Fitchburg Public Schools

FITCHBURG CITY CLERK May 27 2025 12:04 pm REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, May 5, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. The Regular Meeting of the Fitchburg School Committee was held at the Fitchburg City Hall Campus, Legislative Building, 700 Main Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420; the Zoom meeting platform; and concurrently live-streamed on FATV STUDIO-FATV.ORG, GOVERNMENT LIVE STREAM; and on cable access Comcast Channel 9, and Verizon Channel 36 (NO PUBLIC ACCESS) on May 5, 2025. Mayor Samantha Squailia, Chairperson, presided at the meeting. Present Mayor Samantha Squailia - Chairperson Mr. Peter Stephens -Vice Chairperson Mr. James Walsh Ms. Rosemary Reynolds Dr. Maritza Knight Mrs. Debra Jeffries Mrs. Lindsey Englund Present (Administration/Staff) Mr. Jonathan Thompson, Superintendent Mr. Jeremy Roche, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Mrs. Mary-Alexandra Molina, Recording Secretary 1. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Not at this time. 2. CALL TO ORDER AND SALUTE TO THE FLAG Mayor Squailia, Chairperson, called the regular meeting to order at 6:00 P.M. Mayor Squailia announced that FATV was conducting an audio and video recording of the meeting for public broadcast. She requested anyone present in the audience recording the meeting to identify themselves for the record by standing and stating their name and city of residence. Mayor Squailia requested that all electronic devices be placed into silent mode. School Committee Member Mayor Squailia led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STUDENT REPORTS School Committee Chair Report – Mayor Squailia No report at this time. Resource Sub-Committee – Mr. Stephens Will meet on May 13, 2025. School Building Needs Sub-Committee – Mr. Stephens 1 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, May 5, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. Will meet on May 13, 2025. Policy Sub-Committee – Mrs. Jeffries Met on April 30 and continued the work on section J. Next meeting is on June 4 and June 25 at the Central Office from 5-7 PM. The subcommittee anticipates that the policy review will be complete by the last meeting in June. The policies will be sent to the full committee for review by July 1. The chair of the subcommittee proposed to hold a special meeting on August 25 to answer any questions the full committee may have. We would like to have a vote to approve the policies on September 15, the first meeting of the upcoming school year. The revised policies will also be made available to the public for review. Student Support Sub-Committee – Dr. Knight Met on May 5 and discussed the SY25-26 Vertical Alignment Strategy. Superintendent Thompson presented the Data Equity Pause Protocol and the system and structures indicators that the district is planning to use. The next meeting will be June 2nd. School Personnel Sub-Committee- Mayor Squailia Nothing to report at this time. Student Report • AP testing begins next week at Fitchburg High School • On May 7 at 4:30 PM, Fitchburg is facing Leominster at a track meet at Crocker Field. At 6:00 PM, there will be a ceremony to officially dedicate the new field to Erkki Koutonen and Christopher Woods. • Fitchburg High School’s prom, Night of 1000 Lights, will take place on May 10 from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM at Mount Wachusett • Fitchburg High School is hosting a Scholar’s Banquet to recognize our highest achieving students on May 14 at 6:00 PM at Great Wolf Lodge. • Fitchburg High School’s Alumni Awards Night will take place on May 21 at 6:00 PM at Fitchburg High School. • Fitchburg High School’s Senior Awards Night is on May 28 at 6:00 PM at Fitchburg High School. • Fitchburg Public Schools are holding the annual Heart of the Burg art show at the Fitchburg Senior Center on May 22 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM • The Fitchburg High School relays are on May 15 at 6:00 PM and the middle school relays are on May 29 at 6:00 PM both at Crocker Field • The new MVP building has just recently opened at 270 Westminster Street • Teacher appreciation week is this week! 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING OF APRIL 28, 2025. 2 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, May 5, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. A motion was made by Mr. Stephens, and seconded by Mrs. Englund, to approve the Regular School Committee Meeting of April 28, 2025. With all in favor, the motion was adopted unanimously. 5. COMMUNICATIONS – • CAPS Collaborative Board of Director’s nominations i. Mr. Walsh requests that we take these action items out of order. Mr. Stephens speaks to his role on the board. ii. Mr. Stephens gave a brief update of what has been going on with the CAPS Collaborative Board of Directors meetings. iii. Ms. Reynolds gave a brief update on Keystone Collaborative’s new building. iv. A motion was made by Mrs. Jeffries to take the action items out of order, which was seconded by Mr. Walsh with unanimous consent. v. Mr. Walsh nominated Mr. Stephens to serve on the Board of Directors of the CAPS Collaborative. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Englund. The motion was adopted unanimously. Mr. Walsh made a motion to approve #25-511, which was seconded by Mrs. Englund. The motion was approved unanimously. • Keystone Collaborative Executive Board nominations i. Mrs. Jeffries nominated Ms. Reynolds to serve on the Executive Board for the Keystone Collaborative. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Englund. The motion was adopted unanimously. Mrs. Jeffries made a motion to approve #25-512, which was seconded by Mrs. Englund. The motion was approved unanimously. • Mrs. Jeffries shared her experience on a recent Airport fieldtrip with the ROTC group and STEM students. It was a positive experience with a great tour and presentation. • Superintendent Thompson recognizes Teacher Appreciation Week and thanked all of the staff and Parent Teacher Organizations (PTO) that have put things together for our teachers. Tomorrow on May 6, there will be some special treats for them when they arrive to school. 6. PUBLIC COMMENT – 1. No registrations for making virtual public comments were made. No public comments were made. 3 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, May 5, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. 7. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT • Mayor Squailia opens the budget hearing (6:23 PM) • FY26 Budget Hearing – Superintendent Thompson and Asst. Supt. Roche o Presented the proposed Personnel Line Items  Unit A, 537-unit members, FY26 $47,665,000  Paraprofessionals, 158-unit members, FY26 $5,820,591  Clerical, 42-unit members, FY26 $2,590,000  Custodial, 33-unit members, FY26 $2,118,574  Nurses, 16-unit members, FY26 $1,358,453  Unit B, 29-unit members, FY26 $3,681,853  Non-Union, 33-unit members, FY26 $3,526,538  Increase of 8.02% o Presented the proposed Non-Personnel Budget  Decrease of 1.7% to the School Committee line  Decrease of 17% to the SSELC line  Decrease of 0.2% to the Special Education Line  Decrease of 41.2% to the Multi Lingual Learners line  Decrease of 4.8% to the School Building Maintenance line  Overall a total increase of 3.3% to the entire FY26 proposed non- personnel budget  Inquiries about the School Committee line item were made o Presented the proposed Net School Spending  Needed to reduce the budget by just under $3 million dollars in the last two weeks  The line items have been reduced as much as possible and in order to get to net school spending, changes needed to be made to positions o Presented proposed revised new positions for next school year  GA – eliminate security monitor • Move 1 security monitor from FHS to GA and eliminate 1 security monitor at LMS (LMS will still have 2 security monitors and an SRO)  CES – eliminate 1 nurse, 1 BCBA, 1 building custodian • Shift CES nurse (1) to indirect costs  Eliminate 1 assistant principal (MES) and shift position • MES will have 1 assistant principal instead of 2  Eliminate 0.5 science position (biology) at FHS • This position has not been filled, no educator is being lost  Eliminate 1 SPED position from LMS budget • Currently 5 openings, one of them will be eliminated  Eliminate 2 additional open positions from LMS 4 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, May 5, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. • The elimination of these open positions will create two 6th grade teams, similarly to MMS  Eliminate 1 enrollment clerical position  Eliminate 1 communications coordinator • Some School Committee members expressed concern over losing this position  Eliminate 1 proposed custodian from CES but a floater will be able to help • There will be a floating custodian who will be placed at CES  Eliminate 1 proposed nurse from CES but • There will be a floating nurse who will be placed at CES when necessary  Eliminate 1 proposed BCBA from CES • This position is not being cut from our specialized programs  Inquiries were made about the positions that are being eliminated  Inquiries were made about the floating custodian and BCBA at CES o Presented the updated Foundation Budget to meet Net School Spending after revisions  Foundation Budget to meet Net School Spending $110,532,275 o Presented the budget calendar  Final reading and vote of the FY26 Budget will take place on May 19, 2025. 8. BUDGET HEARING PUBLIC COMMENT • Jacqueline Wehtje, Fitchburg Resident – Made some suggestions on the proposed budget. • Dr. Joshua Klaus, Fitchburg Resident – Thanked the committee for their work and congratulated the district on meeting Net School Spending. • Samantha Freehart, Fitchburg Resident – Thanked the committee and agreed on the cuts that needed to be made. Mr. Stephens made a motion to close the budget hearing at 7:10 PM, seconded by Mrs. Englund. The motion was adopted unanimously. BUDGET ITEMS: Superintendent Thompson presented the budget items. • *Donations – (-) • *Grants – (-) 5 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, May 5, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. 9. ACTION ITEMS Mr. Stephens made a motion to approve #25-510, which was seconded by Mr. Walsh. The motion was adopted unanimously. • #25-510- #24-25 Approve the Superintendent’s recommendation to recommend the Crocker Elementary School solar roof installation project to the City Council for consideration at their next available meeting. 9. OTHER BUSINESS: Not at this time 10. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Not at this time 11. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made and then rescind by Mrs. Jeffries for the adjournment of the meeting. Mrs. Englund inquired about the reduction of a Special Education position. The mayor made a comment about eliminating the communications coordinator position. A motion was made by Mrs. Jeffries, and seconded by Mr. Walsh, to adjourn the meeting. With all in favor, the motion was adopted by unanimous consent. Mayor Squailia declared the meeting adjourned at 7:17 PM. Respectfully submitted by, Mr. Jonathan Thompson Superintendent Fitchburg Public Schools JT/mam 6 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes