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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-01-13 School Committee MinutesREADING SCHOOL COMMITTEE Reading, Massachusetts Regular Session January 13 1999 CALL TO ORDER Mr. Twomey called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Present were members Dahl, Stohlman, Twomey, Cavicchi. Also present were Superintendent Harutunian, Associate Superintendent Richards and Town Accountant, Richard Foley. BILLS & PAYROLL There were no Bills & Payroll. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT The Superintendent distributed a Town Calendar. CITIZEN'S INPUT There was no Citizen's Input. SUPERINTENDENT'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET The Superintendent asked all Budget Parents who were present to stand and state their name and the school that they are representing. Dr. Harutunian stated that the discussion tonight would be Maintenance Budget. He explained that Page 66 was a Summary of the maintenance budget. We are requesting $ 1,174,199 for Personal Services and $ 1, 174,349 for Non - Personal. We are only discussing the School side tonight, the cost of cleaning and maintaining. We have corrected the spelling of Assistant on Page 67. The Superintendent explained the difference between Personel and Personal. There was a question on the Director Salary line. The salary line reflects only a 1.8% increase. The line reflects a turn over in the Director position in the past year. The first year salary for a new director would be different from a second year salary for an existing director. The next question dealt with the Clerical Line. It was decided after discussion that the FTE in Column one would be changed from 0.6 to 1.0 and that the FTE in Column 4 would be changed from 1.5 to 1.75. One of the secretaries went from part time to full time during the year. The extra money to increase this position came from the allocation we received ($ 42.821). The Peat Marwick report indicates that the office definitely needs two secretaries. REGULAR SESSION -2- JANUARY 13.1999 Mr. Stohlman asked about the $ 32,000 Budget Offset. He stated that it has been level funded for the past several years. He felt there should be an increase in the offset. Dr. Harutunian stated that the $32,000 was part of the revolving account. Historically, half of the clerical salary was paid out of the revolving account and the other half was paid from appropriation. He went on to say that all the money in the revolving account goes towards the buildings anyway. It is just a question of which way you want to state it. He said he would state it anyway the committee wanted him to. The revolving account status is also stated on Page 81 of the green budget sheets. Dr. Harutunian suggested to the Committee that in the next few years we ask for an increase in facility rental fees. Mr. Twomey asked why aren't we collecting rental fees up front? Dr. Harutunian stated that if the rental is cancelled then we have to issue them a check. Mr. Twomey stated that would be better that having so many receivables outstanding. Dr. Harutunian said this was something we would definitely look into. Another reason for a decrease in rental receivables is due to the fact that during the entire construction process, Parker Middle School was closed to rentals. Coolidge Middle School is not open to rentals this year. Every year some school will be shut down. There will be a loss of revenues during the transitional periods. Mr. Twomey asked the other members if they minded how the clerical salary is stated. No one minded. Mr. Dahl stated that this way eliminates the myth that there is money hidden in revolving accounts. He then went on to ask how much we charge for a rental. Dr. Harutunian responded that the rates are ridiculously low. One can rent (with the exception of Parker) a school gym for $16.00 for four hours plus the custodial cost. Since the Parker renovation, the cost of the Parker Gym has been raised to $ 75.00. Mr. Dahl said the rental price should go up 4 -5 % per year just for inflation. Dr. Harutunian stated that the Town of Winchester stopped renting their facilities completely due to the added wear and tear on the buildings and the added hassle of the rental process. Many of the surrounding towns rent property in Reading because it is so cheap. He explained that as we renovate the schools we would be raising the rental rate. The custodial fees are not waived for any reason. The next question dealt with custodial overtime. Mr. Twomey inquired if it would be cheaper to hire more custodians than to pay overtime? He asked what circumstances there was overtime? Dr. Harutunian stated that overtime was needed to cover vacations, medical leaves and emergency situations. He gave as example; a custodian at one of the schools was out for three months with a medical issue. He had to pay the custodian that was out, as well as the replacement. They have also increased the cleaning at each school to cut down on deterioration. Building checks are performed on Saturdays and Sundays in winter to insure that the boilers are working at each school. This is a substantial part of the overtime. The Superintendent hopes that in the future, with the help of Siebe and the computerized heating system that we will be able to eliminate these building checks. With the new energy management systems, a computer dials a phone REGULAR SESSION - 3 - JANUARY 13 1999 line if a boiler goes down and a person is then notified. When you hire more people your benefit cost increases. Vacation time is cleared with the immediate supervisor of the custodian. It was stated that maintenance workers do not do cleaning. Dr. Harutunian stated that he would soon have a list of accounts he has frozen in the current budget. We have spent almost the entire budgeted amount for overtime and it is only January. Mr. Twomey asked if we have received any insurance money frcm the recent heating mishaps. Dr. Harutunian said no insurance money has materialized yet. Siebe has taken responsibility for one of the incidents because it was deemed that one of their sensors was faulty. Mrs. Cavicchi asked what the temporary line was. The response was summer help. Mr. Twomey asked what would the duties of new Assistant Director be? Dr. Harutunian responded that the new Assistant Director would have a trade probably, electrical. He or she would work as assistant director half time and do the trade half time. The Director is spending too much time dispensing assignments. Most of the outstanding work orders are electrical in nature due to all the added technology in the schools. This would free up the director to write bids and determine more cost - effective ways to do things. Dr. Harutunian stated that the Director has not had time to do evaluations. Mr. Twomey stated that we are just following the directives of the Peat Marwick Study. We have been behind on the cleaning since the early 1990's. The discussion turned to Form (C). At this point, Mrs. Cavicchi left the room because gas and oil were being discussed. Mr. Stohlman wants to know how we priced out the cost per gallon of oil and the cost per therm. He requested a year to year comparison of budgeted and actual amounts of both oil and gas. How did we arrive at how many therms and gallons of oil we need this year? Dr. Harutunian stated that he would get the information for him. Mrs. Cavicchi returned as soon as the gas and oil discussion was over. The Water Supply and Sewer Disposal information was obtained from the Town Water Department. The discussion turned to Building Maintenance. Dr. Harutunian handed out a building maintenance summary. He explained the principal requests. There are no requests from Coolidge Middle School due to the building project. Someone asked what are custodial supplies. Custodial supplies are such items as brooms, stripping fluid, repair cords, cleaners and rags etc. The clothing allowance is contractual, plus there are more custodians. Gasoline is used in snow blowers. REGULAR SESSION -4- JANUARY 13,1999 FOODSERVICE The Superintendent directed everyone to Page 81 and Page 82. The Superintendent commended Catherine Cook, Foodservice Director. He does not have to supplement foodservice because Ms. Cook does such and excellent job managing the department. She covers almost all of the costs. She maintains several months, receipts in the revolving account. The school department pays for the benefits of her employees, custodial costs and the electricity. She is contributing $ 40,000 from the revolving fund toward the new kitchen at Coolidge. She works with the parents enthusiastically regarding nutrition and food allergies. ADJOURN Mrs. Cavicchi made a motion to adiourn at 10:00 p.m. Mr. Stohlman seconded the motion. The vote was 4 -0. Mr. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Mr. Twomey and Mr. Stohlman Respectfully submitted, Harry K. Harutunian,Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools