Fitchburg Public Schools

FITCHBURG CITY CLERK Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 20, 2025 Nov 17 2025 3:44 pm REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, October 6, 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 October 6, 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 - absent Mrs. Debra Jeffries Mrs. Lindsey Englund Present (Administration/Staff) Mr. Jonathan Thompson, Superintendent Mrs. Glenda Colón, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Mr. Jeremy Roche, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Mrs. Mary-Alexandra Molina, Recording Secretary Iyanna Louis, Student Representative 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 6:02 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 Debra Jeffries led the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STUDENT REPORTS School Committee Chair Report – Mayor Squailia 1 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 20, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, October 6, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. No report at this time. Resource Sub-Committee – Mr. Stephens Meeting was held on September 30, 2025. The subcommittee reviewed grants to submit, accept, and donations. They were given an enrollment update by Director of Enrollment, Mr. Packard. A discussion regarding a SPED program proposal to bring some out of district students back to the district. The subcommittee did a staffing a budget review. Capital planning projects were also presented to the subcommittee. Our Welcome Center, next to Worker’s Credit Union, will be opening up soon. North building at SSELC has been closed for years due to the condition of the building. This will be discussed in greater details at later meetings. The mayor added that the north building is properly sealed off from the rest of the building. It is a two-story structure with a cafeteria and gymnasium. It was abandoned around 2008/2009. We have to do things as quickly as we can to demolish that building. We were quoted about $18 million to renovate the building years ago. The district is currently in the process of getting quotes for the demolition of the north building. Mrs. Jeffries and Mr. Walsh shared some history regarding the various buildings at our South Street location. The district plans on approaching the project in phases. Air quality testing has been done. The mayor will look at city finances to make sure we can afford these changes. School Building Needs Sub-Committee – Mr. Stephens Meeting was held on September 30, 2025. Phase I is complete for the fire alarm system. Secured $1 million for the Longsjo Middle School (LMS) kitchen project. The gym floor at LMS needs to be taken care of, replacement will be needed as it can no longer be repaired. The district is currently getting cost estimates. They will get quotes for various options such as replacing the floor, ripping out what is currently there or covering the current floor to see what would be best options. Electric rates. Fitchburg has been awarded a climate safe award, along with 17 other organizations across the state. The goal is to build efficiency and work toward net zero emissions. EV charger station currently at Crocker Elementary School (CES), we plan on adding 3 more throughout the district. Utility bills are high and as a school district, we are also affected. There is at least a 20% increase from year to year. We are looking to electrify our HVAC systems and using solar to reduce our expenses. Fitchburg High School’s utility bill last year was $667,000. Crocker Elementary School is fully electrified with the conversion to solar panels coming soon. Reingold Elementary School was the first solar project in the district. 2 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 20, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, October 6, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. Mrs. Englund inquired about the CES solar panel project start. The project should be complete within the next couple of weeks and then they need to be changed over on the utility side. Mrs. Englund inquired about the parking situation at CES. The side parking lot will be completed in approximately a week or two. The completion of the entire project will be in the spring with landscaping, playground installation, etc. but the construction crew will be off site by November 2025. On November 1, from 9-12 PM CES will be opened up to the community for a tour. Everyone is invited. Presentation on placing and naming of a bench at Crocker Field. Mr. Roche and Mr. Stephens will be getting input from the Crocker Field Commission and getting back to the committee for voting. The subcommittee had an in depth discussion on School Choice funds. Mr. Stephens explains what school choice funds are. Years ago, with the previous mayor, $5,000,000 of our School Choice funds were dedicated to the CES project and we are working with the mayor to get the remaining funds that were not used for the project. The mayor added that the city auditor is getting final numbers. Mr. Roche stated that every year there are students who choose to come to FPS from other towns