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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-01-22 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts Regular Meeting of the School Committee Open Session Date: January 22, 2013 Time: 7:00 p.m. Place: Superintendent's Conference Room School Committee Members Present Karen Janowski Mmd a 7:14 p.m. Chuck Robinson Chris Caruso Lisa Gibbs Hal Croft Visitors: Eric Sprang, Birch Meadow Principal Lynn Dunn, Director of Nursing Tom Zaya, Assistant Principal for Athletics Joe Huggins, Director of Facilities Matt Wilson, Network Administrator I. Call to Order Staff Members Present John Doherty, Superintendent -art .d a 7:14p.. Mary DeLai, Assistant Superintendent- artived a 7:14 p.m. Patty de Garavilla, Assistant Superintendent Alison Elmer, Director of Student Services Conner Traugot, Student Representative Barbara Jones, Reading Chronicle Linda Snow - Dockser RPS Budget Parents Vice - Chairperson Croft called the School Committee to order at 7:11 p.m. Donation (out of order) Mrs. de Garavilla shared that the donation will be divided between the schools that are hosting the Korean students. Mrs. Janowski, Dr. Doherty and Ms. DeLai arrived at 7:14 p.m. Mrs. Janowski called a brief recess. The Chair called the meeting back to order at 7:19 p.m. January 22, 2013 She reviewed the agenda and welcomed guests. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) Reports I 1. Student Conner Tmugot shared that the RMHS sophomores and juniors have completed their National History Day projects and they are on display in the Distance Learning Room and also available on a wiki through the high school website. 2. Liaison Mrs. Gibbs said that the Martin Luther King event held yesterday was powerful. The event was well attended and there were performances from many of our students. Mrs. Gibbs congratulated the Coolidge Middle School Drama group on the production of the Wizard of Oz. Mrs. Janowski agreed and was pleased that there was representation from all levels. She also said the speaker was excellent and very engaging. 3. Superintendent Dr. Doherty thanked the Human Relations Advisory Committee for putting together the event that had so many different community and school groups participating. Today was the first day of the juniors Real World Problem Solving of which the Superintendent is a facilitator. B. Continued Business C. New Business FYI School Building Maintenance Cost Center Ms. DeLai reviewed the makeup and functions of this cost center. She reviewed the drivers to this cost center. As with all cost centers, contractual collective bargaining salary increases make up a major portion of the budget. The budget include water & sewer rate increases and meter increases, declining natural gas cost, continued reductions in electricity consumption and maintenance of security systems. She then reviewed the staffing budget by object and square foot maintenance expense by building. She pointed out areas that the cost per square foot is larger. Birch Meadow has an increased amount because of a medical leave of absence and the need to pay a substitute and the Coolidge Middle School heating costs are greater because the heating system at the school is the oldest system in the district. January 22, 2013 Mrs. Gibbs asked why the Coolidge boilers were not addressed during the performance contracting. Dr. Doherty and Ms. DeLai explained that at that time the boilers still had useful years left in them and were not addressed. Mr. Robinson asked about the Extraordinary Maintenance line. He does not recall seeing in before. Ms. DeLai indicated that the budget is now aligning with the DESE codes. The items in that line have always been accounted for, just a different name. Ms. DeLai thanked the Facilities and Maintenance Department for the great job they have done to decrease electricity consumption. Mr. Croft pointed out that the square foot cost to heat some of our buildings is extraordinarily low. FY14 Town Building Maintenance Cost Center Ms. DeLai continued reviewing the Town Building Maintenance budget. Mr. Robinson referred to the decrease in the Library budget and asked how the Town Manager was addressing his Library budget. Ms. DeLai said that the budget is not decreasing; it is accounting for staff being in another location during the renovation period. FY14 Special Revenue Funds Ms. DeLai reviewed grants, revolving funds and budget offsets. She indicated that all indications point to reductions in IDEA and Title 1 funding. She then reviewed user fees and tuitions. There will be no increase in fees and tuitions in this budget. Mrs. Janowski asked if there has been a change in the number of families that have requested financial assistance. Ms. DeLai indicated that we have not seen any change in requests and there has been no drop off in participation. Mr. Croft asked if the Superintendent oversees the Town Building Maintenance Department. He would like to know if this is the case how much time does the Superintendent spend overseeing this department. Superintendent Doherty said the town side is managed by Ms. DeLai and Mr. Huggins. This agreement has been in place since the mid 90's when services were consolidated. Many communities have consolidated their building maintenance departments. FY14 District -wide Programs Ms. DeLai reviewed the Health Services, Athletics, Extracurricular and District Technology. She shared that Mr. Zaya hopes to implement an online registration system for the spring season. This system would eliminate much of the paperwork done by his assistant. January 22, 2013 Mrs. Gibbs and Mr. Robinson asked about the inequity in home games and asked to what extent the Superintendent s of the league are involved in the scheduling decisions. Mr. Croft thanked Mr. Zaya for great forethought in implementing online registration. Mrs. Janowski asked what operating system the district purchases with new computers. Mr. Wilson said the district is purchasing Windows 7 for PCs. That is what our network is set up to use. He also shared when purchasing new equipment he is in tune with teacher input. Mrs. Janowski asked for clarification on the role of the computer technicians and asked if we have an adequate number to maintain our computers. Ms. DeLai responded that it is not but we have improved the ratio between techs and computers. Mr. Robinson asked if the department heads would be able to attend the meeting on Thursday evening. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) b. Approval of Minutes c. Bids and Donations Calendar IV. Information V. Future Business VI. Adioumment Meeting adjourned at 8:37 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. o F. Doherty, Ed.D. rintendent of Schools