1983-08-29 School Committee Minutes

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Isb READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES AUGUST 29; 1983 At this time Dr. Wells told the Committee that Miss Catherine Cook, Food Services Director, had collapsed on August 18, has since undergone surgery, and is expected to be hospitalized for an extended period of time. Report of Progress - Summer Repair and Maintenance Projects Mr. Winslow summarized the various repair and maintenance projects undertaken during the summer months by the Maintenance Department, as well as the major contracted projects such as the Birch Meadow School roof, roof over the girls gymnasium at the High School, and removal of asbestos from the Birch Meadow School boiler room. He said that in the absence of a Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds, the custodial supervisors and the rest of the staff had really pitched in and accomplished a great deal during the summer. He added that a lot of the grounds work had been done by the Department of Public Works and that the High School now has the best football field in the area. In closing he invited the School Committee to visit the schools and observe their good condition. Mrs. Philbrick reiterated Mr. Winslow's statement about the excellent condition of the football field. Correspondence and Reports Noted for the record were: a letter from the Recreation Committee thanking the School Committee for its continued cooperation in allowing them the use of School facilities for their programs; a notice from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, Inc., regarding a workshop to be held September 10th; a copy of a speech delivered by T. H. Bell, U. S. Secretary of Education; and "The Excellence Report." All of the above were sent to Committee members in advance of the meeting. Also noted was the schedule of fall and winter School Committee meetings, presented by Dr. Wells. Chairman Coco said that after reviewing Mr. Bell's speech and the "Excellence Report," he would like to see the School Committee set one major goal for this year instead of two or three lesser ones, and requested members to bring suggestions to the next meeting. Space Study Committee - Availability of the Pearl Street School for Town Government Use Before turning the meeting over to Mr. Nissen, School Committee liaison to the Space Study Committee (SSC), Chairman Coco suggested that the Committee seriously consider the presentation about to be made but delay a formal vote until early or mid - September. Mr. Nissen introduced Selectman Maureen O'Brien, who represents her board on the SSC. Mr. Nissen then said he had spoken to all School Committee members during the prior week and they had been mailed a packet of material with their agenda. He added that while it was the discretion of the Committee whether or not to vote at this time, he did not believe there would be more information forthcoming. Mr. Nissen proceeded to go over the material in the packet and listed the reasons why the SSC felt the Pearl Street School should be turned over to the Town for a municipal complex, i. e., good access, adequate parking, dumbwaiter which probably could be used as an elevator shaft, auditorium for meetings, and more square feet of space than the Town Hall and Library combined.