The Reading School Committee (SC) of Reading Public Schools (RPS) is meeting on Thursday February 8, 2024. The meeting is being at the Reading Memorial High School (RMHS) library and will be broadcast by RCTV and will be accessible via zoom. This meeting starts at 7pm. Links to watch and pertinent packet info are listed below.
The packet is 44 pages long, and as of this writing (10:20 am), the presentation for the Killam update is not included, so there is nothing to note regarding that. with the bulk being the full proposed FY25 budget which is up for a final vote.
The meeting will begin with a “Focus on Excellence” honoring the Parker Middle School students who provided “Parker Kindness kits “this year to the Pine Street Inn. This is tradition that the Parker gr. 8 class does every year, with collections of toiletry items and various other items that the package and bring to the Pine Street Inn in Boston. Slides with info on this are at p. 5-12 of the packet, including photos of students.
After the usual reports and minutes approvals, there will be approvals of donations and field trips, followed by the Killam presentation (which, as noted above, is not yet in the packet).
FY25 Proposed Calendar
(P. 30-33 OF PACKET)
As they do every year, the SC will review the proposed calendar for the next school year (in this case 2024-25), a copy of which is on pages 31-32. As the memo at p. 30 notes, there are a few minor changes this year, primarily relating to conferences:
- RISE preschool back to school nights at Wood End and Killam will be the same night as elementary back to school nights
- RISE preschool back to school night for the RMHS location will be the next night, which also is the RMHS back to school night
- Elementary conferences will shift back to November
- Middle school leaders are working to determine an appropriate model for middle school conferences (in the past 7-8 years in RPS, middle schools have not had conferences like the elementary and high schools).
- Schools will be closed Monday 12/23/2024, as well as for the winter break starting on 12/24/2024.
Per the calendar, first day of school is Weds 8/28/2024 (the Weds before Labor Day, per usual).
FY24 Q2 Financial Report
(p. 33-42 of packet).
As he does at the conclusion of each quarter, Director of Finance and Operations Derek Pinto will present a financial overview of the latest quarter and fiscal year to date, including summaries of each section. At this point in the year, there are no recommendations for budget transfers between cost centers (if there were any, the SC needs to approve). Thus, at this point, the $54 million FY23 RPS budget appears to be sufficient for the schools.
How to Watch this Meeting
The RCTV YouTube live stream link to watch is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xqD3D4nkLo
You can also watch via Xfinity channel 6 (“local 3”) or Verizon channel 32.
In addition, you can join the meeting (or watch) via the Zoom link here:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/83025812463
Meeting ID: 830 2581 2463
