Let the records show that I'm calling with a quorum of the council here We're calling the special meeting of the council's order at 633 on April 4th 2019 the Sorry, I'm not used to not having to hold the button down Pursuant to Charter section 5.5 C Town council is determined that it is prudent to separately consider and act on the regional school portion of the budget due to legal requirements agreements with Regional entities of which Amherst is a participant or other substantial cause those are the reasons Sighted in the Charter specifically to take a budget portion a portion of the budget separately Council will consider whether to approve the proposed regional school budget the proposed assessment method and whether to agree to a proposed capital expenditure during the month of Capital expenditure during month of April so with that I want to recognize Dr. Morris our superintendent of schools and Sean mangana the finance director of the regional schools to present the budget to the council and then afterwards If there are any questions from the council will take them there are no members of the public present, but we would take public Other is one so we will take me if there are questions from the public we will take business from the public, so Thank you Dr. Morris Sure, so thank you all for having us We did a mr. Morgano, and I did a link your presentation with the finance committee once it was last week Or so so we know there's a this is really important and we know that there's another meeting that many counselors want to Get to this evening, so we're trying to moderate our the volume of our Presentation tonight, but we're certainly here to answer any questions. You may have As an overview, this is a more positive budget experience than we've had in recent years of the region The primary reason for that is the health insurance Savings with Sean which my god, I will get into in a little bit But I want to also note that it took us tremendous amount of work from the four members of the four communities to come up with a System assessment methodology that at least we attended agreement for at the most recent ten four-town meeting And I appreciate the participation. I think it was the first four-town meeting was perhaps a couple days after this Body was formed and elected and installed So I really appreciate your the learning curve that many of you had to have because if there's anything less Vague or not big but anything less clear than how four towns come to a regional assessment and state Commonwealth of Massachusetts I'm not sure what that is that we do so we really appreciate the fast learning that you all did and your ability to participate and advocate for a Method that works for all four communities Hello So I'll go over some of the details again It's relatively brief, but we're happy to answer your answer any detailed questions that you have on the budget So the proposed budget for FY 20 is 32,167,342 This is a 1.1% increase over the prior year's budget and it includes net additions of 301,150 Typically our budgets include net reductions in the past several years So again, this is a good budget year for a couple reasons primarily health insurance and we've had Positive experience with out-of-district tuitions for charter choice and vocational schools As dr. Morris mentioned the assessments are shown below according to an assessment method that we Came to an agreement on at the four-town meeting It is a modified assessment method from what's in our regional agreement So it will require an amendment to our regional agreement to use it and then approval of the assessment under that modified method Without getting too into the weeds, but we can the method essentially bases 30% of the assessment on state determined minimum contributions, which is essentially Composite of wealth different wealth measures primarily property values and income and then the remainder of the assessment is based on our regional agreement, which is 99% enrollment. There's a small little piece that's based on a QV So when you plug in that assessment method, those are the amounts you get so for Amherst the assessment is 16 million 444,279 which is a two point four nine percent increase Slightly under the finance finance committee's guidance that we received this year So some of the budget highlights so in terms of our budget increases the largest one is in our wages, which is typically the case and so our Employees that belong to collective bargaining agreements are getting either a 1% increase or most of them are going to 1.5 We have one group that's getting a 1% they were negotiated in different years We have a significant reduction in health insurance That's due to switching from being self-insured to Maya so we Fundamentally changed our plan design so that had a Ripple effect on a few things. So the first one is we had some enrollment pattern changes. We had Lower enrollment than we've had in prior years Some of that is because people have decided to opt out of our insurance because it's not as good as it was before My insurance is still good compared to the region, but it's just not as good as it was before we switched We also had changes in enrollment patterns because we required a re-enrollment for all of our employees so even if you stayed with our insurance you had a Basically select whether you want an HMO or PPO and more people selected HMO, which is a less expensive plan And then the other one is we had this surcharge from the year before that We thought might go on for up to two years to pay back basically the overage in the fund And because of positive experience that went away after six months So that we were counting on that and it went away So so those things combine to result in a reduction in health insurance On the increase side, we do have higher costs for out-of-district placements for special education Not the charter choice and vocational that I was talking about before but for special education We have more placements. So that's an increase to our budget And then on the revenue side We're building our budget sort of on a more conservative Perspective that there's a proposed change to the charter tuition reimbursement formula This change would negatively impact Most districts if not all It essentially changes the calculation of how your reimbursement is Calculated and results in less without giving it again into the nitty-gritty which I can if you have specific questions But for the region, I think it was Somewhere around a hundred thousand dollar decrease from if we kept the existing formula in place So we don't know that yet. What formula is going to be Approved if they keep the existing formula will be in a better Position next year if they go with the proposed formula from the governor then will be prepared for that as well And just adding to that There's also a bill in the house right now that the mma the mass municipal association has Been involved with that would actually have the opposite impact It would improve our local situation considerably and have shared that information. This is just like an hour ago So I don't expect mr. Bachman to be able to speak to it But I shared that because it is The my organization the messages association of school superintendents is trying to partner up it with mma to try to think of a different way to Calculate the costs for local districts of charter school expenditures. So I think because it's uncertain. We always try to budget conservatively Because we think that's the fiscally responsible thing to do but there is some uncertainty right now in that line So this chart just shows our level of service changes to our budget So additions aren't factored in here. It's just looking at what we budgeted for at 119 And if we rolled that programming forward a year what that would look like So as I mentioned before the wages and staffing that's our biggest increase due to the the colas And steps that are given out The next one is a special education that I mentioned. We have more obvious replacements Blue is other programs that