Draft Minutes June 22, 2026-REV.2
On June 22, the Milford School Board approved minutes, financial reports, and hiring nominations via consent agenda. Members voted 5-0 to seal non-public session minutes for five years concerning real estate transactions. Regarding a communications project, the Board authorized purchasing a double-sided digital sign from Golden Rule for $33,612 plus electrical work, capped at $46,500 total, using FY26 fund balance. The Board awarded the IT Camera Project bid to B&S Integrated Security Systems up to the $275,112 Safe Grant allocation. Policy 3560 regarding class sizes and Policy 6005 regarding facility use moved to policy following a 5-0 vote. The Seat Belt Use Policy was reaffirmed and returned to committee. Superintendent Michaud received a positive performance evaluation. The Business Administrator estimated the FY26 Unassigned Fund Balance between $1.4 million and $1.6 million. Source: https://4.files.edl.io/ec77/07/01/26/152254-0ef22135-b3d3-439b-a858-d87ec88f419f.pdf
MILFORD SCHOOL BOARD 1 Milford High School – Lecture Hall, Room #182 2 (Zoom Access) 3 June 22, 2026 4 7:00 p.m. 5 6 5:45 p.m. – Open Public Meeting to Announce Non-Public Session (MHS) Room #182) 7 8 5:50 p.m. – Non-Public Session pursuant to RSA 91-A:3,II (d)& (l) 9 10 Location: MHS Lecture Hall, Room 182 11 12 MOTION: Ms. Clark Canty made a motion to seal the minutes from the non-public session held 13 on June 22, 2026, pursuant to RSA 91-A:3 II (d), consideration of the acquisition, sale, or lease 14 of real or personal property, for a period of five years. Ms. Smith seconded the motion. 15 16 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 17 18 1. CALL TO ORDER 19 20 Board Members Present: 21 22 Ms. Karin Cevasco, Chair 23 Ms. Amy Clark Canty, Vice-Chair 24 Mr. Ryan Freed, Secretary 25 Ms. Susan Smith, Board Member 26 Ms. Tara Davoli, Board Member 27 28 Also Present: 29 30 Ms. Christi Michaud, Superintendent of Schools 31 Ms. Jan Radowicz, Executive Director of Teaching & Learning and Federal Projects 32 Mr. Benjamin Kilar, Business Administrator 33 34 Ms. Cevasco read aloud the Milford School District’s vision statement as follows: 35 36 The Milford School District will be an inspiring community where deep learning, and strong 37 relationships empower all students to become designers of their own story. 38 39 The primary goal of the Milford School Board is to provide a free and appropriate public 40 education to Milford students and to realize the district's mission statement. 41 42 The primary purpose of this meeting is to conduct the business of the Milford School Board. 43 We publish our agenda in advance of our meeting, including all exhibits, to give the public notice 44 and ensure you know what to expect this evening. 45 46 2. PUBLIC COMMENT 47 48 Mr. Paul Bartolomucci, 204 Stable Road, addressed the Board and stated that he served on the 49 town’s Capital Improvements Plan Committee as well as the Budget Advisory Committee. He 50 said there was no representative from the School Board at the last CIP Committee meeting. He 51 Milford School Board Page 2 June 22, 2026 asked whether the School Board intended to have its own CIP Committee and, if so, whether it 52 would share its goals with the town’s CIP Committee. Ms. Cevasco replied that she would 53 answer Mr. Bartolomucci’s questions under the School Board member’s comment section. 54 55 Mr. Christopher Pank, 18 Berry Court, addressed the Board and stated that he was one of the 56 Co-Chairs of the Budget Advisory Committee, and said several people had approached him 57 regarding their tax bills. He said their question was: "In the past five years, has the School 58 Board ever returned money to the taxpayers? Can you give me the years? And also, how 59 much?” Ms. Cevasco replied that she would provide that information. 60 61 MOTION: Seeing there was no further public comment, Ms. Cevasco made a motion to close 62 the public comment portion of the meeting. Ms. Clark Canty seconded the motion. 63 64 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 65 66 3. CONSENT AGENDA (*Exhibits attached to meeting agenda) 67 68 a. *Approval of Minutes: June 2, 2026 69 b. *Professional Nominations & Hiring Report 70 c. *Approval of Treasurer’s Report: March 2026 71 d. *Approval of Treasurer's Report: April 2026 72 e. *Approval of Treasurer's Report: May 2026 73 f. Approval of Manifests AP22, AP23, PR24.0, PR24.1 & SPEC05 74 75 MOTION: Ms. Clark Canty made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, as presented. Ms. 76 Smith seconded the motion. 77 78 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 79 80 4. