The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1998-04-04 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts School Committee Meeting Regular Session April 4, 1998 Call to Order The school committee meeting was called to order by Chair Tim Twomey at 8:15 a.m. All members of the school committee were present: Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Stohlman and Ms. Williams. Also present were Superintendent Harry K. Harutunian, Associate Superintendent Dennis Richards and former school committee member Mr. Spadafora. Dr. Harutunian distributed to the committee a publication called Special Education Law Monthly. He also distributed the Fiscal Year 1998 Budget Analysis as of March 31, 1998. The committee discussed the Building Maintenance Regular Day accounts. The committee will need to request $75,000 from Town Meeting. Mr. Dahl brought up the issue of the Reading land fill being sold, specifically a possible Home Depot development issue. Currently the decision is up to the selectmen. He asked the committee if it was appropriate for the committee to give their input to the selectmen on this issue. Ms. Cavicchi said it would be appropriate for financial reasons. The Superintendent agreed and said the lack of closing the land fill will affect the capital plan. He said it is a hot button with the Chamber. Mr. Stohlman said he reviewed the Home Depot proposal and a hotel proposal, and the capital plan will fail if four million dollars is not in the bank next year. Dr. Harutunian said the selectmen might throw out both bids. Mr. Spadafora suggested looking at the operational budget as well as the capital budget.A potential motion was discussed but not made. It was decided to have Dr. Harutunian ask the Town Financial Manager to meet with the committee to discuss this issue further. Self- Evaluation Chair Twomey referred to the self evaluation packet and suggested focusing on the two areas they scored the lowest, Governance and Operations. They began with Governance, 1. The committee's policies are clear and up -to -date. Chair Twomey suggested hiring someone to perform the task. The Superintendent said a quote was received in the past from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees; they quoted $10,000 to review the current manual and identify (1) the policies that are modified for educational reform (2) the policies that should no longer be used and (3) the policies that are okay. The committee discussed several other possible options. Mr. Spadafora suggested addressing this issue once the strategic plan is complete. The Superintendent said the policies and procedures are necessary for him to refer to for decisions, it is important they are not outdated. Chair Twomey said the possible options discussed were: (1) consider putting it in next year's budget to hire someone (2) find a volunteer to scan the manual (3 ) have the committee review small sections of the manual at a time. The Superintendent said MASC will put the entire policy on disk. Ms. D'Antona moved to directed the administration to put money in the FY2000 budget for the updating of the School Committee policy manual. Ms. Cavicchi seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0. Mr. Dahl said the committee should be familiar with their own policies and they should be on disk. Dr. Harutunian said he will look into how much effort scanning the policy book would take. Regular School Committee Meeting Page 2 April 4, 1998 The next topic the committee discussed was Governance, 5. The committee members take part in educational workshops and conferences to help them make informed decisions. Ms. Cavicchi said she and Ms. D'Antona attended workshops in the past that were beneficial but have stopped because the rest of the committee was not there to receive the same benefit. Ms. D'Antona said there was a MASC workshop she attended when she started on the committee which she highly recommended. The Superintendent recommended to the committee to direct the administration to set up a professional development program where attorneys, MASC or possibly Patsy Buell would speak to the committee. Most of it could be done at no cost. He agreed it is good to hear something as a committee at the same time. The committee agreed. Ms. Cavicchi mentioned an e-mail group she is part of where she would share school committee information with the committee. Mr. Stohlman said he is interested in talking to the attorney general's office regarding the open meeting law. The Superintendent said he would look into this. The next area the committee reviewed was Operations, 3. Procedures and protocols for committee operations are published and understood. Mr. Stohlman said Roberts Rules are followed. Mr. Dahl felt it was important to define protocols to conduct a meeting. Ms. Cavicchi felt it was the discretion of the chairperson. Chair Twomey said consideration is needed for other people's time. Ground rules are set with parents at the beginning of the meeting and overall it appears to have gone well. Mr. Stohlman said a timeframe is important. He said the committee sometimes makes decisions too quickly because the proper time is not allowed to discuss an issue. Chair Twomey encouraged the committee members to talk to him if there is a topic they want to discuss that is not on the agenda. Dr. Harutunian said he talks with the chair daily and committee members at least once a week and there are not many times when someone wants something on the agenda and it isn't there. Ms. Cavicchi said in the past there was a blue book stating the school committee's goals and procedures. It was good for the public to know what the procedure was for participation at meetings. The Superintendent said he would look for the book. Mr. Stohlman said the worst response you can give to the public is no response. The committee's unwritten policy has been to respond to the public. The committee discussed staying with agenda items. Superintendent Harutunian said he is sensitive to the fact that the committee members are out nights and the meetings run late. He has tried to limit the agendas. He suggested putting a time limit on agenda items. Ms. Williams said it made sense on public meetings to have a presentation, public discussion and then committee discussion. The next topic the committee discussed was Strategic Planning and Fiscal Management, 1: A long term, strategic plan exists and is regularly reviewed. Chair Twomey said there was a process in place and a time table to arrive at. The next topic the committee discussed was Community Relations, 1: The committee has a public relations plan for the school system. Dr. Harutunian said the committee currently has a plan for communications which he would consider public relations. Mr. Stohlman said the public perception seems to be a quantity issue rather than quality on all of the information that is gathered. Chair Twomey said over the past few years, with the help of the administration, people are more informed on school issues than five years ago. It is an open process that is reasonable and doable so everyone knows what is going on. The committee discussed personal agendas of people and how to respond to them. Mr. Spadafora said when a citizen talks with a committee member, the goal is quality education and does their concern coincide with our goal. Mr. Dahl said there is sometimes a conflict of value systems. Mr. Stohlman said we must be careful not to dismiss the minority opinion. Regular School Committee Meeting Pape 3 April 4, 1998 Ms. Williams asked a question about Member Relations section, #4. She asked how the committee shares information. Dr. Harutunian said some issues are central office or school committee -based decisions. Some are public documents, some are not. If a member of the committee is copied on a letter, only that person receives a copy of the letter. If a letter is addressed to the school committee or the chair of the committee, everyone receives a copy. Adjourn Ms. Cavicchi. motioned to adjourn at 11:17 a.m. to Executive Session for purposes of conducting strategy trategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with teachers' association, custodians and maintenance employees cafeteria employees, association of secretaries and clerks, educational assistants' association and nurses. Ms. Williams seconded the motion. The vote was 6 -0. Ms. Cavicchi, Mr. Dahl, Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Stohlman, Mr. Twomey, Ms. Williams. Respectfully submitted, I Harr�Karutunian, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools wd:sm04O498reg