Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-11-04 School Committee MinutesO�w OF q� r r Town of Reading `rte Is, a l Meeting Minutes ,6�9' l.YCOR�O¢P� Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2013 -11 -04 Building: School - Memorial High Address: 62 Oakland Road Purpose: Open Session Attendees: Members - Present: Karen Janowski Chuck Robinson Hal Croft Jeanne Borawski Chris Caruso Time: 7:00 PM Location: Superintendent Conference Room John Doherty, Superintendent Mary DeLai, Assistant Superintendent Craig Martin, Assistant Superintendent Alison Elmer, Director of Student Services Conner Traugot, Student Representative Members - Not Present: Lisa Gibbs Others Present: John Carpenter, RCTV Representative Tom Connery, Friends of Reading Football Janice Johnson, Reading Pop Warner Janet Dee, RMHS Teacher Erika Ferranti, RMHS teacher Sam Bacon, RMHS student Nick Emmons, RMHS student Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: John F. Doherty, Ed.D. Superintendent Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Chairperson Croft called the School Committee to order at 7:03 p.m. He reviewed the agenda, announced the meeting was being recorded and welcomed guests. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) Mr. Croft asked for public input. Ann Godwin, parent, asked about the decision to not participate in the NEASC Accreditation process and the impact on our student's acceptance to colleges and universities. Page I 1 Dr. Doherty said we were not dismissing the process. We will be suspending the process as presented in the School Committee's October 7th meeting. He also shared that RMHS Director of Guidance Lynna Williams has called over 50 universities and colleges to ask about the impact for students applying from a non - accredited high school and she found that our students will not be at a disadvantage. Accept a Donation from the Friends of Reading Football (Out of Order) Chair Croft welcomed Tom Connery and Janice Johnson to the meeting. Mr. Connery provided a brief overview of the two donations. The frst donation will be used to support the assistant coach stipends for the current season. Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mrs. Janowski, to accept the donation in the amount of $6,308.31 from the Friends of Reading Football to be used to support the coaching assistant positions. The motion carried 5 -0. The second donation was possible due to a collaborative effort between the Friends of Reading Football, Reading Pop Warner, Reading Recreation, Reading Youth Lacrosse and Friends of Reading Soccer to purchase a sweeper for the turf fields. Mrs. Johnson and Mr. Connery shared that in conversations with Athletic Director Tom Zaya, this piece of equipment would be beneficial to maintaining the turf fields. The sweeper will be pulled by a golf cart to pick up debris on the field. Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mrs. Janowski, to accept the donation in the amount of $3,700 from the Friends of Reading Football, Reading Pop Warner, Reading Recreation, Reading Youth Lacrosse and Friends of Reading Soccer to be used to purchase a sweeper for the turf fields. The motion carried 5 -0. Mr. Croft thanked Mr. Connery and Mrs. Johnson for their continued efforts to support the Reading Public Schools. Reports I) 1. Student Student Representative Traugot shared that the National Honor Society held a successful canned food drive on Halloween night with over 50 members helping out. The fall sports are entering the post season with field hockey, boys' soccer, volleyball and football qualifying. The cross country team will be running in the state competition this week. RMHS Drama will be presenting Legally Blond this weekend and next. 2. Liaison Mr. Caruso added that the Cheer team won their recent competition and will move on to the states. Mr. Robinson updated the School Committee on the work of the Elementary Working Group meetings. He reviewed the options the group is discussing Page 1 2 and the next step prior to the next meeting is to rate the viability of the different options. Mrs. Borawski visited the RISE Preschool today with the Superintendent in an effort to understand the space /enrollment concerns. She was impressed by all of the activity happening during the visit and the enthusiastic approach to teaching our youngest students. She also learned there is indeed a space crunch at RISE with classes in hallways, lack of storage space and rooms that specialists can work with students in a closed setting. Mrs. Janowski said that new METCO Director Jason Cross will be the guest at the next Human Relations Advisory Committee. Mr. Robinson recapped the discussion at the recent Financial Forum. The Finance Committee has authorized up to $1.5M in free cash as we begin the budget process. 3. Superintendent Dr. Doherty thanked RMHS teachers Jane Shea, Kristin Killian, Mary Christine Dion and Lynna Williams who answered the call from the Danvers Public Schools to provide substitute coverage so their staff and students could attend the funeral of their fallen teacher. He shared the district's deepest sympathies to the Danvers community. Last week the Superintendent and RTA President Bob Mooney participated in a joint panel discussion on labor /management relations. Dr. Doherty and Mary DeLai will be participating on two panels at the upcoming MASS /MASC Joint Conference. B. Continued Business Second Reading of Policy DGD Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mr. Robinson, to approve and accept the second reading of revised Policy DGD — Town of Reading, Town Government and Public Schools Purchasing Cards. Mr. Caruso began the second reading. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Janowski, to waive the second reading of the policy. The motion carried 5 -0. The vote on the original motion carried 5 -0. FY14 Budget Status Update Ms. DeLai updated the School Committee on the FY14 budget to date. C. New Business Robotics Presentation Page 1 3 Mrs. Janet Dee introduced Erika Ferranti and RMHS students Nick Emmons and Sam Bacon. She provided a brief overview of the student's project. She shared that this presentation is the culmination of the work done by Sam Bacon and Nick Emmons as part of an independent study class under the supervision of her and Computer Science teacher Erika Ferranti. Both students applied their knowledge of Java to develop programs that would demonstrate the features of Finch Robots. The 4 robots were acquired last year with an REF grant. In addition to their STEM skills, they succeeded in using the 21 st century workplace skills of creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. Mr. Bacon demonstrated how he created and wrote programs to demonstrate the obstacle and temperature sensors and the integration of sound files. Mr. Emmons wrote a suite of programs that used two robots interacting and he has established a working relationship with the owner of the company that produces the software and hardware for these robots. Both students are members of the Robotics team at RMHS and they hope to share their project with students at the elementary level during the CS Edweek Hour of Code. They also presented their project at the recent MassCue Conference. Chair Croft thanked the group for their presentation. Approval of Field Trip (Out of Order) Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mr. Robinson, to approve the Robotics Team field trip to Bryant College in March 2014. The motion carried 5 -0. RCTV Presentation Mr. John Carpenter presented information of RCTV to the School Committee. He provided an overview of RCTV. RCTV is a nonprofit public charity that operates in Reading. They provide public access, educational and government programming to the community. The RCTV studios are located on Main Street and they offer a number of classes to the public on the use of the cameras and equipment. Chair Croft thanked Mr. Carpenter for sharing this information. First Reading of Revised Policy ACAB /ACAC Dr. Doherty provided a brief background on the proposed change to this policy. He said on the advice of student legal counsel that this policy and the bullying policy should be separate policies and that the School Committee will be approving the first reading of the revised bullying policy at the next meeting. Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mr. Robinson, to accept the first reading of revised Policy ACAB /ACAC Harassment & Discrimination. Mr. Caruso began the first reading. Page 1 4 Mrs. Janowski moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to waive the first reading of the policy. The motion carried 5 -0. The vote on the original motion carried 5 -0. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) The following warrants were circulated and signed. Warrant S 1418 10.24.13 $213,694.89 Warrant S 1419 10.31.13 $217,286.68 Warrant P1409 10.25.13 $1,359,075.44 b. Approval of Minutes Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mrs. Janowski, to approve the open session minutes dated October 21, 2013. The motion carried 5 -0. c. Bids and Donations Accept Donations Accept Donation from the Friends of Reading Wrestling Move to accept the donation in the amount of $900 from the Friends of Reading Wrestling to be used to purchase wrestling supplies. The motion carried 5 -0_ Move to accept the donation in the amount of $1,500 from the Friends of Reading Wrestling to be used to purchase 20 new wrestling singlets. The motion carried 5 -0. Accept Donation to Reading Field Hockey Move to accept a donation in the amount of $2,000 to Reading Field Hockey to be used to support the coaching assistant position. The motion carried 5 -0. Accept Donation to Reading Cheering Move to accept a donation in the amount of $7,700 from the Friends of Reading Cheering to be used to purchase new cheering mats. The motion carried 5 -0. Calendar IV. Information Page 1 5 V. Future Business VI. Adjournment The Chair declared that an executive session is necessary to protect the arbitration position of the body. Executive Session Mr. Caruso moved, seconded by Mr. Robinson to enter into Executive Session to discuss strategy with respect to litigation not to return to open session. The roll call vote was 5 -0. Mr. Caruso, Mr. Croft, Mr. Robinson, Mrs. Janowski and Mrs. Borawski. The meeting adjourned at 8:36 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. J n F. Doher y, Ed.D. Page 1 6