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Convened: 6 pm
Adjourned: 6:43 pm
Highlights
Top Moments
New voting student members: The committee welcomed Jonah Sanabria (a Monument Mountain junior, honored last year by Congressman Neal for an app-development challenge win) and Sofia Castro (a senior) as new student representatives.
Sanabria gave the committee’s first student report, describing a smooth start to the year, AP science coursework, and early fall athletics — noting a boys soccer tie, a volleyball win over Lenox, and that night’s opening football game.
New committee member seated: Heather Campbell of Stockbridge, appointed by fellow members Jason St. Peter and Sarah Bourla along with the Stockbridge Select Board, was formally welcomed and briefed on meeting procedure.
Grants approved unanimously: The committee approved a $177,500 PRISM literacy grant (FY27, secured with support from Cynthia Carey and Colin Shebar) and a $5,000 Schoolworks Change Makers grant to build a sensory “rest, relax, and recharge” break room for students with particular needs at Muddy Brook Elementary.
Two first readings on new policy: The committee reviewed (no vote yet — second reading and vote expected in two weeks) a Protect Act policy codifying existing safety/law-enforcement procedures, and an updated cell phone policy, with principals Christopher Barnes and Seth Levin praising strong student compliance and stressing a preference for a trust-based approach over “pouch” systems. Student member Sophia Castro spoke in favor of preserving that trust-based model.
MSBA building project: Superintendent Peter Dillon confirmed the project is on track for a January bid date, following continued design refinement and recent test-boring work on site.
Full Rundown
Minutes: Approved unanimously.
Student/ Principal Reports (Monument Mountain Regional High School)
Student Jonah Sanabria (junior, Monument Mountain) described settling into a new school year, rising AP science workload, and early athletics — his first year on the crew team, plus results/schedules for soccer, volleyball, and football.
Principal Christopher Barnes added detail: a ninth-grade/new-student orientation held Friday, August 28; the “second annual joyful opening” assembly (wheel-spinning, prizes, music) on the first day of school; an upcoming “Back to School Night” the following Tuesday; and continuation of the data-driven “think like scientists” professional development work begun at the admin retreat.
He flagged three paraprofessional vacancies as the school’s biggest current staffing challenge.
Principal Seth Levin (Du Bois Regional Middle School): Reported a successful welcome assembly for incoming fifth graders from Muddy Brook; a well-attended PTO relaunch after pandemic-era decline; and the school’s first-ever fall benchmark assessment (STAR 360, in math and ELA) to track student growth across the year. Staff will disaggregate this data during Wednesday meetings, looking especially at writing performance across subjects (including PE and music) to shape professional development.
Families are invited to meet grade-level teams the following Thursday night.
Principal Cynthia Carey (Muddy Brook Elementary): Reported strong staff cohesion after joint professional development sessions (including paraprofessionals and specialists) focused on the new ELA writing curriculum. She noted a revived, well-attended PTO, a successful band/orchestra sign-up night (roughly 50 fourth graders, split evenly between orchestra and band), and that Muddy Brook is now mostly fully staffed.
Overnight athletic trip approved: Unanimous approval for girls cross country coach Morgan Windram to take the top 12 runners (grades 7–12) to the Bob Glennon Twilight Race in Falmouth, MA, an overnight trip. Windrum noted the team took only 12 athletes last year due to weather, which worked well, so the rest of the team will instead compete in a same-day meet.
French exchange trip approved: Unanimous approval for a third France trip (~15 students, April 9–19) to Compiègne, organized by teacher Rachel Siegel involving a school and culture immersion experience for students. The trip runs every other year.
District Improvement Plan approved: Unanimously approved after revisions requested at a prior meeting; a member raised continued interest in ensuring student voice in new course development, and Dillon confirmed Monument Mountain’s Academic Affairs subcommittee includes voting student members.
Four policy items introduced (all first readings, no votes yet):
Protect Act policy — model language from MASC; largely codifies existing safety procedures, including a requirement for a judicial warrant before engaging outside law enforcement.
Cell phone policy — codifies existing informal practices (self-managed devices, off and away during instructional time); Barnes and Levin praised current student compliance; discussion touched on possible future funding tied to having a formal policy in place, and on parent-side communication with students during the day as an ongoing friction point.
JLCD (medication administration by nursing/designated staff) — attorney-reviewed model policy.
JLCDC (student self-administration of medication) — distinguishes low-risk medications (e.g., antacids) eligible for self-carry from higher-risk medications requiring nurse administration; a member asked whether teachers still receive confidential lists of students with relevant medical needs (e.g., epilepsy) — Barnes said he’d confirm the current practice.
Wastewater treatment plant staffing: Approved unanimously (motion: Potter; second: Fields) updated job descriptions creating a third, lower-hours stipended operator position for the district’s wastewater treatment plant, to provide backup coverage. Operations Director Steve Soule noted the district’s existing two primary/secondary operators have previously been recognized by the state as among the best in Massachusetts; the plan is contingent on union impact bargaining.
MSBA building update: Continued design progress; site test-boring work referenced; bid process expected to go out in January.
Belonging and safety: Dillon noted this work is largely embedded in each school’s back-to-school activities (assemblies, activity fairs) already described above.
Subcommittee reports: Policy, Buildings & Grounds, and Superintendent Evaluation subcommittees have not met.
Budget working group’s first meeting is in three weeks.
Negotiations subcommittee has not started this year’s teacher contract work.
Personnel: Sam Ernst moved from special education math teacher into the TLC program; Jake Pinkston moved from TLC into the vacated 8th-grade math position; several paraprofessional hires and a couple of resignations were also reported, along with new CLEO after-school/extracurricular stipend appointments.
Public comment: None.