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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-04-08 School Committee MinutesREADING SCHOOL COMMITTEE Reading, Massachusetts REGULAR SESSION Apri18,1999 CALL TO ORDER Chair D'Antona called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Superintendent's Conference Room. Present were School Committee members Dahl, D'Antona, Keigley and Twomey. Mr. Keialey moved to enter into executive session for the purpose of conducting strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with the Teachers' Association, Custodians and Maintenance Workers, Cafeteria Employees, Association of Secretaries and Clerks, Educational Assistants, Nurses and Tutors and to discuss the possible sale or lease of real estate and to discuss pending litigation and to return to regular session at approximately 7:30 p.m.. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion the vote was 4 -0 Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Keig -ley and Mr. Twomey. CALL BACK TO ORDER Chair D'Antona called the meeting back to order at 7:33 p.m. Ms. Cavicchi and Ms. Williams arrived during executive session. CITIZEN'S INPUT There was no citizen input. BILLS & PAYROLL Bills and payroll were as follows: Payroll 77 3/25/99 $601,119.23 Payroll 79 4/2/99 $156,714.93 Warrant 78 3/29/99 $81,396.14 Warrant 80 4/5/99 $206,345.85 REGULAR SESSION -2- April S, 1999 HIGHLIGHTS Dr. Harutunian advised that the Vernal Pool video from the high school would be shown at a later date. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT Dr. Harutunian updated the Committee on the Birch Meadow Living Science Center. Dr. Harutunian advised the Committee that the Reading Public Schools will receive an award from the Massachusetts Association for Advancement of Individual Potential, Inc. to acknowledge effort and concern on behalf of gifted and talented students in the public schools of Massachusetts. Dr. Harutunian distributed information regarding the Department of Education's Per Pupil Expenditure for the Town of Reading. He noted that Reading's Per Pupil Expenditure continues to go down from the state average. Dr. Harutunian advised the Committee that he continues to work with the Millenium Committee. Ms. Williams stated that plans for the event are still evolving but that the venues would be based on decades. She stated that financial support is still needed. COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS Chair D'Antona appointed Ms. Cavicchi to the Recreation Committee and Mr. Dahl to the Audit Committee. Dr. Harutunian advised that he would forward a letter to the Town Manager informing him of the appointments. PERSONNEL Dr. Harutunian advised the Committee that the quarterly personnel report was included in their packet. OLD BUSINESS Gene Raymond of Strekalovsky & Hoit made a presentation to the Committee regarding the Reading Memorial High School Feasibility Study. Mr. Raymond stated that he would be presenting information to the Committee on options A, B1, B2, C1, C2 and D this evening. He also stated that his recommendation was Option C2. Mr. Twomey stated that he wanted to make it clear that because Option A does not address the enrollment problem issue that it probably would not be reimbursable under the SBAB guidelines. REGULAR SESSION -3- April 8, 1999 Dr. Harutunian noted that the difference in Reading tax dollars between Option A and Option C2 was $200,000. Dr. Harutunian also noted that in the report, renovation/addition costs were shown in current dollars and estimated future dollars. Dr. Harutunian confirmed with Mr. Raymond that the DRA report indicated the renovation/addition to the high school would be a Category III under SBAB guidelines but that the new report shows that the renovations /additions to the high school would be a Category II. Ms. Cavicchi confirmed that Option C2 allowed students to remain in the building during the renovation/addition. Mr. Twomey stated his concern that both Option B 1 and B2 could be potential Title IX violations and asked that Dr. Harutunian have council review the report. Dr. Harutunian advised that he would schedule a meeting with the Massachusetts Title IX Officer, Reading's Title IX officer, Gene Raymond and members of the School Committee to discuss the Title IX issue. Chair D'Antona opened the presentation up to comments from the audience. Mr. Graham, Chairman of the School Building Committee, stated that the goal of the report was to give the School Committee the data it needed to make a decision. He stated that he hoped the Committee would make a decision quickly and not leave the idea out in the community that they are considering Option D for approximately $50,000,000. Mr. Orlando stated that in 2003 the high school accreditation committee will be back to review Reading High School and that at the last accreditation there was concern about the condition of the building and the ability of the facility to serve the educational programs. He stated that all Options meet the objectives in varying degrees. He stated that Option C2 addresses the condition of the building, solves the traffic