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS 81 82 a. Board Member Comments and Committee Reports 83 84 Ms. Cevasco commented that the School Board’s CIP Committee had recently met and noted 85 that the Community Development Office had contacted them to request that a School Board 86 representative attend the town’s CIP meeting. She said that, unfortunately, no member could 87 commit to the meeting dates. She said the CIP was currently developing forms for submissions 88 from administrators and principals. She added that the next meeting would be held at the end 89 of August or the beginning of September, and that was when project requests would come in. 90 91 Mr. Kilar, Business Administrator, commented that the projects would eventually be online. 92 However, he said that since they were still in the early stages of developing their process, he 93 would rather not commit to what it would look like. 94 95 Superintendent Michaud noted that their projects would not be put forward until the next budget 96 season, about one year out. 97 98 Ms. Smith added that in the past, she served on the Town Budget Committee, and when the 99 school had capital projects, a representative from the school district presented them to the 100 Milford School Board Page 3 June 22, 2026 town’s Budget Committee to let them know which projects they planned to put on warrants. She 101 said, presumably, a similar practice will happen this year. 102 103 Ms. Cevasco stated that the School Board would certainly meet with the Budget Committees, 104 CIP Committees, and the Select Board, as we have those Warrant Articles prepared for March 105 of 2027. 106 107 Ms. Smith said that the Special Advisory Committee on Enrollment had met to discuss which 108 data points needed to be collected and whom we would want to obtain that information from 109 within the district. She said Superintendent Michaud would reach out to some members of her 110 team with information requests and begin to invite speakers for the committee meetings to 111 provide data for the committee to assess. She said it was part of their plan to make 112 recommendations to the School Board on managing enrollment trends. 113 114 Ms. Cevasco noted that the Facilities Committee met to discuss the upcoming summer projects. 115 116 Ms. Clark Canty commented that she attended a Communication and Community Engagement 117 Committee meeting, where they discussed acquiring a digital sign for community 118 communications. She provided a brief presentation to the School Board, as summarized below: 119 120 • The sign would provide visibility for the whole town. 121 • The sign would strengthen the district’s presence in that people could see what 122 they were doing, such as sporting events, and student achievements. 123 • Announce snow days & voting days. 124 • Potential of being a revenue source by allowing people to purchase advertising 125 space. 126 127 Ms. Clark Canty stated that the committee contacted three sign companies: 128 129 • Fast Signs – Did not respond. 130 • Golden Rules – Out-of-State. 131 • Classic Signs – Local company. 132 Ms. Clark Canty said Golden Rules and Classic Signs offered the same sign. She said that 133 Golden Rules had provided a lot of information, including warranty information, and she 134 imagined that Classic Signs likely had similar information, but they had not yet heard back from 135 them. 136 Sign Information for both Golden Rule & Classic Sign (Classic Sign to be Confirmed) 137 • Lifetime Cloud Storage 138 • Lifetime Support Remote Diagnostics 139 • Limited Warranty 140 o Free 5-year Parts Replacement 141 o 10-year Parts Guaranteed 142 o Storm & Vandalism Lifetime Warranty 143 ▪ Up to $5,000 towards a New Sign. 144 Milford School Board Page 4 June 22, 2026 o 30-day Onsite Install Labor Warranty 145 Ms. Clark Canty stated that the proposed V-shaped sign would be located in front of the Bales 146 building. She also reviewed the technical information. 147 148 Ms. Clark Canty reviewed all of the sign options, but highlighted the committee’s 149 recommendations, as follows: 150 151 • 15 mm double-sided 152 o 4 ft. by 8 ft. screen 153 o 1.5-foot ID cabinet 154 155 Golden Rule Quote: $33,612 (Quote does not include electrical work) 156 157 Classic Signs Quote: $40,441 (Quote does not include electrical work) 158 159 Ms. Clark Canty reviewed the electrical bids as follows: 160 161 Location Interstate Electrical Services Evan Jones Master Electrician High School Labor/Materials: $1,950 Labor/Maintenance/Permits: $1,725 Bales Labor/Materials: $7,000 Site Work Allowance: $10,000 Labor/Materials/Permits: $6,675 Site Work Allowance: $6,000 West/Osgood Labor/Materials: $6,500 Site Work Allowance: $5,000 Labor/Materials/Permits: $5,945 Site Work Allowance: $3,000 162 Ms. Clark Canty stated that if they went with the lowest cost option, a double-sided sign would 163 cost approximately $45,000. 