and those other towns pay $5800 per student who attends our schools. The funds go into an account that is revolving, meaning it can be saved and rolls over from year to year and is unlimited. Mr. Walsh inquired about when all books be closed for the CES project. Mr. Thompson and Mr. Roche confirmed that it will take a while for MSBA to close everything out, approximately 2 years. Mr. Stephens added that K-8 School Choice is now closed. A brief discussion regarding School Choice ensued. It is a blind lottery system so the district does not choose who is attending our schools and we are unaware of the needs of the students prior to accepting them. Policy Sub-Committee – Mrs. Jeffries Met on September 24, 2025. Looked at revisions of policy JIC, Student Discipline. Looked through it as there are still sections that need to be looked at by our counsel. We tabled that policy until our next meeting. There is a new policy that needs to be developed based on state mandates. Mrs. Jeffries explains a bit about what the policy is designed to do. New graduation requirements will also be looked at during our next meeting, as we ran out of time. The next meeting is on October 15th at 5:00 PM at the Central Office. A brief discussion regarding the graduation requirement ensued. 3 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 20, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, October 6, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. The mayor inquired about what we are doing as a school district to highlight the benefits of doing well on the MCAS and a possible incentive system. A brief discussion ensued regarding the topic. Student Support Sub-Committee – Dr. Knight Meeting was cancelled. Next meeting is scheduled for November 3, 2025. We will be discussing the induction and mentoring program for new teachers. School Personnel Sub-Committee- Mayor Squailia Nothing to report at this time. Student Report- Iyanna Louis • Our first Student Advisory Committee meeting will take place on October 20 at 5:00 PM • Sports are in full swing • Student are finalizing their National Honor Society (NHS) applications • All class officers have been elected at FHS • NHS inductions will take place on November 18 • There is a Pep Rally on Friday, November 10 • Homecoming game is this upcoming weekend is at 5pm Saturday. Game is at Friday, November 6PM march from LMS • School wide SAT will take place on November 15 • Memorial Middle School’s clubs are in full swing • McKay Elementary School had their picture day today • PTOs and Council Meetings have also officially started in our schools 4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 15, 2025. Ms. Reynolds identified an error in the meeting minutes. At the bottom of page 8 an error was identified, stated the vote was 5 to 6 and needs to be corrected to state 5 to 1. Mr. Stephens made a motion to amend the minutes as discussed, which was seconded by Mrs. Jeffries. Mr. Stephens made a motion to approve the minutes as amended, which was seconded by Mr. Walsh. With all voting in favor, the amended minutes were approved unanimously. 5. COMMUNICATIONS – 4 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 20, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, October 6, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. • Supt. Thompson stated that he, Mr. Roche, and the mayor will be going to the State House on October 15 for the Mass Save Climate Leaders Award • Mrs. Jeffries publicly congratulate and recognize Mr. Jim Walsh receiving the Alumni Service Award at FSU for 2025 • Mr. Walsh took a brief moment to thank the committee 6. PUBLIC COMMENT – • No registrations for making virtual public comments were made. • No public comments from individuals present 7. SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT • 2025 District Accountability Results – Supt. Thomson, Asst. Supt. Colon, and Asst. Supt. Roche o Overall, the results are flat or have declined across the district. o Supt. Thompson shared results across the state also reflect how our district performed. o A brief description of the accountability system is shared o We currently have two schools (MES and LMS) in our district who require assistance, as they are in the lowest schools in the state. They also have subgroups that are not improving. o At the district level, we are not requiring assistance or intervention from the state. o As a district, we are making moderate progress towards targets. o School Accountability Percentile Data for each school is shared:  LMS 3% - declined by 2%  CES 34% - increased by 2%  FHS 11% - declined by 3%  GA –N/A (testing pool too small, insufficient data)  MES 5% - declined by 1%  MMS 19% - declined by 13%  RES 20% - declined by 4%  SSELC – N/A o Supt. Thompson briefly explained the difference between “Recovery Path” and “Path Forward”. o Asst. Supt. Colon shared Achievement data:  ELA; Grades 3-8, all students had a decrease of 1.8 percentage points in English Language Arts (ELA).  Our lowest performing students had an increase of 0.8 percentage points.  Multi-Race, Non-Hispanic or Latino, Increase of 1.2 percentage points. 