School Committee — 2026-08-18
Attendance
Margaret Raymond Driscoll ; Matt Hartman ; Melissa Holleran ; Seamus Kelley ; Sheri Leo ; Jennifer Razi-Thomas
Agenda
- NOTE
- CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE
- PUBLIC COMMENT
- ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
- Report: Back to School Information
- Report: Personnel
- Report: Enrollment Updates
- CONSENT AGENDA
- Warrants FY27 Refunds - S27008 - $20,642.12 FY27 School - S27009 - $395,255.36 FY27 August Debit Card - S27010 - $1,430.00 FY27 July High School Student Activity Wire - S27011 - $1,812.39 FY27 July MVMMS Student Activity Wire - S27012 - $8,338.14
- Regular Meeting Minutes: July 28, 2026
- Policy KBA: School/Parent Relations Goals
- MHS Field Trip Date Change
- Memorial Naming Proposal
- SUBCOMMITTEES (COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE)
- Finance and Facilities - Margaret Driscoll/Melissa Holleran
- Vote: Monthly Budget Summary/Grants/Revolving Accounts
- Vote: Rental Agreement and Rates
- Vote: Closure of Inactive Student Activity Accounts
- Policy and Planning - Matt Hartman/Margaret Driscoll
- Vote: Recommended changes to Polify JF: Admissions
- Discussion: Strategic Plan
- Educational Programs and Personnel - Jen Razi-Thomas/Sheri Leo
- Vote: Approval of District Officers
- Report: PD Update
- ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE CHAIR
- Report: School Site Council Election Process
- Report: Rolling Agenda
- Report: Outreach
- ADJOURN
Minutes
Melrose School Committee Regular Meeting Tuesday, August 18, 2026, 7:00 PM 562 Main Street, Melrose, MA 02176 Council Chamber, First Floor, Melrose City Hall MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Margaret Raymond Driscoll Member Present Mayor Grigoraitis Mayor Absent Matt Hartman Vice Chair Absent Melissa Holleran Member Present Seamus Kelley Chair Absent Sheri Leo Member Present Jen Razi-Thomas 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 a back-to-school update, noting that school-year administrators have returned to buildings and leadership is preparing for their upcoming summit meetings and to welcome new team members. Ms. Berman noted that the Aspen system has been updated for the 26–27 school year, allowing families to view student schedules and teacher assignments, and noted that an informational newsletter will be coming soon. She reviewed key dates: educators return August 31–September 1 for 1 professional development, students in grades 1–12 and Pre-K return Wednesday, September 2, and Kindergarten begins Tuesday, September 8. 2. Report: Personnel The Superintendent presented the personnel report, noting that there are also recent hires not yet listed. The Deputy Superintendent noted a settled collective bargaining agreement with traffic supervisors that significantly raised the daily rate, attracting eight new applicants. With five candidates advancing to join the current team of nine, the district expects to expand its staffing this year. 3. Report: Enrollment Updates Superintendent Berman presented the current enrollment report along with a five-year historical comparison chart. Discussion included whether figures reflected start or end-of- year data, noting steady overall enrollment trends relative to prior years, and the Superintendent acknowledged expected summer fluctuations due to family moves and transfers to private or vocational schools. 4. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION: To approve Meeting Minutes of July 28, 2026 RESULT: ACCEPTED MOVER: Melissa Holleran SECONDER: Jennifer Razi-Thomas AYES: Jennifer Razi-Thomas, Margaret Raymond Driscoll, Melissa Holleran, Sheri Leo ABSENT: Jennifer Grigoraitis, Matt Hartman, Seamus Kelley 1. Warrants FY27 Refunds - S27008 - $20,642.12 FY27 School - S27009 - $395,255.36 FY27 August Debit Card - S27010 - $1,430.00 FY27 July High School Student Activity Wire - S27011 - $1,812.39 FY27 July MVMMS Student Activity Wire - S27012 - $8,338.14 2. Regular Meeting Minutes: July 28, 2026 3. Policy KBA: School/Parent Relations Goals 4. Memorial Naming Proposal 5. SUBCOMMITTEES (COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE) 1. Finance and Facilities - Margaret Driscoll/Melissa Holleran 2 A Vote: Monthly Budget Summary/Grants/Revolving Accounts MOTION: To approve the year to date, grants, and revolving accounts reports RESULT: ACCEPTED MOVER: Jennifer Razi-Thomas SECONDER: Melissa Holleran AYES: Jennifer Razi-Thomas, Margaret Raymond Driscoll, Melissa Holleran, Sheri Leo ABSENT: Jennifer Grigoraitis, Matt Hartman, Seamus Kelley B Vote: Rental Agreement and Rates Deputy Superintendent Kelley presented the annual rental agreement, noting that venues like the middle school auditorium remain popular and available for rent through the DPW. The standard agreement includes updated custodial fees and uniform rate increases across user groups to account for rising costs, such as the new custodial collective bargaining agreement and facility maintenance. To address scheduling challenges from past years, secondary