includes the choice tuition charter tuition and vocational tuition, which is going down Because of either flat enrollment or declining enrollment The green is our pen primarily the pension that We're blind to Hampshire county retirement system and that has been growing roughly a hundred thousand dollars per year And will for the foreseeable future The really large decrease is the health insurance drop reduction Again, we went down I think somewhere between 10 and 20 plans The surcharge itself was over 10 percent So that going away was a big big deal And then the pink are all the other costs in the budget basically besides those specific Cost centers that are shown them on the left So I'll speak to just a few of the additions. There was also some reductions and some adjustments But we thought given the trying to be the right amount of time for tonight So, you'll notice that two are related to mathematics So we had an external report done of our mathematics program in grades six through 12 And six through because six through eight is a kind of curriculum band even though it's not in the region There were significant changes recommended both from a instructional curricular perspective Curricular perspective, but also for an instructional perspective. So we're putting some resources into those Areas to improve the academic performance and particularly the achievement gap or opportunity gap that our students are showing in terms of their assessment results Another one is the restorative practices program. So we've had that at the high school. It's been very Received very well by students faculty in the community it came from a community group that organized and advocated for a different way to approach Not just what happens when students Perhaps make an error but also to affect the whole school culture Around collaboration and how we support our community to heal When either small or larger incidents occur where there's harm And so that's been really incredibly successful at the high school And this is bringing it to the middle school level so that we have it in both sites and you know Anyone's interested in finding out more. We recently did a window into our episode. Thanks to Amherst media With one of the practitioners who's based actually right now in both sites As well as one of the student leaders in it and it's it's worth the 28 minute view in my opinion It gives a lot of information and the student and the staff member are fantastic The last one is something that we knew years ahead and we planned for and budgeted for In our initial work is that we knew we had an incoming group of sixth grade students With significant needs and that's not just coming from Amherst but from all four of our member communities So we knew this that this year coming in just based on the current IEP grids that we had That we'd be adding some additional special education support in that area and you know For two it is the end of the year where we're able to do that with less negative impact on our budget But that actually is the bulk of the ads is um based on identified needs of students coming in Yeah, and I'll add one thing to the um the last one This is one of those types of things that create is a weird dynamic when we have two districts one at the elementary level K through six and one seven through 12 So you'll see a similar when we get to the Amherst budget hearing you'll see a similar reduction For para's leaving because those pairs are going to the 712 but because we have District lines, you know, it's savings to their budget and an increase to the regional budget So it's just another wrinkle that we sort of the manage when these things come up So that's most of the presentation. Um, this link above will bring you to the full 207 page budget That budget has information on academic outcomes enrollment patterns for in-house enrollment charter choice Vocational enrollment special ed enrollment It has staffing information if you want to see what our staffing patterns have looked like Over the years it has the line by line budget. So if you want to see 50 pages of accounts and what's budgeted and the what's been spent in the past All that is can be found there. I'm going to also give the path. So if you want to try to get to it through our website You can follow those red crumbs there Dorothy One of the little graph pages that we got It said that the special ed education costs went down Because there were placement costs in private state and the collaborative programs dropped due to the lower cost placement on average And then I read further and found out it was because you had increased your In-house services so that fewer people had to go to other schools So i'm trying to reconcile this with the increase that you just showed us So um Two two items that I want to share and then mr. Mangano can fill in So one is that when we have sixth grade students come to us some of those sixth grade students Sometimes are already in out of district placement. So again, as mr. Mangano said we inherit IEPs and some of them aren't from either District that any of the three districts that mr. Mangano and I work for And I think the other thing is that families sometimes move into our area And they come in with students at different age levels and we are legally responsible to fulfill the IEPs And if those IEPs have out of district placement needs then we are responsible for them Yeah, and I quickly glance at what you had and I don't think that's from this year's budget I think that was from a presentation either Last year earlier this year. So our out of district enrollments are sort of on the incline They were going down in f y 17 and f y 18 They were actually at some of the lowest levels they've been and this past year we've seen the the outflow of placements It says f y 20 key indicators. So maybe it was anticipating f y 20 and also what what district is it to Amherst Pellum regional school district. Yeah, I'd have to look at it closer. So Because that's not part of the budget document, but I'll take a look at it. It may just be that something was mislabeled In one of our office hours we heard from a student and a couple of parents that they were more incidents of Problems with with among students in high school and I was wondering if this additional Funding is that I'm going to address some of those issues as well. Yeah, so if you look at the Addition selected additions in one of the special education in that box, which was one got out took a number of positions put in The adjustment counselor so adjustment counselors are In other states, they're called social workers They have different different states have different licensure names for that, but essentially it's working with students who may be struggling with Social-emotional needs and that often manifests in conflict So I think in addition to the restorative practices piece, which has been in place in the high school We recognize that some students had additional needs that were being unmet and this is an attempt to meet those needs Looking around other questions I have one, but I was saving it So I just had a quick looking through first of all, I've never read Regional school budget before and I actually really appreciated all of the explanation of everything Because had you just said chapter 46, I would have not known what that was So thank you for those of us who had never had to do this before but one of the things that struck me I think was the You had those comparisons 2010 to 2019 or 2020 whatever it was And a really dramatic increase in special education expenditures and I was just sort of curious if that was due to Increased special education students or if that was just increased cost of instruction. What I mean, it was a huge jump Yeah, I'll start. I mean, I know some of the areas that have grown that the cost of placements has gotten more expensive So I don't think our I think our numbers over the last few years have actually gotten better But the cost of some of those placements have gotten more expensive And special education