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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-03-22 School Committee MinutesREADING PUBLIC SCHOOLS Reading, Massachusetts School Committee Meeting REGULAR SESSION MINUTES Endicott College, Beverly, MA March 22,1997 CALL TO ORDER Chair Cavicchi called the meeting to order at 8:15 at Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts. All members were present. Also present were Mr. Hardy, Massachusetts Association of School Committees, Dr. Harry K. Harutunian, Superintendent and Dennis Richards, Associate Superintendent. Mr. Hardy pointed out that experience and information can improve performance. Mr. Hardy discussed his analysis of the self - assessment survey the committee had completed prior to today. His comments fell in eight areas: The ar 's he presented as strengths were committee /superintendent relations and fiscal management. Th areas for -discussion were operations, member relations, community relations and conduct of meetings. Dr. Harutunian suggested it might be useful for the Superintendent to prepare for new school committee members a summary of major decisions made by the school committee during the months prior to the election. Mr. Cumming said he believes little should be done to introduce new members to the content of committee's work. Chair Cavicchi and Mr. Spadafora felt that new members should be oriented. Mr. Twomey mentioned good resources are the policy book, the open meeting law, the charter and recent minutes. Mr. Cummings suggested a Saturday meeting on governance and roles as a way of orienting new members. Mr. Twomey mentioned that it would be helpful to hear from veteran members on how to handle calls from and contacts with: the press, Dr. Harutunian, Reading administrators, teachers, other school committee members and constituents. Dr. Harutunian asked Mr. Hardy to get to him the names of school committees that have good orientation plans. Regular Session Pajze 2 March 22 1997 Member Relations When a member of the school committee has information he or she believes should be shared with all members of the school committee, the protocol will be to inform the chair or the superintendent. They in turn can decided how best to share this information with the other members of the committee so pertinent information is shared and there are no surprises. Dr. Harutunian usually takes information from a member and deals with it. If not, he calls the chair and they decide if it needs to be an agenda item. If so, Dr. Harutunian calls the members to let them know what the item is about. Mr. Cummings mentioned he believes that sharing information with members is fine but that discussing issues with the intent of preparing for a vote is not. Mr. Twomey mentioned that unless members are careful, sharing information could lead to discussion of opinions on issues that the committee will eventually vote. Community Relations Mr. Twomey said the school committee does not have a community relations plan but it does do a lot to foster community relations. Mr. Spadafora suggested that in the future the school committee goals be included in the budget. Conduct of Meetinzs The school committee always wants the information on an issue to be provided to them well before the decision has to be made. Mr. Spadafora indicated he believes that when the committee has a public hearing on an issue he does not want to vote the issue on the evening of the public hearing. The school committee will decide whether or not they need a public hearing on an issue. The areas to build on are strategic planning and governance. Governance Mr. Hardy suggested that members go to the MASC orientation conference for new members. MASC can provide new members information on the open meeting law and ethics, school committee and superintendent relationships, school council and school committee relations. Mr. Hardy suggested providing information on the budget and how it was arrived at. Orientation for New Members - Tell them about resources and packet. Set goals and report progress - what are the specific things (measurable) we want to accomplish this year? Regular Session Page 3 March 22 1997 Superintendent's Evaluation The School Committee discussed whether or not to discuss the superintendent's evaluation today. The School Committee decided to postpone discussion of the superintendent's evaluation until Monday night's school committee meeting. The School Committee prepared the following statement to explain its decision not to discuss the superintendent's evaluation on Saturday, March 22, 1997: In response to concerns raised by some citizens about the open meeting law with regard to our Saturday March 22 meeting at Endicott College, the School Committee has been assured by the district attorney's office and by reading's town council that we were in full compliance with the open meeting law. However, because of the public's possible misunderstanding about our plans for discussing the superintendent's evaluation, the committee decided to table the discussion until this evening. The school committee always intended to share information on the superintendent's evaluation with the citizens of reading at its march 241h evening meeting. The reason we had planned to discuss it on Saturday, March 22nd was because it seemed logical to us to include a discussion of the superintendent's evaluation on a day when the agenda included a discussion of the school committee's self - evaluation and an evaluation of the budget process. The school committee uses