leadership requested larger windows for school events and the district is working with the DPW to ensure school events are prioritized. Additionally, the adjustments aim to cover unanticipated operational expenses. Discussion included highlighting language in the contract for renters with an outstanding balance, removing COVID provisions, confirming the School Committee's role in approving rates, assigning scheduling to the DPW with priority for schools, reviewing spring 2027 auditorium availability, and comparing district rental rates. MOTION: To approve the rental rates for FY27 and approve the contract RESULT: ACCEPTED MOVER: Jennifer Razi-Thomas SECONDER: Sheri Leo AYES: Jennifer Razi-Thomas, Margaret Raymond Driscoll, Melissa Holleran, Sheri Leo ABSENT: Jennifer Grigoraitis, Matt Hartman, Seamus Kelley C Vote: Closure of Inactive Student Activity Accounts Deputy Superintendent Kelley presented an update on inactive activity and group accounts. Accounts remaining dormant for an extended period will be reviewed and transferred into a maintenance account. These repurposed funds will support operational expenses, such as QuickBooks software fees, and help establish a self-sustaining fund balance. Discussion included: identifying sources of older funds, moving inactive funds over three years that do not support an active student program into a maintenance account, clarifying that these funds belong to the students and not the district, and confirming that transferring money between different student activity accounts is prohibited. 3 MOTION: To approve the closure of the inactive student activity accounts RESULT: ACCEPTED MOVER: Sheri Leo SECONDER: Melissa Holleran AYES: Jennifer Razi-Thomas, Margaret Raymond Driscoll, Melissa Holleran, Sheri Leo ABSENT: Jennifer Grigoraitis, Matt Hartman, Seamus Kelley 2. Policy and Planning - Matt Hartman/Margaret Driscoll A Vote: Recommended changes to Polify JF: Admissions MOTION: To approve the recommended changes to Policy JF: Admissions RESULT: ACCEPTED MOVER: Melissa Holleran SECONDER: Jennifer Razi-Thomas AYES: Jennifer Razi-Thomas, Margaret Raymond Driscoll, Melissa Holleran, Sheri Leo ABSENT: Jennifer Grigoraitis, Matt Hartman, Seamus Kelley B Discussion: Strategic Plan Ms. Driscoll referenced Superintendent Berman’s strategic plan update memo in the packet, noting that the plan will be presented at the next meeting after gathering additional feedback from leadership. Further details will be shared at the next meeting. 3. Educational Programs and Personnel - Jen Razi-Thomas/Sheri Leo A Vote: Approval of District Officers MOTION: To approve the 2026-2027 school year's district officers RESULT: ACCEPTED MOVER: Melissa Holleran SECONDER: Sheri Leo AYES: Jennifer Razi-Thomas, Margaret Raymond Driscoll, Melissa Holleran, Sheri Leo ABSENT: Jennifer Grigoraitis, Matt Hartman, Seamus Kelley B Report: PD Update Executive Director of Academics and Accountability Melanie Acevedo and Assistant Principal/Elementary Curriculum Coordinator Jen O'Brien, presented an update on professional development. 4 Ms. Acevedo reviewed the information in the packet outlining progress since June and highlighting the four pillars established from last year's work and PD survey feedback. She noted that these pillars align directly with the district's strategic plan and the school improvement plans being developed by the principals. 6. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE CHAIR 1. Report: School Site Council Election Process Ms. Driscoll shared the annual School Site Council election process for the 2026-2027 school year as presented in the packet. 2. Report: Rolling Agenda Ms. Driscoll noted that Chair Kelley will continue to update the Rolling Agenda, and to reach out to him if there are any questions on that. 3. Report: Outreach Ms. Leo shared that the Committee will resume its office hours starting in September and dates will be posted to the District website for families to access the information. 7. ADJOURN MOTION: To adjourn RESULT: ACCEPTED MOVER: Jennifer Razi-Thomas SECONDER: Sheri Leo AYES: Jennifer Razi-Thomas, Margaret Raymond Driscoll, Melissa Holleran, Sheri Leo ABSENT: Jennifer Grigoraitis, Matt Hartman, Seamus Kelley The meeting adjourned at 7:50 PM. 5
Transcript
▶ 0:01 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the Melrose School Committee meeting of Tuesday, August 18th, 2026. Ms. O'Connor, would you kindly call the roll? Ms. Driscoll? Here. Ms. Holleran? Here. Ms. Leo? Here. Ms. Rozy Thomas? Here. That does constitute a quorum. There are four of us present, so let us please rise for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 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?
▶ 1:17 Thank you so much. Thank you, Ms. Thompson and Ms. Joyal. Welcome. And would you like to formally introduce yourselves and let us know what you're thinking? 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.
▶ 2:14 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.
▶ 2:55 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.
▶ 3:40 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
▶ 4:25 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
▶ 5:14 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. 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
▶ 6:05 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
▶ 6:57 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: to take this into consideration for us and for our dancers that have come to support us tonight. Thank you. Thank you so much. Very good. I don't see anyone else signed up to speak. So, Ms. O'Connor, is there anyone online this evening? No. Very good. Then a motion via unanimous consent to close public comment. Next on our agenda is the announcements of the superintendent. 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
▶ 7:50 administrators who do not work full year are back. And we're getting ready for our summit meeting. That will happen, so that's our leadership team that will gather on both Thursday and Monday as we really plan and come together, and we welcome... Again, thank you to the override and some other pieces, some new administrators to our table and to our team. So we're excited for that. Aspen has been rolled over, which means that we were waiting for all of our state reporting and different things that we needed to do to happen. So we have officially rolled over, which means that all of our kindergarten new registrations are now in there as kindergartners, and our graduates are now graduated. So that's nice that we have email lists that are accurate.
▶ 8:40 And so what this also means is that I will be sending out that informational newsletter, hopefully tomorrow, but definitely by Thursday if all goes well tomorrow. We're just trying to get that into that Smore format, so that we can send it out, and that way it can be translated for those who need it, and that's really important for us. So that will be happening. And also, definitely by Friday at the latest, students will be able to see their classroom teachers at the elementary school level, and the secondary level students will be able to see their schedules and their teachers as well. So I know that a lot of students and parents hold their breath for that time, so that is definitely coming by the end of this
▶ 9:24 week. So, and just as a reminder, our educators will be coming back on Monday, August 31st, and Tuesday, September 1st, we'll be engaging in professional development, which I mentioned at our prior meeting, and we will hear a little bit more about later tonight. Students in grades one through 12 and our pre-K students will return on Wednesday the 2nd, and our kindergarten students will begin on that following Tuesday the 8th. And again, that's just so they do their kindergarten screening on those first two days when our other students are in the building, and that frees up our kindergarten teachers to be able to assess those students and get them started on the right path. So I don't know if there are any questions about that.
▶ 10:11 Okay. Moving on. So, personal report. So you have the personal report in your packet, and during our last meeting, I did highlight some positions that were still open, and the great news is many of those have been filled. So that's really awesome. So you'll see some of that reflected in the personal report. There also have been some signing that has occurred, whether it was yesterday or today, that is not reflected in that report. We also have a few higher packets and waiting for the green light for us to get a higher letter out and hopeful acceptances coming down the pipeline. So our staffing looks really, really good at this point. I think other than a few paraprofessionals and some daily student supports,
▶ 10:58 I think we're in really good shape at this moment in time. And so again, happy to answer any questions about the personnel report. Ms. Rossi-Thomas? Thank you. One of the things that I know we've been doing without for a long time is the number of crossing guards. Do we have any update on that? We do. And we actually have... Did we have five new crossing guards that we had applicants for? So I'll turn it to Mr. Kelly, he's the expert in this area. Thanks so much. Thank you. Again, thank you for that. That's a great question. So, just as background, we did settle our new collective bargaining agreement with our traffic supervisors with a pretty significant increase in the daily rate, which has been helpful. We've had, I think, eight applicants, and five are continuing
▶ 11:42 with the process now. So we do have a robust response to that, which is great. Wonderful. So I know that we-- I think are there 16 positions? Yes. 16 or 17, yes. How many do we have filled or look like we're going to have sort of- So we have nine guards on the team now, and five people have chosen to continue with the process. So there's the background checks that have to happen and all the- Right ... onboarding process. So I'm hopeful that we will have an increase in the team this year. Great. So almost full, potentially. Almost- Getting there. Getting there. Getting there. Okay. I'm glad the contract really helped. That's wonderful news. Yep. Are any of them doing split shifts? Because I know we also made that-
▶ 12:19 We have one that is interested in doing mornings, yes. Okay, great. Thank you. Excellent. Any other questions? Seeing none, back to you, Dr. Berman. Sure. Moving right on to the enrollment update. So again, you have the updated enrollment report in your packet. In addition to the enrollment report, we did add a chart to that. That is the comparison of the last five years. So this will allow you to see where we are in comparison at the elementary level, middle school, and the high school to our past five years. And then we will continue to update that every month, so that bottom line will change monthly so that you can see where we are. I feel like that will be helpful. Great. And I agree, that would be extremely helpful, and I really appreciate your
▶ 13:07 adding that to the detail that's in the sheet above. Any other questions or any questions on that? Ms. Holleran? Yes, thank you. I love this new chart. Just to be clear, the total enrollment and the other enrollments from the past years, that was our ending enrollment at the end of the year or the starting enrollment? So I believe that's our enrollment based on our Sims report. Okay. And so that's- Perfect ... where those are captured. So again, anytime we do enrollment, right? Right. It's a screenshot in time. Yeah. So that bottom number will fluctuate, but those other ones are based on the Sims report, yeah. Okay, perfect. Thank you. You're welcome. Ms. Leigh. In the interest of continuing with the historical data, because that context is
▶ 13:51 super helpful, can you just give a brief overview, I know you did this a couple of months ago, about what we tend to see between now and, I don't know, October in terms of inflow, outflow? Not that you can predict the future. Sure. But I think that's helpful for us to understand. Sure. I would say that at this moment in time, we still have students who are registered in Melrose Public Schools who we believe are going to some private schools, vocational schools, whatever else that may be. But summertime, as we talked before when we talked about the personnel report similarly to the enrollment report, this is a time when people move. We know that. During that summer break, people make different life choices.
▶ 14:36 People may move out of state or to a different part of the state. So, this is the time we see that change. As you can see, we have been fairly steady-ish over the last couple of years. So, we had tons of registrations just today, but we also had some withdrawals. So again, it's just that constant piece. And our registrar, Tara Durrant, is doing a really great job, but it's very busy right now with just staying up on that and being able to place, especially at the elementary level, where we have spots and different things like that. Thank you. Mm-hmm. Very good. Any last things? That's very good. Thank you so much for that, Superintendent Berman. Next on our agenda is the consent agenda, which tonight contains warrants
▶ 15:29 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: FY27 refunds S27008 in the amount of $20,642.12. FY27 school S27009 in the amount of $395,255.36. FY27 August debit card S27010 in the amount of $1,430 even. FY27 July high school student activity wire S27011 in the amount of $1812.39. And FY27 July MVMS student activity wire S27012 in the amount of $8,338.14. As well as the regular meeting minutes of July 28, 2026. Policy KBA, school-parents relations goals, and the memorial naming proposal. Would anybody like to remove anything from the consent agenda? Seeing none, is there a motion for approval? So moved. Motion made by Ms. Holleran, seconded by Ms. Rossi-Thomas. All in favor? Opposed? That motion carries unanimously with three absent. Next on our agenda is the finance and facilities subcommittee.
▶ 16:42 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: First on that agenda is a vote on the monthly budget summary grants and revolving accounts. So through the superintendent to Mr. Kelly, would you like to provide an update, please? Sure. Thanks so much. So you have the year-to-date budget report. Spent most of today looking at starting to encumber our bigger bargaining unit salaries. You also have the grant report, as well as the offsets, and then we have our revenue from July that we booked. So I'd be happy to answer any questions you have on those three reports. Any questions on all three of those reports? Seeing none, may I have a motion for approval? Made by Ms. Rossi-Thomas, seconded by Ms. Holleran. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor?
▶ 17:34 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: Opposed? That motion carries unanimously with three absent. And Mr. Kelly, a question pursuant to all of this, especially the budget summary. Do you have an idea when the city expects to roll the books? Typically, that's usually over the Labor Day weekend. I can ask. I haven't had a formal confirmation on what date, but in the past, they've usually tried to use that weekend, as it is a multi-day process to get FY26 rolled and then FY27 to be the current fiscal year. Great. That would be very helpful just to give us a sense of when you're going to be in effect starting clean and ready to go, and hopefully can put one of the three years you are working on continuously behind you and move on. It's also the green flag to start our end of year report officially for the
▶ 18:21 Schedule 1019. So we always look forward to that date. Excellent. Well, that's something to look forward to now, isn't it? Yes, indeed. It takes a certain kind of person. That's right. That's right. Special gift. Next on our agenda is the rental agreement and rates. Superintendent, would you like to speak to that? Sure. I'm going to pass it right to Mr. Kelly again. Sure. Thanks so much. So you have two documents in your packet for consideration. Thank you. Tonight, it's the memo. We've got our annual rental agreement that, just as a point of clarification, Melrose is still using the rental program of facilities. We have our eight school buildings. As we've heard, there's been some discussion about the middle school auditorium.
▶ 19:07 It's a very popular venue. The Melrose Public Schools venues are still available for rent booking through the DPW. This is our standard rental agreement that's in there for consideration with an update for the custodial fees As well as the increases for the different groups in the rates sheet. So, last year there was a pretty sizable increase, not knowing the uncertainty that came with that fiscal year '26, the pretty sizable increases. We're proposing a uniform increase to cover things like the new custodial collective bargaining agreement, with the increases there, and upkeep on the facilities. So, the middle school auditorium is our biggest renter. And just as background, we're working with DPW currently, as we normally do, to
▶ 20:06 prioritize school events. The secondary leadership has requested bigger windows this year for school events. Just some background on that, the past couple of years, it's been a little bit of a scramble to work school events if things change, like snow dates, things like that. It's been a bit of a scramble. A lot of people involved to work with both rental agreements as well as prioritizing school events. So, there has been an increase in the time that they've asked for. And so just as a little bit of background on that, the things that might pop up that are anticipated people might not know about. Last year, last spring, there was a weekend where we ended up having to run the air conditioning at
▶ 20:53 the middle school continuously because it was having a maintenance problem, and to shut it down, it wouldn't have been able to come back online. So, there was a pretty significant cost to running the air conditioning all weekend long to maintain that for the rental, and then it had to be fixed at an alternative time when we could have used the weekend. So, there are things like that that come up that are just unanticipated, and so it's been requested to hold those times this year. But our rental program is still in effect for other parts of the year, and the rates and the agreement are in your packet for consideration. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. Questions for Mr. Kelly. Ms. Rozzie Thomas.