transportation has become a really big Cost for us as well. I think this year it's Overall over $300,000 that we're spending on just the transportation to out of district placements So there are certainly costs Centers within that that are growing quite a bit I think one of the things that if our student service director pay Brady was here What dr. Brady would say is that because One of her concerns I'd say fiscally is that because our programming is incredibly robust for special needs it also Attracts families with students and special needs and that's not a bad thing You know, we feel like we do the right thing by students It does have a fiscal impact and that is a challenge We had I talked with the family last week and I won't mention the state obviously, but they were moving from a neighboring state And they They looked up which state has special education programs that are working well And they got a lot of information just online and anecdotal pieces that we take care of the students in the way They should be taken care of and I'm not suggesting we're perfect But it does contribute to an increasing number of students who transition or move into our district because of the services We provide we have more than the average number of In-district special education programs as compared to most districts our size are even though it's going up a little bit Are the number of out-of-district placements we have is roughly half the state average Between our two districts between Amherst and the region It's about 0.6 percent of our students and whereas the state average k to 12 is 1.1 so A lot of people like the fact that their student their children's special needs can be met And they stay within the community. You don't have to travel to an out-of-district placement So that has a fiscal impact on us. And yet we're still going to do the right thing by students Because that's what that's our business But it does create some challenges For us So dr. Brady, I know i'm on camera But she would say that she she'd like our special needs programming to be the best kept secret in Amherst And I think she's lost that battle. Um, we recently had outside audit on special needs and we were we got you know They assessed you on like 25 different categories and As compared to seven years ago, we had no areas of directed action or basically things you need to do our programs We're in a condition where the audit showed that we were doing what we should be doing for our students And that created some challenges so it's our long-winded answer, but it's I think it's a complex question Yes, uh, mandy so The assessment method. I know this hearing is on the budget itself, but um You know in my time in town meeting in here I know we've sometimes made out with assessment methods and other times suffered from them depending on as they change So i'm curious And going forward. I think you said this one might last a year or two What you know, what are your thoughts about The method that is in use as compared to say the state mandated one or the regional agreement one And is there anything we as a town should be thinking about as we look towards assessment methods Yeah, so Particularly compared to the state method. Um, this method is better for the town of amherst by several hundreds of thousands of dollars And so that it really was a compromise because there's some towns that have interest in going all that to the statutory method And some that want to stay with the regional agreement method And this is was an attempt to sort of bridge that gap to some extent Um, so this method is better than the alternative of going all the way to the statutory method Um In terms of what to think about going forward It's sort of it's difficult. So you look at your percentage of enrollment So if you use an enrollment based method you look at what percentage is amherst. So amherst is roughly 80 percent And then if we use a method that's based on property value You try to look at all right well what proportion of The aggregate property value is in all four towns is amherst which Somewhere between like 78 and 82 percent and that changes over time that distribution But how those percentages relate to each other sort of depend will determine whether an enrollment based method is better for Amherst in particular and this is applies to all the towns But whether enrollment based method is better or a property value based method is based is better for amherst And you can do the same thing with income. So those sort of relationships is really what You know, we look at in terms of at this present time what is better for a given town And then in addition to that the minimum contributions from the state is sort of an aggregate of those things So what percentage that is to for the four of the four towns? So it's difficult to say and over the last 15 years amherst has at times Benefited from the enrollment method and sometimes has paid more because of the enrollment method And right now this particular method is a little bit better than the state's method Good Do we see this sort of debate about the agreement method that's in the regional agreement The statutory method or something in the middle continuing on for the foreseeable future or have we potentially reached a Four towns wide compromise that might Stick there for the long term. Yeah, so I think it'll depend on the budget situations in each town Individually sort of separate from the schools and also the school's budget situation as well I think we're going to hopefully try it out for two years and if those two years produce relatively Predictable assessments that are not Huge increases for all four towns and I think it's possible. This could be a method we stick with for a longer term If a town has a really bad budget year and they get a big increase from this assessment method It's possible. They say when we need to find another method So I think it's hard to predict two years down the road But right now I'm optimistic that if we try it out for two years It works as we hope as we anticipate it will work Um That it could be something we try we stick with for a while And I just just to add to Sean's point The district has a high interest in having stability in the method So there's a tremendous amount of resources that go into this yearly. It's been five years since we we change methods every year Um And part of that's because the towns are trying to figure out how to support the region and their fiscal needs and What fairness means to all the towns doesn't isn't the same and and but I want to be really clear I'm not referring to Amherst and the small towns. I mean within the small towns Not just that Amherst is so much larger and there is that but there's other Factors and so we try to play a facilitory facilitating role In helping towns have that discussion this year. We had a little different model where instead of a large working group We had a smaller working group and mr. Steinberg was a representative and thank you for your time on that Um, and that seemed to work pretty well this year So perhaps not having a working group of that fills a room I think we maybe we learned some lessons over the past few years But it would be certainly our hope that we would get to a place where there's predictability Because the one of the challenges we face every year that i've been doing this is just there's unpredictability in state budgets But then there's unpredictability and can we all agree on an assessment that did and what does that look like and That's particularly challenging for the district I'm shifting to a completely different topic. Um, you're mentioning the mma bill that Would help rather than hurt on charter To what extent do we As a town and I would say not just you at the school committee level get the news out to Residents so that we get people to give support to our representatives And or write be reading letters to the governor So at the local level, but this must cut across all municipalities that have any significant charter presence So do it in a more organized way so it