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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-08-25 School Committee MinutesReading School Committee Reading, Massachusetts Regular Session August 25 2003 CALL TO ORDER Chair Dahl called the meeting to order in the Superintendent's Conference Room at 7:35 p.m. Present were School Committee members Carpenter, Dahl, McFadden, Russo, Spadafora and Webb. Also present were Superintendent Schettini and Associate Superintendent Richards. BILLS & PAYROLL Bills and payrolls were circulated. CITIZENS INPUT There was no citizen input. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT Superintendent Schettini stated that there would be a district -wide faculty meeting at the high school tomorrow. He updated the Committee on maintenance work at the schools in preparation for the opening of school on Thursday. Chair Dahl stated that there are no liaison reports this evening. Superintendent Schettini stated that on either September 8th or 22nd the Committee needs to schedule an executive session to approve minutes. Chair Dahl stated that the September 81h meeting scheduled for Barrows has been rescheduled for the Superintendent's Conference Room and the September 22nd School Committee meeting will be held at the Barrows Elementary School. RMHS PRESENTATION Dave Finney introduced the staff from Design Partnership. Keith Hoffses gave an overview of the high school project. Mr. McFadden asked the high school principal if the design meets the needs of the school. Mr. Orlando stated that he and the high school staff had several meetings with the architect to give input and that the design meets the needs of the school. Regular Session 2 August 25, 2003 Chair Dahl asked what the capacity of the distance - learning lab is. Mr. Bell advised that the capacity is 76 in the lab set up and higher than that without the lab set up. Mr. Spadafora asked if there was any space in the high school similar to the current lecture hall and how much thought was given to the location of the library. Mr. Hoffses stated that the lecture hall space is inflexible and that the new distance learning area would be the new equivalent to a lecture hall. He stated that the location of the library was good structurally and allowed ample natural light. Chair Dahl questioned whether there were adequate bathroom facilities at the auditorium area. Mr. Hoffses stated that the facilities meet code. After discussion Mr. Hoffses stated that Design Partnership would look at the possibility of moving an electrical closet and expanding the women's restroom. Chair Dahl questioned whether there was adequate storage area. Mr. Bell stated that a storage analysis was done with the Director of Facilities. Mr. McFadden asked if Design Partnership had been in touch with the Director of Athletics regarding scheduling. Mr. Hoffses stated that he had a call in to the Director and was waiting to hear back from him. Ms. Mounteer asked if there was any major change in the drama/music /art space from previous plans. Mr. Bell stated that the rooms were changed slightly after input from staff and in an attempt to bring in more natural light. Mr. Bell reviewed the outside design of the high school. He stated that he had taken early comments from the Committee and tried to incorporate them into the design. He stated that the design was still a work in process. He discussed the proposed area for the Veterans' Memorial. He stated that the material for the memorial had not been decided on yet. Mr. Brown asked if there was any way that the RMHS panels on the tower could be worked into the design. Regular Session 3 August 25, 2003 Mr. Spadafora stated his concern that the high school did not match the rest of the town buildings by carrying a New England motif. Mr. McFadden stated his concern about the flat roof design. He also asked if the architect was aware that for two years in a row pipes had burst under the proposed synthetic turf field. Mr. Bell stated that the roofs did have a shallow pitch so maintenance is less of a problem. He stated that he would pass the information regarding the pipe along to the civil engineer. Mr. Hines stated that there has been talk of replacing the pipe. Ms. Anthony stated her concerns regarding flat roofs and the overall design of the building not being in keeping with the New England motif. She also asked if a maintenance cost projection had been done and stated her concern that vehicle access be discussed. Mr. Hoffses discussed the additional cost that would be added to the project to have a pitched roof. Mr. Bell stated that the landscape architect is doing refinements to the design and they would be back to the Committee with another update regarding vehicle access. Mr. Ensminger stated that he is an abutter to the high school. He asked whether the project had gone before the town review team. He stated his concern about parking during construction and his concern that the neighbors be involved in the process. Chair Dahl stated that the building projects were going before the town design review team and although the process is voluntary the schools are working closely with the town on the projects. Mr. Carpenter stated his concern about the lack of loading dock areas shown on the plan, including a loading area for drama. Mr. Bell stated that the landscape architect is working on loading areas. He stated that he would review the loading area for drama again. Mr. Hoffses reviewed the construction timeline. Chair Dahl stated his concern about keeping all physical education programs. Mr. Russo stated that studies have shown that the physical building does not improve student scores. He asked if the number of chemistry labs was being increased. Regular Session 4 August 25, 2003 Mr. Orlando stated that we currently have 14 science labs including a lab in another part of the building. He stated that the department head and the science staff have reviewed the design of the science rooms and that the design is sufficient to meet the needs. Mr. Hines asked if the architect had been informed about elections at the field house and the need for a solution to the traffic problems during elections. Mr. Hoffses stated that the landscape architect showed a paved pedestrian way that