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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-03-11 School Committee MinutesReading School Committee Reading, Massachusetts Regular Session March 11, 2003 CALL TO ORDER At 5:40 p.m. Chair Griset called the meeting to order. Present were School Committee Members Cavicchi, Dahl, Griset, McFadden, Russo and Twomey. Also present was Superintendent Harutunian. AMENDMENT OF POLICY DJCA Ms. Cavicchi moved that the School Committee move to amend the Reading School Committee Designer Policy as follows: Paragraph 2 shall be amended as follows: The School Committee (hereinafter "Awarding Authority ") may establish an Advisory Committee (hereinafter "Committee ") preferably of non- school committee members, to evaluate and select at least three finalists to be considered by the Awarding Authority. If the Awarding Authority chooses not to establish an Advisory Committee. the Awarding Authority may review all proposals and select a limited number of finalists. The selection of the finalists will be based on: experience, past performance, financial capabilities, qualifications of consultants who are listed as Dartv to the proiect by the designer and any other criteria the Committee and/or the Awarding Authority considers relevant. If applicable the Committee shall rank the finalists in order of qualifications or describe them as equally qualified, and provide a record of its final vote and may include a written statement explaining its actions for the ranking or its choices. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion. The vote was 5-1 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Mr. Griset. Mr. McFadden and Mr. Twomey voted yes. Mr. Russo voted no. Mr. Russo stated that yesterday he voted in favor of this motion, but he had decided this is a situation that he is not in favor of. He stated his concern that the Committee not violate the designer selection laws. Dr. Harutunian stated that he has received a legal opinion from the Attorney General's office. Mr. Russo stated that the community has spoken on these projects, but he wants to be sure things are done properly. Dr. Harutunian distributed questions the Committee will ask the architects. Dr. Harutunian distributed a draft evaluation for the architect interviews. He asked the Committee to send changes to him by Thursday. Regular Session 2 March 11, 2003 Mr. McFadden discussed his concern with the questions and whether the Committee was limited to those questions. Mr. Twomey stated the questions are only a reference point and the Committee is free to ask any and all questions. Mr. Russo stated his concern that the process was being rushed. SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH CONSULTANTS Edward Gotgart from NESDEC gave a presentation on the way NESDEC handles a superintendent search. Mr. Twomey thanked Mr. Gotgart for his presentation and asked who would actually be working with the Committee. Mr. Gotgart stated that there are several excellent employees at NESDEC who would be right for the job. Mr. Russo asked why some communities decide not to use consulting services. Mr. Gotgart stated that Maine and Vermont have lower pay scales and not a lot of people from out of state apply for those positions. He stated that Maine has a management association that is spun off from the Maine School Board Association and they provide a mailing list. Mr. Dahl asked how often out -of -state candidates pull out of the process after they have been named a finalist. Mr. Gotgart stated that candidates pulling out of the process after being named a finalist is a rare thing. He stated that they walk each candidate through a simulation of contract salary, benefits and other terms and conditions and ask if they are offered the position would they accept. Mr. Dahl asked about using focus groups. He asked if NESDEC would forego using focus groups if the community decided to speed up the process and if the fee would be adjusted accordingly. Mr. Gotgart stated yes to both questions. He stated that not every community needs focus groups. He stated if a community already has their finger on the pulse of the community needs, there is no need to do focus groups. Ms. Cavicchi stated that she believed the last search committee did not include a member of the School Committee and asked Mr. Gotgart to state the pros and cons of choosing Regular Session 3 March 11, 2003 that route. She also asked whether travel costs for out -of- district candidates were negotiable. Mr. Gotgart stated that the Committee would be entrusting an important piece of the search to a non - biased group of people and that speaks volumes to the Committee's confidence in the community. He stated that the Committee should reserve the right to include someone that the search committee did not recommend but not exclude anyone they did recommend. He stated that out -of -state costs are negotiable. Mr. Russo asked what makes NESDEC unique from the other firms that do superintendent searches. Mr. Gotgart stated that NESDEC has 21 years of experience and has done over 200 searches and NESDEC network capabilities are unmatched. Mr. Twomey asked if the Committee wanted to interview the consultants who would actually be working on the search could a meeting be arranged. Mr. Gotgart stated that would not be a problem. The Committee thanked Mr. Gotgart for his presentation. EXECUTIVE SESSION At 6:50 p.m. Ms. Cavicchi moved to enter into executive session to discuss the possible sale or lease of real estate and to discuss the deployment of security personnel or devices to return to regular session at 7:30 p.m. Mr. McFadden seconded the motion. The vote was 6-0 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Mr. Griset, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo and Mr. Twomey. CALL BACK TO ORDER Chair Griset called the meeting back to order at 7:32 p.m. Phil Devaux gave a presentation on Devaux & Associates Superintendent Search Committee. Mr. McFadden stated that the timeline indicates that Devaux & Associates would screen 40 candidates and refer 8 to the Committee. He asked who would design the brochure and Mr. Devaux's opinion on the salary range for the Reading superintendent. Mr. Devaux stated that some districts want to review all candidates and some do not. He stated that he recommends the Committee interview 8 to 10 candidates but review all applications. Mr. Devaux stated that he would create the brochure with input from the Committee and focus groups. Mr. Devaux stated that he believes the salary range is $125,000 to $150,000. Regular Session 4 March 