At its Sept. 18 meeting the Easton School Committee recorded votes on a range of routine and substantive items. The committee conducted voice votes for most items; explicit tallies were not recorded on the public transcript for these motions.
Key actions approved (voice votes unless noted):
- Out‑of‑state overnight student trip: Approved a Close‑Up trip to Washington, D.C., planned for March 1–6 with an anticipated 20–30 students; teacher Courtney Kenny presented the trip and estimated a cost "a little less than $2,000" per student (final cost to be determined upon registration).
- Contracts: Approved multiple vendor contracts presented on the agenda, including Konica (five‑year lease), the Natural Resources Trust (NRT) contract for $28,260 (with $20,000 covered by the Oliver Ames Trust), Industrial Burner (approximately $45,000), Wally Computers (reseller for IT hardware, $35,500), and IXL Learning ($28,125). District staff said several contracts reflect reduced spending compared with prior years and noted some funds (e.g., $20,000 from the Oaks Ames Trust) offset operating costs.
- Banner sponsors: Approved three new banner sponsors for display on school property: Senior Aerospace, DeRosenzo Charitable Foundation, and Village Ski.
- JJIF / JJIF‑R (concussion policy): The committee voted on an amendment to include baseline concussion testing for all sports (passed on voice vote) but later voted to table the policy and asked the policy subcommittee to draft clearer language about opt-outs and funding; the subcommittee will meet on Sept. 30 to work on revised language and return to the full committee.
- Grant acceptance: Accepted a Comprehensive School Health Services (CSHS) grant award of $33,500 from the Bureau of Community Health and Prevention to support health-office equipment, vision and hearing screening equipment, iPads for diabetes monitoring, professional development for nurses and supplemental nursing coverage.
- Superintendent goals: Approved the superintendent’s two‑year goals covering student learning, district improvement for social-emotional and physical well-being, and professional practice (communication and community engagement). The district noted evidence collection and mid-cycle review points.
- Budget adjustment request: Approved a requested intra-district budget transfer of $1,500; district finance staff will propose a future agenda item outlining a threshold process to streamline small purchases.
- Professional status recipients: Approved the list of certificated staff eligible for professional teacher status; the district will hold a reception on Oct. 9 prior to the meeting to honor recipients.
- Minutes and warrants: Approved multiple meeting minutes (with noted edits) and warrant 018S; tabled one set of executive-session minutes for further review.
Other actions: The committee voted to enter executive session under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 30A, Section 21(a)(7) and Section 21(a)(2) and returned to open session later in the evening.
Where transcript excerpts record motions but not a roll-call vote, the committee used standard voice votes and the meeting minutes will show the formal records. Committee members asked staff to provide follow-up details on contract language, funding sources for programs and to bring policy language on JJIF/JJIF‑R back through the policy subcommittee for a future vote.