← School Committee · 2026-08-18 · School Committee Meeting
PUBLIC COMMENT
Agenda original PDF
Minutes original PDF
Member Present Cari Berman Superintendent Present Ken Kelley Deputy Superintendent Present Also in attendance: Recording Secretary, Kristen O'Connor. With a roll call vote with four (4) present, and three (3) absent, the meeting convened at 7:00 PM. 2. PUBLIC COMMENT Amanda Bruno Thompson, owner of Melrose Dance Academy, MHS alumni, expressed disappointment to learn that MVMMS would not be hosting rentals for outside vendors in spring of 2027. She noted that the academy has held its annual recital there since 2015 and highlighted the difficulty of finding alternative local venues. She respectfully urged the Committee to consider potential alternatives rather than not allowing local business usage. Olivia Doyle, MHS graduate and teacher at Melrose Dance Academy, shared her experience and her passion for dance. She expressed that the dance studio may not be a part of the public schools, but it still brings together the students and community of Melrose. She asked the Committee to allow their studio the same access granted to public school activities. 3. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 1. Report: Back to School Information Superintendent Berman provided
Transcript
▶ 0:44 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: And just to note that this meeting is being recorded by MNTV and is streaming live. So thank you for that. First, motion via unanimous consent to open public comment. Is there anyone in the room who would like to come speak at public comment?
▶ 1:19 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: Thank you, Ms. Thompson and Ms. Joyal. Welcome. And would you like to formally introduce yourselves and let us know what you're thinking?
▶ 1:27 Speaker 1: Sure. My name is Amanda Bruno Thompson, and I am the owner of Melrose Dance Academy. This is Olivia Joyal. She is one of my employees. We are both Melrose High alumni. I graduated in the class of 2005. It's a while ago. And since 2013, I have been serving the community of the Melrose Dancers. I was really sad to learn recently about the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School not being able to host rentals for outside vendors after the spring of 2027. With the exception of the COVID shutdown, we have held our recital in that space every year since 2015. I bought my studio in 2013, so by 2015, I was finally able to afford to host my recital there. So we've been there every year. So it holds a special place in our hearts. I completely understand the concerns regarding the auditorium's condition after certain events and the need to ensure that the public schools get all of their events in in the spring. I know that there's a lot of concerts and school plays. Several of my dancers tell me each spring that they are so excited for their school concert and their play, but they get excited to go on the stage before their show. As a proud Melrose graduate and somebody who employs a lot of the Melrose alumni, it's sad that our city facility isn't treated with respect. We attend dance competitions and other events, and we see how it's left. I always tell my dancers that when we enter a space, we leave it better than we left it. I don't even allow food at my recital. I tell the girls they have to leave for lunch because I want to leave the space as spotless as possible because I feel so lucky that we're able to rent it. What makes this decision so difficult to no longer rent to outside vendors is that it directly impacts a local small business and lots of Melrose families, hundreds of them. The majority of our dancers attend Melrose Public Schools, and dancers of performing art and just like student athletes, they look forward to performing on their home fields and their home court. Our dancers really look forward to performing on that stage because it's their home stage. It means a lot to them. For these kids, recital day is the highlight of their year. I have little girls come in every September, and they ask me, "Ms. Amanda, when's recital this year?" And that's what they're there for. They want to dance on stage. I know you have tough choices to make, and I respectfully ask that you consider alternatives rather than completely banning local businesses from using the space. I called almost every single high school in the area this summer, looking for an auditorium to hold our recital. It's been very difficult. A few that I spoke to will only rent to you if you hold a business address in their town. So I was wondering if that could be something Melrose could consider, just renting to Melrose businesses and Melrose dance studios. And I really thank you for your time and listening to me. As Amanda said, my name's Olivia Joyal. I was also born and raised in Melrose and graduated Melrose High in 2015. I'm 29 now. In my seventh year as a special education teacher, but I still come back to Melrose weekly because I love Melrose Dance Academy and teaching here. I started dancing at Melrose Dance Academy in 1999 at the age of two. And from two until now, I spent so many hours at Melrose Dance Academy because I had the passion of dance. And in 2015, it was my senior year, and our current director, Amanda, brought our dance recital back to Melrose Middle School, which was really exciting for us as dancers. It meant the world to us. I had tried chorus, acting, playing an instrument, within the Melrose Public Schools as a student, because I had a passion to create and perform, but I wasn't really successful with any of those. I really wanted to dance, and that wasn't something that was offered in the public school, so you have to go to one of those studios outside.
▶ 5:47 Speaker 1: We tried starting dance clubs in the schools. It never really stuck. We weren't able to get advisors and things for it, so we really had to rely on those private outside dance studios. And not until 2015 were we able to use that same stage, at least at our studio, that everyone else was using for performing arts. So that was really a dream come true for us. It created a family for us, and now I come back to teach weekly at the dance studio. I'm a theater director in another district, so I completely understand how school events work and how you need to allow access to these facilities. But I also see how it can affect our community and our dancers. It may not be part of our public schools, but it still brings together your students and community for a happy and celebratory event. So I'm asking as a small business in Melrose and a majority of our business being your community members and students, that you allow our studio the access that the students of the public school activities are allowed, and just to take this into consideration for us and for our dancers that have come to support us tonight. Thank you.
▶ 7:04 Speaker 3: Thank you so much.
▶ 7:08 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: Very good. I don't see anyone else signed up to speak. So, Ms. O'Connor, is there anyone online this evening? Very good. Then a motion via unanimous consent to close public comment. Next on our agenda is the announcements of the superintendent.
▶ 7:26 Speaker 4: Great. Thank you, Ms. Driscoll. First, just wanted to share again some of the back-to-school information. Our campus, being the secondary campus especially, is really starting to buzz. We've had some teachers coming back, some professional development launched yesterday, where we had some teachers and our administrators on campus. All of our administrators are back in their buildings, so the administrators who do not work full year are back.