problem, enlarges classrooms, adds foreign language labs, solves drama and music. Mr. Orlando stated that in his opinion the best way to address future needs is Option C2. Chair D'Antona asked Mr. Graham when the School Building Committee would be able to meet on this matter. Mr. Graham stated that the Committee was ready. Dr. Harutunian stated that it would be advantageous to schedule a joint meeting between the School Committee and the School Building Committee. Mr. Twomey stated that Option D did not appear to be cost effective. Mr. Orlando stated that by tearing down the old high school the town would waste the money that was put into the HVAC system last year. REGULAR SESSION -4- April 8,1999 Mr. Dahl asked Mr. Raymond if the recent upgrades to the HVAC system were figured into the Options. Mr. Raymond stated that the HVAC upgrades were taken into account. He stated that electrical and plumbing represents the greatest needs. Ms. Williams asked Mr. Graham if he was looking for a consensus that the School Committee was not considering Option D. Mr. Graham stated that he believed that Option D should be removed from the table quickly so that the community does not think the School Committee is considering spending $50,000,000 on a new school. Ms. Williams moved to remove Option D from table. Mr. Dahl seconded the motion. The vote was 1 -5 Ms. Williams voted yes. Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, an d Mr. Twomey voted no. The motion did not carry. Mr. Twomey stated that he wanted more time to review the report before making any decision. He stated that he had said earlier that it does not appear that Option D would be a cost effective Option but wants to review all Options thoroughly and wants information regarding air quality and safety issues during a renovation where students remain in the building. Chair D'Antona stated that she also wanted more time to review the report and wanted an opportunity for public input on the Options. She stated that the Committee had only received the report two days ago and felt there was no need for an immediate decision on whether to remove Option D. Mr. Dahl stated that he would not be voting to remove Option D at this time because he did not want it to appear that the Committee was fractured on such an important issue. He stated that the entire Committee wants to move forward in the best way possible. Ms. Cavicchi stated that the Committee needed more time to review the report and that if a meeting were necessary it could be scheduled before May 10th to discuss the matter. Dr. Harutunian agreed and stated that the meeting should be televised in order that the public may follow the discussions. Ms. Williams stated her concern that Mr. Graham and the School Building Committee needed direction from the School Committee as soon as possible. Ms. Williams asked Dr. Harutunian if he had received the letter from the SBAB regarding the Barrows project yet. REGULAR SESSION -5- April 8, 1999 Dr. Harutunian advised that he had spoken to Jim Anderson of the SBAB and that Mr. Anderson indicated that he was meeting with our state representative to discuss the Barrows project. Mr. Anderson informed Dr. Harutunian that he would not be sending the letter until after he had met with the state representative. MINUTES Mr. Twomey made a motion to approve the minute of March 11, 1999 with correction as noted. Mr. Dahl seconded the motion. The vote was 5 -0 -1 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Keigley and Mr. Twomey voted yes, Ms. Williams abstained. Ms. Cavicchi made a motion to approve the minutes of March 18, 1999. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion. The vote was 5 -0 -1 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Keigley an Mr. Twomey voted yes, Ms. Williams abstained. Ms. Cavicchi made a motion to approve the minutes of March 22, 1999 with correction as noted. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion. The vote was 5 -0 -1 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Twomey and Ms. Williams voted yes, Mr. Keigley abstained. Ms. Cavicchi made a motion to approve the minutes of March 24, 1999 with corrections as noted. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Keigley, Mr. Twomey and Ms. Williams. Ms. Cavicchi made a motion to approve the minutes of March 29, 1999. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Keigley, Mr. Twomey and Ms. Williams. I_� 11IG0 t1l 1 At 9:10 p.m. Ms. Cavicchi made a motion to adjourn and reenter executive session for the purpose of conducting strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with the Teachers' Association, Custodians and Maintenance Workers, Cafeteria Employees, Association of Secretaries and Clerks, Educational Assistants, Nurses and Tutors and to discuss the possible sale or lease of real estate and to discuss pending_ litigation and not to return to regular session. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0 Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Keigley, Mr. Twomey and Ms. Williams. Respectfully submitted, Harry K. Harutunian, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools