The Holliston School Committee (HSC) met on Thursday, November 14, 2024 at 7:00pm in the Holliston High School Library. The entire meeting was recorded and may be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1qOY8LtpVM4
The meeting began with updates from the HHS student representatives, who shared details about upcoming high school events. These included the National Honor Society’s “Night Out for the Holliston Senior Community,” featuring a buffet dinner, bingo, and a viewing of the fall musical Carrie. Other events mentioned were the Unified vs. Varsity Basketball game/SEPAC fundraiser, outcomes of the fall sports season, current class fundraisers, a mock election, and a Veteran’s Day assembly (see minute 1:36 of video).
School Committee member comments included a reminder about the Holliston Music and Arts Parents Association’s November fundraising drive to support arts initiatives at HPS. The musical Carrie will begin on Thursday, Nov. 21. Upcoming concerts include the HS and RAMS chorus on Dec. 10 and the HS and RAMS band on Dec. 17 (minute 4:07).
The meeting continued with a brief update from the School Start Times Subcommittee, which set the stage for comments from the HPS principals. Placentino Principal, Dr. Jaime Slainey, expressed concerns about safety related to the recommendation of placing Placentino and RAMS students on the same buses. She urged the HSC to consider the developmental differences in behavior and maturity between the two age groups attending these schools (minute 9:22).
Three community members made public comments. Barbara Ryan began by congratulating the group of HS students involved with the Holliston Drug and Alcohol Awareness Coalition for their important work. As the Holliston PTO President, she also thanked the schools for accepting over $5,000 in gifts, labor, and donations from the PTO, which included everything from teacher supply requests to courtyard landscaping and cleanup. In closing, she requested that the preservation of later school start times, which support teen circadian sleep patterns, be considered as new start times are developed (minute 17:00).
Tracy Floeckher provided the second public comment, expressing concerns about the current block schedule at the HS. She requested that the HSC open a discussion with the union to explore potential changes to the schedule that would better support students (minute 21:37).
Finally, Grant Gannaway commented via Zoom, expressing agreement with Dr. Slainey’s concerns about Placentino and RAMS students riding the same bus (minute 27:16).
Next, students from the HHS Global Citizens Program presented some of the projects they have been working on this year. A group of sophomores is working to establish an electric vehicle charger in the high school parking lot, while a senior is co-teaching a “Fashion Through the Ages” class at HHS. These are just two examples of the outstanding work being carried out by the growing group of HHS Global Citizen students (minute 30:36).
Administration provided an update on the fiscal year 2026 budget. The budget is typically presented in three parts: the first part covers payroll, which was presented tonight; the second part addresses non-payroll expenses; and the third part focuses on special education costs. The second and third parts will be presented in December and January (minute 45:21).
Additionally, administration provided an overview of the November 5 Professional Development day for teachers, and announced an evening event for Multilingual Learner families on Tuesday, November 19 (minute 55:10).
HHS Principal David List updated the School Committee on the increased interest in the international trip to Japan, with approximately 70 students expressing interest in attending. Mr. List also discussed the ongoing work to review the high school class schedules (minute 1:07:14).
Following was a robust discussion on proposals for new school start times for the 2025-2026 school year. One outcome of the discussion was the possibility of an option that would allow Placentino and Miller to start at the same time, which had previously seemed unfeasible. The principals will present more details on this option to the HSC on Tuesday, November 26 (minute 1:11:28).
Next, Ben Sparrell (Town Select Board) spoke about the Select Board’s interest in partnering with the HSC to ensure safe and effective transportation for students. He also discussed the formation of a newly established Policy Advisory Committee (minute 2:17:17).
Finally, the HSC discussed the impact of the “yes” vote on Question 2, which eliminates the MCAS graduation requirement (minute 2:33:50).
The HSC will meet next on November 26, 2024, at 7:00 p.m.
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