164 165 Ms. Clark Canty said that there may be some ability to speak with the town side and see if they 166 could perhaps help with the trenching. 167 168 Ms. Cevasco asked about zoning ordinances related to light-up signs and what you might have 169 learned about that. Ms. Clark Canty replied that neither the electrical company nor the sign 170 company had any concerns. Ms. Clark Canty commented that there was a light-up sign over 171 by the oval on the bridge, on the side of the building. 172 173 Ms. Smith asked whether the committee had looked at other towns or school districts to see 174 what signage they had. Ms. Clark Canty replied that they did, but they were smaller. 175 176 Ms. Smith commented that she preferred the single-sided version and thought Bales was a 177 good spot. She added that it would be helpful if people better understood what was happening 178 in the school district so they could see what their tax investment was accomplishing. She said 179 she felt it would be one way to communicate more effectively on an ongoing basis, rather than 180 once a year when they vote. 181 182 Ms. Davoli commented that she felt it was expensive, but she echoed the sentiment that it would 183 provide the entire community with important information. 184 185 Milford School Board Page 5 June 22, 2026 Ms. Clark Canty commented that the committee felt the double-sided sign made more sense, 186 even though it was approximately $5,000 more. She said the committee wanted a sign, ideally 187 at Bales, because it was the most visible. 188 189 Ms. Cevasco noted that if the goal were to reach as many people as possible, especially those 190 not currently affiliated with the school district, a double-sided sign by Bales would make the 191 most sense. 192 193 Ms. Cevasco asked Mr. Kilar about possible funding options for the project. Mr. Kilar replied 194 that the FY26 budget could be used, the fund balance, noting that there were enough funds to 195 cover the project at a total cost of $46,288. He said another option would be to use the Facility 196 Trust Fund, or they could seek funding in FY27. 197 198 MOTION: Ms. Clark Canty made a motion to purchase and install a double-sided 15mm digital 199 sign from Golden Rule, with the site work not to exceed $46,500 at the Bales building, using the 200 FY26 fund balance, with the stipulation that the School Board look into the town’s sign 201 ordinances and the security of unauthorized personnel accessing the sign. Mr. Freed seconded 202 the motion. 203 204 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 205 206 1. Superintendent’s Evaluation 207 208 Ms. Cevasco read aloud from a prepared statement, as follows: 209 210 The School Board completed the superintendent's evaluation in our non-public session. We 211 remain satisfied with the performance of Superintendent Michaud, finding her highly effective in 212 most categories, and thank her for her continued leadership in the Milford School District. 213 214 The evaluation rubric is broken down into five categories. Relationship with the board, 215 community relations, staff relations, business and finance, and instructional leadership. 216 217 To highlight some of Superintendent Michaud's accomplishments from the past year, I would 218 like to share examples of the evidence that supports the evaluation. 219 220 • Superintendent Michaud keeps the School Board informed about what is 221 happening in each of the schools and the district as a whole. She is the Chair of 222 the Policy Committee, keeping the School Board informed about policy updates 223 that are needed based on legislative changes, as well as circumstances within the 224 district. 225 226 • In the summer of 2025, Superintendent Michaud collected community feedback 227 regarding the new state law for the cell phone ban in schools and incorporated the 228 survey feedback into updates to the new School Board policy to address parental 229 concerns. 230 231 • Superintendent Michaud is involved in the CAST Coalition at the Boys and Girls 232 Club and attended the Youth of the Year ceremony to celebrate and highlight our 233 incredible students. 234 Milford School Board Page 6 June 22, 2026 • She was appointed to serve on the New Hampshire State Career Technical 235 Education Commission and advocates for Milford's Applied Technology Center. 