Thompson School District board meeting, Sep 14, 2026
1 h 52 min · 4 public speakers
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What happened
What happened at this meeting
Thompson school board approves generative AI and meeting recording policies 43:02
- Speakers at public comment asked the board to reconsider a smartwatch ban at the middle school. 1:22
- The board approved an electronic resources generative AI policy and a policy on recording meetings without consent, and the chair said the vote passed unanimously. 43:02
- A principal who serves as the district's assessment coordinator presented test results showing the state at 51% and the district at 43.9% in ELA, and the state at 46.7% and the district at 39.7% in math. 43:26
- Justin Yong said the finance subcommittee recommended tabling non-union salary increases due to the current budget, and no action was taken on the item. 1:41:23
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Item by item (14)
- Opening and chair update 0:00
- The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, and the chair said a Board of Finance meeting was scheduled for Wednesday at 7 and asked staff, families and residents to take part. 0:00
- Public comment 1:16
- Speakers at public comment asked the board to reconsider the smartwatch ban, citing safety and contact with parents. 1:22
- A speaker at public comment said the schools are people and asked the community to consider what budget numbers represent. 4:49
- A speaker at public comment raised concerns about how a prior meeting was posted and recommended reconsolidating the 3 schools into 2 and adjusting administration. 7:47
- New staff recognition 9:29
- A district staff member introduced new teachers, paraeducators and other staff hired across the district. 9:29
- Student liaison update 11:31
- The student liaison report said fall sports teams had begun competing and the high school would host a 7th and 8th grade open house next Thursday. 12:04
- The report said participants in an annual Homelessness Awareness Event in early October commit to raising $80 and spending the night at the school. 14:03
- Finance update 15:10
- A district staff member projected fiscal 2026 spending of $21.7 million and an estimate of coming in around $60,000 to the good, while noting the district received over $140,000 of additional special ed excess cost funding. 15:10
- The staff member said pupil services was projected to be about $114,000 over budget. 15:10
- Justin Yong asked how special education mandates had changed over 20 years, and a staff member said the district has 25 outplaced students and about a quarter of students require special education services. 21:21
- Facilities update 23:50
- The facilities director said HVAC commissioning would start on the 17th and take about 2 weeks, and that fuel pumps for the elementary school boilers were on track for delivery at the end of October or early November. 24:04
- The facilities director said fire safety curtains and better ventilation were added to the welding shop. 26:10
- Rick Medeiros asked whether the pump purchase had gone to the Board of Finance, and a speaker said it was on that board's Wednesday agenda. 29:18
- Approval of minutes 31:03
- Technology and recording policies 32:39
- The policy committee recommended an electronic resources artificial intelligence policy and a recording meetings without consent policy. 32:46
- Daniella Caverly asked what the district has in place, and a staff member said software is in place and the high school is running an AI class. 39:55
- A staff member said parents coming to meetings would be given a copy of the recording policy and told they need to disclose if they are recording. 42:03
- The board unanimously approved the electronic resources and recording meetings without consent policies. 43:02
- Assessment results presentation 43:26
- A principal reported that 33.3% of grade 7 students fully met their growth target and the cohort scored 54.5%, and that attendance was at 94.50 against a goal of 95. 52:36
- Rick Medeiros asked whether distance affected attendance, and staff members said it did not and cited anxiety and other social-emotional issues. 1:06:46
- A staff member said the district has one administrator each at the elementary and high schools and a principal and assistant at the middle school, and that it is the only high school in the state without an assistant principal. 1:11:03
- Middle school climate and culture plan 1:19:09
- A principal said the entire middle school staff serves on the climate and culture committee and that staff are monitoring students at lunch after a survey said students were not eating. 1:19:50
- Enrollment report 1:29:10
- A staff member reported 328 students at the elementary school, 266 at the middle school and 153 at the high school, for a total of 749. 1:29:10
- Justin Yong said the district's overall responsibility was 968 in September 2024 and is currently 923, and said special education stands at 25.9%. 1:31:23
- Rick Medeiros asked to learn why students leave between 8th and 9th grade, and a staff member said a survey could be sent to families. 1:33:15
- Non-union salary increases 1:41:23
- New business requests 1:42:25
- One board member asked that the board look at regionalization and consolidation at least annually. 1:42:30
- Daniella Caverly asked how town members would vote on budgets under regionalization. 1:45:26
- A speaker asked the policy committee to take another look at tech in December with administrators' input, citing new state recommendations. 1:47:20
- Closing comments and adjournment 1:48:09
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 “Thompson BOE Meeting - September 14, 2026”