting the work completed this yearto: • improve procedures while on the trip including communication with the district regarding any concerns, to clearly identify and document student expectations before and during the trip • review existing district policy, and to review travel insurance with our legal counsel Principal Russ Booth and MHS teachers Lisa Buron and Gail Farrington attended the meeting to present information. This is a double bus tour which needs two group leaders. They reviewed the pricing of $4949 including gratuities and spending money. If the trip is approved in December, students will be eligible for a $200 discount. They identified protection plans, hotel locations, flights, tour guides and meal plans. Two alternate excursions will be 'An evening in Lisbon' and 'Surf lessons in Porto.' Questions/Answers: Steve Schoonveld- Can you clarify when the student list is finalized? The form is confusing. The standard field trip form is used; however, the 5-day nurse notification does not apply here. The student list will be provided well in advance. Will you change your approach to handling lost luggage? Michelle McKeon noted that the district discovered an issue with the communication process. District guidance dictates that google applications are shut down once located internationally reducing communication options. This will be addressed going forward. Diane Ready- What is the chaperone ratio? Approximately 1 per 6 students. Diane then noted Portugal's great history and asked if students have been instructed on footwear because the streets and sidewalks can be very slippery. Yes, the students have been informed to wear rubber soled shoes. Lynn Cavicchi- Do students and families contract directly with EF Tours? Yes, signups and payments are direct with EF. What happens if a student does not meet the student expectations? Can the district void a contract between a family and EF Tours? Lisa noted that we certainly can pull a student from a trip. The family may lose the deposit but not sure about the remaining amounts. Lynn noted that we must make it very clear to families that MPS expectations may not be in line with EF Tours expectations and then ensure that their contract can be voided if necessary. Principal Booth noted that we are very clear with expectations. If an issue occurs prior to the trip we would give families enough notice to cancel. Lynn also noted that MPS requires the EF Tour protection plan but she is not sure that is the best, most economical plan. Do we offer alternatives? Should families have additional coverage? The district felt it best to offer the EF plan but parents do have flexibility in reaching out and finding their own insurance. Do the trips need the support of paraprofessionals or a nurse? All students must carry their own medication through airports. Once in Portugal, students hand over any controlled substance medications to the chaperones for dispensing per the Rx dosing. All medication needs are reviewed with the nurse prior to the trip. Students do carry their own EpiPen's. Jenn Walsh- Appreciates all the effort that goes into planning and chaperoning these trips. Her son benefited from one of the trips and he still talks about it today. Steve Schoonveld- does EF have the liability insurance? Matt Violette noted that yes, the insurance is through EF but there is redundancy as there is an MPS plan and a Town of Mansfield plan. Motion to approve the MHS World Travel Club field trip to Portugal in 2027 by Steve Schoonveld/Lynn Cavicchi Motion carries 4 — 0. Page 2 of 6 Approved 01-13-26 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 02, 2025 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Consideration of Policies for Competency Determination: Code Title Notes Motion Motion Vote 1 2 IKF High School Graduation Revised -see below Requirements SS LC 4-0 IKFE Competency New -see below Determination Notes: IKF was modified to remove the detailed competency determinations which were then placed in a new policy (IKFE). IKF mimics our current Program of Studies on how we grant credits. IKFE outlines the content areas and coursework with specific information for students on IEPs, students who transfer into Mansfield while in high school and the appeal process. Changes will be needed to support the work currently being done by Governor Healy and DESE. We will continue to monitor. Consideration of Policies for Middle School Pathway Exploration: Code Title Notes Motion Motion Vote 1 2 JEC Middle School Pathway Revised- minor LC DR 3-0-1* Exploration housekeeping. See below. Notes: Minor changes were made at the request of DESE. Steve asked if the district works with all students as it indicates in the policy. For example, do we help students who want to attend any private schools? Amy indicated that we do help all students even if they are choosing a private school. Steve abstained because he did not have enough time to review the details. Consideration of Health related policy changes: Revise/ Title Notes Motion Motion Vote Code 1 2 JJIF Head Injury Management See below' JJIF-R Head Injury Management Plan LC SS 4-0 JLCEB Use of Automated External Defibrillator JLCD Administering Medicine to See below' Students Notes: 'Updates made on how we execute this plan. Worked with athletic director. Expands language to all students not just athletes. Also includes middle school students. This policy is for grades 6 —12 per MA General Law. However, our return to school practices are used for all grades. On page 1 of JJIF change the word athletes to students. 2JLCD had the most changes which were in support of a state law change. There was some concern that the policy used the word "may" which is ambiguous. Christine Dooling noted that although the policy has been dictated, we cannot force staff to accept the role of administering medicine. The wording is directly from MA General Law. Page 3 of 6 Approved 01.13-26 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 02, 2025 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Does the nurse always oversee medication distribution? Yes now, but the new law is expanding it so that staff may volunteer to administer as well. We are still working through the procedures, training and authorizations for this to move forward. Presentation of P.R. I. D.E. Plus survey results: Christine Dooling, Director of Health Services presented the results of the 2024-25 survey. As a summary, MPS has been surveying students since 2009 in order to measure student behaviors related to substance use. In 2021 the survey was expanded to include opioids, vaping and mental health. By using the survey, the district can monitor trends and identify potential concern. Student supports including access to a trusted adult. The district will continue to promote and improve the accessibility to a trusted adult as well as continue to boost student engagement. These survey results will be posted on our website and presented to the Health and Wellness Advisory Council. It will also be presented to parents and incorporated into health classes for grades 7, 9 and 11. The next survey will take place in the spring of 2027. Questions/Answers: Steve Schoonveld is encouraged by the new survey. Can we administer to any grade? Yes, but as a district we selected grades 6, 8, 10 specifically to track the same students as they progress through the schools. Could we get a Student Action Council started? We have tried in the past but have not had success. We can try again. Can we identify if the students surveyed are in a band or sport notjust aggregated? Not without risking the ability to identify students. However, we can look ahead at futures surveys to see if that level of detail can be obtained. Lynn Cavicchi also felt this would be an important breakdown. Jenn Walsh felt the breakdown would be helpful but cautioned that we can't have students feel that they can be identified. Lynn Cavicchi requested that we get this information out to the community via the newsletter, website and presentations to parent groups. There should also be presentations to students adjusted by age group. Getting the message out to younger students may help prevent behaviors as they get older. Consideration of the initial FY27 School Budget Proposal: Superintendent McKeon and Finance Director Matt Violette presented the initial budget that will be sent to the Town Manager for consideration. The district understands that multiple iterations of the budget will be needed going forward as we work through the budget restrictions. Dr. McKeon noted that the district leadership took a deep dive into the budget this year looking to maintain priorities while making cuts where possible all while providing a high -quality education for our students. We are prepared to answer any questions that come from the community. Some comments on the presentation by the district: This version of the budget has no new FTEs, but will need to consider negotiations with the MEA starting in January. The central services budget represents the business office, central office, legal expenses and professional development with the majority of the budget derived from the transportation contracts (12% increase over FY26). Technology includes licenses, subscriptions, equipment. Approximately 50% of the facilities budget is utilities. Athletics is mostly comprised of trainers, transportation and officials. We are monitoring plans with CIP. Depending on the placement of items such as Smartboard upgrades, Chromebook leases and PC replacements, our budget could increase by up to 3.47% if items are removed from CIP requests. on a positive note, the overall school specific budgets decreased by 10%after very detailed review of line items. The budget presentation and information as well as supplemental data will be placed on our website for viewing. Questions/Answers: Diane Ready felt that the level of detail provided shows that we have done a good job at sustaining the budget. Lynn Cavicchi asked if the reductions in school supplies would be sustainable. Matt Violette trusts the principals thought process so we do believe so. Michelle McKeon noted that some items were "always done" and now is a good time to question everything. For example, we hope to eliminate or greatly reduce physical mailings. Are we comfortable with the use of revolving funds for some staffing positions? Matt noted that we are consistent with prior years and do think it is sustainable. one example is the funding of staff members from school choice. Page 4 of 6 Approved 01-13-26 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 02, 2025 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Steve Schoonveld asked if the special education budget assumes that we will pre -pay out of district tuitions? Matt noted that it is not in the budget but we would certainly do so if funds are available. Mr. Schoonveld then presented his own slides comparing Mansfield to adjoining district schools. Motion to accept the proposed FY27 School Budget Proposal by Lynn Cavicchi / Diane Ready. Mr. Schoonveld asked for an amendment to include the word Initial. Motion to accept the proposed FY27 School Budget Initial Proposal by Lynn Cavicchi / Diane Ready. Motion carries 4 — 0. Consideration of Town Financial Policies: Finance Committee Chair Sara Walsh attended to discuss the policies. School Committee had previously reviewed these documents and they have since been approved by the Finance Committee and the Select Board with slight modifications. overall these policies were modified to support current procedures in place. Chair Jenn Walsh suggested it might be too difficult to continue to go back and forth between the boards and perhaps we could review these at a Tri-Board meeting. Sara Walsh noted that she had intentionally gone board by board but could add it to a Trieoard meeting if the committee would like to do so. Mr. Schoonveld asked if we could add Adopted and Revised dates. Discussion held regarding a Cost Sharing Agreement. Ms. Cavicchi and Mr. Violette noted that this is in the works and we expected to get approval from the Select Board this week. Motion to approve the edited Town Financial Policies of Capital Stabilization Fund, Free Cash Usage, Long Term Debt, Reserve Fund and Stabilization Fund with the suggested minor adjustment by the committee by Steve Schoonveld / Lynn Cavicchi. Motion Carries 4-0 Consideration of District Fees: Due to the length of the meeting to this point, Chair Walsh suggested this item get postponed. Mr. Schoonveld thought the committee should at least discuss AP Fees since a parent in the audience inquired about them. The College Board does charge $99 but the high school pays proctors, rents tables and chairs. To cover the additional cost, the committee voted last year to approve the increase in fees to $120. Superintendent McKeon suggested that the fees were already set for this spring but we could discuss for the future. Ms. Cavicchi noted that the AP revolving account had been operating in the red and we had to alter fees to prevent this from happening. The high school will be sure to clarify in the outgoing letter why the fees do not match college board. No Votes taken on the overall fee structure. School Committee Business: None School Committee Questions and Comments: None Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting: School Committee Member Steve Schoonveld announced his resignation from the committee. He will follow up with a letter to the committee and the Town Clerk. Documents Referenced: Paraprofessional evaluation tool Field Trip Policies P.R.I.D.E+ Survey results Page 5 of 6 Approved 01.13-26 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 02, 2025 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar FY27 Initial School Budget Town Financial Policies FY27 District Fees Q1 Financial Updates Motion to adjourn: At 9:00 p.m., Chair Walsh called for a motion to adjourn. Motion to adjourn by Steve Schoonveld / Lynn Cavicchi Motion Passes 4 - 0 Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent & School Committee Page 6 of 6