236 237 • Superintendent Michaud has led the process to develop the fiscal year 27 budget 238 that came in at less than a 5% increase, despite unprecedented challenges, such 239 as a 35% increase in healthcare premiums. 240 241 • She oversaw the transition process in the SAU office for a new Business 242 Administrator, a new Executive Director of Teaching, Learning, and Federal 243 Programs, and a new Human Resources Director, as well as a new Finance 244 Director and Payroll Administrator, mentoring and supporting new leaders within 245 the district. 246 247 • Superintendent Michaud leads the district's FOCUS initiative, emphasizing 248 reading, writing, and meaningful discussion in every classroom, every day. 249 250 • She also championed the implementation of key systems that support student 251 success, including multi-tiered systems of support, MTSS, Student Support 252 Teams, SSTs, and Effective Professional Learning Communities, PLCs. 253 254 • In addition, Superintendent Michaud continues to support the ongoing 255 development and refinement of PIVOT, the district's student reflection, regulation, 256 and planning model, as well as calming and processing spaces throughout the 257 schools. 258 259 • These systems have contributed to reductions in both in-school and out-of-school 260 suspensions, while helping students successfully transition back to the classroom 261 and re-engage in learning. As part of the district's commitment to accountability 262 and student growth, Superintendent Michaud meets regularly with students to 263 discuss behavioral expectations and supports, including reentry meetings 264 following school suspensions. 265 266 These are just samples of the work of Superintendent Michaud. In no way is this a 267 comprehensive and complete list of the work that she does. 268 269 The School Board enjoys our relationship with her and the work we do together. As Mr. O. has 270 said on at least one occasion, she is our “super-duperintendent,” and I do not mean that lightly. 271 She is a top-notch professional, and Milford is quite fortunate to have Christi Michaud leading 272 our school. Thank you so much. 273 274 Superintendent Michaud stated that she greatly appreciates the comments and recognition. 275 However, she said she could not do the district's work without a phenomenal team. Many of 276 those who are right here in the room this evening: principals, directors, faculty and staff, our 277 phenomenal community partners, and the support of our parents and families. 278 279 5. REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS/ACTION ITEMS 280 (*Exhibits attached to meeting agenda) 281 282 a. Superintendent’s Report 283 Milford School Board Page 7 June 22, 2026 Superintendent Michaud stated that the 2025-2026 school year had come to a close and that 284 over the past few weeks, there had been some remarkable events, fun, and memorable end- 285 of-year celebrations. She said one of the highlights was a new event called the Farewell Tour, 286 in which the graduates loaded the yellow buses for the last time. She said they went through 287 all of the schools with their caps and gowns, and the students lined the hallways, applauding 288 them. 289 290 Superintendent Michaud said Field Day was held at Heron Pond, and the 8th-grade promotion 291 ceremony was held at the middle school. She added that Jacques Memorial Elementary School 292 held a send-off and dance party for its first-graders. 293 294 Superintendent Michaud said the school year was a success and brought a lot of pride to 295 everyone. She thanked the School Board, the faculty and staff members, the administration, 296 parents and students, and the wonderful Milford community, for a remarkable 2025-2026 school 297 year. 298 299 b. District Auditors – Vachon Culkay & Company 300 301 Mr. Kilar, Business Administrator, introduced Ms. Tammy Webb of Vachon Culkay & Company, 302 the Principal Auditor for the FY25 audit. Mr. Kilar took a moment to thank his team, particularly 303 Ms. Pam Danforth, Finance Director. 304 305 Ms. Tammy Webb, Audit Manager at Vachon Culkay & Company, addressed the Board and 306 said that over the past year, they issued an unmodified opinion on the district’s financial 307 statements, indicating they received a clean opinion. 308 309 Ms. Webb provided the Board with a brief overview of the audit process, as summarized below: 310 311 • As an auditor, we focus our audits on risk assessment and unpredictable testing. 312 • Included within our audit planning, we do a risk assessment of the potential for any 313 fraudulent activity. 314 • We also look for risk that the financial statements are materially misstated. 