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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-03-24 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts School Committee Meeting Reizular Session March 24, 1999 Call to Order The school committee meeting was called to order by Chair Robin D'Antona at 7:34 p.m. All members of the school committee were present: Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Mr. Keigley, Mr. Twomey and Ms. Williams. Also present were Superintendent Harry K. Harutunian, Associate Superintendent Dennis Richards and Richard Foley, Town Accountant. Chair Robin D'Antona welcomed Mr. James Keigley to the School Committee. She also congratulated Susan Cavicchi for her reelection to the School Committee. Ms. D'Antona announced that no bills or payroll would be circulated. Citizen Input None Budget Discussion Ms. D'Antona said the purpose of the meeting was to review the budget options so that the School Committee would have the privilege to give a balance budget to the Town Meeting. Dr. Harutunian said the budget reductions are just under one million dollars. He said discussions would be continued next Monday evening if no closure were reached. He reviewed the handout, Reading School Committee FY 00 Budget. A revised memo dated 3/24/99 regarding FY00 Budget Reductions was issued due to corrections in the Special Education section. The Superintendent discussed the bulleted items regarding Coordinator of Extra Curricula Activities and reductions of the oil and gas account. Dr. Harutunian said the administration was recommending a $994,994 reduction to the FY00 budget and he was prepared to answer any questions from the School Committee and make any adjustments. Mr. Dahl said he was glad the Coordinator of Extra Curricula Activities was back in the budget. He said he would like additional discussion regarding additional teachers at the high school due to the increase of students next year. Dr. Harutunian said the high school principal requested nine additional teachers and the School Committee recommended 5.5. He explained the recommendation of eliminating the Project Achieve Program. By doing this, two certified teachers would be put back into the academic area. One would be put in the science area and it is unknown at this time where the second would be placed. Ms. Williams expressed concern about freshman students being overlooked who were in need of this program. The Superintendent felt confident that the needs of all of the high school students would be met. Chair Robin D'Antona said it is not always appropriate to eliminate a program; she would like to see data to justify it. Dr. Harutunian said he has not received any complaints from the parents, teachers or students regarding the elimination of this program. The Superintendent agreed to provide data by January 2000. Regular School Committee Meeting Page 2 March 24, 1999 The committee members continued to express their concern. The Superintendent said the program has outlived its shelf life, and that an evolution has taken place. Ms. Cavicchi said she was comfortable with what she heard from the Superintendent. Mr. Twomey expressed his concern about the elimination of instructional specialists. He asked if the educational assistant positions could be reduced. Dr. Harutunian explained that he felt strongly in favor of the instructional specialist's positions especially in math and science. But, after a meeting with the principals about educational assistants and their duties, he and the principals did not feel this was an area to reduce. It was apparent that safety and contractual issues would not be met. The committee continued to discuss the educational assistant positions with the Superintendent. Dr. Harutunian explained that elementary school class size has increased but the educational assistant positions have not even though he has made several attempts in the past three years to increase these positions. The Superintendent said the current budget is very lean and one area that has not been touched is the curriculum initiatives. He said with approximately 4,200 students and 500 teachers every position was looked at during this budget process. They started with the FY98 and the balance of the FY 99 budgets. Mr. Dahl said regarding the Project Achieve Program, he was encouraged to see a program eliminated because it was no longer needed. Ms. Williams said in the 1980's an instrumental music program was phased out in the elementary schools, she would not like to see the same mistake happen again with Project Achieve. Dr. Harutunian and Chair Robin D'Antona said they spoke to a state representative regarding how much money would be distributed across the state to school districts. Neither felt the distribution would be a significant amount. With relation to the budget, the Superintendent suggested working with the budget they have now, it is uncertain what will be received from the state. Ms. Williams asked how many teachers district -wide would be retiring. The Superintendent said eight. She asked about the possible elimination of the 6`h grade middle school foreign language teacher and move that position to the high school. She expressed her concern about tenth graders not passing MCAS and the possibility of parents suing the school. Ms. Williams said we owe it to the high school students to give them their best shot. Dr. Harutunian explained the students from Reading are going to better colleges than ever before. He discussed the MCAS improvements in relation to the state. He said MCAS is a K- 12 issue not a fourth, eighth or tenth grade issue. The Superintendent said if the middle school foreign language position was eliminated, the results would not be good. He said Reading is one of the few districts that mandate middle school foreign language and that is a good thing. Mr. Twomey said he was in agreement about the elimination of Project Achieve but expressed his concern about the elimination of the instructional specialists at the high school. He asked for information from the administration, which the Superintendent said he already had and would give to Mr. Twomey. Mr. Keigley responded to Ms. Williams statement about the elimination of the music program in the 80's. He stressed how important it is to start children at an early age in music. At age eight, they will achieve more in one year than at age 17 or 18. He also said he was in agreement the Superintendent about the budget reductions. Mr. Dahl said foreign languages should also be introduced at an early age. The Superintendent said this is true with computers as well. Regular School Committee Meeting Page 3 March 24 1999 With relation to budget dollars, Dr. Harutunian mentioned the possibility of reducing the transportation account. He said they might do better on the transportation contract over the next three years. If OPEC prices go up the school district and the Town will be affected. Ms. Cavicchi said regarding the instructional specialists and the curriculum initiatives, it would be ideal to have both in the budget but out of the two, the curriculum initiatives would touch more students. If money came in at a later time, the instructional specialists could be added then. Dr. Harutunian suggested not waiting to hire them because the best candidates will already be hired. Ms. Williams asked about the possibility of senior citizen volunteers. The Superintendent it was a good idea but he did not feel there would be consistency. He said the most consistent, reliable people in the district he knows of are the parents who volunteer. Several motions were made then withdrawn. Mr. Dahl moved to approve a school committee budget of $24,524,308 as recommended by the Superintendent using his memo dated March 24 1999 as a guideline to restructuring the budget Ms Cavicchi seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0. Mr. Twomey said he would like to see alternatives regarding the instructional specialists. Dr. Harutunian said he would know more in two months than he does now. He discussed the pilot program moving forward and the one -year delay of the instructional specialists. In June, the School Committee will an update on the social studies and language arts pilot programs. Adjourn Ms. Cavicchi motioned to adjourn at 9:50 p.m. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion The vote was 6 -0 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona Mr. Keigley, Mr. Twomey and Ms Williams spectfully sub ed, Harry . Harutunian, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools wd:sm032499reg