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Both Council Long and Councillor Alexander will be remote tonight.

So first on the agenda would be public participation.

Let me see if we have anyone on Zoom.

Somehow there I do not see anyone on Zoom, so therefore everyone in the room, I will call it three minutes each.

First will be Danielle Barney.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Thank you for your time and thank you for the time that you devote to our city.

It's not an easy job, and I know it takes a lot from you and your families, so we do appreciate that.

I'll be brief.

And we know that these are very um tight budgetary times and uncertain times, but I wanted to um leave you with a few questions that I hope that you would um consider as you review um what they present for you.

Um so I hope that you will consider and seek answers to the following questions before you accept the budget as proposed.

Will programs uh and supports be equivalent across schools in the same grade bands so that children receive equivalent education and equivalent supports, understanding that it was made based on enrollment, but shifts in positions to ensure that one school doesn't have one program that another one doesn't, or that children in one school have half an FTE of something and another school doesn't.

And since the cuts are based on loss of enrollment, I hope that you will look and ensure that this is equitably impacting central office positions and not leaning heavily on student facing positions.

Um we in Framingham want to be uplifting and upholding our youth and ensuring that, and especially in these uncertain times and with social emotional situations for youth as such as they are, that they do have exactly what they need on a daily basis.

Are the planned cuts and reallocations of positions actually feasible feasible and actionable?

Will they work in practice and not just on paper?

Will teacher preps be able to be covered when there are shifts in specials and at the elementary level that may impact that, and let's make sure that that is feasible.

Last, please consider what more worthy investments are reserves being kept for that is richer and more profitable in the long term than our educated young citizens.

They deserve to be the best that Framingham has to offer, and you as City Council are in the position to make that happen.

I would also like to add that Framingham has set itself apart from surrounding communities, especially even wealthier ones, with the breadth of special education programs that we offer.

You have 15 seconds left, okay?

Thank you.

Um, and I know that people stay here for those, so I hope that those are preserved, especially um with the needs that we have in our community.

Thank you again for your time, and I hope you will consider these issues.

Thank you.

Uh Yin Wang.

Hi, everyone, good evening.

It's my pleasure to be here to represent my students.

So I'm one of the teachers being told that my program will be eliminated.

So I've been here, I mean, Welsh Middle School.

I taught uh Mandarin for about nine years now.

And for me, it's about voice and choice.

We are the only school in Framingham, the only middle school in Framingham that provide French, Spanish, and Mandarin.

And throughout the last nine years, I've seen them struggle, I see them grow, and I see them really, really thrive in terms of their public speaking skills.

And that's how we always have a Chinese New Year celebration.

And I will invite every one of you to come join us.

We will be on the February 6th is the breakfast, and family will come, student will perform, they will sing, and they will they will perform in Mandarin.

Um not all my student uh Mandarin speakers, but for that reason, some of my Mandarin speakers because their family do not speak uh English sufficiently, having that connection with them and getting to know them as well as be able to learn and help them to navigate when their children don't really speak Mandarin that well, and when they have very limited language ability to talk about things, so I feel like the program is really a gap between family students and the community and throughout the um home visit programs who have been visited many, many families to learn about the value, the connection and everything that we have just for one teacher.

Connect with this year, I have about 40 students, I have more, I have less every different years.

So I hope that you will consider this is not just one person.

I will still have a job in Framingham, but most of my students who are with me now will have to choose either Spanish or French going forward.

So please think about it, and um I really hope that you'll be able to um make that a possibility going forward to continue to fund this program.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Next is Gail Carp, I believe.

Gail is that's me.

Sorry.

I can't read your last name, I'm sorry, it looks like Gail Carp.

Okay, yeah, that's right, cold hands, poor handwriting.

No problem.

Um, and I write wrote out notes and then put them down.

Okay, you have you have three minutes.