they believe could be widened and made into a vehicle road. Mr. Radville stated that the New England motif would be extremely costly. Mr. Graham stated that the New England appearance on the town common is in keeping with the South Church. He stated that the high school is like the other buildings in the area including the YMCA, Birch Meadow and Coolidge. He stated that the basic plan of the high school has been approved by both town meeting and the voters and to increase the cost would require the Committee to return to town meeting and the voters for approval. Chair Dahl stated that there is no intention of increasing the budget. Mr. Spadafora asked if there would be any cost saving to combine the bid for the Barrows and high school projects. Mr. Finney stated that he did not think there would be a savings from combining the projects and in fact the Committee may lose a larger pool of candidates who could do a small job such as Barrows but not a large project like the high school. Ms. Phillips asked about the change in square footage. Mr. Hoffses reviewed the square footages. Ms. Phillips questioned whether the number of science classrooms was being decreased. Mr. Orlando stated that currently there are labs that have limited capacity and do not accommodate 24 students. He stated that the architects have designed enough full operating labs to handle whole classrooms of students. Mr. Orlando stated that he and the science department were satisfied that there will be sufficient science labs to meet the needs of the students. Mr. Brown stated that he would like the Committee to consider dedicating the high school on September 9th as the original high school was dedicated on September 9, 1957. Regular Session 5 August 25, 2003 Mr. Russo moved that the School Committee instruct the Board of Selectmen to place a warrant article on this fall's special election giving the public an opportunity to vote on the following three options: First, an appropriation of $52 to $58 million with reimbursement of up to 52% with bonding time of up to seven years, second the same appropriation with state reimbursement of 0% with bonding time period of up to 30 years and third appropriation of $31 to $37 million with 0% reimbursement and bonding time period of up to 30 years. There was no second to the motion. Mr. McFadden stated that last week he was at the State House and met with Representatives Jones and Senator Tisei regarding the SBA reimbursement and that what Mr. Russo was proposing would increase the burden on the voters. Chair Dahl asked if there was anything the architect needed from the Committee at this point. Mr. Hoffses stated that they would like to get a sense of whether the Committee feels they are moving in the right direction. He estimated that they would bring refined plans back to the Committee in approximately three weeks. Chair Dahl asked the Committee for input. After discussion, it was the consensus of the Committee to move forward. Mr. Phillips expressed his concern regarding the financing of the high school project. Chair Dahl stated that the Legislators have stated that Reading would be reimbursed at the rate that we were qualified at this past January. HIGH SCHOOL ACCREDITATION Mr. Orlando, Dr. Ryan and Mr. Darrin updated the Committee on the work to date for the NEASC visit. They reviewed the type of information the Committee could expect to receive from the visit. Ms. Webb asked if there was community input into the Mission. Dr. Ryan stated that input was received from the community as well as the students. Mr. Spadafora asked about the make -up of the RMHS Committee working on the NEASC visit. Dr. Ryan stated that the Committee had a cross section of seasoned faculty and new staff. Regular Session 6 August 25, 2003 Mr. Spadafora stated that he hopes the NEASC Committee will look at RMHS's graduation requirements as compared to other communities. Mr. McFadden asked for clarification on the rating system. Dr. Ryan stated that there are four categories, exemplary, acceptable, needs improvement and difficient. Superintendent Schettini discussed the School Committee meeting with the NEASC Committee on the Sunday of the scheduled visit. He discussed the support that would be needed in the follow up process. BUILDING PROJECT UPDATE Superintendent Schettini updated the Committee on the new elementary school and Barrows School building projects. Mr. Russo asked what would happen if the new school were not finished on time. Superintendent Schettini stated that the administration continues to work on contingency plans and that hiring the project manager will give further insight into the timetable. Superintendent Schettini reviewed the work the administration is doing to bring recommendations to the Committee regarding the location of students during the renovation of the Barrows School. He stated that he would present the information to the Committee on September 8th and the administration would be attending PTO meetings to receive input from the parents. After discussion it was the consensus of the committee to move forward with the process outlined by Superintendent Schettini to bring recommendations to the Committee on the location of students during the renovation of the Barrows School. FY05 BUDGET CALENDAR Mr. Spadafora moved to approve the Reading Public Schools' FY05 budget calendar as stated in the Superintendent's memorandum dated August 18, 2003. Ms. Webb seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo, Mr. Spadafora and Ms. Webb. Regular Session 7 August 25, 2003 MINUTES Mr. Spadafora moved to approve the minutes of July 24, 2003 with changes as noted. Mr. McFadden seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo, Mr. Spadafora and Ms. Webb Mr. Spadafora moved to approve the minutes of August 4, 2003 with changes as noted. Mr. McFadden seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo, Mr. Spadafora and Ms. Webb Mr. Spadafora moved to approve the minutes of August 16, 2003. Mr. McFadden seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo, Mr. Spadafora and Ms. Webb ADJOURN Mr. Spadafora moved to adiourn at 10:55 p.m. Mr. McFadden seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden, Mr. Russo, Mr. Spadafora and Ms. Webb Superintendent of Schools