11, 2003 Mr. Dahl asked if Mr. Devaux would be willing to sign an agreement not to come back and recruit the new superintendent for another position. Mr. Devaux said that he would, but that he could not prevent someone for applying for a position. Mr. Dahl asked how many candidates applied for the Gloucester position. Mr. Devaux stated that there were 28 candidates, 13 experienced superintendents and 15 assistant superintendents. Ms. Cavicchi asked if Mr. Devaux was more in favor of the full School Committee screening candidates rather than using a screening committee. Mr. Devaux stated that the School Committee should be able to introduce candidates into the pool. He stated that overall he does not favor the screening committee process as the School Committee receives 3 names and has no input into the process. Ms. Cavicchi asked what a superintendent's priorities would be in choosing to work in a community. Mr. Devaux stated that working conditions, the School Committee, salary, MCAS rank and employee -staff salaries would all play a factor in deciding to work in a community. Mr. Twomey asked if Mr. Devaux had any administrative staff. Mr. Devaux stated that he uses subcontractors. Mr. Twomey asked how many searches Mr. Devaux has done and if he would do other searches at the same time he is doing Reading's search.- Mr. Devaux stated he had done the Gloucester search. He stated that he prefers to do one search at a time and Gloucester would be wrapping up in a week or so. Mr. Twomey asked how Mr. Devaux was selected for the Gloucester search. Mr. Devaux stated-that in the last search Gloucester had decided they would not use a consultant and this time they wanted someone to assist with the search. He stated that Gloucester determined that it would be more cost beneficial to have him do the search as opposed to using an hourly rate. Mr. Twomey asked about the type of networking Mr. Devaux has. Mr. Devaux discussed his connections throughout New England. Regular Session = 5 March 11, 2003 Mr. Russo asked if the pool of candidates is shallow or deep right now. Mr. Devaux stated that for Reading he believed the pool would be healthy. The Committee thanked Mr. Devaux for his presentation. Mr. Glenn Koocher of MASC gave a presentation on the Massachusetts Association of School Committee search proposal. Mr. Twomey asked Mr. Koocher to define his role versus the role of Mike Gilbert. Mr. Koocher stated that he would supervise and review step by step the search process. He stated that in the past he has done most of the focus group work. Mr. Twomey asked currently how many searches Mike Gilbert is involved with and whether they would overlap. Mr. Koocher stated that they are working on three searches in Massachusetts and working with 5 to 7 districts providing technical assistance. Mr. Russo asked what the typical search time is. Mr. Koocher stated anywhere from 2 to 4 months depending on how quickly the Committee wants to move. The Committee thanked Mr. Koocher for his presentation. Mr. Lyle Kirtman of Future Management Systems gave a presentation on their superintendent search proposal. Ms. Daly reviewed the Future Management Systems timeline. Mr. Russo asked how many years FMS had been in business. Mr. Kirtman stated that they have been in business since 1979. Mr. Twomey asked Mr. Kirtman to elaborate on recruitment of non - traditional candidates. He asked if Mr. Kirtman would be personally involved in the search. Mr. Kirtman stated that there has not been tremendous success with non - traditional candidates in suburbs but more in urban areas. Mr. Kirtman stated that he would lead the search and Richard Warren and Donna Daly would also be working on the search. Mr. Dahl asked if the Committee was early or late in the process. Regular Session 6 March 11, 2003 Mr. Kirtman stated that we are late in the process. Mr. Dahl stated that since Mr. Kirtman actively recruited Reading's Superintendent he expected we would get a discount. Mr. Kirtman stated that Reading's Superintendent is not someone that he had tried to recruit on a regular basis, but when he sees a match, he tries to make people aware of it. Ms. Cavicchi asked why national searches do not usually have long -term success. Mr. Kirtman stated that reference checks are more difficult and it is harder to check out detailed information. He stated that this area of the country has not had a problem with quality pools, and he did not think he would be wise to go national and not be able to do thorough reference checks. Mr. McFadden asked that since Mr. Kirtman took Reading's superintendent would he be willing to sign an agreement not to place a superintendent in more that one town. Mr. Kirtman stated that he would be willing to sign an agreement, but he could not prevent someone for applying for a position. The Committee thanked Mr. Kirtman for his presentation. The Committee discussed each of the presentations of each of the superintendent search consultants. Mr. Twomey moved to appoint Future Management System as the superintendent search consultant. Ms. Cavicchi seconded the motion. The vote was 3 -3 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Griset and Mr. Twomey voted yes, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden and Mr. Russo voted no. The motion did not carry. Mr. Russo stated that he would like to wait a day before making a decision. The Committee discussed the negatives of having a caretaker superintendent for a year if the process is delayed. Mr. Russo moved to select Devaux and Associates as the superintendent search consultant. Mr. McFadden seconded the motion. The vote was 3 -3 Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden and Mr. Russo voted yes, Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Griset and Mr. Twomey voted no. The motion did not carry. Re ular Session 7 March 11, 2003 The Committee discussed requesting a reduction in the fee from Future Management Systems. Mr. Dahl moved to accept Future Management Systems as the superintendent search consultant contingent on successfully negotiations which would include a significant discount of at least 15% off the fee. Mr. McFadden seconded the motion. The vote was 5 -1 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Mr. Griset, Mr. McFadden and Mr. Twomey voted yes, Mr. Russo voted no. I:TaZi1119i At 11.00 p.m. Mr. Dahl moved to adiourn. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion._ The vote was 6-0 Ms. Cavicchf. Mr. Dahl Mr. Griset, Mr. McFadden Mr. Russo and Mr. Twomey. Respectfully submitted, Harry K. Harutunian, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools