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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-04-10 School Committee MinutesReading School Committee Reading, Massachusetts Regular Session April 10, 2003 CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Dahl called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Present were School Committee Members Carpenter, Cavicchi, Dahl, McFadden, Russo and Spadafora. Also present were Superintendent Harutunian and Associate Superintendent Richards. SCHOOL COMMITTEE REORGANIZATION Vice Chair Dahl passed the gavel to Dr. Harutunian. Dr. Harutunian asked for nominations for Chairman. Mr. Russo stated that he has decided not to nominate anyone as it may well be the death of that person. Mr. Carpenter moved to place the name of Harvey Pete Dahl in nomination for Chairman. Ms. Cavicchi seconded the motion. The vote was 6-0 Mr. Carpenter, Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo and Mr. Spadafora. Mr. Dahl stated that if he is elected Chair it is his intention to push to get the high school project on the state list and get the project moving forward. Chair Dahl asked for nominations for vice chairman. Ms. Cavicchi nominated Mr. Spadafora for vice - chairman. Mr. Carpenter seconded the motion. Mr. Carpenter, Ms. Cavicchi and Mr. Spadafora voted yes. The motion did not carry. Mr. Dahl nominated Mr. McFadden for vice - chairman. Mr. Russo seconded the motion. Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden and Mr. Russo voted yes. The motion did not carry. The Committee members discussed their reasons for supporting Mr. McFadden and Mr. Spadafora. Mr. McFadden and Mr. Spadafora spoke on the strengths they would bring to the position of vice chair. Mr. Dahl asked for a second vote on the nomination of Mr. Spadafora for vice - chairman. Mr. Carpenter, Ms. Cavicchi and Mr. Spadafora voted yes. The motion did not carry. Mr. Dahl asked for a second vote on the nomination of Mr. McFadden. Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden and Mr. Russo voted yes. The motion carried. Reeular Session --'2 April 10, 2003 Mr. Spadafora asked that a third vote be taken to make the nomination of Mr. McFadden for vice - chairman unanimous. The vote was 6-0 in favor of Mr. McFadden for vice - chairman Mr. Carpenter, Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, and Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo and Mr. Spadafora. Chair Dahl welcomed Mr. Carpenter and Mr. Spadafora to the Committee. Dr. Harutunian asked that the Committee notify him by Monday if they planned to attend the Middlesex meeting on April 16`h. PARKER PRINCIPAL SEARCH Dr. Harutunian reviewed the process to be used for the Parker principal search. He asked the Committee to vote to accept the policy. The vote was 6-0 Mr. Carpenter, Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl. Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo and Mr. Spadafora. HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT Dr. Harutunian distributed a draft letter to Dave Finney of Design Partnership authorizing him to move forward with the high school project to prepared for SBA submittal for a fee not to exceed $400,000. Dr. Harutunian discussed the SBA list and his discussions with our state representatives and senator. Mr. Carpenter stated that the voters overwhelmingly supported the high school and the Committee needs to follow through as promised. He stated that the Committee should ask Design Partnership to provide information on the cost of putting the project on hold after June I". Mr. Russo stated that he believed Flansburgh should have provided the Town with a set of schematics that would be approvable by the SBA. Mr. Russo questioned whether the June 1't deadline had been moved to August. Dr. Harutunian stated that was not his understanding of the agreement with Flansburgh and he believed that the Chair of the School Building Committee agrees with him but he would check again with the Chair. Dr. Harutunian advised that the June 1" date has been moved to June 30''. Regular Session 3 April 10., 2003 Mr. Russo stated that he has concerns about the entire SBA program and whether the Committee should move forward with any of the building projects. He stated that the Committee needs to be financially prudent. Ms. Cavicchi stated that the Committee reconfirmed their vote that they would not move forward a project that was not reimbursable. Chair Dahl agreed and that the SBA list is still a preliminary list and the Committee should move forward until the list is confirmed. Mr. McFadden asked how the $400,000 figure was determined and what services it included. Dr. Harutunian stated that he believed the majority of the cost would be preliminary design work. Mr. Dahl agreed with Mr. Russo that the Committee should be financially prudent. He stated that SBA reimbursement will never be this high, interest rates are probably at their lowest and construction costs are also very low. He stated that the Committee needs to move forward until there is a confirmed SBA list. Mr. Dahl also discussed accreditation issues and safety issues at the high school Dr. Harutunian stated that he received a call from Building Pride and they were scheduling an organizational meeting to contact the Governor and State Representatives regarding the high school project. He stated that Representative Jones' recommendation was that the Committee continue to move forward until the list is finalized. Mr. Spadafora stated that he did not think a vote was necessary. He stated that we should move forward as we have done with other building projects and follow the advice of our State Representative. Mr. Carpenter stated that at a first glance in his opinion $400,000 is a reasonable fee for the work to be performed. Dr. Harutunian stated that he would like the Committee to give him authorization to stop Design Partnership immediately if it is determined that the high school project is not reimbursable. Mr. Russo stated that Flansburgh should have given schematics that would be approval by the SBA. Regular Session 4 April 10, 2003 Mr. Hines stated his concern that a scope of work be provided to the Committee. He urged the Committee not to authorize the work until the situation becomes clearer. Mr. Carpenter moved to instruct the Superintendent to transmit the letter to Design Partnership dated April 11, 2003 and to instruct the architect to proceed with the preparation of the submittal packaee and to provide the Superintendent with a discussion on where to eo neat. Also. Wwhen the Superintendent Bets sufficient information that the project is not reimbursable that he notifies the architect to stop work and the School Committee forthwith. Mr. McFadden seconded the motion. The vote was 5-1 Mr. Carpenter, Ms. Cavicchi_ Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Spadafora voted ves Mr. Russo voted no. Mrs. Phillips stated that Flansburgh was hired to provide the Town of Reading with a reimbursable option from the SBA and they should help get what is needed to be done to make the deadline. She stated that it is a breach of trust for the Committee to move forward without knowing whether the project is reimbursable. Dr. Harutunian stated that he had spoken to the Chair of the School Building Committee and he indicated that Flansburgh had fulfilled all aspects of their contract. Mr. Carpenter stated that he doesn't understand Mrs. Phillips comments because if the Committee waited to have a reimbursable project they would not have moved forward with a special election or the hiring of Flansburgh. Mr. Phillips asked to be recognized. Chair Dahl stated that the last time Mr. Phillips spoke to the Committee he insulted a member of the Committee and he asked Mr. Phillips for an apology to that member. Mr. Phillips said there would be no apology proceeded with his comment. Mr. Dahl repeatedly asked him to stop. Mr. Phillips stopped his comment and stated that Mr. Dahl would be hearing from his lawyer. Ms. Mandell stated that the new advisory from the state says don't spend money on design work if you haven't done so. She stated that designs where not submitted by mid - March and asked what the state evaluated in order not to put us on the list. Dr. Harutunian stated that the seven criteria listed on the advisory was the determination for what was approved. Regular Session 5 April 10, 2003 Mr. Carpenter read from Massachusetts General Laws regarding disruption of public meetings. Mr. Hines urged the School Committee to hear opinions that differed from theirs. Chair Dahl and Mr. Phillips discussed their differing opinion on what occurred at the previous meeting. Mr. Phillips told Mr. Dahl that he wanted an apology. Mr. Russo stated that he did not believe that Mr. Phillips was disrupting the meeting. He asked for civility. Mr. Hines stated that if there are security issues at the high school they should be addressed immediately. ADJOURN At 7.20 p.m. Mr. Spadafora moved to adiourn. Mr. Russo seconded the motion. The vote was 6-0 Mr. Carpenter, Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo and Mr. Sgadafora. Respectfully submitted, Harry K. Harutunian, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools