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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-11 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts Regular Meeting of the School Committee Open Session Date: June 11, 2012 Time: 7:00 p.m. Place: Superintendent's Conference Room School Committee Members Present Karen Janowski Hal Croft Chuck Robinson Lisa Gibbs Chris Caruso Rob Spadafora Arrived at 7:53 p.m. Arrived at 8:00 p.m. Visitors: Peter Hechenbleikner, Town Manager Barry Berman, Fincom member Paula Perry, Fincom member Mark Dockser, Fincom member Hal Torman, Fincom member Jeanne Borawski, Fincom member David Greenfield, Fincom member Patti & Bob Beckman, PSST Members of the PSST I. Call to Order Staff Members Present John Doherty, Superintendent Patty de Garavilla, Assistant Superintendent Mary DeLai, Director of Finance & Operations Alison Elmer, Director of Student Services Maham Ahmed, Student Representative Conner Traugot, Student Representative Barbara Jones, Reading Chronicle Steve Goldy, Selectmna James Bonazoli, Selectman Frank Locker, Educational Planning Consultant Martha Sybert, School Business Assistant Members of the Band Parent Organization Chairperson Janowski called the School Committee to order at 7:04 p.m. She reviewed the agenda and welcomed guests. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) Reports I 1. Student Ms. Ahmed reported on the recent drama and track banquets and the upcoming final exams. Mr. Traugot reported on the recent career day for juniors and the Endslow Tribute over the weekend. June 11, 2012 2. Liaison Mrs. Janowski followed up on the Endslow tribute. She said it was a wonderful evening. 3. Superintendent 4. Assistant Superintendent Mrs. de Garavilla updated the School Committee on the curriculum work that will be ongoing throughout the summer. The district is working in collaboration with SEEM and several other districts to develop math power standards and core assessment tools. She feels this collaboration is very beneficial because of the ability to share ideas. We are also working with UMass- Lowell on the English Language Arts Common Core Standards. B. Continued Business FYI Budget Transfers (out of order) Ms. DeLai updated the School Committee on the status of the FY12 budget and outlined the proposed budget transfers. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to authorize the transfer of $100,000 from the Regular Day Cost Center to the Special Education Cost Center. The motion carried 4 -0. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to authorize the transfer of $100,000 from the School Building Maintenance Cost Center to the Special Education Cost Center. The motion carried 4 -0. Naming of Facilities Nomination Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to approve the naming of the RMHS Performing Arts Center, the William Endslow Performing Arts Center in accordance with the recommendations of the naming sub - committee and Policy FF. Mr. Spadafora said that he reflected on this nomination for a long while and feels it is well deserved and he will support the nomination. Mrs. Gibbs also will support this nomination and shared how the tribute to Mr. Endslow reinforced her decision. Mr. Robinson & Mr. Caruso echoed the sentiments and will also support this nomination. Mrs. Janowski reviewed the policy and Mr. Endslow holds all the qualities outlined and is well deserving of this honor. Mr. Croft feels that Bill Endslow's contributions to teaching are timeless and the plaque honoring him should have his teaching philosophy mentioned. Mr. Rich Salz spoke on behalf of the Band parents Organization. He feels that this vote is premature and does not believe that this process was advertised enough to get the word out to June 11, 2012 other groups. He feels that perhaps the drama suite should be considered instead of the whole Performing Arts Center. RMHS graduate Meghan McWeeney spoke of her support of the naming sharing that Mr. Endslow showed her compassion when she was ill and treated her like everyone else. His kindness helped her get through a difficult time in her life. Mr. Charlie Arthur, BPO parent shared his thoughts about the naming just a portion of the stadium after Mr. Hollingsworth. But after reflection he felt that was the proper thing to do because there may be other worthy nominations for other parts of the stadium. He feels that taking a very important facility and naming it after one person is not the right thing to do. He suggested that naming the Drama Suite in honor of Mr. Endslow. Mr. Caruso reminded the audience that the School Committee is acting on the recommendations of the Sub - Committee. Mr. Bob Beckman, PSST member, shared his thoughts on the nomination. Mr. Brian Mahoney, BPO member, shared his thoughts on the process. The School Committee Chair called for the vote on the motion. The motion carried 6 -0. Superintendent's Evaluation Superintendent Doherty reviewed the new process and reminded the School Committee that only