isn't a few Parts of the state so so does that happen does that happen in any coordinated way So our school committee at the region has taken a more trying to have a more organized stance They actually have two members who are It's not an appointed subcommittee, but I think it certainly functions that way around advocacy For the school district and they've tried to do They're the ones who often meet with our represent local representative and senator on issues related to bills that are in the state house and for consideration That's more recent that was I think this fall that that system got set up and and certainly again This was all like literally 445 or something this afternoon. It was pretty recent that all this Clarity came on what bill was out there in the MMA and the SS's role But it certainly is something not that the town council is up and running that I know that they'd be interested in partnering If there was if there were members who wanted to partner around issues And what I was thinking is trying to take it out of the school committee too that our local chamber of commerce should care about this Because it puts pressure on the whole budget and things that would and our local tax base. So just trying to Draw those connections to people that this isn't just one teacher more or less or a student. It's actually depleting resources that we would otherwise be able to use to Name it, you know Where it might go Yeah, and I don't want to speak for those members and this one I feel pretty confident that I could say that if there were and I'm not asking Like it's not my role But if there was if there were town counselors who who would want to think about with them They would certainly be Highly highly welcome partnership between the school committee and the town council for exactly the reasons you say Where do we stand on the revisions that need to be made to the regional agreement? Um, so I can start that so I think we're aware of them They weren't Quite ready, you know town the other towns town meeting warrant articles were due before it really was able to be finalized for This year this fall this spring Something that the town manager and I have spoken about it comes up almost every time we meet I think So I think the thing that we want to make sure of is that we're connecting With the school's attorneys with the town's attorneys to make sure that the language In the in our revised regional agreement is not just consistent with what we understand it to be but that The town of amherst attorney would look at that and make sure that everybody agrees that that's the language that Meets the charter needs and meets the region's needs So I think the next year is some that's something we have to take care Yes Follow-up question and so I assume that the school committee would look at that approve it and then bring it to the council That is my understanding. Okay. Thank you. Yeah, I think that is what the Requirements are for the Franny amendment to the regional agreement it starts with the school committee and then goes to town meetings and part of the problem is is that it's Not clear in the way It's just sort of assumed that it goes to the council because we don't have a town meeting Anymore and that's what we need to get clarified. Yep I would thank you for saying that more precisely than I did. That's exactly Anything else Any Oh, yes, dars. Thank you. I just have a couple questions about solar I brought up on monday question about Whether the three million for the middle school roof includes anything about Studying solar readiness of that roof. So that's one question and the other one is I actually had a conversation yesterday with a couple of juniors at the high school and And they they were happy because they had heard Something about that they were going to get budgeting for solar canopies for the high school parking lot I don't know if this is in this budget is the parking lot part of the regional school district Is the land there anyway two questions about those two things. Yeah, um, so the first question We are going to study that what the cost would be to Strengthen the middle school roof to be solar ready so that when the state has new solar incentive programs we can Hop on it So the school committee has been clear like they want us to explore that and have that ready So that will be part of our next piece And that's actually on the regional school committee agenda Not that you want another meeting to go to or you need to but it is just for public It will be on the regional school committee agenda for Tuesday just to talk about that and actually this I think there'll be a motion just that Clarifies that point. Yeah, and we're having a solar company in the area come out and actually do like a mock System design of what it could potentially look like on our roof, which we'll need to give to the architects so they can Basically calculate what type of enhancements we would need to make to the roof structure So that's first question on the roof can't or the parking lot canopy So I believe we submitted an application for some funding to study the the feasibility of a Canopy on the parking lot, so there's no funding in this year's in this budget for it But we're looking into trying to get some funding to study it So our parking lots in rough shape And so essentially that's where it's as we're not sure if we're going to get that funding yet The state budget So I think I can address that so one of the things the state representative was looking for would be good projects that Would fund that would be support the town We suggested this because this is already initiated by the students at the Amherst regional school district They had already worked with People at UMass and had Explored this as an option Suggested to representative dome that this might be a great thing for her to get funding for For the town of Amherst, so it's not in a it's not in a line item It's a request by representative dome in the budget for this year whether it gets funded or not is another question But when they look at that they would try to They wouldn't we wouldn't just put up a solar canopy over the existing parking lot We'd have to incorporate the cost of repaving that parking lot Obviously And that would be incorporated into the project, but it's again every representative has a list of Projects that have been submitted to the ways and means committee So if that we're going to go into a town budget, what budget would that appear in? It would I believe it would go through the regional school district as a capital item if we find out that we get funding And it's something that proceeds forward It would come through the region because at the parking lot is I believe a hundred percent region land, so Let's say that we get the money for the new school And We get it soon and we start building a new school and maybe on the site of the wildwood school I'm getting confused with a new roof and solar panels on a building which may not be a school But i'm sure you've thought of this right yeah, this is for the middle school middle school. Okay. Thank you. Thank you Anything else For the So Yes Um capital in general since i'm new to all of this Where does it appear in this 207 page document and and is it part of the 30 some million budget? Or is it a separate line item somewhere that we have to pass separately or how does that work? So it's not part of the 30 million dollar budget. Um, there's a separate section on capital That the school committee votes to separate vote each year Authorizing basically borrowing for the projects that are being proposed Those projects are talked about at the four town meetings leading up to the When school committee would vote it so that we have a sense for the towns whether it's a project that is supported And then we project out what the debt assessment would be So the debt assessment is a separate assessment from the region. You'll have a you have an operating assessment and you have a debt assessment from the region So let me add to that Both state law and the