retreats as a team building exercise and the superintendent is part of the team. The public also needs to understand that the evaluation documents of the superintendent, and those of all other school employees, are not public documents. These confidential documents are placed in each employee's personnel file. The Committee agreed that the Chair should read the summary of the evaluation of the Superintendent by School Committee at Monday night's School Committee meeting. The Committee agreed that the MASC memo analyzing the School Committee self - assessment survey should be shared with the public at Monday night's School Committee meeting. Executive Session At 11:55 a.m. Mr. Cummings moved to adjourn to executive session to discuss negotiations with Superintendent Harutunian after which the School Committee will return to open session. Ms. D'Antona seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous, 6 -0, to go into executive session. Executive session held. Return to Open Session The School Committee returned to open session at 12:45 p.m. Regular Session Page 4 March 22 1997 Budget Process Dr. Harutunian asked the School Committee to consider dealing with the issue of clarifying goals in relation to the budget. Ms. D'Antona suggested using the term goals instead of strategic planning because goals are set each year. Mr. Cummings suggested a joint School Committee Administrative Council retreat early in September each year to discuss mutual concerns as a way of preparing for the year's budget process. The Committee took a break for lunch. At 2:00 p.m. Mr. Spadafora moved to adjourn. Mr. Twomey seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous, 6 -0. Respectfully submitted, 0:�J � a�� Harry K. Hautunian, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools 1996 Evaluation Summary of Dr. Harry K. Harutunian In its evaluation of the Superintendent, the School Committee rated him above average or outstanding in most categories. In the area of educational leadership, the Superintendent receives high marks for creating an effective educational environment, for his enthusiasm for upgrading the school system and for his active and visible participation in school events. The Committee respects the Superintendent's knowledge of and commitment to curriculum reform and review. However, more work is needed to coordinate and correlate all educational experiences from entry to grade 12. The Committee is pleased with the Superintendent's role in all phases of hiring, promotion and dismissal of staff. He supports his staff and encourages them, while demanding a very high standard of effort. Dr. Harutunian is a confident decision -maker who actively seeks out ideas and experiences of others before making critical decisions. He also presents a positive image of the school system to the public. The Committee compliments the Superintendent for being very proactive in reaching out to members of the School Committee, the community, and the staff to find out what they think about issues. He responds promptly and courteously to all that approach him with complaints or questions. The Superintendent is very organized and efficient, researches issues, and presents the information in a clear manner. Dr. Harutunian has done an excellent job of articulating the financial needs of the school system He works well with the municipal staff and other boards in guiding the process of fiscal planning and accounting for the school system. The consensus is that the budget is presented in a way that makes it easy to understand. The School Committee has high praise for the overall performance of Dr. Harutunian. He is an optimistic, energetic, visionary leader who is deeply committed to taking the Reading Public School system from its current high level of excellence and moving it forward to the next level and beyond. 5 (I b (RQ Reading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES EXECUTIVE SESSION MINUTES Endicott College, Beverly, MA March 22, 1997 CALL TO ORDER All members present. Also present were Dr. Harutunian and Dennis Richards. Dr. Harutunian asked the School Committee to consider extending the Superintendent's contract to a long term contract. Mr. Twomey said his concern is that actions of this committee could tie the hands of the next School Committee. Mr. Twomey said he has practical and philosophical disagreement with anything more than a one year contract. Ms. D'Antona said that Reading Schools are going well and the School Committee should want to enter into a long term contract with the Superintendent. Mr. Cummings indicated that a long term contract benefits the employee. Mr. Cummings indicated that he has decided that he wants to abstain because he only has three days left to his term. Mr. Spadafora indicated that although he can not support a five year contract, he will support a three year contract for the superintendent. Ms. D'Antona moved that a three (3) year contract for the Superintendent include a modified rollover with a requirement that the Superintendent notify the School Committee by April I that the rollover will occur. Mr. Spadafora seconded the motion. After some discussion, the School Committee decided to wait until Monday evening, March 24`h to decide on the superintendent's contract. Ms. D'Antona withdrew the motion. Mr. Spadafora agreed. Mr. Spadafora motioned to return to open session at 12:45 R.M. Ms. D'Antona seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous, 6 -0. Ms. Cavicchi. Mr. Cummings. Ms. D'Antona, Mr. Spadafora, Mr. Stohlman, Mr. Twomey