part of the process has been completed for this year. Starting in September the full process will begin with (1) self - assessment, analysis, (2) goal setting and plan development, (3) implementation of the Educator Plan and data collection and (4) formative assessment/evaluation and summative evaluation. Mrs. Gibbs reviewed the summative evaluation. Mrs. Janowski thanked Mrs. Gibbs for taking on this task. She feels that Dr. Doherty has had an excellent year and looks forward to continued growth both as Superintendent and as a district. Mr. Robinson thanked Dr. Doherty for his efforts. He also feels the Superintendent has developed his own identity and leadership style. He lauded him on the relationship building that was evident during collective bargaining. Dr. Doherty thanked the School Committee and felt the individual conversations were very valuable. Friends and Family Day Mrs. de Garavilla reviewed the plans for the day. A sign -up sheet was circulated for table coverage. June 11, 2012 C. New Business Procurement Card Presentation (out of order) Ms. DeLai introduced Martha Sybert, School Business Assistant who will be presenting the information on the procurement card program. The program is being offered through MASBO. Ms. Sybert presented information on the Procurement Card Program. She indicated that procurement cards have been used in the private sector for years and they operate similar to a credit card but do not have a line of credit. Usage and authorization parameters would be established by the district administration. Advantages of using procurement cards would be to allow purchases from vendors that do not accept purchase orders, minimize the need for employee reimbursement, provides a safe and secure option for overseas field trips and the program offers an annual rebate on the total value of purchases and there are no fees associated with the procurement card program. Ms. Sybert went on to explain the P -Card security controls that would be in place which include transaction limit per charge, monthly limits, use can be monitored 24/7 and monthly bill reconciliation. The use of procurement cards is not intended to bypass good buying habits. The purchaser will obtain a receipt for all transactions which will be matched to the requisitions and documentation turned over to the Program Coordinator. The Program Coordinator will oversee the users and use of the procurement cards as well as setting spending limits. Mrs. Janowski was concerned about the misuse of the cards. There are many safeguards and methods of monitoring the use of the cards. Mr. Caruso asked how many other districts were using the procurement cards. Ms. DeLai said there were approximately 15 districts that are currently using this system. Ms. DeLai briefly reviewed the draft policy which the School Committee will hold the first reading at an upcoming meeting. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Soadafora, that the School Committee approves the implementation of a Procurement Card Program for Reading Public Schools and directs the Superintendent, on behalf of the School Committee, to request that the Board of Selectman of the Town of Reading adopts the resolution authorizing the Town to enter into an agreement with the Bank of Montreal to acquire procurement cards on behalf of the Reading School Department. The motion carried 4 -0. Elementary Space Study Presentation Ms. DeLai introduced Mr. Frank Locker, Educational Planning Consultant, who will be presenting the findings on the elementary space survey. Mr. Locker provided an overview of his study. Tonight's presentation will focus on the purpose and sequence of the study, enrollment, capacity and building size, the educational vision and short and long term options. Reading has high achieving schools with great programs in small buildings which sit on small sites. The study looked at the educational adequacy of space at the pre - school and elementary schools. Using this data short and long term options were developed with consideration given to June 11, 2012 enrollment trends, capacity, space and quality of space, flexibility, instructional practices and programmatic needs. Mr. Locker then discussed enrollment projections at both the elementary and pre - school levels. He reviewed current and projected enrollments and building capacity. The capacity is the measure of the number of students the building can hold based on the programs in the building. Based on the high enrollment projections the elementary schools will exceed program capacity in five years. Mr. Robinson arrived at 7:53 p.m. The discussion moved to capacity and building size. Currently the elementary schools enrollment is at 96.5% of total building program capacity. All of the elementary school sites are small and highly developed. Our principals are doing a great job making small spaces work. At the time of the school renovations the DESE oversaw the process and building square footage requirements were less. The DESE did not take