315 • We perform control testing on some of the district’s major financial transactions, 316 and this past year, we actually selected a sample of 40 payroll items, just to make 317 sure they were going through the approval process, the pay rates, and timesheets. 318 I am happy to say that no deviations were noted. 319 • One of the higher risk areas that we deem at all municipalities is credit card or P- 320 card purchases. We will review the various purchases made during the year and 321 ensure they were properly approved and seem reasonable and in line with the 322 district's practices. 323 • The district’s total revenues and other financing sources were higher than 324 budgeted by approximately $175,000, or 0.39%. So, a little close, but at least it 325 was favorable. 326 • The district’s total expenditures and other finance and uses were actually lower 327 than the adopted budget by approximately $183,000, or 0.4%. So the district was 328 able to keep its expenditures in line with the adopted budget. 329 Milford School Board Page 8 June 22, 2026 • The good news is that there were no findings in the current year for the federal 330 compliance audit, and again, an unmodified audit opinion was issued. 331 • There were two new GASB pronouncements issued during FY25. 332 • One was GASB 101, which pertained to compensated absences. This threw 333 everyone for a loop. 334 • Another GASB, a new pronouncement was GASB 102, which included certain risk 335 disclosures. 336 • The district did not have any concentrations or constraints that required any 337 additional disclosures in the financial statements. 338 • We encountered no difficulties in dealing with management. 339 • I did notice some Form I-9s that were not consistently completed for new hires. 340 • According to the School Board's policy, two School Board members who were also 341 members of the Executive Committee were to sign off on the payroll manifest, and 342 she said that policy did not make sense because she kept seeing different names 343 signing off on the manifest. She suggested that either two members of the School 344 Board sign them, or, if there were two from the Executive Committee, the same 345 two people should sign them. 346 Mr. Kilar noted that all of the concerns had been resolved. 347 Ms. Webb stated that overall, the audit went well. 348 c. *Data Governance Plan 349 350 Superintendent Michaud introduced Mr. Ray Morrison, the current Director of Technology, who 351 would be leaving the district at the end of the month, as well as the new Director of Technology, 352 Mr. Marco Oliviera. 353 354 Mr. Morrison stated that there were a couple of changes to the Data Governance Plan. 355 356 Mr. Morrison said the first change was that, moving forward, all staff PCs and Mac computers 357 would have managed detection and response software installed. He said it was a step above 358 antivirus software and was funded through various grants, including the Overwatch Foundation 359 grant, which covered 111 computers and servers. 360 361 Mr. Morrison said Sophos MDR would cover the remaining balance for all the machines. He 362 said they had originally had Huntress MDR for the last 1.5 years, but it had been discontinued. 363 364 Mr. Morrison said the next change pertained to all Google accounts. He said the minimum 365 password length was increasing from 8 to 10 characters, enforcing strong password strength, 366 and mandating two-factor authentication for all staff accounts. He added that the student's 367 Google account would be maintained for only 3 months, rather than 6. 368 369 d. IT Camera Project (Safe Grant) 370 371 Mr. Morrison and Mr. Oliviera were both present to speak to the IT Camera Project. 372 373 374 375 Milford School Board Page 9 June 22, 2026 Mr. Morrison said the Request for Proposal (RFP) was released on April 14, 2026, with a 376 mandatory walk-through on April 29, 2026. He said they reviewed all of the proposals, and all 377 work must be completed by the end of December 2026, per the grant. 378 379 Mr. Morrison said some of the goals were summarized below: 380 381 • Improved user experience. 382 • Enhance student & staff safety. 383 • Replace aging cameras while still being able to integrate existing cameras. 384 • Ensure scalability. 385 • Ensure compliance with privacy & security requirements. 386 387 Mr. Morrison stated that six companies had submitted proposals with various options in 388 response to the RFP. 389 390 Arcomm B&S Integrated Security Systems 391 ENE Security Navicon 392 T&N Technologies 393 394 Mr. Morrison said some of what was proposed was new interior and exterior cameras, all new 395 network video recorders, or NVRs. He added that a minimum storage period of 30 days was 396 among the RFP requirements, and that they would receive updated software with a 3-5-year 397 warranty on all hardware. 