Windham Southeast School District Board Meeting Minutes – Jan 9 , 2024

Note: These proposed minutes should be considered preliminary until they are approved by the
board at a future meeting.

WINDHAM SOUTHEAST SCHOOL DISTRICT (WSESD) BOARD
TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2024
REGULAR BOARD MEETING – 6PM
REMOTE MEETING
DRAFT MINUTES

Summary:
● Student representative concerns included a question of whether the compost materials are going into the trash and concerns about students feeling inhibited in expressing their identity and differences in learning styles.
● Administrators provided an update on Early Education Services and a proposed new public Pre-K classroom in Brattleboro at the Canal Street School
● The superintendent initiated the search process for two administrative positions, The Director of Curriculum and Principal of Brattleboro Union High School, by inviting board members to select representatives for the screening committees.
● The Board awarded a bid for the Oak Grove heat pump improvement project to BG Mechanical, for $2,453,438.
● The Board did a second review of the FY2025 draft budget. The budget is less than a 3% increase from the previous year but changes in the yield and the Common Level of Appraisal are projected to have a large impact on the tax rate for homeowners making more than $140,000 in annual income.
● The Board reviewed the capital plan, which will focus on the Oak Grove heat pump project and roofing repairs for BUHS.
● The Board considered whether to hire a part-time assistant to provide administrative support to the Board. The question was tabled until a future meeting.
● The Board directed the Programmatic and Performance Equity Committee to continue looking into Food Service through an equity lens. Food Service Coordinator Sue Grabowski was directed to follow up on student surveys on food service quality and review food waste as part of that assessment.
● The board re-adopted an updated version of Policy F32: Student Distribution of Literature.

Attendance:
WSESD Board Members Present: Chair Kelly Young (KY), Jayden Gonzalez (JG) Non-Voting
Student Representative, Alora Lawyer (AL) Non-Voting Student Representative, Tim Maciel (TM),
Ruby McAdoo (RMC), Robin Morgan (RMO), Shaun Murphy (SM), Eva Nolan (EN), Kimberly Price
(KP), Matt Schibley (MS), Deborah Stanford (DS)
WSESD Board Members Absent: Anne Beekman
WSESU/SD Staff and Administrators Present: Mark Speno, Frank Rucker, Hannah Parker, Keith Lyman, Susan Grabowski, Deb Gass, Brandy Levesque, Kerri Beebe, Sandy Stark, Kelly Vanleewun, Katey Everest, and Coretta Bliss, Kelley Vanleeuwen, Brin Tucker, Jodi Nutting, Jon Sessions, Julianne Eagan, Kate Margaitis, Mary Kaufmann, Nancy Wiese, Paul Smith, Whitney Christmas, Christopher Brewer, John Gagnon, Kelly Dias, Molly Stoner
Media Present: BCTV, Chris Mays (Brattleboro Reformer)
Others Present: Jody Normandeau (Dummerston), Mindy Haskins Rogers (Northampton), Sherri Keefe, Tamara Evanson, Jaci Reynolds,
Please note: attendance may be incomplete.

I. CALL TO ORDER

KY called the meeting to order at 6:06pm.

KY read the remote meeting statement.
● Review of Agenda
KY announced amendments to the agenda:

● The Executive Session that was to be at the end of the meeting will happen right after “Student Matters.”

● Another Executive Session will be needed during “Administrative Report.”

● The items, “Board Budget,” and “Administrative Assistant to the Board,” are moved to “Fiscal Report.”

RMC asked that an additional item, about a farm-to-school conference, be added. There is a deadline associated with it.

MOTION BY RMC TO AMEND THE AGENDA TO INCLUDE THE CONFERENCE UNDER “BOARD MATTERS.”

ROLL CALL VOTE:
MS YEA
RMO YEA
RMC YEA
EN YEA
KP YEA
SM YEA
DS YEA
TM YEA
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

II. STUDENT MATTERS

AL presented two items:

1. Concerns about the Brattleboro Union High School (BUHS) compost program. She questioned
whether the compost materials are going into the trash. Superintendent Mark Speno and BUHS
Interim Principal Hannah Parker said they would follow up.

2. Concerns about identity, conformity, and learning styles. Ms. Parker said she will follow up.
Jody Normandeau of Dummerston thanked the student representatives for speaking up. She asked if
the administration has followed up with their concerns. A discussion ensued.

IX. EXECUTIVE SESSION

Note: from this point on, unless otherwise specified, all votes on motions were conducted by voice-vote.

MOTION BY DS TO FIND THAT PREMATURE PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE WOULD CLEARLY PLACE THE PUBLIC BODY OR PERSON INVOLVED IN SUBSTANTIAL DISADVANTAGE. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

MOTION BY SM TO ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER 1 V.S.A. §313(a)(1)(D), GRIEVANCES OTHER THAN TAX GRIEVANCES. INCLUDING ATTORNEY PIETRO LYNN. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

The Board entered into Executive Session at 6:19pm.

The Board rose from Executive Session at 6:40.

III. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Mr. Speno gave his report. He announced there would be two presentations from Early Education Services (EES).

– Pre-Kindergarten Update

Brandy Levesque, Coordinator of Early Childhood Special Education and Kerri Beebe, pre-K Coordinator, presented on preparing for more Pre-Kindergarten in Brattleboro. Ms. Beebe shared a document, a slideshow, “Pre-Kindergarten Update.” Highlights included:

● WSESD collaborates with 14 pre-K partners to provide 10 hours per week of state-funded pre- K for 3-5 year olds. The district provides full-time school-based public pre-K at Putney Central School, Dummerston School and Guilford Central School and at Oak Grove in collaboration with Early Education Services (EES).
● Act 76 has made investments to increase equity and access to preK for four year olds. The law directs the state to create a plan for full-day care for all 4 year olds by 2026-7.
● In line with the goals of this bill, a new pre-K classroom is being planned for 4 year olds at Canal Street School. Teaching staff is in the budget for next year. The intention is to increase pre-K access for 4 year-olds who are on IEPs. The classroom will include a mix of students with and without IEPs.
● Planning for this classroom is underway by a committee including district administrators and staff.

RMO noted that Brattleboro has six classes of kindergarteners and only one pre-K classroom. The Canal Street classroom will add one more but there will still be more classrooms needed to meet the needs of all families in the town. She asked about plans for the future to address this.

The administration replied that Canal Street School has enough space for adding more pre-K classrooms in the future. The building has some capital plan needs that will have to be addressed. One possibility for additional classrooms would be collaborating with pre K partners as sites that would be district universal pre-K classrooms.

RMC noted that district pre-K classrooms in some of the outlying towns also do not have enough spots to meet the need of their community.

– EES

Deb Gass, EES Director, presented on EES’s structure and components. A document was shared, a slideshow, “Windham Southeast School District Early Education Services.” Highlights included:
● EES has 7 sites: Birge Nest, which holds two Head Start classrooms and three Early Head Start classrooms, The Infant Toddler Center at WRCC, which includes a partnership with the Career Center’s Early Childhood Education program, two buildings in Westminster with Head Start and Early Head Start classes, and three collaborations with community schools. The collaborative sites are Mulberry Bush Early Learning Program, which has Early Head Start and Head Start classes, Oak Grove School, which is a blended Head Start class, and West Bee Nursery School also a blended Head Start class.
● EES recently moved classrooms from Canal Street School to the Birge Street facility, and closed other classrooms there as part of their reduction in scope.
● EES Kitchen is being renovated. They provide meals for all Head Start classrooms except for Oak Grove. There are only two vacancies currently.
● A review of the financial report. EES was able to stretch pandemic funding through the end of December so they have been able to continue giving retention bonuses and staff wellness bonuses.

Coretta Bliss presented about the students and staff at EES and EES Collaborative classrooms.
● At some of the collaborative centers EES provides a flat fee and the center provides the staff. This shared staffing model is used at West Bee Nursery School and Oak Grove. At Mulberry Bush the lead teachers are EES employees, to ensure the classroom is complying with standards.

● Ms. Bliss reviewed education data.
◦ Teaching Strategies Gold covers social and academic data. Most students are meeting expectations. Social emotional learning is a focus in the beginning of the school year.
◦ CLASS scores assess the classroom environment. Instructional Support was identified as a growth area. Instructional Support includes teaching academic concepts throughout the entire school day. Because the behavioral needs are so high that has left less time for instructional focus during daily activities.
◦ These scores will necessitate a federal improvement plan. During January In Service days they will provide professional development about integrating classroom management with instructional support.

RMC asked about what kind of social work support families and teachers have. Ms. Bliss described the behavior support team which includes a Disability coordinator, a Behavior Support person and a Mental Health Coordinator, a position that has been recently filled after a period of vacancy. The team does observations in classrooms and works with teachers and parents with a wide variety of interventions and strategies to support students.

Katey Everest presented about Family Support Services.

● Every student has a specialist that works with their family to support their wellbeing.
● Families at a center have a center-based family support specialist. Children receiving home- based services have visitors who support them with meetings in their home.
● This support is available to families from pregnancy through age 3. Kelley Vanleeuwen, Health Manager, presented about Health & Nutrition services
● This service supports pregnant parents with accessing medical care and follow up needs and includes a visit after baby is born to check on wellbeing and identify any needs.
● They conduct regular health screenings for children 0-5. Hearing, vision, nutrition and dental screenings, resulting in early diagnosis of hearing and vision issues and providing access to aids and glasses for those who need them.
● From birth to age 5, children need 15 well child visits, 8 vaccination appointments, 2 lead/hemoglobin checks. Health Services helps families access these appointments and other care, including dental services.
● Nutrition Services – An on staff nutritionist supports families with accessing food, taking into consideration available benefits, cultural preferences and allergy/intolerance needs. Sandy Stark presented about the Parent Child Center.
● EES is the Brattleboro Agency of Human Services’ designated Parent Child Center for most of Windham County. These centers cover eight core services including parenting support, housing support, a diaper bank, and playgroups,
● A new Parent Child Hub will be opening in Wilmington.

Mr. Speno’s report continued.

Mr. Speno announced there are two administrative positions to advertise: BUHS Principal, and Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Mr. Speno invited the Board to assign members to screening committees for both positions.

Mr. Speno said that, first, he had some retirements and one resignation to announce, as follows:

– Retirements
● Alice Charkes, French teacher at Green Street School
● Janna Crafts, Art teacher at BAMS
● Heidi Gray, Second grade teacher at the Dummerston School
● Melissa Petroski, Librarian at the Dummerston School
● Elizabeth Steele, Health teacher at WRCC
● Patty Walior, First grade teacher at Academy School
● Jean Schultz, Academic support teacher at Academy School
● Mike Szostak, Restorative Justice Coordinator at BUHS

– Resignation
● Wendy M. Levy, board recorder

Mr. Speno spoke about the process for hiring the two administrative positions. The Director of Curriculum would have a hiring committee composed of board members, administrators, teachers and community members. They would be tasked with going through the process of evaluating all candidates, conducting a series of interviews and identifying a candidate to bring forward.

For the BUHS Principal process, a representative screening committee would identify finalists and have a number of forums that include teaching staff, parents, community members and students. After that process and feedback is gathered, the screening committee would then take that information and provide a candidate of choice to be presented at a WSESD meeting.

TM asked when Mr. Szostak and Ms. Levy are leaving. Mr. Speno responded: Mr. Szostak, at the end of the school year; Ms. Levy, after this meeting.

MOTION BY RMO TO ACCEPT, WITH APPRECIATION FOR THEIR SERVICE, THE
RETIREMENTS AND THE ONE RESIGNATION, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE
SUPERINTENDENT. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

– Executive Session

MOTION BY DS TO FIND THAT PREMATURE PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE WOULD
CLEARLY PLACE THE PUBLIC BODY OR PERSON INVOLVED IN SUBSTANTIAL
DISADVANTAGE. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

MOTION BY KP TO ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER 1 V.S.A. §313(a)(3), THE
APPOINTMENT OR EMPLOYMENT OR EVALUATION OF A PUBLIC OFFICER OR
EMPLOYEE, PROVIDED THAT THE PUBLIC BODY SHALL MAKE A FINAL DECISION
TO HIRE OR APPOINT A PUBLIC OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE IN AN OPEN MEETING
AND SHALL EXPLAIN THE REASONS FOR ITS FINAL DECISION DURING THE OPEN
MEETING. INVITING IN MARK SPENO. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

The Board entered into Executive Session at 7:40pm.

The Board rose from Executive Session at 7:52.

KY announced the Screening Committee for the BUHS Principal would include the following Board members: TM, DS, SM, and MS.

KY announced the Screening Committee for the Director of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction would include the following Board members: RMO, EN, and KP.

IV. FISCAL REPORT

Mr. Rucker gave his report.

● Oak Grove Heat Pump Improvement Project Bid Award

Mr. Rucker reviewed the history of the pre-qualification and bid process. He said the administration’s consultant recommended the low bidder, which is BG Mechanical, for $2,453,438. The Finance Committee makes the same recommendation.

MOTION BY SM TO ACCEPT THE HIRING OF BG MECHANICAL FOR THE OAK
GROVE PROJECT IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,453,438. MOTION CARRIED
UNANIMOUSLY.

● 2nd Review of Draft FY ’25 Budget

Mr. Rucker reported the Finance Committee met earlier this evening, and they reviewed the second draft of the proposed FY25 budget. He said the most significant change is the receipt of the Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) figures from the state tax department.

Mr. Rucker shared and reviewed the following document, “Windham Southeast School District Homestead School Tax Rate, State Funding Formula, Estimated as of January 9, 2024, Preliminary AOE LTWADM Data.” Highlights included:

● We have a lower cost per student with this update due to revisions in our revenue due to state funding formula adjustments.
● This draft includes the exact number for the capital project at Oak Grove.
● The outcome is providing a slightly more favorable tax rate of 1.657. We have a cap in our tax increase from legislation that reduces our tax rate to 1.59.
● A dramatic reduction in the CLA statistics is having a big impact on the adjusted tax rate resulting in large increases.
● It’s important to remember that households making less than 140K will pay an income- sensitivity rate. This is about 70% of households in the state. Their property tax will be calculated as approximately 3% of their income rather than a number based on the CLA- adjusted tax rate on their home value.
● This problem is a statewide phenomenon. It is an effect of the real estate market.
● District administration will connect with colleagues and talk to our legislators to advocate for a path forward. If the legislature changed the yield number, that could solve this issue. That is the kind of dramatic change that would be needed to get these tax rates where they would normally be.
● Because this isn’t unique to us, we are anticipating that the legislature will be focusing on a viable path forward for public education in Vermont. The volatility in the yield drives so much of what we are struggling with. Prior to the pandemic, these numbers wouldn’t deviate much more than 2% per year. Now we are seeing really large swings.
● The adjustments in the funding formula to calcuate the equalized student numbers have had an impact on the yield.

Mr. Rucker reviewed the following dates.
● January 23: Board approval vote of the spending plan.
● February 13: The budget will be warned for a public vote.
● March 12: the official public budget hearing
● March 19: Annual Meeting where the public will vote on the budget.

Mr. Rucker shared and reviewed the following document: “Windham Southeast School District Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Plan.” Highlights included:

● The Capital Plan is available on the website for review. It is a continuation of the substantial investment in our schools.
● An acknowledgement that Robert Clark worked diligently with principals, staff, and Mr. Rucker to develop the capital plan.
● The Oak Grove heat pump project is the largest in the capital plan. Transitioning away from fossil fuels is in line with District climate crisis goals.
● The next largest investment is repair to three acres of roofing at BUHS.
● We will be utilizing our capital reserve funds to supplement other funding to pay for these expenditures.
● This is the way the reserve was intended to be used, and allows us to avoid borrowing money to pay for these capital expenditures.

Mr. Rucker requested the Board submit any edits to the budget by January 16.
● Administrative Assistant to the Board A discussion ensued on the Board hiring an administrative assistant. Highlights included:
● Acknowledgment of the increase in workload that the board has experienced and the need for
more administrative support.
● Discussion of how many hours of work per month would be expected for this position.
● Consideration of whether the Board Recorder position could incorporate some administrative support for the board.
● Discussion of whether the WSESU Executive Assistant and other Central Office staff have capacity in their workflow to provide the needed support to board members.
● Expression of appreciation for all the work the Executive Assistant is already doing for the district and board.
● Caution about adding expense to the budget in a year with such volatility around the tax rate.
● Consideration of Affordable Care Act regulations on whether this position would be entitled to health insurance coverage
● Concern about creating a new structure that would not align with administrative structures already in place.

MOTION BY DS TO TABLE THIS DISCUSSION.

KY asked DS to wait before tabling this discussion. The discussion continued.

