The Essex Westford School District Board will next meet on Tuesday, February 6 starting at 6:00 p.m. at the Essex Middle School (please note the change of location). The Board will also host a budget work session on February 13 (starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Essex High School Library) as well.
Agenda items for the February 6 meeting include:
*Presentation - Importance of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Classroom (6-7:15 p.m.)
*High School Choice Numbers
*Direction of Policy for EWSD
*Superintendent Notification of Staff Members Not Returning for FY19
*Task Team Updates
*Local Board and Statewide Updates
*FY19 Budget - the first draft of the budget presentation can be found here: http://bit.ly/2BOC35Q
The public is welcome to attend.
The Board met on January 23, highlights of the meeting included:
-The Board voted and approved the addition of two student representatives to our Board structure. These representatives will be critical in not only providing student voice but also in relaying Board news and feedback into the schools themselves. The first student member is Nick Hanna, a senior at EHS who had previously been appointed by the EHS student government to be their representative to the EWSD Board. The second representative, a junior, will be selected in March from a pool of applicants. A small committee consisting of the school Board Chair, the EHS Principal, the senior rep, and a staff member will make the selection. As we go forward, sophomores will apply in the spring of each year to fill the junior seat and will remain as the student representative for two years. A mentor chosen from the existing Board members will be assigned to each student to prepare them for meetings and answer any questions that may arise during Board business. The student reps will also have the opportunity to meet quarterly with the Superintendent to inform presentations they will deliver to the Board. From a legal standpoint, these seats on the Board are strictly to provide voice and feedback. They are ineligible to cast votes on school board matters and will not participate in executive sessions, disciplinary hearings or receive confidential board documents. The Board is excited to be adding student voice to its discussions.
-The Board was presented with a draft copy of the budget spreadsheet for the upcoming fiscal year 2019. This budget work session is the first of our extended budget work sessions, giving us an overview of instructional programs and services broken into three primary categories of: Instructional Programs, Instructional Support, and Administrative/Other Support. This budget overview also contained the approved spending for FY18 and the totals spent in the current year to date. EWSD COO Brian Donahue warned the Board that he is still "scrubbing" the numbers. Last year our new CFO resigned in December, so it is a lot of work to make certain everything is being accounted for correctly. If the initial numbers hold, the overall budget projection was very positive. Our equalized pupil count has increased by 1.7%. This initial look projects that our Education Spending Per Equalized Pupil will decline this year. This is strong evidence that our administration is budgeting effectively and continues its process to 'right-size' our district with attrition rather than layoffs. Included in this meeting was also the acceptance of resignations from multiple high level director positions. This will result in net savings to the district as their duties will be assigned to existing employees.
-The next regular Board meeting, which will include continued work on the budget, will be taking place on February 6 at the Essex Middle School at 6 p.m. The earlier start time is so the Board can attend the presentation on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion being offered by the Essex Town PTO. More information on this event can be found in the following link (www.facebook.com/events/1996399057265770/), and it is open to all members of our district to attend. The regular Board meeting will commence at the conclusion of that presentation (7:15 p.m.) in the Essex Middle School Library and we encourage community attendance.
For more information on the work of the Board, which includes, agendas, minutes, and meeting takeaways, please visit the following link: http://bit.ly/2vwTYdT
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