398 399 Mr. Morrison said the Safe Grant allocations for all four schools were $275,112. 400 401 Mr. Morrison recommended B&S Integrated Security Systems, based on the budget and current 402 Safe Grant allocation, with HANWA, NVRs, and cameras. 403 404 MOTION: Mr. Freed made a motion to award the bid to B&S Integrated Security Systems up 405 to the Safe Grant allocated amount. Ms. Clark Canty seconded the motion. 406 407 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 408 409 Superintendent Michaud thanked Mr. Morrison for all that he contributed to the district and 410 wished him well in his future endeavors. 411 412 e. *2025 – 2026 School Goals Reflections 413 414 Ms. Jan Radowicz, Executive Director of Teaching, Learning & Federal Programs, began the 415 presentation by noting that the district's most important goals focused on three key practices: a 416 coherent curriculum, effective instruction, and authentic literacy. She said they would embed 417 literacy in every classroom every day and ensure that expectations were clear, consistent, and 418 focused on students' reading, writing, and discussion. 419 420 Ms. Radowicz pointed out that the New Hampshire State Assessment data in English Language 421 Arts and math both showed progress. She said the SAS data in Science also showed some 422 progress. 423 Milford School Board Page 10 June 22, 2026 Ms. Radowicz said the SAT scores were very good overall compared to the state average. 424 425 Mr. Tim O'Connell, Principal, Jacques Memorial Elementary School, addressed the Board, and 426 this year, as with the entire school district, the focus was on literacy achievement. 427 “Jacques Memorial School will increase student achievement in literacy in kindergarten and first 428 grade by ensuring that reading, writing, and oral language development are prioritized in every 429 classroom. By June 2026, students will demonstrate measurable growth in academic areas as 430 evidenced by improvement on Acadience and 95 Percent assessments.” 431 432 Mr. O’Connell noted that Jacques and Heron Pond had adopted a new core phonics program, 433 the 95% program. He said it was the first year of the program's implementation, but they were 434 already impressed with the results. 435 436 Mr. O’Connell commented that they used an assessment called Acadience, which was 437 administered three times during the school year: fall, winter, and spring. 438 439 Mr. O’Connell said the kindergarten team's goal was to ensure that 75% of our student 440 population would achieve proficiency or above. He said that, unfortunately, they did not achieve 441 that particular goal, but they did make some overall progress. 442 443 Mr. O’Connell stated that there was some growth, with 51% of students at or above the 444 benchmark. 445 446 Mr. O’Connell said the first-grade team's goal was to focus on one subtest within the Acadience 447 assessment called Nonsense Word Fluency, or Full Words Read. He said the first-grade goal 448 this year was for 80% of first-grade students to perform at or above the benchmark for this skill, 449 as measured by this subtest. He said that in the middle of the year, they nailed it, at 85% or 450 higher. 451 452 Mr. O’Connell stated that the Unified Arts team has really embedded literacy in much of what 453 they did. He also reviewed other action items taken. 454 455 Mr. Stephen Capraro, Principal, and Ms. Heather Pelkey, Curriculum/Title I Coordinator, both 456 of Heron Pond Elementary School, were present. 457 458 “Heron Pond will increase student achievement in literacy across all grade levels by prioritizing 459 reading, writing, and discussion in every classroom. By June 2026, students will demonstrate 460 measurable growth in academic areas, as evidenced by improvements on content-area 461 assessments, NH SAS, Acadience, and 95 Percent Phonics.” 462 463 Mr. Capraro reviewed the results of the Acadience Oral Reading Fluency, with the numbers 464 being right where they should be. 465 466 Ms. Pelkey addressed the Board and said that this year, with literacy as our focus, we were able 467 to spend time speaking with our grade levels after each month's progress-monitoring sessions 468 and reviewing next steps. She said some of the action steps were set at the beginning of the 469 year, and others were added throughout the year based on the data. She said the overarching 470 one for all grade levels was our implementation of the 95% phonics program. 