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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-07-25 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts Regular Meeting of the School Committee Open Session Date: July 25, 2011 Time: 8:00 p.m. (Open Session) Place: Superintendent's Conference Room School Committee Members Present Chuck Robinson Karen Janowski Lisa Gibbs Hal Croft Chris Caruso David Michaud Visitors: Hal Torman, Fincom Marcie West, Fincom Paula Perry, Fincom Barry Berman, Fincom Mark Dockser, Fincom David Greenfield, Fincom (cannot vote) Bob LeLacheur, Town Finance Director Jack Aherne I. Call to Order RECEIVED TOWN CLERK READING, MASS. 2019 OCT -° 3 P 2: 32 Staff Members Present John Doherty, Superintendent Mary DeLai, Director of Finance & Operations Patty de Garavilla, Assistant Superintendent Barbara Jones, Reading Chronicle Joanne Senders, Reading Advocate Matt Casey, Reading Patch Colleen Dolan, Executive Director — NEC Cathy Lawson, Executive Director — SEEM Bill Brown Chairperson Robinson called the meeting to order at 8:09 p.m. The Finance Committee was already in session. He reviewed the agenda and welcomed guests. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) Mr. Robert Kiley, Tennyson Circle, voiced concerns over recent band events held at RMHS. He feels that the noise level is unacceptable and asked the School Committee for relief from the band. Reports I 1. Student 2. Liaison 3. Superintendent's Report Dr. Doherty handed out an updated elementary enrollment and is pleased that the class sizes across the district are fairly even. We still receive calls daily from families moving into town. July 25, 2011 Dr. Doherty also reported on three band events that are being held at RMHS this summer. Three different organizations are using our facilities and in return they provide clinics for our high school band. They are also making a donation to be used to the band program. He has met with Mr. Bunten to be sure that the stadium use guidelines are being followed. The last event will occur on August 4t'. The summer hiring process is proceeding smoothly and the district is in good shape. The Wood End bus deadline is Friday and as of today 14 students have sent in deposits. Dr. Doherty reported that the district has been chosen to be an Early Adopter District for the new Educator Evaluation Process. In doing so the district will have access to DESE tools to make recommendations the Educator Evaluation System development. The district will be able to collaborate with other early adopter districts and have access to professional development opportunities at no cost. Dr. Doherty reviewed the upcoming restructuring of the District offices. One of the district goals is to meld regular and special education programs and to facilitate that the Assistant Superintendent and Director of Student Services will share an office that will be The Office of Learning and Teaching. The team chairs will be based in the buildings and will have a common meeting area in the Office of Learning and Teaching. 4. Assistant Superintendent Mrs. de Garavilla shared that there is a great deal of work being done in the area of curriculum at all levels this summer. She said that all of our K -5 teachers have been trained in Open Circle. There is also work being done at all levels on the Bullying Prevention curriculum. The elementary math committee is working on closing the gaps as they relate to the Common Core standards. There is also math work being done at the middle school level. The high school teachers are focusing on the literacy content areas for the science curriculum and project based learning as an interdisciplinary for juniors. The Library media specialists are updating curriculum. 5. Director of Finance and Operations Ms. DeLai updated the committee on the status of the two green repair projects. The windows have been ordered for Birch Meadow project. There will be kick off meetings for both projects this week. B. Continued Business C. New Business with Finance Committee Report from NEC and SEEM Dr. Doherty introduced Mrs. Dolan, NEC and Ms. Lawson, SEEM and gave a brief background of the two collaboratives. Mrs. Dolan and Ms. Lawson thanked the committees for the opportunity to speak this evening. Mrs. Dolan went on to explain how a collaborative is defined according to the Massachusetts General Laws. She explained that both NEC and SEEM take the spending of taxpayers money seriously and understand that districts struggle to balance their budgets. July 25, 2011 Ms. Lawson described the governance and structure of the SEEM Collaborative which consists of the Executive Director and a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is comprised of the 10 Superintendents of the member districts. The Chair and Financial Representative rotate annually among the Board of Directors. The Treasurer for the SEEM Collaborative is Board appointed and is an outside agent. Mrs. Dolan explained the make up of NEC. As with SEEM, the NEC board of Directors is made up of the 18 member Superintendents with members serving as Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. The Northshore Education Consortium also has support group, Friends of NEC which provides funding for the items that would not ordinarily be included in the yearly budget. This group supports only NEC. Each organization also has sub - committees with each member serving on the sub - committees. NEC has a Budget, Facility and Personnel sub - committee. SEEM has a Finance Committee that functions as an Executive Committee. Mrs. Dolan and Ms. Lawson went on to review the checks and balances in place to ensure that all safeguards are taken to protect the consortium funds. Both SEEM and NEC have done extensive policy and procedure review over the past year as well. Mr. Dockser asked about check signing procedures. Mrs. Dolan said that she, as Executive Director, signs the checks. Any check over $5,000 requires a second signature. NEC also requires all 18 members to sign the warrants. Ms. Lawson explained that the Treasurer is responsible for signing all checks for SEEM. Mr. Torman asked if either Consortium used purchasing cards. Ms. Lawson indicated SEEM will, at times, use credit card at Home Depot or similar retailers. All credit card purchases must be authorized by the executive Director. Mr. Berman asked Dr. Doherty about the time commitment to the two consortiums. Dr. Doherty explained that he is not involved in the day to day operation of the consortiums. His role is similar