POINT-OF-ORDER BY TM: A MOTION HAS BEEN MADE.
ROLL CALL VOTE ON THE DS MOTION:
RMC YEA
MS YEA
DS YEA
RMO YEA
TM YEA
EN YEA
SM NAY
KP NAY
MOTION CARRIED 6-2.

● Board Budget

RMO reminded the Board of recommended adjustments to the Board’s budget that were made at the previous meeting by reading from the minutes:

● The line item for Advertising is mostly used to advertise open positions in the district. It was suggested that Mr. Speno and the HR Director review that number and assess the amount needed.

● The Printing and Binding costs have been much lower than what is budgeted due to a decision to publish a summary of the audit rather than printing the entire document. It was suggested that that line be reduced to reflect more accurate costs.

● Travel funding was budgeted at $325 which would not be enough to cover board members traveling to VSBA conferences. Mr. Speno suggested increasing that to $1500.

Mr. Rucker suggested increasing the Advertising line from $4500 to $2500 and reducing Printing and Binding from $14500 to $5000

An increase in the amount for Board Supplies from 6K to 12K was advised. The Dues and Fees amount was dropped altogether because it’s no longer relevant.

MOTION BY MS TO ACCEPT THE CHANGES IN THE PROPOSED BOARD BUDGET
FROM, UNDER ADVERTISING, TO CHANGE IT FROM $4,500 TO $2,500; PRINTING AND
BINDING FROM $14,200 TO $5,000; TRAVEL FROM $325 TO $1,500; SUPPLIES: SCHOOL
BOARD FROM $6,000 TO $12,000; AND DUES AND FEES: STAFF FROM $11,000 TO ZERO.

SM asked for the totals before and after the proposed changes. KY responded: before the proposed changes, the total is $263,896. Mr. Rucker responded: after the proposed changes, the total is $248,871.

VOTE ON THE BOARD BUDGET MOTION: MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

V. CONSENT AGENDA
● Clerk’s Report – Approval of Minutes – December 20, 2023

MOTION BY DS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 28, 2023. MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

● Warrants and Payrolls
– Warrants and Payrolls
Warrant of December 11, 2023
11-16-23 Purchasing Card Payment $ 29,131.52
Warrant No. 1197 in the amount of $ 770.00
Warrant No. 1198 in the amount of $ 7,188.11
Warrant No. 1200 in the amount of $ 213.93
Warrant No. 1201 in the amount of $ 8,056.26
Warrant No. 1202 in the amount of $ 1,968.21
Warrant No. 1203 in the amount of $ 315,506.34
Warrant No. 1204 in the amount of $ 92.22
$ 362,926.59
Warrant of December 18, 2023
Warrant No. 1205 in the amount of $ 305.56
Warrant No. 1212 in the amount of $ 78,995.88
Warrant No. 1213 in the amount of $ 300.00
Warrant No. 1214 in the amount of $ 205,400.09
$ 285,001.53
Payrolls December 15, 2023 $ 1,740,271.77
Warrant of January 2, 2024
12/13/23 ACH Purchasing Card Payment $ 28,194.44
Warrant No. 1216 in the amount of $ 300.00
Warrant No. 1218 in the amount of $ 415.77
Warrant No. 1219 in the amount of $ 55,596.56
Warrant No. 1220 in the amount of $ 5,000.00
Warrant No. 1221 in the amount of $ 7,242.44
Warrant No. 1227 in the amount of $ 25,525.55
Warrant No. 1228 in the amount of $ 25,545.79
Warrant No. 1229 in the amount of $ 14,052.25
Warrant No. 1230 in the amount of $ 165.33
Warrant No. 1231 in the amount of $ 294,843.24
Warrant No. 1232 in the amount of $ 940.00
$ 452,821.37
Payrolls December 29, 2023 $ 1,526,005.44

MOTION BY DS TO APPROVE THE WARRANT OF DECEMBER 11, 2023 FOR $362,926.59;
THE WARRANT OF DECEMBER 18, 2023 FOR $285,001.53; THE WARRANT OF
JANUARY 2, 2024 FOR $452,821.37, THE PAYROLLS OF DECEMBER 15, 2023 FOR
$1,740,271.77; AND THE PAYROLLS OF DECEMBER 29, 2023 FOR $1,526,005.44. MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

KY called for a break at 9:25pm.

