III. Updates

Mike Kelliher gave an update on efforts to recruit a more diverse staff. The district has just launched an employee referral program. For certain positions, if an employee refers a candidate who doesn’t already work for the organization, and they end up being hired, the referring employee will receive a bonus: $250 at time of hiring and $250 after six months of employment. There have already been a couple of inquiries. As of today there are 38 open positions but not all are part of this referral program – it is reserved for positions which the leadership team has identified as difficult to fill.

The WSESD Windham Regional Career Center’s  ADVANCED MANUFACTURING ADVISORY BOARD MEETING will be held on Thursday, November 9th at 2:30 p.m. at the WRCC TIC building.

Summary:
● A student representative on the board shared about an unmet need for students to make social connections during class.
● The administration presented about the budgeting process and timeline, including the need to make adjustments now that ESSER funding has been discontinued.
● There was a discussion about whether the district should continue administering student climate surveys twice a year in order to improve school climate. Ultimately the board voted to follow the administration’s recommendation to conduct the survey only once a year.
● The board voted to re-adopt three updated policies: E10 – School Crisis Prevention & Response, E15 – Security Cameras and F9 – Student Substance Abuse Prevention. The board presented three more updated policies for a first reading: C9 – Notice of Non-Discrimination, D11 – Public Complaints about Personnel, and F2 – Bus Discipline.
● The board approved $458,735.95 of carry over funds for EES from last year’s budget. These funds were unused due to not being able to find a contractor for planned kitchen renovations at the Birge Street facility and having to close some classrooms due to lack of staff. The funds will be used to complete the renovations under a scaled down plan using internal staff and for retention and wellness bonuses for employees.
● The board discussed adding the SEPAC to meetings they promote on the WSESD facebook page. They will seek input from the Special Education administrator and consider further at a future meeting.

AGENDA

Mission: Foster learning environments in which all members of the school community are safe, feel valued, and are appreciated, as well as promote policies and procedures that value equity and diversity in our schools.

I. Call to Order / Introductions / Recognition of Visitors