Vote on Superintendent Taymore’s successor contract (10 minutes) vote required

Transcript (~7 min @ 12:13)

Speakers identified by voice; unnamed voices are numbered within this recording. Auto-caption text — verify against the video.

▶ 12:08 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: motion to close public participation made by ms cantelli seconded by ms duke in discussion seeing none all in favor opposed that motion carries unanimously with one absent mayor dolan madam

▶ 12:19 Speaker 6: chair i'd like to make a motion to suspend the rules to move the item entitled the vote on superintendent successor agreement contract to be moved to the floor do i have a second on that

▶ 12:29 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: motion made by mr o'connell discussion on the motion seeing none all in favor opposed that motion carries unanimously with one absence so we will move forward from number eight item number one and we will discuss that now so before us tonight we have the vote on superintendent taymor's successor contract we will need a vote um i would entertain a motion to approve the contract with superintendent taymor with the change to paragraph 12 section a changing the number of days notice required from 180 days to 150 school days so moved second made by ms dugan seconded by mayor dolan is there a discussion on this motion mayor dolan i would

▶ 13:28 Speaker 6: just like to thank the superintendent for agreeing to continue to work with us she has challenged me personally as a mayor she's challenged this community very public publicly she's challenged this this the school committee and i think she has challenged staff and students in a way that has not been seen in this community for several decades i look forward to continuing to work with her she she is an exceptionally people don't see they see on every other tuesday night an incredibly hard worker with a tremendous amount of depth in her expertise and knowledge of her passion and what she has dedicated her life to which is helping all students succeed and let it let it certainly be known that at this point in her career this is a dedication to this community and at the expense of her husband Jack and her family and of course we have a contract that I think is fair but I think the great benefit tonight is the children of our community including my own and I'm really happy that that we're at this point because we spent a lot of times not mentioning it or talking about it because I didn't know what the answer would be and I'm happy where we are today and I thank you for your service

▶ 14:55 Christine Casatelli: to Melrose any further discussion miss Kestel so in my tenure I I've had the pleasure of working with three superintendents and an interim and I have to say i'm um although superintendent and i don't always agree we always manage to get something done and i'm proud of the work that we've done here together and i look forward to continued success for the school district so thank you for your hard work

▶ 15:26 Jessica Dugan: thank you for the discussion miss dugan thank you um thank you miss timor this um

▶ 15:32 Jessica Dugan: this work that we do together as a school committee it is every single moment of it evident to me of your commitment to our students and your teachers and your staff and I'm excited to support this vote tonight because I think as the mayor said it it extends your commitment even beyond to this community as you see through so many things that have begun and are not yet there yet we're on our way to some some bigger things and i think that your your leadership is what's gotten us to this point and i'm so excited that it'll carry us into the future thank you mr song no we haven't always

▶ 16:14 Speaker 7: seen eye to eye but there's always been a learning curve there and it's always been constructive the the dialogue. Particular things that I appreciate is your, A, patience in bringing me along as I learn the ropes. This last two years have been amazing. In fact, if we go back to when I first tried to run, four years, and you've been there every step answering patiently every question I've had and entertained much dialogue you are you are the leader this committee and this school district need at this time and I am very pleased to be able to vote in the affirmative in support of your contract and I know that when you do retire whenever that is I look forward to hearing later the trashy novels you read for the discussion thank you I feel

▶ 17:21 Speaker 6: like I should say something negative just to mix things up but I can't I can only echo what my colleagues have said and I'm pleased that we've managed to negotiate a new contract so thank you and I'm just to wrap it up thank you for

▶ 17:42 Speaker 1: loving our children yes you may thank you I really appreciate everything you've said and this is my life's work and this is my passion somebody once said to me years ago I was considering changing careers and we were having a conversation and he said to me the only time I ever hear passion and your voice Cindy is when you talk about education so why are you even thinking about it and I took that advice to heart I have to say well I appreciate your praise I I I don't look at it the same way as you look at it I look at it as I'm lucky I have probably one of the most talented teams in the state and even when we've had turnover we've been fortunate enough to have more talented people join us or rise through the ranks and and that's what a district is supposed to do it's supposed to learn how to perpetuate itself and I hope that's what we're doing here and I'm thankful every day for the people I work with thank you

▶ 18:37 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: for the discussion by the committee seeing none all in favor opposed that

▶ 18:41 Speaker 5: motion carries unanimously with one absent we will now return to the orders