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Bedford School District committee meeting, Jun 9, 2026

2 h 15 min · 0 public speakers

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Bedford School Committee approves special education fund transfer of up to $250,000 1:43:13

  • The committee voted 4 to 0 to 0 to approve the code of conduct section and the bullying prevention and intervention plan appendix of the unified district-wide student handbook. 24:26
  • School staff described plans at JGMS to collect Chromebooks over the summer, roll out the Lightspeed parent portal to all families in the fall and standardize Google Classroom homework norms. 32:03
  • The committee voted 5 to 0 to 0 to approve a request to transfer up to $250,000 from the Town of Bedford Special Education Reserve Fund to the school department operating budget. 1:43:13
  • The committee also approved the superintendent's fiscal year '26 evaluation and reorganized, with Brad Morrison taking the role of chair. 2:03:32

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Item by item (12)
  1. Call to order and public comment 3:58
    • Sarah McGinley called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM and said the committee had a quorum. 3:58
    • Sarah McGinley announced that Brad Morrison joined the meeting at 7:03 PM. 5:26
    • Sarah McGinley said there was no public comment and closed the public comment period. 5:39
  2. Consent agenda 5:39
    • The superintendent said the consent agenda included minutes, the acceptable use of technology policy for staff and students, gifts and a personnel report. 5:56
    • The superintendent said the policy changes were minor, addressed concerns raised by the committee and were cleared by legal counsel. 5:56
    • The consent agenda passed 4 to 0 to 0. 7:17
  3. Student pedestrian safety presentation 7:17
    • A student presented a student-led initiative that gives out free reflective gear and teaches families about nighttime safety. 8:04
    • The student said a driver can see a person in dark clothes from about 80 feet away and a person in reflective gear from up to 500 feet away. 8:56
    • After the student asked about adding nighttime safety to health class and PE, a staff member offered to set up a meeting with the wellness director. 14:07
  4. District-wide student handbook second read 14:32
    • The superintendent said the code of conduct was revised to reflect a more restorative approach and the bullying prevention and intervention plan was moved to the appendix. 15:16
    • Brad Morrison asked about a process for annual review, and a staff member said the district would leverage the school councils to review updates. 19:53
    • One board member asked whether the committee could have an annual update on substantive handbook changes. 23:20
    • The motion to approve the code of conduct section and the bullying prevention and intervention plan appendix passed 4 to 0 to 0. 24:26
  5. JGMS technology and homework initiative 25:09
    • School staff said the school would collect Chromebooks over the summer and have a full rollout of the Lightspeed parent portal to all families in the fall. 32:03
    • A staff member said the school was working on standardizing Google Classroom norms, with homework posted by a specific time such as 3 PM and a due time of 7:30 AM to be confirmed. 37:19
    • Angel Pettitt asked whether the portal was web-based or an app, and a staff member later said there is no app but the website is optimized for mobile. 1:09:10
  6. Special education stabilization fund transfer 1:35:38
    • The superintendent asked for authority to use up to a maximum of $250,000 from the stabilization fund and said an expected $100,000 transportation reimbursement from the state was not fully funded for fiscal '26. 1:36:02
    • A staff member said the fund balance is $950,000, leaving about $700,000 after the transfer. 1:38:47
    • Brad Morrison asked what caused the overrun in out-of-district contractual services. 1:39:26
  7. Non-aligned staff cost of living update 1:43:45
    • The superintendent said no vote was required and planned to offer a standard COLA increase of 3.25% to non-aligned staff. 1:43:57
    • The superintendent said all of the adjustments remain within the approved FY27 budget. 1:43:57
  8. Superintendent goals and strategic plan report 1:46:03
    • The superintendent said some yellow indicators turned green, none of the greens turned yellow or red, and a few initiatives will extend into next year. 1:46:20
    • One board member asked that the plan for the transition between 5th grade and 6th grade be prioritized. 1:48:55
    • The superintendent said universal breakfast would be implemented in the fall through federal reimbursements. 1:52:06
  9. Superintendent evaluation 1:52:40
    • Sarah McGinley said this year's evaluation process added direct feedback from leadership team members who report to the superintendent. 1:53:20
    • Sarah McGinley said the superintendent was rated proficient in all 4 categories. 1:54:01
    • The committee voted 5 to 0 to 0 on the motion to approve the evaluation. 2:03:32
  10. Superintendent report 2:03:55
    • The superintendent said Verizon upgraded an antenna serving the Lane School area, which should be running this summer to address cell reception. 2:04:06
    • The superintendent recognized staff retiring at the end of the school year. 2:04:06
    • The superintendent said the district reduced 18.5 positions and may not backfill every position that opens because of new needs for fiscal '27. 2:04:35
  11. Committee reorganization 2:11:18
    • The committee voted 5 to 0 to 0 on a secretary and 5 to 0 to 0 on a vice chair for the 2026⁠-⁠2027 school year. 2:12:45
    • The committee voted 4 to 0 to 1 on the motion to approve one board member as chair, and they said it was an honor to follow another board member. 2:14:03
    • The chair vote was 4 to 0 to 1. 2:14:24
  12. Executive session 2:14:46
    • Brad Morrison called for a motion to go into executive session to discuss strategy on collective bargaining for Units A, B and C, not to reopen to the public. 2:14:46
    • Brad Morrison announced that the meeting adjourned into executive session. 2:15:07

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “School Committee Meeting 06/09/26”