The meeting began with the normal Call to Order, Agenda Review, and Flag Salute. The first Community Comments portion of the meeting included a teacher discussing the challenges of surviving in Vermont with the high cost of living on a teacher salary, the side hustle jobs he has done to make ends meet, and the benefits of teachers getting a livable wage to not need to do side jobs and focus on students. The Consent Agenda included an Approval of a Warrant, Contracts, and several Minutes from prior
meetings.
The Reports to the Board portion of the meeting included and Operations Report, Finance Report, Committee Report, and MES Principal Report
– Operations Report: Matt discussed the stormwater issue remediation issue from last meeting and costs if we get chosen for a remediation grant that would cover 90%. Original estimate was
$375,000 but could now be up to ~40% higher now and if grant not provided, we’d have to cover
100% over 5-year period. If covered, our cost would be ~$37,500-$51,500 depending on how much higher it would now cost and paying only 10% of the cost. Also, a review of the food service at the Middle School will occur December 5 and cover Meal Access and Reimbursement with a “document review” due November 13. The Activities Fair had ~240 participants with about half attending the community dinner. The Milton Innovation Center (MIC) is currently on track to be completed
January 1, 2025. Finally, planning underway to put together a visual for the MHS lobby for
community to see architectural drawings and renderings of the MIC.
– Finance Report: New financial system advises when venders go over $10,000 in payments. Matt advised who went over.
– Committee Report: The regular School Board meeting was preceded by a Strategic Plan Committee Regular meeting that reviewed the Strategic Plan. A link in the agenda was provided to the current Strategic Plan at https://4.files.edl.io/4e89/07/17/23/134109-3cf9f9b4-2dd7-40ab-9ad8-
c89f252763a5.pdf. A discussion occurred and it sounded like a plan for further community
discussion/involvement may occur in the spring to complete an update for 2026 after presenting to board August/September 2025.
The Presentations portion of the meeting included a Milton Elementary School Principal Presentation (more details in the packet) like all principal presentations they are formatted to discuss work
completed towards the goals of:
1) Student Achievement and Success – To foster curious and passionate learners through
opportunities that further their academic knowledge and skills and meet the challenges of a
changing world.
2) Social-Emotional Health and Well-being – To prioritize the health and well-being of all members of the learning organization through programming that promotes care for the heart, mind, and body.
3) Family & Student Engagement – To cultivate engaged citizens inspired to meet the demands of a changing society through an awareness of self, others, and the world around them in the local and global context.
There was also a presentation of the FY26 MTSD Budget Overlook by the Superintendent. She started by indicating that she attended a VT Agency of Education (VTAOE) “Listen and Learn” tour with other Champlain Valley school superintendents to explore several of the complex challenges Vermont is facing in education, but that she felt they were instead looking for suggestions for education funding models and indicated that the data reviewed was several years old, from several places, and may be
inconsistent. It was followed by an extensive presentation of the budget process timeline as well as many factors that go into the budget process. Please review the LCATV video if this interests you for more information than I’m able to summarize effectively here.
The Discussion portion of the meeting included a Proposal for Support Staff Hours to be increased nominally for various reasons for a few support positions as enumerated in the discussion. September 19th Board Forum Follow-Up Public Engagement included a discussion of conversations had at the event.
Also, a discussion regarding the public engagement event related to the Herrick Facilities on October 10 in the High School Library occurred.
Finally, discussed the Stormwater Program grant as enumerated above.
The second Community Comments portion of the meeting included no comments.
The Action Items portion of the meeting included a motion to approve the extra hours for the support staff and a motion for committing to the Stormwater Program as discussed above by choosing to stay opted into the Vermont Green Schools Initiative where we agree to pay 10% of the cost of the project if given the grant.
The Board Comments portion of the meeting included a comment from a board member regarding assisting with getting the classrooms back together after the mold remediation and urging parents to volunteer in the classrooms as much as possible and see the work that they do. A board member mentioned getting T-shirts for the community engagement events. Additionally, one board member thanked another board member for all the work they had been doing.
An Executive Session concluded the night.