▶ 21:32 Yeah. I have one question on the rental contract, the application contract. It looks like the only thing that's being changed there is highlighted, it's "renters will not be able to reserve a rental date until all past money is owed or paid in full." Is that the only thing that's changed? That's been in there. The yellow is just to call attention to that. Okay. We've had some people that try to book that have an outstanding balance, and our DPW partners are involved with the collection of the fees. Okay. So, what's changed is there was some COVID language that was removed, and then the custodial rates. Great. Thank you. And then to go to some of the... So, just to clarify, we set the rates, but we're not part
▶ 22:14 of deciding whether outside vendors can come in or not, right? School committee specifically, no. Right. Scheduling is done through DPW. Okay, so the people who decide on the schedule is DPW- Correct ... after anyone who's in charge of scheduling for the schools, like the principals, the vice principals, the athletic director, or the director of visual performing arts, right? All those people have to do their scheduling first. That's correct. And DPW has to do whatever they have to do for the facilities for schools to be run. That's correct. And then after all of that, there may be some rentals- That's correct ... after the spring of 2027, of the auditorium? The auditorium is for rent right now, but there are some windows where it's not
▶ 23:00 available. Okay. And I think that's where the discussion's coming from. Okay. We typically work through the middle of October with DPW to prioritize school events, which we're doing right now. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it. Other questions for Mr. Kelly on this? Ms. Holleran. Thank you. Mr. Kelly, just to clarify, with the rental increases, does this put us above, below, or right around other facilities that are renting out? Do we anticipate losing business or pretty much staying the same? I would not anticipate losing business based on the increases. We are middle of the road with other comparable districts that rent. And some districts don't rent their facilities, but we're comparable with the ones
▶ 23:52 that do. And just as a reminder, we did lose the scene rental through the Ripley school. That concluded just this month. So, that is a loss of rental income to the district. Thank you. Ms. Leo. I have another clarifying question about the increase, the 5%. I just want to understand a little bit more. You mentioned the custodial. There's a rate listed for the custodial. Is the 5% include-- Like, was that a 5% increase? Just help us understand. Sure thing. So, a combination of inflation, inflationary costs for things like supplies, maintenance, as well as the new recently settled. So, the city has many collective bargaining agreements between schools and other departments. So, the custodial collective bargaining unit recently settled, so
▶ 24:41 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: there's an increase in the custodial fees that will get charged. So, the 5% is representative of all those things. All that inclusive. Okay. Thank you. Any final questions? Seeing none, I would entertain a motion. Ms. Rozzie Thomas. Motion to approve the rental rates for fiscal year '27, as well as the contract. Can we do it all in one slate? Do I have a second? Yeah. Second. Second by Ms. Leo, made by Ms. Rozzie Thomas. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor? All opposed? That motion carries unanimously with three absent. And the last item on our Finance and Facilities subcommittee this evening is the closure of inactive student activity accounts. Mr. Kelly? Thank you. Yeah. So,
▶ 25:35 the student activity fund, this has been on my list of things to look at and modernize, bring up to date since I started. I just want to highlight the phenomenal work that Kim Candelori has done in our business office on working on the student activity fund. It needed a lot of maintenance, had not had an audit done, and it was overdue for an audit. We've had that done. So, last spring, we asked the school committee to consider the policy updates, which graciously considered and approved. So, this is now some of the work that's part of that policy and procedure, where, if there are certain groups, activities that are not active for a certain amount of time, we're obligated to look at those funds and then move them to something that
▶ 26:21 we refer to as a maintenance fund or administrative fund. And those are things like paying for those external audits. Our external audit, I think, was around $11,000 to have done. So those are not inexpensive items. They're also eligible costs that we can use from these maintenance funds. So, this is a regular pattern we want to get into of revisiting activities and clubs that are no longer active, try to seek out and contact anyone that is left over from those groups, ask if there's any designation they want for those funds, and then ultimately move that to that maintenance line, part of our procedure and policy. So, this is a regular pattern you'll probably see on an annual basis to maintain the clubs. And someone did ask a question.
▶ 27:01 There's some sports teams referenced in there. That's not anything to do with athletics. Student activity funds should not be any kind of custodial of any kind of athletic funds. That should be something that's either part of our operating budget or in our revolving fund for athletics. So those sports are intact. Nothing's being stopped. It's just that this is not the appropriate place to handle those funds. So, that is the gist of it. I'm happy to answer any questions that you have regarding that. But again, the student activity fund is in a much better place. The process that we run now, things like we use QuickBooks to pay invoices, and QuickBooks is a fee-based service, so the cost for QuickBooks would come out of
▶ 27:40 this. So, it's a self-sustaining fund. Questions for Mr. Kelly. Ms. Leo. Two clarifying questions. I'll ask them both, and you can take them in whatever order you want. So, I see a number of these accounts that are listed as they never should have been student activities. I would love to hear a little bit more about how did the funds get there? Where did they come from? If you can speak to that. It seems a little odd. Sure. Some I can, some I can't. Some of them that were there prior to my arrival- ... 100% honestly, we cannot trace back to where the funds came from. So, it's been kept in a spreadsheet, which is good. We can see that they're there, but the actual source of all of those funds, it
▶ 28:24 would take a significant amount of time to go back and do that. And we'd much rather spend time getting the fund in a good place and operating under the policy that we have. So, the related question to that, I guess I have three, because this is a part B, is for the things that were never student activities in the first place, are we obligated to move those monies into the maintenance account, or could we move them back into an account that seems to align better with the purpose? So, the student activity fund, it's student money, so we want to make sure we're not trying to move it away from the student activity fund. And this is, we've Spent a lot of time building up to the policy that we have in
▶ 29:06 place, attending some of Mark Abrams' courses. If you're not familiar with Mark Abrams, he's a guru around municipal finance. So this is in alignment with his best practice. So it's the idea of any money that's there that's no longer outside the three years supporting an active student program should be moved into this maintenance line. Okay. It is just helpful to know what is sort of in our purview here. So that was super helpful. And then relatedly, I see a number of things listed that might have adjacent student activities now, but could be called something different or could have a different advisor. How have you worked to de-conflict any of that, and could you move any of those funds? For example,
▶ 29:54 Chess Club or Italian Club, Gay Straight Alliance. Those things exist. Could they take these funds on, or are they duplicated in some way? It just seems messy, and I'm trying to understand. Sure. Yeah, no, it's a good question. And the student activity fund is student money. It's nothing that the district owns. Sure. It's not district money. So the active clubs at the high school that are functioning right now are probably included in the active list. Okay. But to transfer money between activities is not something we're allowed to do. A good example is the student council, STUCO. Yeah. If they're going to do something with funds, the active student council should really take a vote within their own group about how to appropriate that money.
▶ 30:40 So if we don't have the origin of the funds and there's no active group, there's no one to vote on how to move that money or what to do with that money. It really should be a student voice as to how that money is moved around or used. So if we can't trace it back to that, it should be moved to the maintenance line to support the active programs. Then we're done. Okay, thank you. Any other questions? Ms. Rossi-Thomas? I really appreciate your color coding. Yes. It's really super helpful. That's Kim's color coding. Well, Kim did a phenomenal job, and it's almost like the history of clubs and- Yeah ... all sorts of things at the high school and the middle school, I suppose, because this covers both the middle school and the high school?
▶ 31:21 It does. Good question. We do not have student activity funds at the elementary schools. This is mainly secondary. That's a PTO type of thing or activity. Right. So I see the oldest thing here is from 2010, I believe. Looks like the oldest club that... Mm-hmm. And there's a lot of 2010s. And then the things that are coded in red, those never should've been part of a student activity- Correct ... fund. It's not that they're not legitimate- Yeah. Sure ... or it's just they shouldn't be housed in a student activity fund. Yes. Okay. And so just so I understand one more time, even though I know you just said it, all of this, this is $53,000, goes where? Sure. So it goes into a maintenance budget.
▶ 32:16 It's still part of the student activity fund- Yep ... but it goes to supporting the actual student activity fund. In other words, like having that outside audit done. Yep. It can be anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 as an external audit. Yep. Which is a lot of money. Yeah. We paid a lot of that at one point. Yep. The QuickBooks membership, buying supplies, the checks we write, things like that. Yep. So that's what the maintenance money is supposed to design. It's to support the activities. So it's like a business maintenance fund. Yep. Okay. So I just want to say thank you very much to you, Mr. Kelly, for all the cleaning up that you've done since you came into your office. And I appreciate all the people that have stuck by you to clean all of this up.
▶ 32:54 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: And I know that we have other things to clean up, too, and that'll come next. Thank you. Steady Freddy. Thank you very much. This was a business office, and especially Kim, instrumental in getting this to where it is today. This must've been really big. Yeah. That was a long- Hours and hours and hours and hours of work ... process of cleaning it up and then figuring out what you were going to do next with it, and accounting. All right. Takes a special person, like I said. Thank you. And I echo those comments in noting that DESE is very specific about what they allow and what they do not allow. And we certainly don't want any findings, so to me, this is compliance in a key way. And to Ms. Rossi-Thomas's point, checking off those compliance categories and
▶ 33:41 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: developing systems and workflows sets the district up for continuing very good work, and it's much appreciated. So with that, do I have a motion to approve the closure of the inactive student activity accounts as presented? Made by Ms. Leo, seconded by Ms. Holleran. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor? Opposed? That motion carries unanimously with three absent. That concludes finance and facilities. We'll now move on to policy and planning with the recommended changes to policy JF: admissions. We have had this discussion in this room, and I don't believe there were any additional changes recommended. So if there's any question or discussion, now would be the time to have that.
