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Wilmington School District committee meeting, Sep 9, 2026

1 h 24 min · 1 public speaker

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Wilmington School Committee approves policy to comply with PROTECT Act 47:27

  • The superintendent reported that the University of Arizona had asked the district to move away from a Wildcat logo similar to the university's logo. 22:38
  • The committee unanimously approved a draft policy that David Ragsdale said would bring the district into compliance with the PROTECT Act. 47:35
  • Members discussed proposed changes to the committee's operating protocols, and Jesse Fennelly said updates would be brought back at the meeting on the 23rd. 54:37

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Item by item (12)
  1. Opening and consent agenda 0:11
    • Jesse Fennelly said all members were present and read the consent agenda, including minutes from June 24th, 2026, and warrants for fiscal years '26 and '27. 0:11
    • Jesse Fennelly said a fiscal year '26 food service warrant had been listed in error as FS09 instead of FS10 and was voted on separately. 2:08
    • The consent agenda and the corrected food service warrants were each approved unanimously. 2:08
  2. Superintendent's report on school opening 2:08
    • The superintendent reported 509 students participating in the high school phone program, 166 opting out and 12 dropping off phones, and said 51% of high school students play a fall sport. 5:44
    • The superintendent said the district placed an air purifier in every classroom and kept some windows closed at the North Intermediate School after community concerns about dust from the building project. 8:00
    • Rebecca Lord asked what opting out meant, and a staff member said those students leave their phones at home. 12:29
  3. Introduction of new administrators 13:03
    • The superintendent introduced a new administrator with experience in Connecticut who will work on the budget process. 13:03
    • The superintendent introduced the new interim principal at the West Intermediate School, who described prior work in middle schools. 16:13
  4. Recognition of long-serving staff 19:28
    • The superintendent said 14 staff members reached 25 years of service, 21 have between 26 and 29 years and 11 have 30 plus years, and read their names into the record. 19:28
  5. Update on Wildcat logo 22:38
    • The superintendent said that after consulting legal counsel, the district would move away from a Wildcat logo very similar to the University of Arizona logo and would replace the logo on the football field when the turf is replaced. 22:38
    • Jesse Fennelly said the district is not proposing to stop being the Wilmington Wildcats. 25:08
    • Stephen Turner said the university holds a trademark on the logo and the change is a legal obligation. 25:41
  6. Middle school national recognition 26:37
    • The superintendent said the Association for Middle Level Education named Wilmington Middle School a 2026 School of Distinction. 26:39
    • A staff member said the school went from highly implementing 7 of 18 characteristics to 17 out of the 18 and was one of 39 schools honored. 27:44
    • Stephen Turner said the 39 schools were in the US and Canada and only 2 were in Massachusetts. 31:08
  7. Public comment 33:32
    • A speaker at public comment said the high school drama club's faculty advisor and production team had left and asked the committee to work with the high school administration to get the program running again. 34:03
  8. Appointment to SEAM Collaborative board 37:10
    • The executive director of the SEAM Collaborative described its student placements, staffing support, professional development and grant management for member districts. 38:01
    • Two board members said the collaborative helps the district manage special education costs. 41:20
    • Nicholas Golden asked about the collaborative's future, and the executive director said it is stable with no known surprises. 44:15
  9. PROTECT Act policy 46:22
    • David Ragsdale said the law was passed as emergency legislation, schools were to have policies in place by September 1st and the district was out of compliance. 47:10
    • The superintendent said the district has begun developing procedures to follow the policy. 48:38
    • The committee unanimously approved the policy. 49:30
  10. Memorandum of understanding with police 50:42
    • The superintendent said nothing substantive had changed in the agreement with the Wilmington Police Department. 51:12
    • One board member said SROs receive extensive training and that the MOU has strong guidelines about their role and protections built into how the relationship is supposed to work. 52:07
    • The committee unanimously approved the memorandum of understanding. 53:17
  11. Review of committee operating protocols 53:17
    • One board member suggested closing the loop with members on community emails and clarifying that members' social media posts reflect their own views. 54:37
    • One board member proposed language encouraging members to clarify when speaking in an individual capacity and replacing the agenda requirement for public comment with items under the committee's authority. 57:13
    • One board member asked that the protocols more clearly lay out how any member can add an item to the agenda. 1:07:13
    • Jesse Fennelly said the committee would make updates and bring the protocols back at the meeting on the 23rd. 1:20:35
  12. Subcommittee reports and upcoming dates 1:20:35
    • Michael Mercaldi said the outreach subcommittee is on track to deliver a proposal on social media and electronic communication at the meeting on the 23rd. 1:21:04
    • Jesse Fennelly announced open houses and a groundbreaking for the new elementary school at the North Intermediate School site on September 16th at 10:00 AM. 1:21:52
    • The committee voted unanimously to adjourn. 1:24:01

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 - September 09th, 2026”