regional agreement require a process for regional districts that have The regional districts present their requests to the towns Now most towns that are participants in regional school districts are towns in the traditional format that we were until December 2nd and the Select board in those communities Can make a decision to take the matter to town meeting and town meeting can approve or disapprove If no action is taken, I believe within 60 days of presentation, then it is automatically presented um It is extremely rare in the state and it is I cannot recall a time in our district at all of my years in working on this That there's ever been a select board in any of the towns that has taken it to town meeting One of the peculiarities that we're running into now is because Of our change in government We need to make sure that that just gets placed back to the council because we kind of We don't have a select board to refer to town meeting in a town meeting to act We're kind of all of it at once And I think that's one of the things that needs to be Corrected in the regional agreement so that we can Move forward, but in any event it will come forward and I was going to conclude My remarks tonight with just a summary of the things that we will be needing to consider in the capital request is one And one other quick thing Um, we have submitted to the msba for the middle school roof as well We'll find out hopefully this summer it's a different program than the the new school program So that could that three millions for the total costs. We're hoping that will be lower if we get into the msba anything else because I guess my one question that i'm gonna See if there's any questions from the public and uh, the Public has just indicated that there aren't any requests. Um, but uh There have been you mentioned several things that could vary the amount of money that is coming into the district or is charged to the district in offsets Including like the charter and of course those changes won't be known with certainty until after this Council votes and the other three towns vote on their budgets Is your anticipation that the money that if there is extra funds coming in that they would go into excess and deficient Or um, what is your thought on how that would be handled? Uh, typically they do. Um We don't typically have that much That a large amount of excess revenue Sometimes we have expenses if we have a good budget here But on the revenue side, we don't typically get that much more than what we're budgeting because the variables are Usually work against us not with us. Um chapter 70 the increases are very small Transportation reimbursement. We usually have a good sense sometimes they'll increase the reimbursement Rate after we finalize the budget. Um, the one that actually varies the most But it has an offset is the charter tuition reimbursement. So if we have a A large number of students go out for charter schools Then we'll have higher tuition on the expense side, but we'll have a higher reimbursement So they sort of offset each other. Um, and likewise if we have fewer students go out our Expense side of the budget will look good, but we'll get less reimbursement than we were planning on also So that'll look like it's sure on the revenue side. So that's usually the one that um, We'll vary the most and it typically is offset with something on the expense side Thank you. Um, just so everybody knows, um Regional district being a separate entity has essentially something that's a dish Equivalent to a we term is free cash and Municipal budgets and it is the E and D Accounts. Yeah, and just I mean so um that regional school districts can set aside In their E and D account five percent of their operating budget and their capital budget and they can't go over that five percent If they go above the five percent it's returned to the towns, which we've done in the past that's happened in the past in other regions So that's how the mechanism works if we go above that five percent Yeah, I just um, it's probably in the long document, but I'll ask you it's easier How many total charter students do you have? Now in the regional school system. Yeah, it's a That are in the charter that are in charge. It's about 95 to 100 somewhere in that range I don't think that's a little bit less than what I saw a couple years ago or about the same It's about the same. So for the first time last year Our charter enrollment enrollment didn't grow and it had grown for many years as the the local charter school in the area kept adding grades And so they've kind of maxed out with their grades and for the first time we actually saw some students come back to us I think we went maybe down a student or two or stayed flat so That's why our budget's been very unpredictable the last five years because it's always trying to guess How many students are going to go to charter school as they add grades now that that's sort of at a more stable level I think we'll see that the number of students stabilize as well Yes I'm trying to understand the This in the capital plan. There is the tenure projection So we have the three million for the middle school roof and then f by 22 this five million and then We when we were doing the interactive tool, we had two and a half million dollars for ongoing capital needs. So how do how do we reconcile that? So the Regional school committee the regional school debt that is approved comes into the jcpc process as debt It's doesn't come in as projects. It comes in as It's that and so the way jcpc works is they start with what's available for capital And then they subtract out whatever debt is Existing so that could be the regional school debt. It could be debt relating to Jcpc projects that have been approved in the past, but that sort of comes off first because they're it's required So to your point in the 2.5 million that would have to factor in regional school debt as well And and all other debt that's on the books We're already hitting the debt. Well, that's that's the total cost of the project That wouldn't be the debt assessment the debt assessment would be Just because you Amherst would pay its portion and it would be probably split up over Depending on the project between 10 and 20 years Anything else? Looking around one last time All right. Well, thank you very much. I appreciate you being here just for what is going to happen now is that Tuesday of next week the finance committee Will take a vote on the issues that will be before us And I'll just remind everybody what they are and then either on april 22nd or 29th The council of the president's discretion Will consider any recommendations from the finance committee the things that are before us we are there's a requirement That the budget be approved by three out of the four towns There's a requirement that the assessment method since it is other than the state Statutory method has to be approved by all four member towns. So that's the second vote The third thing we'll have to address is the capital project issue which we discussed and the fourth is that we need to make a motion to if all of The first two that I list passed to raise and appropriate the 16 million. I think it's 444,279 dollars for the Regional school to meet the regional school assessment So those are the four things that will ultimately be required actions of the council Just to clarify will the finance committee be making recommendations and all four of those? Yes. Thank you So Seeing no other purpose I think that I want to thank you Dr. Morris and miss mangana for being with us this evening and presenting and responding to all of the questions that came and I when it would therefore adjourn the public hearing and I want to adjourn the council is there a motion to adjourn the special meeting of the town council Second second motion made in second at all is in favor the vote for that is unanimous with Ten of us being here. Thank you


1967 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate military service and it also marks the 60th year of the use of military aviation as a part of our nation's defense structure. Officially our military aviation began in August 1907 when Captain Charles Chandler was named officer in charge of the United States Army's aeronautical division, his staff, two enlisted men. The mission studied the flying machine and the possibility of adapting it to military purposes. The Wright brothers had made their first flight in 1903 and then had gone to Europe to find a market for their flying machine. Flown for our government in 1909 their improved plane becomes our first military aircraft. He made about 42 miles an hour. Glenn Curtis another aviation pioneer also built some of our first military aircraft but our air power growth was slow. After four years only 41 pilots had earned these gold wings. 1917 we have 55 planes none suited for combat so our pilots are sent to Europe and join British, French and Italian squadrons to train and fight in World War I. In the States the battle of manufacture is on, $600 million to build 4,500 aircraft. September 18, 1918 the greatest air battle of the war, 1500 allied aircraft nearly half piloted by Americans. Two months later the enemy capitulated. As we moved towards the 20s the plane became a toy. Our war-trained pilots turned to barnstorming, gypsy flyers earning their way with any spectacular stunts but there were other daredevils with a more serious purpose, flying safety. Parachutes were not generally accepted. To prove they worked many of the test jumps were made by the inventors themselves. The first cross-country flight as a military T2 that left New York with over 700 gallons of fuel lands at San Diego. In the same era the first air mail service inaugurated by President Wilson and carried by military air between Washington and New York practiced briefing against troops with anti-aircraft weapons becomes part of our military aviation training program as we refine the techniques of close air support for ground forces. Brigadier General Billy Mitchell on the right insisted that planes could sink ships. Our military leaders of the day watched as he proved his point in a series of tests. The climax is the destruction of a captured German battleship, a vessel considered unsinkable. In 1923 the Barling, 32,000 pounds, moving along at 61 miles an hour. It didn't make the inventory but it was a valuable test vehicle for our aeronautical engineers. Aerial refueling is developed and the famous question mark remains aloft for nearly a week. In 1930 we conduct our first polar maneuvers. Planes had now flown the ocean so there was the possibility an enemy could invade our nation over the Arctic and we were determined to be prepared. Bundles of food dropped to snowbound Navajo tribes in Arizona in 1932 in one of the first uses of military air for mercy flights. The P-26, our first metal-covered fighter in production, joined the air force in the early 30s. Looking like a praying mantis, the B-9, our first all-metal monoplane bomber. Next the B-10. It could fly an excess of 200 miles an hour, had retractable landing gear and was considered the fastest and heaviest bomber in the world. The B-17 made its first flight in 1935. It was destined to become the flying fortress of World War II. September 1, 1939.  The invasion of Holland and Belgium as the powerful Nazi air arm and panzers moved toward Paris. June 22, 1940 France surrenders. Now only Great Britain's royal air force remained for the Luftwaffe to conquer. The Nazi's air battle for Britain began. On the other side of the world the rising sun brings dawn and death. It's Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. But 14 of our aircraft managed to get airborne and destroy 10 attacking Japanese. Four months later, B-25s are launched from the carrier Hornet, their Jimmy Doolittle's raider, bringing the first impact of the war to the Japanese. B-17s lift off from Midway in June 1942 to join our Navy's carrier-based aircraft in meeting the Japanese task force for a battle that is to mark a turning point in the war in the Pacific. The mission of the Japanese planes was to raid Midway's gun emplacements and bomb the way for an invasion. But when our planes hammered back, the issue was decided. During the three-day battle, Japan lost four carriers, two heavy cruisers, three destroyers, 275 aircraft and 4,800 men. The Japanese offensive in the mid-Pacific was broken. In the far east, another battle, the War of Logistics. Military air plies the hump from India to our fighting forces in China. Ships loaded with cargo were waiting. Before the war's end, we carry more than one million tons of supplies over the hump. Nazi subs, in the first half of 42, they sank 506 Allied ships. B-24s were one of the weapons used to meet this menace. Equipped with radar, they patrol the sea lanes on seek and destroy missions. And by October of 42, the killer sub is virtually eliminated from our home water. In Europe, the Air Force has orders to fly through Hitler's back door and destroy his major oil industry, the refining plants at Flouesti, Romania. B-38 lightnings bore in. B-24s have their say. Jamming up thousands of rounds of flak. When the argument was over, our military air was victorious. We destroyed nearly 90% of the Romanian oil that was feeding the Swastika war machine. DJ, the invasion of Hitler's Europe is mounted. Leading the attack, air power plays a major role. Interdiction and airlift of troops, Allied surface forces hit the beaches of Normandy. As ground troops fought for a foothold, our bombers cut enemy lines of communication and supply. Long before the invasion, our air forces had virtually swept the airfields in disguise of Europe of enemy aircraft. General Eisenhower was able to assure the invasion force that on D-Day, if you see any planes, don't worry, they'll be ours. The Nazis felt the strike of our air power in Europe, so the Japanese felt the strike. Day and night of our new strategic bombers, the B-29. Tokyo burned. Surrender comes in September 1945. 1947. Congress makes of our air power a separate and distinct military department, the United States Air Force. It's first secretary, Stuart Simington. It's first chief of staff, General Carl Spots. For the new air force, the strategic bomber is the B-36, the longest range bomber of its time. For the tactical and air defense functions, the F-80 and F-86, the first jets are being developed. And already, our first experimental rocket plane is flying. 1948, the Berlin blockade. Nothing can move in and out of West Berlin. Over two million West Berliners now face starvation, unless they can be fed by airlift. For 15 months, 24 hours a day with cargo planes finally landing every three minutes, the people of Western Berlin are sustained entirely by this humanitarian airlift directed by the United States Air Force. 1950, communist North Korea attacks the Republic of South Korea. The communist attack is powerful. The defeat of South Korea seems assured, except that the United States is committed to aid in their defense. Air power is our only weapon ready to immediately stem the blow of enemy troops, and we stage aircraft of our far eastern air forces. The 24th division is flown in to be supported by forces from 15 member countries of the United Nations. Air hits hard as our ground forces dig in. Army has come. Hard job of driving it back begins. Interdiction with their power destroying today, equipment and supplies the communists intend to use tomorrow. September 15, 1950, American forces land at Incheon, flanking the communists on the west. The communists are forced back toward the Yalu River, and our air power makes a massive combat airdrop behind enemy lines. Nearly 4,000 troops and their supplies, then the big stuff, jeeps, ammo and trucks. In the air battles, our fighters maintain a 10 to 1 victory over the enemy maids. End in 1953, 1954. The Air Force Academy is established by Congress to provide a new generation of officers for the new air force. Officers trained in aeronautical sciences and the specialized use of air power. We are truly a new air force. We build the