SB Notes Tue April 25 2023

 6:30 p.m. Annual Town Meeting Review with Moderator

• ​Logistics discussion on which articles to move forward
• The final article needs clarification as to what is allowed. It reads, "To see if there is any other business for discussion to come before the Town Meeting, or take any action related thereto." There was some confusion last year at the end of the meeting  for which the moderator apologized. 

7:00 p.m. Joint Meeting with Finance Committee - not held due to late meeting notice
Budget and Warrant

• Robyn recused herself on line items that referenced the highway department.
• SB voted to approve Article 3 (budget) and the rest of the warrant pending FinComm meeting on Wednesday.
•  SB to meet on Thursday for Finance Committee Recommendation of Art. 3 for the Warrant.

Other

• Trailer removal on Bray Road - discussion of whose authority it falls under and weather it is a camper or a trailer. Hilma to check.
• Elissa Viarengo has resigned from BoH
• Municipal Light Board internet troubleshooting document was discussed. The troubleshooting contact is the MLP Manager, Sheila Litchfield, but a backup name is needed. Elissa said there has been a contact list on the hub in the past with a list of contact names.
• Transfer Station update - tabled to next week
• COA would  like to create a patio outside the Senior Room. SB voted to have the COA create a planning group to create a report on the proposed project.
• Nurse's hours were corrected to 8 and the job description will be updated with the correct number.
• Public Comment Policy
  • KP Law has sent out a policy document on Public Comment
  • Public Comment period is not required by Open Meeting Law
  • Robyn recently attended a Zoom meeting on Open Meeting Law

Salt Shed

• Walter Cudnohufsky and Kim Berringer from Walter Cudnohufsky Associates, Inc, walked the Bray Road site  and the current site with Brian.
• They will create a plan for Bray Road if feasible for the salt shed. Would  require a retaining pond.
• They also looked at the current  site where there is  concern about how to handle runoff.

Separation Agreement for Mike Shattuck

• Robyn recused herself.
• [Mike Shattuck's benefits will continue to July 1: this includes all vacation, all wages, all currently enrolled insurance. If Mike chooses to accept a job before July 1, the above benefits will still continue to July 1.]
• Voted on and approved

MTRSD—4 proposed articles one of which is to amend the regionalization agreement.  This will remain on warrant but the SB and FinComm have not had time to understand the implications of the amendment. 
MTRSD Assessment Amendment, Budge Litchfield and Ken Rocke
Discussion of the Regional agreement amendment which the district requested be on the warrant:

• Students are assessed in different ways depending on whether they are a charter school student, a choice student, or a resident student (lives in the district where they go to school).
  • Towns that would benefit from the amendment have highest number of student attending in-district schools.
• A regional agreement amendment can only be approved if every town votes it in at town meeting.
• The proposed agreement amendment could have us paying up to $65,000 per student in 5 years and every year after.
• The current year is a $13,000 increase in our assessment.
• We need to slow the amendment process down so the implications can be understood.

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[Added info]
DESE
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Chapter 70 Program
"The Chapter 70 program is the major program of state aid to public elementary and secondary schools. In addition to providing state aid to support school operations, it also establishes minimum spending requirements for each school district and minimum requirements for each municipality's share of school costs." Chapter 70
 Charter School
"Charter schools are independent public schools designed to encourage innovative educational practices. Charter schools are funded by tuition charges assessed against the school districts where the students reside. The state provides partial reimbursement to the sending districts for the tuition costs incurred."  Charter Schools
Choice School
"The inter-district school choice program under G.L. c. 76, § 12B, allows families to enroll their children in schools in communities other than the city or town in which they reside. Tuition is paid by the sending district to the receiving district."   School Choice 
Resident public students attending District Schools
Towns pay both a Minimum Local Contribution and an Above Minimum Contribution.
Average MLC and AMB are both about $8,000. Interest of
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Estimates on MTRSD may just be one fifth of the assessment. If this is true and the assessment is incremental, then the assessments for the next 5 years would be $13,000 in FY24, then $26,00 in FY25, $39,000 in FY26, $52,000 in FY27, and $65,000 in FY28 and level off at $65,000 every year from then on. In some case the interests of the various towns and the interests of the district are not going to coincide, there are winners and losers.