to that of the School Committee. Membership in the two consortiums has provided for significant professional development opportunities. Mr. Greenfield asked about wire transfers. Mrs. Dolan stated that the Executive Director and the CFO are authorized to perform these transfers. Mr. Berman asked how many students we had enrolled in the programs at NEC and SEEM. Reading has approximately 20 students enrolled in different programs. Chair Robinson thanks Mrs. Dolan and Ms. Lawson for attending the meeting. Award of Memorial Wall Replacement Contract Ms. DeLai indicated that 2 bids were submitted however one bid came in after the bid deadline so was disqualified. This left one qualified bidder, Advantage Glass of Cranston, RI.. Ms. DeLai is recommending that the contract be awarded to Advantage Glass. She indicated that the project deadline is September 1, 2011 and that there is a five year warranty. Upon further discussions and negotiations with Advantage Glass, they agreed to reduce the contract price to $59,000. Mrs. Janowski moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to authorize the Superintendent to enter into agreement with Advantage Glass Company of Cranston, RI to provide for the Installation and Construction of a Laminated Glass Panel Armed Services Memorial Wall at Reading Memorial High School. The motion carried 6 -0. Mr. Caruso asked if anything could be done with the old panels. Ms. DeLai said there had been discussion on this subject. Ideas included auctioning off the unbroken panels or to use them in district as tabletops or other ways. Mr. Berman asked about the design. Mr. Michaud stated the design is basically the same but the support system design has been improved. The contrast will be better making the detail more legible. Mr. LeLacheur explained the motion needed for a FINCOM Reserve Fund transfer. Mrs. Perry asked if we were confident in the design. Mr. Michaud said that we were. Mr. Greenfield asked if there was any recourse against the prior contractor. Ms. DeLai said there was not. Mr. LeLacheur read the proposed motion: Move to approve a FINCOM Reserve Fund transfer in the amount of $59,000 to the School Department budget. Ms. West so moved, seconded by Mr. Berman. The motion carried 5 -0 -0. Update on Contract Negotiations Dr. Doherty reported that the School Committee has reached agreement with all five collective bargaining units. The agreements provide for fiscal stability for the next three years. He thanked the unions for the good faith bargaining sessions and also Ms. DeLai, Ms. Conway and Mrs. de Garavilla for their hard work during the negotiation sessions. The Finance Committee asked clarifying questions to which Dr. Doherty provided detailed responses. FYI Budget Update Ms. DeLai was happy to report that all the school department cost centers were in the black and there would be no need for transfers. Ms. west moved, seconded by Mr. Dockser. to adiourn at 8:57 p.m. The motion carried 5 -0 -0. Mrs. Janowski moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to enter into Executive Session to conduct contract negotiations with Superintendent and approval of minutes and to reconvene to open session in approximately 20 minutes. The roll call vote was 6 -0. Mr. Robinson, Mr. Caruso, Mr. Michaud, Mrs. Gibbs, Mr. Croft and Mrs. Janowski. The meeting recessed at 8:58 p.m. Mr. Robinson called the open session meeting back to order at 9:21 p.m. Superintendent's Contract Mr. Robinson shared that the School Committee had agreed to a three year contract with Dr. Doherty effective July 1, 2011. Mrs. Janowski moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to authorize the Chair of the Reading School Committee to execute a new contract agreement, effective July 1, 2011, with Superintendent John F. Doherty that includes a base salary increase of 0% for the 2011 -12 school year. The committee authorizes the chair to execute this agreement through all other terms and conditions in an employment contract as revised for the term of three additional years. The motion carried 6 -0. July 25, 2011 D. New Business Reading School Committee Polite Dr. Doherty provided an overview of the three policies on the agenda. The policies have been recommended by MASC and are not in reaction to anything that is currently happening in the district. He also said that, per Mrs. Gibbs request, the Naming Policy will be reviewed in the fall. Social Networking Mrs. Janowski proceeded to read policy IJNDD — Social Networking Mrs. Gibbs moved, seconded by Mr. Croft, to waive the reading of the policy. The motion carried 6 -0. There was discussion regarding the use of Facebook groups and the importance of protecting the staff and teaching the students to use social networking sites appropriately. Mrs. Janowski does not want to inhibit educational opportunities. She also asked that "private networking sites" be clarified. There was discussion regarding staff members giving out cell phone numbers and private contact information. Dr. Doherty will make the necessary revisions for the next reading. Admission of Transfer Students Mrs. Janowski read policy JFABC. Mr. Caruso seconded to accept the reading. Service Animals Mrs. Janowski proceeded to read policy IMG — Animals in School. Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mrs. Gibbs, to waive the reading of the policy. The motion carried 6 -0. III. Routine Matters • Bills and Payroll (A) • Approval of Minutes Mrs. Janowski moved, seconded by Mr. Michaud, to approve the open session minutes dated July 6, 2011. The motion carried 6 -0. • Bids and Donations Donations Mrs. Janowski moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to accept a donation in the amount of $3,663.48 from the Parker PTO to be used to support educational technology. The motion carried 6 -0. Mrs. Janowski moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to accept a donation in the amount of $225 from the Wood End PTO to be used for a teacher to attend the Building Learning Communities Conference. The motion carried 6 -0. July 25, 2011 Mrs. Janowski moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to accept a donation from the Birch Meadow PTO to be used to purchase educational technology. The motion carried 6 -0. Calendar N. Information V. Future Business VI. Adjournment Mrs. Janowski moved, seconded by Mr. Croft to adiourn. The motion carried 6 -0. Meeting adjourned at 10:05 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. Reapproved 9.26.11 b t � J F. Dohertyj Ed.D. Sid rintendent of Schools