Beverly committees approve STEM grants, student accounts and budget transfers; allow limited rodenticide use; memorial policy tabled

The Beverly Public Schools Finance & Facilities subcommittee and the full School Committee on Oct. 22 approved a series of routine financial items, including acceptance of $26,500 in STEM grants, creation and transfer of student activity accounts, and two budget transfers tied to employee salary adjustments. The committees also voted to permit limited redeployment of rodenticide if rodent activity increases; a proposed policy limiting permanent indoor memorials was tabled for further work.

Why it matters: The actions move money and administrative authority already included in the district’s packet and bookkeeping; they affect how classroom and extracurricular funds are managed, how salary retro-pay is processed, and how buildings-and-grounds staff may respond if pest activity rises with colder weather.

Most significant votes and details - Grants: The committees accepted $26,500 in grants to the district: $25,500 from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center for STEM equipment and $1,000 from the Northeast Network of STEM to support a STEM week at Beverly High School. Director of Finance Emma Pugliese said the equipment award likely supports robotics-related purchases and that staff can follow up with exact line-item details.

- Gifts: A donation of $250 to Hannah Elementary was accepted and recorded.

- Student activity accounts: The committee approved creating a savings/spending account for the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) and approved closing the “foreign language” account and creating a “world language” account, transferring the funds for the same purpose.

- Budget transfers: Two transfers were approved. Transfer 1042 moves funds from a reserve for salary projections into specific salary lines to cover negotiated column moves and updated placement for specialized degrees; Pugliese said affected staff will see retroactive pay in the Oct. 30 paycheck. Transfer 1043 reallocated a paraprofessional salary line so the EL para is coded to the school where the employee is primarily deployed this year.

- Facilities: The Committee of the Whole approved a recommendation from Finance & Facilities to permit limited redeployment of rodenticide if buildings experience an uptick in rodent activity; members emphasized deployment will be targeted and monitored, and that custodial and building practices remain primary prevention tools.

- Policy action: The subcommittee debated a policy that would limit permanent memorials inside school buildings and considered whether the policy should include an explicit exception process. After discussion the motion to approve the policy was withdrawn and the item was tabled for revision.

Votes at a glance (official roll-call tallies reported during the meetings) - Approval of F&F meeting minutes: Passed 4–0 (Finance & Facilities roll call documented: Dr. Jeffrey Silva — yes; Paul Manzo — yes; Kimberly Coelho — yes; chair — yes). - Accept gifts to Hannah Elementary ($250): Passed 4–0. - Accept grants ($26,500 total; Mass. Life Sciences Center $25,500; Northeast Network of STEM $1,000): Passed 4–0. - Create/close student activity accounts (GSA creation; foreign language → world language transfer): Passed 4–0. - Budget transfer 1042 (salary reserve → salary lines for column moves/specialized-degree placement, with retro pay): Passed 4–0. - Budget transfer 1043 (recode EL paraprofessional salary): Passed 4–0. - Memorials policy (FFA): Motion to approve withdrawn; item tabled for revision. - Redeployment of rodenticide (limited, monitored): Passed 6–0 (Committee of the Whole roll call documented 6–0).

What committee members said Director of Finance Emma Pugliese explained the mechanics of the salary transfer tied to negotiated language on column moves and specialized degree placement and said, “Our folks will see it in the October 30 paycheck along with retro pay because it takes some time to process all of this paperwork.” Committee members repeatedly noted these votes were primarily bookkeeping or routine acceptance of packet items.

Next steps Items tabled for revision (notably the memorials policy) will return after staff and committee members update language and clarify an exception process. The district’s next scheduled Finance & Facilities and Committee of the Whole meetings were announced for November; the committees will continue budget preplanning as state and federal funding discussions proceed.

Reported meeting segments supporting this article (selected excerpts): “'I am looking for a motion to approve those meeting minutes.'” (Finance & Facilities meeting, Oct. 22) “'So those have been awarded. Our folks will see it in the October 30 paycheck along with retro pay because it takes some time to process all of this paperwork.' — Emma Pugliese, Director of Finance”