School committee hears strategic-plan update, approves several routine motions including awards and a $480,000 budget modification
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Summary
The committee received a strategic-plan update, heard reports on breakfast and attendance, approved motions to accept FY26 awards and a $480,000 budget modification, directed a Friday-attendance report, and voted to cancel the Feb. 18 meeting.
At its Feb. 4 meeting the Lowell School Committee received a strategic-plan update from Superintendent Skinner and a presentation from Miss Crocker summarizing 11 initiatives currently in launch, pilot or design phases. Crocker said dashboard indicators in the packet showed current initiatives are on track and that executive-cabinet leads will supply KPI updates in future meetings.
Members used the superintendent’s report to press for additional information on specific motions. Member Bahu, responding to a prior motion on breakfast, said the district serves about 7,000 breakfasts each day and argued that serving breakfast in classrooms after the bell could boost participation and secure additional state funding; he cited a rule of thumb that schools reaching 80% breakfast participation may receive about $25,000 per school per year in additional funding. Miss McFadden noted a fresh fruit-and-vegetable program at Puckerville Memorial as an example of classroom food initiatives.
In routine business the committee agreed by roll call to accept superintendent reports (6.1–6.6) as reports of progress and kept several motions listed as ongoing for follow-up (including chronic absenteeism and a financial literacy curriculum). The committee approved a motion requiring the superintendent or designee to provide a monthly report of Friday attendance for each school for 2024, 2025 and the current 2026 school year.
Under new business the committee voted to accept and expend allocated FY26 awards and approved a $480,000 budget modification tied to those awards. Members also approved an overnight request to attend the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) annual conference.
Superintendent Skinner announced that schools remained open during recent polling days and thanked the committee for coordination with the city. The committee voted to cancel the Feb. 18 meeting and discussed adjusting future calendars to avoid vacation weeks.