B-47 Stratogets and our series of Century Fighters, the F-100, F-101 Voodoo, the F-102, the 104 Star Fighter, the F-105 Thunder Cheat, the F-106 Delta Dart, F-4 Phantom II, and for transport, the still reliable C-47, C-54 Skymaster, C-119 Flying Boxcar, C-123 Provider, C-130 Hercules, the 135 Transport and Stratotanker, C-141 Starlifter, our deterrent bombers, the B-52 and the B-58 Husker. We had Texas Towers to warn of an enemy air attack. Today, the dew line is one of our radar air defenses, and B-Muse can detect enemy missiles. As we develop our missile force, the floor, our first intermediate range missile, the famous Atlas, our first ICBM. In the beginning, it had problems, just as our early aircraft had theirs. Aerospace technicians found the answers. And Atlas becomes a reliable weapon and a booster for the vehicle that takes our first close-up pictures of the moon. Air Force Titan II, the booster for all NASA Gemini flights. June 3, 1965, Titan II sends Air Force Major White for his famous walk in space. In the same month, the free world's most powerful booster, the Titan 3C, is successfully tested. During these same years, the Air Force brings a new generation of missiles into the inventory, the solid fuel Minuteman. Today, this retaliatory force can be launched in salvos from underground sites in a matter of minutes. Experimental vehicles. The X-15, a manned rocket ship, and for vertical takeoff and landing, the tri-service X-C142. The supersonic X-B70. The F-111 with variable sweep wings. The YF-12A experimental interceptor. For strategic reconnaissance, the SR-71. The Air Force C-5A to be our largest transport aircraft, carrying a quarter of a million pound payload. HH-3Es, modified for mid-air refueling, become the first choppers to cross the Atlantic monstop. A new rescue technique, ground to air recovery by an HC-130. Vietnam. American air power gives unparalleled support to allies' ground forces. It takes air power to move ground troops into battle. To supply them with ammunition, food, and equipment. To find the enemy where he hides. Mark his position for our fighters. It takes air power to find and engage the enemy beyond the range of ground penetration. It takes air power to supply remote and surrounded outposts. It takes air power to fight the enemy on his distant and secret trail. To destroy his far-flung supply line. And it takes air power to guard friendly Hamlets day and night. And to hit the enemy north and south. Even our strategic bombers, the B-52s, play a tactical role in Southeast Asia to convince the enemy that he cannot hide. That he cannot hold the initiative. And that he cannot hope to win. And it takes air power to save our airmen downed in the water. Trapped in the jungles, mountains, and marshes. And it takes air power to evacuate our sick and wounded to the United States in only 25 powers. Behind our air power there are people. Airmen who will risk their life to save others. As quickly as they risk themselves in the fight for freedom. Fly Belgian troops to the troubled Congo. Evacuate Belgian refugees. Air drop wheat for the starving. Rescue the people of Thailand. Give medical aid for the diseased and the injured. Have love for the young. This then is 60 years of military aviation. 60 years that have opened one of the greatest career fields in the world to the young people of our country. It is a 60 year history of flight and bold men. There will be more pioneers. Men of our air force who are not afraid to make decisions. Airmen who think beyond today. Men of the aerospace age who are willing to try what has never been tried before.


Welcome to Nation Beat. I am Janelle Novel bringing you this brief on the pulse of our nation and highlights around the heart of St. Lucia. St. Lucia is named the best Caribbean island to invest in. The island improves its global passport ranking and a hero's welcome for Julian Alfred and the National Youth Olympics team. St. Lucia has won the award for best Caribbean island to invest in. That's according to European Business magazine Europe's leading subscriber based publication, which boasts close to 90,000 readers who range from senior corporate executives to decision makers from some of the leading businesses across Europe. St. Lucia emerged as the front runner surpassing several other Caribbean islands, including Jamaica, which was the 2017 awardee. St. Lucia will be prominently featured on the front cover of the international publication's upcoming edition in December, when the magazine will be doing a special economic report on the Caribbean for European executive decision makers and readers. The piece will include information on why St. Lucia has earned the reputation as the best island to invest in. The award comes as the island recorded additional success in the Henley Passport Index. According to the latest results, St. Lucia has climbed from 142 in the third quarter to 146 ranking third in the eastern Caribbean region and 31st worldwide. A St. Lucia Passport provides visa-free travel to 146 destinations. St. Kids holds the strongest passport in the eastern Caribbean region and the 26th strongest passport in the world with 151 destinations accessible visa-free or with a visa on arrival. Closed behind St. Kids and Nevis is Antigua and Barbuda in 27th place globally. The Grenadian passport is currently 33rd. At the bottom of the eastern Caribbean ranking is Dominica in the 37th place globally. The St. Lucia Bureau of Standards hosted a meeting of stakeholders on the development of a communication strategy and action plan for a series of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects for the region. The CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality Cross Queue, in collaboration with the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards, hosted an information session on the establishment of an energy efficiency labeling scheme. Director of the St. Lucia Bureau of Standards, Verne Manuel, indicated that achieving energy efficiency is one of the ways to ensure sustainable goals are met. Part of what this session today will do is specifically target regulators in understanding what are the requirements of the energy efficiency labeling scheme, how it works. It is not something entirely new. It has been, it has commenced before and we are basically moving it to the next level in St. Lucia. From 2012 we've had an energy efficiency labeling program with energy labeling standards. The labeling scheme will introduce minimum energy performance standards for lighting, refrigerators and air conditioners and will explore the development and strengthening of a testing scheme for these appliances. According to the Cross Queue's project coordinator, Janice Hiller, the scheme is to begin in a few countries and eventually expand across CARICOM. The CARICOM energy policy highlights that global energy demand is expected to increase by 36% between 2008 and 2035. As a region, we are therefore charged with the responsibility of adopting more efficient use of energy as well as the adoption of renewable technologies aimed directly at reducing the cost of energy and at the same time reducing carbon emissions, which contribute to global warming, which is reflected in severe droughts, flooding, hurricanes, powerful hurricanes, rising sea temperature and many other symptoms of climate change. The session was held under the theme, protection of the consumer, support of the energy labeling scheme for energy efficient equipment and appliances. From the Government Information Service, I am Manisha Antoine reporting. A celebratory atmosphere awaited Julian Alfred and her teammates as they arrived back home from the Youth Olympics Games. Youth Olympic Games women's 100-meter silver medalist Julian Alfred returned home over the weekend to a hero's welcome, put on by the Central Olympic Committee Incorporated and the Department of Youth Development and Sports. Alfred and the other members of the team were met on the tarmac of the Huonora International Airport before a welcome ceremony took place at