▶ 34:39 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: Ms. Rossi-Thomas? Just a quick comment. I appreciate the change that was made to it. I think it's more clearly written, and I'm pleased to vote on it today. Very good. Unless there's further discussion, do I have a motion for approval? Made by Ms. Holleran, seconded by Ms. Rossi-Thomas. Seeing no discussion, all in favor? Opposed? That motion carries unanimously with three absent. And secondly and finally, under policy and planning, the strategic plan. This item was on the agenda for the last meeting. Superintendent Berman has provided a strategic plan update memo in the packet indicating what will come next. And while we had originally thought that we would be having a different kind of discussion at this meeting, it
▶ 35:30 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: was clear that having the leadership team have a lot of discussion and consideration around what this might look like for the future will certainly produce a product that is better for our consideration, and also more inclusive of ideas and comments that the group may have. So unless there's a burning question, it's here for your information with the next agenda containing more substantive information based on what happens over the next week and beyond. With that, we will move on to educational programs and personnel. Ms. Rossi-Thomas. Thank you. Good evening, and welcome to educational programs and personnel. I think we have just two items on this agenda for tonight, and they are approval of district officers, which is an annual thing, and a
▶ 36:39 report on the professional development plan for the year. So would you like to introduce the officers? Sure. So you have a detailed memo. So in accordance with Chapter 71 regulations, the school committee is required to appoint the school resource officers, the attendance officers for each of our buildings, which often is our principals and assistant principals, our nurses, our school physician, and the district's civil rights officer. So those are all listed in your memo, and I'm certainly happy to answer any questions that you have. Thank you. Any questions, comments, concerns? I'm seeing none. Do I have a motion to approve this year's district officers? So moved. Motioned by Ms. Halloran, second by Ms. Leo. All in favor?
▶ 37:33 That's four in favor, three absent. Thank you. Okay, moving on to our professional development update. Thank you so much for being here, both of you. I appreciate it. Hope you're getting geared up and excited for the new school year. It's happening, but it's a slow ramp this year, it looks like to me. So- It kind of feels slow. Do what you can. So sure. I'd like to introduce Ms. Melanie Azevedo. So she is our executive directors... Director. Just one. Quad clone her. Sometimes she functions like two when she doesn't sleep. But yeah. So she's a director- ... of academics and accountability. And also would like to welcome Jen O'Brien to our table. She is a newly hired administrator in our district, but a long-term Melrose
▶ 38:24 teacher, so we're really happy that you've moved to the dark side. So welcome. And she will be the assistant principal at the Winthrop Elementary School, and also partnering as the elementary curriculum coordinator. So as we implement new curriculum at the elementary school this year, both at our K through two with our reading instruction, our phonics instruction, and also our Reveal Math, really going to play an integral part at the elementary school. So we're certainly happy to have you, and I will turn it over to Melanie to highlight some of the key pieces of the professional development plan. Sure. So thank you for having us. Back in June, I came with Michelle Theodor, our co-facilitator of the PD committee,
▶ 39:08 and we shared our vision and where we thought we were going with PD this year, but it wasn't an actual plan. I'm going to be very honest, this is still not an actual plan, but we're getting closer. And we're doing that strategically because we want to plan in small chunks with some curriculum implementation this year. I want to be very careful about throwing too much at our educators too fast, too soon. So we're trying to think about, what are the little pieces that people need to keep going? And plan strategically throughout the year based on their feedback, but also based on student outcomes and student feedback that we're getting from assessment data, classroom observations, walkthroughs, all of that kind of stuff.
▶ 39:52 So what you have in front of you is a brief overview of where we were in June. The four pillars that we've decided based on the PD survey and the work that we did last year. The four pillars are tied to our current strategic plan, but are flexible enough that if we were to make shifts, that we would be able to ensure that these also met our new strategic plan. They're also tied to our school improvement plans that principals are developing. And really thinking about that objective one, which is academic skills and outcomes of our plan, and objective four, which is around professional culture. I have detailed many things in the memo, and I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have.
▶ 40:37 Thank you so much. Any questions or comments from the committee? Yes, Mr. Driskell, go ahead. I just want to say thank you for the very detailed memo. Much appreciated. And because of that, I have no questions- ... but I wanted to say thank you. Thank you. Well said, Mr. Driskell. Anyone else? Yes, go ahead, Ms. Leo. Thank you. I'm just going to second what Mr. Driskell said. But also, it feels very intentional. It feels like the focus is on bringing it back to the goals, and I'm really excited to hear how the start of the school year goes in implementing the first few days of this PD. Yeah, it feels very cohesive. So thank you very much for putting this all together and the time and the work that goes into it.
▶ 41:32 Ms. Leo, go ahead. Also thank you. I had a question about the new educator orientation. Sure. I thought that was particularly robust and good to see. And just wanted to know, to what extent is this standard that we all do this every year? Is it customized? And how much have you gotten educator feedback from previous new educators that has helped shape this? So we started this breaking up of the different kinds of days maybe three or four years ago. I've been involved with the new educator program since I was a classroom teacher. So I've always been heavily involved in orientation piece. Jess Patti has also been very heavily involved in shaping where we went. We got feedback from teachers every year.