KY called the meeting back to order at 9:32.

KY stated for the record that this Board has been very fiscally responsible..

VI. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS

There were none.

VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

A. Sexual Abuse Investigation

KY stated that she was hoping that the Board would have something to present this evening but unfortunately they still do not.

Mindy Haskins Rogers of Northampton noted that the Board had had an executive session inviting in Attorney Kendall Hoechst, and expected that that would lead to presenting a report. She asked about the plan for presenting information from Attorney Goddard’s report. She pointed out that the amount the Board budgeted for the investigation constituted less than 0.1% of their budget.

KY acknowledged the Board’s executive session with Attorney Hoechst but was not able to share any other information. She clarified that her mention of the Board’s budget for Professional Services was in no way related to any comment on the investigation or any merit of the investigation or any outcome. It is the largest expense in the board’s budget and that serves as an indication of how important it is. She recognized the frustration of waiting for an outcome and expressed appreciation to Ms. Haskins Rogers
for her advocacy.

B. Continuation of Food Accessibility at District Schools

RMC reported the Programmatic & Performance Equity Committee is focusing on this issue from an equity perspective. She asked the Board for direction for the committee’s next steps.

Food Service Coordinator Susan Grabowski confirmed that there have definitely been struggles with the food service company this year. Some things have been improving in the last month, but there are still a lot of inconsistencies and issues. This year is bringing a lot of new frustrations and concerns.

EN drew a connection between the issues with Fresh Picks and systemic issues and climate impact on our food systems. She advocated for deepening our connections with local food producers to be able to provide resilient food support for our students and community.

RMO asked that the committee look into what it would take to move toward providing an internal food service program.

TM asked for a report from Ms. Grabowski that incorporates student feedback. Ms. Grabowski replied that the Food Service Advisory Committee doesn’t meet again until spring but Fresh Picks had committed to survey students about their food service. She agreed to check in about that. She added that student feedback is a little complicated because when the Brattleboro food service specifications
were expanded to the whole district it reduced the amount of sugar allowed in meals and that has frustrated some students. RMO asked for feedback about food waste as a reflection of how well students liked or didn’t like the meals. Ms. Grabowski agreed and said she could gather that information from custodians.

C. Policy & Amendment presents the following for Re-Adoption:
● F32: Student Distribution of Literature

MOTION BY DS TO APPROVE FOR READOPTION POLICY F32: STUDENT
DISTRIBUTION OF LITERATURE.

D. Policy & Amendment presents the following for 2nd Reading:
● D7: Volunteers and Work Study Students
● F36: Student Freedom of Expression in School Sponsored Media

DS announced these policies will be presented for readoption at the next Board meeting. All comments and questions should come to committee members.

VIII. BOARD MATTERS / TRAINING

A. Leadership Council Updates

BAMS: RMO announced they met and discussed the Project Feed the Thousands food drive, budget, vaping, bathroom monitoring, and meeting outreach.

B. Board Sub-Committees:

– Communication Council

RMC announced the council recently met, and they discussed elections outreach and Board vacancies.

– Social Justice Committee

EN announced the committee met and discussed what happens when a job applicant does not answer the diversity questions. The committee will be working together with Superintendent Speno to collaborate on a community message regarding teaching about the situation in Gaza and Israel. The board can review this statement at their subsequent meeting.

E. Farm Conference

RMC reported Ms. Grabowski is applying for a grant to create a Farm-to-School Team to focus on a District-wide approach to farm-to-school issues. The grant requires representation of various stakeholders on the team, including one or two Board members. RMC said she is interested in serving, but wanted to discuss this during the meeting to give other Board members the opportunity to express their interest in serving on the team. She noted there is a conference in the spring.

MOTION BY MS TO ADJOURN. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

The Board adjourned at 10:03pm.

Documents presented:
● A slideshow, “Pre-Kindergarten Update.”
● A slideshow, “Windham Southeast School District Early Education Services.”
● “Windham Southeast School District Homestead School Tax Rate, State Funding Formula,
Estimated as of January 9, 2024, Preliminary AOE LTWADM Data.”
● “Windham Southeast School District Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Plan.”

Submitted by Robin Morgan, WSESD Board Chair, from minutes taken by Wendy M. Levy

This represents my understanding of the above dated meeting. If you have any changes, please submit
them at the next board meeting.