the airport lounge. Minister responsible for youth development and sports, the Honourable Edmund Estefan, who was in Argentina to witness Alfred's performance, said he saw a great team spirit at the Games. In Argentina, we had a team representative, this is what you call a team, you know, there was unity, there was encouragement. There was just this inner spirit, there was togetherness. There was togetherness and I commend the coaches and shaped the mission and shaped the mission, you know, for a job well done. Acting Prime Minister, the Honourable Leonard Mortude was also present at a welcome and emphasised the magnitude of Alfred's success. Your accomplishment, Miss Alfred, is a national achievement and I would like to say that for us as a nation, we are very proud of you. We are also very proud of the performance of the other team members and what we are hearing here today while the rest of you did not meddle but you gave of your best and your performances were outstanding. Vice President of the San Lucia Olympic Committee incorporated Lyndon Cooper disclosed that the SLOC will continue to support athletes in a quest to bring more medals to the nation. We have always pledged our commitment to the continuous development of the athletes. We must admit that sometime in 2016, when the President of the Olympic Committee held her annual general meeting, she indicated that she wants to see more athletes stepping up on the platform. And it was her intention, she said, that she is going to put the necessary resources into those athletes. The welcome for Alfred and the Youth Olympic Games contingent culminated with a reception at Government House. From the Department of Youth Development and Sports, I'm Ryan O'Brien. This is Nation Beat. Stay with us. Small household electrical appliances when faulty can give rise to big problems. If you have just purchased a small appliance from a store and you are concerned about the safety of the item, an appliance has been at home for some time subjected to wear and tear from regular usage. Have it tested by the San Lucia Bureau of Standards. It is better to be safe than sorry. For more information, contact the San Lucia Bureau of Standards at 456-0546 or email SLBS at candw.lc or visit the website at www.slbs.org.lc. San Lucia Bureau of Standards, making quality and standards our way of life. Welcome back. The Department of Gender Relations is working in collaboration with the Women's Support Centre and Club Gar in the Incidents of Domestic Violence, Fernelle Neptune reports. The campaign focuses on a training and sensitization component for stakeholders from social agencies who are engaged in programs for victims, perpetrators and those at risk of engaging in violence. Acting Director of Gender Relations, Jenny Joseph says the sensitization aspect of the campaign is centered on a solution-focused approach and therefore will provide stakeholders with the necessary skills to empower communities on reducing violence. We are sharing with them the solution-focused means of doing this and we are also giving them the challenge of going back to their communities, back to their agencies, back to their clients and identifying a project around the information that they've learned to be able to share with people in a new and innovative way because we believe that solutions are several. There could be several solutions to one problem. Joseph believes such an initiative will help stakeholders to become involved and to be part of the solution to end domestic violence in St Lucia. We are hoping that it grows, that it starts off a movement if you will, to get people to stop looking at the big problem that is outside of their self-control to change and to be able to look within and see how they can change what they do on an individual level to be able to arrive at a more lasting and sustainable solution. Stakeholders of the workshop included the Royal St Lucia Police Force, Department of Provisions, Fire and Emergency Department, Division of Human Services and from your first to name a few. From the Communications Unit of the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development, I am Phenoneptian reporting. The 2018 Caribbean Infection Prevention Control Week saw the most participants of any other year. Infection Prevention Control is a scientific approach and practical solution designed to reduce harm caused by infection to patients and health workers in healthcare institutions. It is grounded in the knowledge of infectious diseases, epidemiology, social science and health systems strengthening. Medical Officer for Health Dr. Sharon Belmar George said over 20 national focal points in the region met at this year's conference to review plans and gaps in the infection prevention control strategies within the healthcare institutions. And healthcare associated infections is the most common adverse effect that you can get at a healthcare facility and the cost associated with it is phenomenal. We see issues such as prolonged hospital stay, antimicrobial resistance. It's also a greater cost to families who would have to pay for the extra money. There's also an issue in terms of the bigger healthcare system and we also see disability caused by healthcare associated infections and in some cases we also see death. Dr. Belmar added that St. Lucia needs to improve its data collection on healthcare associated infections by increasing surveillance at healthcare facilities. However, a 2016 assessment at both Victoria and St. Jude hospitals revealed certain deficiencies which included infrastructural and equipment gaps. In resource limited settings such as ours where we don't have all of the equipment and all that we need, stringent measures have to be in place and some of them are very simple measures such as hand washing by our healthcare workers between reviewing patients, our stethoscopes, the equipment that we use ensuring that everything is properly orderly. We need to reduce the impact of healthcare associated infections on our patients, on our healthcare workers and also on the family members who may be visiting our facilities as well. Chief organiser of this year's Caribbean Infection Prevention Control Week, Dr. Corey Ford, said the Caribbean has been progressively interested in this area due to the advent of Ebola and the H1N1 virus. He said Caribbean Infection Prevention Control Week started off in 2015 with only four participating countries with a slight increase in subsequent years. And this year we really compliment St. Lucia for hosting the meeting. For the first time in the Caribbean we have 20 Caribbean countries from across the region. We're really only missing Cuba and Dominican Republic and Haiti and we hope to have them next year. We really compliment St. Lucia for this. This meeting is extremely important. The whole idea of infection prevention control across the region, like I said before, has really gone through its strides. We've had assistance from many international agencies such as PAHO, Society of Epidemiology of America and the Center for Disease Control for this meeting over the last few years. The conference aims to share experiences from regional infection prevention control specialists, epidemiologists, pharmacists and microbiologists to look at common challenges and best approaches. Dr. Ford had a pointed message for regional government. And I advise all regional governments to put a little bit more attention with regards to infection prevention control within your healthcare system. Ultimately it will save money, it will save lives and that's what we're here to do as infection prevention control specialists. The conference was held at Bay Gardens Hotel from October 15th to 20th. For the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Glenn Simon reporting. That's Nation Beat. Join us next time on NTN at 7.30pm with a repeat at 7.30am and on this station as we fill the pulse and heart of our community. You can also catch up with us anytime on the St. Lucia Government Facebook page or YouTube channel. I am Genel Novel.