471 472 Milford School Board Page 11 June 22, 2026 Mr. Jerry Gregoire, Principal, and Ms. Rita Budakoti, Assistant Principal, were present. 473 474 “Milford Middle School will increase student achievement in literacy across all grade levels by 475 ensuring that reading, writing, and discussion are prioritized in every classroom. By June 2026, 476 students will demonstrate measurable growth in academic areas as evidenced by improvement 477 on content area assessments, including state assessments, common formative assessments, 478 and district-benchmark assessments such as NH SAS, NWEA, and IXL.” 479 480 Mr. Gregoire stated that, in middle school, they saw some decreases. He said they saw some 481 increases in ELA in 7th and 8th grade; however, there was an 8% decrease in 6th grade. 482 483 Mr. Gregoire explained that he felt the increase was due to a focus on getting everyone to be a 484 literacy teacher. 485 486 Mr. Gregoire said that one of the things they needed to look at for the following year was to 487 increase the use of IXL. He added that it would look a bit different the following year, as they 488 incorporated the “Push & Pull,” where students could be pushed to an area where they need to 489 work, or pulled by that teacher. 490 491 Ms. Nichole Iacuzio O’Brien, Principal, Milford High School, addressed the Board and read 492 aloud the Student Success Goals for the 2025 – 2026 school year, as follows: 493 494 Milford High School will increase student achievement in literacy across all grade levels by 495 prioritizing reading, writing, and discussion in every classroom. By June 2026, students will 496 demonstrate measurable growth in academic areas, as evidenced by improvement on content- 497 area assessments, including state assessments, common formative assessments, and district 498 benchmark assessments such as NH SAS, NWEA, and IXL. 499 500 Ms. Iacuzio O’Brien explained that every department had common focus areas with reading 501 comprehension, vocabulary development, writing, whether that was short or long written 502 explanations or essays, oral communication, and discussion, which was a really big focus up at 503 the high school, and then, of course, research and information literacy. 504 505 Ms. Iacuzio O’Brien said that they really increased the use of informational text across all 506 content areas, whether it was articles in science class or incorporating some of that reading in 507 math class with those longer word problems, case studies, and social studies. 508 509 Regarding assessment, Ms. Iacuzio O’Brien said they saw some growth across English, math, 510 and science, noting that our 11th-grade students were right up against the state average on the 511 New Hampshire State Assessment for Science this year, and that students improved their SAT 512 scores. She shared more data regarding assessments with the Board. 513 514 6. NEW BUSINESS/ACTION ITEMS (*Exhibits attached to meeting agenda) 515 516 a. *Milford Middle School Bell 517 518 Mr. Jerry Gregoire, Principal, and Ms. Rita Budakoti, Assistant Principal, were present. 519 520 Ms. Budakoti reviewed the bell schedules (2026 – 2027) for grades 6, 7, & 8. 521 Milford School Board Page 12 June 22, 2026 Ms. Budakoti first noted that while 6th grade had a daily recess scheduled, 7th and 8th grades 522 had breaks at times teachers found appropriate. Ms. Clark Canty suggested that since the 7th- 523 and 8th-grade breaks occurred at the same time each day, it would be helpful to add them to 524 the schedule, so students know what to expect. 525 Ms. Badakoti commented that the WINN (What I need now) was a very important part of the 526 day. She explained that it was a 25-minute block of time every day during which every student 527 would receive targeted interventions and build skills. 528 529 Ms. Badakoti reviewed TASC (Teachers in Academic Support Centers) 530 531 • Teachers and advisors will be able to work with the students to see what they need 532 to do, and who they need to be working with this week, so that they can schedule 533 them in. 534 535 Ms. Clark Canty commented that she had some concerns about the length of time students 536 spent on IXL. Ms. Badakoti replied that while she understood Ms. Clark Canty’s concerns, IXL 537 helped the students to get the diagnostics, like a snapshot at first, where they are, and then she 538 saw and worked with teachers where they do try to work with the students, not only through IXL, 539 but we understand the reluctant learners and sometimes need to provide them with different 540 modalities. 541 542 Mr. Freed asked which topics would be covered in UA's executive functioning. Ms. Budakoti 543 replied that they were working on that at the current time. She said some of the ideas being 544 discussed focused on organizational skills. 