5 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 20, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, October 6, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. Decrease of 0.3 percentage points in ELA and no change in ELA as compared to 2024  ELA; High School, all students decreased of 4.6 percentage points  Our Lowest Performing students had a decrease of 8.1 percentage points  Math; Grades 3-8, all students decrease of 1.3 percentage points  Increase by 1.0 of our lowest performing  Increase if 1.9 Multi-Race, Not Hispanic or Latino  Decrease of 2.3 English Learners & Former English Learners  Decrease of 1.1 for our white students  Math; High School, all students decrease of 3.3 percentage points  Decrease of 6.2 points for lowest performing  Decrease of 8.8 Multi-Race, Not Hispanic or Latino  Decrease of 4.8 English Learners & Former English Learners  Increase of 3.4 points for our white students  Science; Grades 5-8, decrease of 2.0 percentage points in science for all students which mirrors the state  Decrease of 5.9 percentage points for EL and Former EL  No change for Students with Disabilities  Notable increases: 0.9 percentage points for Black students, 0.7 percentage points for white students and 8.7 percentage points for Multi-Race students.  Science; High School, decreased of 3.2 percentage points in science for all students  Decrease of 12.9 percentage points for EL and Former EL  Decrease of 5.9 percentage points for Students with Disabilities  Increase of 4.3 percentage points for white students  Grade 8 Civics MCAS aggregated data is shared:  17% met or exceeded expectations  96% participation rate  Average scaled score = 480 o Student Growth Percentage  ELA, non-high school – typical growth - low  ELA, high school – Low Growth  Math, non-high school – Typical growth – low  Math, high school – Typical growth – low o Progress toward attaining English Language Proficiency  Grades K-8 progress toward attaining English Met target 6 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 20, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, October 6, 2025 – 6:00 P.M.  Grades 9-12 progress toward attaining English Met target o 4 Year cohort graduation, extended engagement, annual dropout rate  Graduation rate, declined  Extended engagement rate, no change  Annual dropout rate, no change o Advanced Coursework Completion – High School  Declined from 50% to 48.5% o Chronic Absenteeism  From January on, there was a significant decline in student attendance, after the new administration took office  Non high school, increase of 1.2% in chronic absenteeism  High School, increase of 5.7% in chronic absenteeism o Next steps are briefly shared o Mr. Walsh inquired about the targets, which are set by the state. o Mrs. Englund inquired about the advanced coursework; Asst. Supt. Roche briefly described the courses included. o Ms. Reynolds inquired about how these results compare to pre- Covid results and whether the state lowered their standards. Supt. Thompson confirmed that standards were not lowered by the state. Our results are currently lower than they were prior to Covid. o Mr. Walsh made a request that our principals list their administrative team as well as the head custodian for their building on their upcoming presentations. o Ms. Reynolds inquired whether the chronic absenteeism data includes out of district student attendance? • SY26 Superintendent Goals are up for voting this evening. BUDGET ITEMS: Superintendent Thompson presented the donations and Mr. Roche presented the grants. • *Donations – (3) • *Grants – to submit (1) • *Grants – to accept (-) POLICY ITEMS: 8. ACTION ITEMS 7 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes  Minutes approved by the School Committee on October 20, 2025 REGULAR MEETING OF THE FITCHBURG SCHOOL COMMITTEE Monday, October 6, 2025 – 6:00 P.M. Mr. Walsh made a motion, seconded by Mr. Stephens, to bundle #25-547 and #25-551. With all in favor, the motion was adopted unanimously. Mr. Walsh made a motion to approve the bundle, seconded by Mr. Stephens. With all in favor, the bundle was approved unanimously. • #25-547- #25-26 Approve the donation of ½ bushel of Cortland apples to be used during the Crocker afterschool program; Hollis Hills Farm. • #25-548- #25-26 Approve the donation of $3,000 to be used by the 3rd grade team at Reingold Elementary School; North End Subaru. • #25-549- #25-26 Approve the donation of 5 ChompSaws (cardboard cutters) for Reingold Elementary School students. • #25-550- #25-26 Approve the Superintendent’s recommendation to submit the following grants titled: o Arts Showcase Grant; $2,500 • #25-551- #25-26 Approve the Superintendent’s goals for the SY25/26. 9. OTHER BUSINESS: Not at this time 10. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Not at this time 11. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Mr. Stephens, and seconded by Mrs. Jeffries, to adjourn the meeting. With all in favor, the motion was adopted by unanimous consent. Mayor Squailia declared the meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM. Respectfully submitted by, Mr. Jonathan Thompson Superintendent Fitchburg Public Schools JT/mam 8 Fitchburg School Committee Minutes