District finance and administrative staff briefed the School Committee on staffing changes, recent legal fees, transportation-contract shifts and upcoming budget reporting at the Dec. 16 meeting.

A committee member questioned line-item legal fees; staff explained there are two legal-billing lines — general district legal services and separate special-education legal services — and said a higher special-education invoice of about $6,800 appeared on last month’s bills. Staff noted monthly billing is separated by the fund covering those services.

Staff also reported a new level‑3 teacher grievance was filed with the mayor’s office; staff said the mayor’s assistant will respond and provide information to the committee so they can schedule a grievance hearing.

On personnel, staff said the district was "close to" fully staffed but is experiencing routine turnover. The packet noted a planned retirement (Jamie Sharappa, listed as retiring in June) and a resignation: Stuart Noiso, identified as CODA at the Susan B. Anthony school, said he will leave to be closer to family. Staff said vacancies will be posted and budgetary implications for filling positions will be considered during next year’s budget process.

Committee members asked about school-nurse staffing: staff reported the district is slightly over 50% staffed on the school side and explained that pending DESE certification rules make hiring more complicated because many candidates now need a BSN to qualify for DESE licensure.

Staff reviewed transportation costs and said a new contract increased costs for in-district (inside) runs while out-of-district runs (for out‑of‑city, homeless and foster-care transports) have cost less so far this year. A full transportation financial report is expected in February.

On donations, staff identified two items in the packet: United Way provided gift cards (the packet lists "$160 gift cards") to be distributed to students and families in need by principals and social workers, allocated proportionally by school enrollment; the total number of cards or aggregate dollar amount was not specified in the packet. A piano donated by Susan Edelman to Lincoln School was inspected by Finance Director Kelly Williams and will be placed in the music teacher’s room; its value was listed under $1,000 so formal committee acceptance was not required.

Staff also said they expect to present second‑quarter financials and a food‑services report in January after the new food‑service management company has four months of operations on record. Finally, members discussed DESE’s new green‑construction grant (awards between $50,000 and $5 million) as a potential funding source for the new high school; staff asked to receive the grant information for eligibility review.

No formal votes or binding budget decisions were taken at the meeting; staff committed to follow up with more detailed data and scheduling for grievance hearings, the transportation report and the January financial presentations.