into account the need for dedicated spaces for guidance and special education. The MSBA now oversees building projects and the square footage guidelines have increased. Mrs. Gibbs arrived at 8:00 p.m. Mr. Locker then reviewed key points of the district educational vision which include a pre- school that is in a single center with highly focused multiple staff specialists and resources, full day kindergarten as the norm, the ability to maintain programs such as Response to Intervention, areas for active hands on learning, longer preschool hours and flexible classrooms that allow for multiple learning modalities. Technology is also a priority and the ability to provide facilities to support learning from new media. The special education programs continue to grow and the ability to maintain these programs in our buildings is important to the continued growth of the district. Fincom member Paula Perry asked if thought was given to K -2 and 3 -5 building options. Dr. Doherty said that that type of option would involve increased transportation and operational costs and may not be the best approach. Fincom member Barry Berman asked for more information on how the enrollment projections were developed. Dr. Doherty indicated that at the time of the renovations the district did not provide a full day kindergarten option and special education programing were not taken into account. Program needs and pre - school will dictate what happens next. Discussion continued on how to meet enrollment demands. Mr. Locker outlined administrative approaches to address these demands which include the ability of the Superintendent to assign students based on class size, the introduction of multi -age classrooms, remove RISE from Wood End and reassign the classroom to general use, reassign the music /art rooms to classroom use and increase class sizes. Options that would include a degree of physical change and cost would be adding modular classrooms at one or several of the elementary schools and convert the breakout pits at Killam to classrooms. June 11, 2012 He reviewed the costs of building a RISE building only, additions to 3 of the 5 elementary schools, a new pre - school - kindergarten building and a new kindergarten thru grade 5 building. Mr. Robinson asked how long a modular classroom would last. Mr. Locker indicated that modular would be part of a short term solution. Mrs. Gibbs asked where we go from here. Mrs. Janowski indicated that tonight's presentation was informational and the School Committee would discuss the study further on July 23`a Mrs. Janowski thanked Mr. Locker and called a brief recess at 9:01 p.m. The meeting was called back to order at 9:07 p.m. 111. Routine Matters • Bills and Payroll (A) • Approval of Minutes Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Spadafora, to approve the open session minutes dated June 4, 2012. The motion carried 6 -0. • Bids and Donations (out of order) Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to accept the donation in the amount of $12,965.28 from the Wood End PTO to be used to support technology at the Wood End School. The motion carried 4 -0. classes at the Wood End School. The motion carried 4 -0. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to accept the donation in the amount of $948.40 from the Wood End After School Fun Program to reimburse the school for the paper used over the year. The motion carried 4 -0. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to accept the donation in the amount of $400 from the Young Women's League to the Parker Middle School. The motion carried 4 -0. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to accept the donation in the amount of $2803.97 from the Joshua Eaton PTO to be used for technology purchases. The motion carried 4 -0. Calendar IV. Information V. Future Business VI. Adiournment June 11, 2012 Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Robinson, move to enter into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to negotiations with non -union personnel and to return to open session at approximately 10:30 pm. On a roll call vote the carried 6 -0. Mr. Robinson. Mr. Croft, Mr. Spadafora, Mrs. Janowski, Mrs. Gibbs and Mr. Caruso. Meeting adjourned at 9:57 p.m. Mrs. Janowski called the meeting back to order at 10:55 p.m. Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Caruso, to authorize the Chair of the Reading School Committee to execute a new contract agreement, effective July 1, 2012, with Mary DeLai that includes a title change to Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Administration. The motion carried 6 -0. Superintendent's Contract Mr. Croft moved, seconded by Mr. Spadafora, to increase the salary of the Superintendent by 2.25% for the 2012 -13 school year. The motion carried 6 -0. Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mr. Spadafora, to adjourn. The motion carried 6 -0. Meeting adjourned at 11:00 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. Wj* J F. ohe , Ed.D. erintendent of Schools