▶ 42:21 We always survey them at the end of day one. We take that feedback at the end of day one, try to make the minor adjustments that we can for day two. And then we obviously use their feedback to make adjustments moving forward. So I think this is the third year we've done like a district day, where we're really focusing on building relationships, getting to know each other, looking at Melrose policies. Yesterday was our MTSS retreat day, which included all of the administrators and several teacher leaders. We do a mini, like what is MTSS in Melrose? What is special ed in Melrose? So kind of those big overarching topics. And then day two, the directors are involved, some teacher leaders at the
▶ 43:07 elementary are involved, and we really dive into curriculum. And then day three, we typically will put that back on the principals and say, "You know what your new teachers need to be successful in your own building." So they report to their buildings, and they work with their principals for the day. So we take that feedback every year, make adjustments. One of the things we heard last year, and throughout the year as I work with the new teachers monthly, is they weren't sure who to go to when. So that was part of where one of the things I'm really excited about this year is the community partnership fair that we're going to be hosting. That will be open obviously for our new educators, but we're inviting any
▶ 43:52 Melrose educator to attend, and putting all of our both in-house MPS partners and our community partners under one roof where our educators can go and talk to people and see how they can help support their classroom and support their students. And we're also thinking a lot about families and what are the resources that families need. So how are our community partners able to help enhance what's happening in the classroom, but also provide some connections, and help new teachers in particular know what resources are available in Melrose? So that'll be at the end of our day one orientation. And I believe, Ms. Leo, I think you're slotted to attend with us I will be. As the school committee member. So, that's where we kind of get that
▶ 44:37 information. Thank you. Mm-hmm. So there's no need for a vote on this. I'd like to welcome Ms. O'Brien into your new positions. Thank you so much. Just like Melrose to have you do two things at once, not just one. We're very excited as we're implementing curriculum with Ms. O'Brien's experience and her leadership she's had throughout the district, to welcome her to the curriculum team, as well as the assistant principal team. That's wonderful. Thank you so much. Congratulations. To share her with Dr. Tracy. It's going to be a great team. Honor. Honor to work with Mel as well as Dr. Tracy. Yes. Yeah. It's great. I think in terms of what we heard from Superintendent Berman at the beginning of
▶ 45:21 her time as a superintendent, it's really about back to basics. You're building systems, not that they haven't been there, but you're really making sure people understand them. You're going to be doing a lot of observations, a lot of things. There are going to be walkthroughs. I think educators are going to be helping each other with their practice. So I'm really excited for this year, and I think that while it's not completed, in schools, there's very few things that actually get completed. And that's okay. So as long as you have a good vision and a good plan, even if it's not completely done yet, it's great. So I hope you have a great start to your year. Thank you. Thank you for all the work that you put in this summer and at the end of the school
▶ 46:00 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: year, and we wish you well. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, and that concludes this part of our agenda. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Razi-Thomas. Next on our agenda is the announcements of the chair, the first item being our school site council election process. This is an annual exercise that the superintendent and leadership puts forward with the understanding that the site council is a legal body, and I believe must convene within 40 days of the beginning of school. And so that's why this is appearing on our agenda this evening, and it is recorded as not require a vote. Superintendent, is there anything you would like to add about this? No, just always appreciate the work that the principals do with this team, and,
▶ 47:00 again, we involve community members and parents, and I think that's a great way for us to educate our students and provide a great experience for them. So, thank you for everyone who volunteers their time for this. Any questions on that? Ms. Leo. So, I noticed that each-- First of all, I think site councils are great. We should mention that. I am a former site council member of two different schools earlier, before my kids were even in the school. So that's kind of interesting. But I noticed that there are different kind of terms and different approaches to overlapping. Some of the schools have everybody up on a two-year term. Some of them do staggered. Do the schools determine that? Is this sort of just grandfathered in? How are you thinking about that?
▶ 47:49 Because it can be hard for community members who are not embedded in the school to understand how and when they might connect in with this opportunity. I do not know that question- Okay ... off the top of my head. I'm sure there is some requirement that I am not familiar with at this moment in time. So, I know oftentimes it is that two-year term. That's what I'm used to at being at the secondary level. But I would have to do a little more digging to give you that exact answer. No problem. I would just respectfully ask that if we can make sure that we're finding ways for the community more broadly to know how they can connect and volunteer, I think that could be really valuable. And maybe that means a little more centralized. But I don't know either.
▶ 48:42 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: So I'm just going to hand it back to you. Thanks. Thank you. And I would just note that it might be helpful to all of us to read in the MASC Book of Laws. Site councils are created by statute, so that might be a source that we could all learn a little something from. So we all have a little homework to do. You all have new books coming too for the new updated laws of 2026. It's so exciting. So I was like, "Perfect timing." It is the most wonderful time of the year. There's no question. Back to school. Back to the books. As you can see, Mr. Kelly continues to update the rolling agenda, which is extremely helpful to us all. So take note of that. If there's anything that you see there that is a glaring omission or you have any
▶ 49:29 questions about, please do reach out to him. And lastly, any outreach reports? Ms. Leo. So, just to report that as part of back to school for September, we will resume our office hours. So at our next meeting, I will have the office hours organized for at least the next six months, but ideally, hopefully, our dates and locations for the length of the full school year, which we will plan to post on the school committee webpage so that our community members and families can access us. And also, of course, reach out any time. But those office hours are really valuable, and we'll have those ready in September. Wonderful. Thank you. Any other outreach reports? Seeing none, that concludes our business of this evening.
▶ 50:18 Margaret Raymond Driscoll: Do I have a motion to adjourn? Made by Ms. Razi-Thomas. Seconded by Ms. Leo. Seeing no discussion, all in favor? Opposed? That motion passes unanimously with three absent, and we are adjourned.