545 546 Ms. Cevasco stated that the time was 9 30 p.m. and asked whether the Board wanted to 547 continue, as there were a few more important items on the agenda. The School Board 548 collectively approved continuing with the meeting. 549 550 b. *Business Administrator’s Finance Report 551 552 Mr. Kilar noted the following: 553 554 • Trust & Capital Reserve Funds - Expendable Trusts and Capital Reserve indicate the 555 5/31/2026 MS-9 information from the Town of Milford. 556 557 • FY26 Unassigned Fund Balance Projection – 558 559 • The Unassigned Fund balance is composed of three different components. 560 561 1. Expense Budget Savings - These are funds budgeted to be spent in 562 FY26, but which remain unspent and unencumbered at the end of the 563 year. 564 565 2. Revenue Surplus - Funds received beyond the budget. 566 567 3. Funds Retained from Prior Year - These are funds retained in 568 accordance with RSA 198:4-b up to 5% of net assessment. 569 570 Milford School Board Page 13 June 22, 2026 Mr. Kilar stated that until all invoices and revenues for the closing year have been received and 571 accounted for, the fund balance can only be estimated. He said the book will close in August of 572 FY26. In late August or September, the final balance will be brought to the Board for allocation 573 to retention or offset of FY27 taxes. 574 Mr. Kilar said that he was currently estimating a fund balance between $1.4M and $1.6M. This 575 includes at least $1.2M in expense savings, up to $200,000 in revenue surplus, and $100,000 576 retained from FY25. 577 578 Ms. Clark Canty said that, especially with the final numbers coming in, our local appropriation, 579 the number that we pay as local taxpayers, is just so much higher than what the state gives. 580 She said the state needed to start pulling its fair share of the weight. 581 582 7. NEW BUSINESS/ACTION ITEMS (*Exhibits attached to meeting agenda) 583 584 a. Summer Hiring of Professional Staff 585 586 MOTION: Ms. Cevasco made a motion to grant Superintendent Michaud the authority to 587 approve nominations through September 1, 2026, with reports to the School Board at its July 588 and August meetings. Mr. Freed seconded the motion. 589 590 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 591 592 b. *Policy Proposals 593 594 1. Policy 3560 (IIB) Class Sizes and Student Educator Ratios (2nd Reading) 595 596 MOTION: Ms. Clark Canty made a motion to move Policy 3560 (IIB) Class Sizes and Student 597 Educator Ratios to policy, as amended. Ms. Smith seconded the motion. 598 599 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 600 601 2. Policy 6005 (KF) Use of School Buildings & Facilities by General Public 602 (2nd Reading) 603 604 MOTION: Ms. Clark Canty made a motion to move Policy 6005 (KF) Use of School Buildings 605 & Facilities by the general public to policy, as presented. Mr. Freed seconded the motion. 606 607 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 608 609 3. Policy 2418 (EEBA) Seat Belt Use Policy (Reaffirm) 610 611 Mr. Kilar explained that they were required to review the policy periodically and either update it 612 or affirm it to receive a discount on liability insurance rates. 613 614 Ms. Smith asked if the word “school” should be added before the word “buses” in the last 615 sentence of the policy. 616 617 618 619 Milford School Board Page 14 June 22, 2026 MOTION: Ms. Clark Canty made a motion to reaffirm Policy 2418 (EEBA) Seat Belt Use and 620 return it to the policy committee for clarification. Ms. Davoli seconded the motion. 621 622 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 623 624 8. PUBLIC COMMENT 625 626 MOTION: Seeing there were no public comments, Ms. Cevasco made a motion to end the 627 public comment portion of the meeting. Ms. Clark Canty seconded the motion. 628 629 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 630 631 632 Ms. Cevasco pointed out, as a friendly reminder, that parents and members of the Milford 633 Community may contact the School Board via email at any time between meetings with 634 questions or concerns. She said the School Board could be reached at 635 schoolboard@milfordk12.org. 636 637 9. ADJOURNMENT 638 639 MOTION: At 9:44 p.m., Ms. Clark Canty made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Smith 640 seconded the motion. 641 642 MOTION CARRIED: 5 – 0 – 0. 643 644 645 646 ____________________________ __________________________ 647 Karin Cevasco, School Board Chair Date of Approval 648 649 650 651 Respectfully Submitted, 652 653 654 Trish Gedziun 655 Recording Secretary 656 657