Letter from Mayor Siddiqui, communicating information from the School Committee’s Special Meetings held on May 7, 2020

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR Sumbul Siddiqui Mayor To: Cambridge City Council From: Sumbul Siddiqui, Mayor Date: May 14, 2020 Subject: Communicating information from the School Committee’s Special Meetings To the Honorable, the City Council: The School Committee held a Special Meeting last Thursday, May 7th and this past Tuesday, May 12th. At both meetings, the School Committee and administration and heard Public Comment about distance learning and the FY21 budget, in the context of COVID-19 recovery planning. I’m thankful to everyone that tuned in and signed up to provide their testimonies. Community engagement and feedback is so crucial to this planning process. At last Thursday’s meeting, Superintendent Salim gave a presentation that included an overview of the district’s domains of planning and guiding principles and the bulk of which highlighted the exceptional work of some of our CPS educators. I shared my gratitude for our educators that presented and reiterated that the call of the meeting was to focus on what is not working. Despite all of the great work that is happening in some classrooms, by no stretch of the imagination are these efforts happening across the board, as we heard in public comment. We must use the community feedback we hear, in conjunction with concrete data, to prepare both strategically and financially to address the many gaps this summer, next fall, and beyond. For this past Tuesday, I asked that Superintendent Salim’s presentation allow the School Committee to look at measurable data and actions as well as provide more information about summer programming. You will see in the slides that preliminary projections show significant costs for health and safety measures (materials and supplies, transportation) as well as for teaching and learning supports. I also wanted to ensure that the School Committee would have an opportunity to weigh in on the Superintendent’s appeal letter to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, regarding their school year requirements, as a letter of appeal must come from the School Committee. A final draft of this letter will be voted on at the School Committee’s Regular Meeting next Tuesday, May 19th. On Thursday, May 14th, the School Committee is convening at 6:00pm for a Special Meeting without public comment, to further discuss the complexities of our current situation, prior to voting on the FY21 budget next Tuesday, May 19th. We are fortunate to not be limited by immediate budget cuts, so it is

imperative that we take this opportunity to discuss what is needed in a COVID-19 Recovery Plan and the possibility of using FY21 funds to meet those needs. In other news, my Office has placed the CRLS senior class photo on the lawn signs in front of City Hall and we are working on ways to make graduation special for our seniors. Please feel free to purchase a CRLS Class of 2020 lawn/window sign as another way to support the senior class. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, suggestions, or concerns. Respectfully, Sumbul Siddiqui