School committee funds crisis training program

The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School committee agreed to fund an emergency training program with school administrators, saying that staff are in need of renewed training.

But there was some discussion and disagreement about where the $11,915 to fund the emergency training program would come from. 

The program, presented to the group by John Stevens and Superintendent Richard Smith, consists of three parts. There’s initial “tabletop training” that involves meeting with school administration and staff in leadership roles, as well as the chief of police and the fire chief, to discuss emergency procedures and responses for different types of critical incidents. That could include active shooters, chemical spills, product tampering, and severe weather. 

The second phase involves whole-staff training, in which every member of the school staff, including custodial crew, secretarial staff, and teachers, receives training in how to respond in different emergency situations. They receive guidance on emergency exits, reunification sites, and what police and fire departments will do in each incident. 

Finally, the school receives an emergency response kit, a physical box that contains binders, USB drives, charts and physical instructions for how to respond to each of the critical incidents. 

According to Stevens, it has been some years since the Synergy Program came to the Island and trained the schools. In the interim, there has been significant staff turnover. Because of the passage of time and untrained staff, “there is a need to review how to respond to critical incidents,” said Stevens. 

The Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School and the Vineyard Montessori School have plans to participate in a similar training before school starts, Stevens said.

Superintendent Smith expressed the importance of having emergency response training. “After COVID, like many districts, I think we have gotten behind in that regard,” said Smith. “There were some events that happened on the Island that highlighted our need to re-engage.”

High school Principal Sara Dingledy requested the money come from the contingency line in the budget, citing the committee’s earlier choice to reduce conference and training lines in the FY24 budget. But after reviewing priorities for the upcoming year, Dingledy said the training was “essential, given situations that have come up, and what we worry about.” 

“This was developed over the course of the spring and summer, and not something I considered when we were making some of the cuts,” said Dingledy. “We have a plan B if we don’t get contingency, but then the plan Bs put other things at risk. We haven’t even started the year, so I’m a bit nervous about what that means down the road.” 

But the committee was divided. “I don’t think we should be robbing the contingency a month and a half into the school year,” said committee member Skipper Manter. Robert Lionette also expressed the desire to look elsewhere in the budget, as he hoped to preserve the contingency fund. 

Dingledy’s plan B for the funds involved dipping into the administrative office and equipment repair line, and another line used for costs associated with Medicaid reimbursement. 

“Out of our how many millions, 15, 20 million-dollar budget? We should approve this tonight,” said school committee member Roxanne Ackerman. She argued in favor of taking it from the contingency line, to keep the equipment funding for when it’s needed. But Ackerman said she’d be willing to amend the motion to the alternative lines just to get it passed, which committee chair Kathryn Shertzer then seconded. 

Ultimately the committee voted to take the $11,915 from the alternative lines, not the contingency line. 

“I think it’s essential. This is hugely, hugely important,” said committee member Kris O’Brien. 

In other news, the MVRHS committee unanimously accepted a collection of grants Tuesday, awarded to Island schools for the upcoming school year, totaling just shy of a million dollars. 

Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) federal grants made up the bulk of money awarded, with four Title Grants amounting to $749,249, to be allocated to Island schools to support basic programming and other school essentials. 

A second state-funded DESE grant for $1,000 will go toward the FY24 High School Equivalency Test Center, to assist with the cost of test administration, special needs, and technology updates, for both academic purposes and COVID-19 health and safety purposes, such as providing COVID-related personal protective equipment. 

Finally, a series of Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) grants were awarded in the total amount of $147,119, with Tisbury receiving $27,143, Oak Bluffs receiving $23,319, Edgartown receiving $49,133, and up-Island schools receiving $47,524, according to Superintendent Smith.