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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-01-30 School Committee MinutesREADING PUBLIC SCHOOLS READING, MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING REGULAR SESSION MINUTES JANUARY 30 1995 CALL TO ORDER Chair Timothy Twomey called the Regular School Committee meeting to order at 8:10 p.m. in the Superintendent's Conference Room. All members were present with the exception of Susan Cavicchi. George Shannon was expected to be a few minutes late. Also present were Assistant Superintendent, Dennis Richards and a reporter from the Chronicle. MINUTES Matthew Cummings moved to approve the minutes of January 9 1995. Mr. Stohlman made adjustments. Tim Twomey made note of the stipend on Page 5. Matt Cummings again moved to approve the minutes. Robin D'Antona seconded the motion. The minutes were approved 4 -0. Bills and Pavroll The warrant for bills were as follows: January 30, 1995 - Bills - $ 559,590.73 The warrant for payrolls were as follows: January 27, 1995 - Biweekly - $ 127,323.09 CITIZEN' INPUT Mr. Twomey noted the items on the evening's agenda. The School Committee wishes to interview the consultants bidding to search for a new Superintendent. Dennis Richards stated that one of the firms was eliminated because they were too expensive. Two of the firms could not confirm at this time. NESDEC withdrew, they could not accommodate us at this time and we are not a member. The consultants will each have a representative available to speak for twenty minutes next Monday (February 6th) beginning at 7:00. REGULAR SESSION MINUTES 2 JANUARY 30 1995 PERSONNEL Mr. Twomey explained that the School Committee received two applications from individuals interested in the Interim Superintendent Position. The deadline for the applicants was January 30th, 1995. The two candidates were Dennis Richards and William O'Connell. Tim suggested that they wait until next Monday's meeting because Dr. Munnelly was on vacation and Susan Cavicchi was not present. It was asked if both candidates were available for interviewing, they are. OLD BUSINESS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE'S REPORT ON CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN FY1996 - FY2005 There was conversation concerning the needs of Reading High Memorial High School -( "Reading 2000 "). Robin D'Antona moved that the Board of Selectmen be requested to include the following article on the April Town Meeting Warrant: That Town Meeting appropriate a sum to be used by and at the discretion of the School Building Committee for the purpose of retaining an architect or other qualified professional selected by the School Building Committee to study the physical condition of Reading Memorial High School and to make a report to the School Building Committee thereon. It was stated earlier that the dollar amount would be $ 20,000 Mr. Shannon suggested the amount be left open. Airs. D'Antona moved to make the change. The vote was 5 -0 in favor. SD lA READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL ROOF REPLACEMENT The High School Roof replacement was fine as proposed. SD 1B BIRCH MEADOW ROOF REPLACEMENT The Birch Meadow Roof Replacement is fine as proposed. REGULAR MINUTES 3 JANUARY 30 1995 SD 1C ROOF REPLACEMENT JOSHUA EATON SCHOOL The Committee believes the Joshua Eaton Roof Replacement needs to be in the Capital Plan in the event that contingency funds are not sufficient to allow for the roof replacement. The Eaton Construction project is now entering the renovation phase which could put an unexpected drain on contingency funds. It would be very costly to delete the project from the capital plan and then find that available contingency funds are insufficient to allow for the replacement of the roof. Air Twomey noted that even though we are halfway through the spending we are not halfway through the risks. SD 2 THE PARKER MIDDLE SCHOOL RENOVATION PROJECT The Parker Middle School Renovation Project was approved by Town Meeting. SD 3 BURNER /BOILER REPLACEMENT PLAN The Burner /Boiler Replacement Plan was accepted by the School Committee with the assumption that the $ 172,000 per year spending will continue until FY 2006 so that all the Boilers /Burners would be replaced. SD 4 OIL TANK REPLACEMENT AND ENCAPSULATION Mr. Twomey wanted the Oil Tank Replacement and Encapsulation to read as it did in the original draft. There was a question about the reduced annual expenditure from $ 60,000 to $ 40,000. The School Committee wanted it known that there was no assumption to be made that we were converting to gas. SD 5 THE AMERICAN DISABILITIES ACT - CHAIRLIFTS AND TOILETS Mr. Stohlman stated that the FY 99 money should be put back in the plan. Mr. Twomey noted that Dr. Munnelly put $ 15,000 in the original plan each year as a show of good faith and an effort to comply with the A.D.A. The School Committee wanted the original plan restored. Hr. Shannon stated that all of our schools passed the technical requirements. Some of the schools do need help. Mr. Shannon said the plan showed a sense of commitment. REGULAR SESSION MINUTES 4 JANUARY 30 1995 SD 6 THE FIRE ALARM REPLACEMENT The Fire Alarm Replacement is fine as proposed. SD 7 THE DOOR REPLACEMENT PROGRAM The Door Replacement program should be restored as proposed in the School Committee Plan. The annual program is in response to the Fire Chief's requirement that the front doors at the High School be replaced as soon as possible. The Fire Chief's stated that chains on doors are not acceptable. The replacement of the doors at the High School may be cheaper than originally anticipated because they were able to use the existing frames. Not all the doors in the School System are the same. The bids for the actual work needs to be reviewed. Mr. Shannon stated that the funds must be there if they are needed. SD 8 COOLIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL RENOVATIONS Mr. Stohlman noted that changes in the year 2002 will not serve the current population at Coolidge. The Committee believes that the Coolidge Middle School Renovation Plan should be restored to the School Committee Plan. The Media Center and the Resource Room are both grossly inadequate. If the project proceeds as proposed the renovations will be done by the time the new Parker Middle School opens. SD 9A THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PLAN SD 9B THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PLAN: UPGRADES. Mr. Stohlman moved to amend the Capital Improvement Plan of September 12, 1994 to include 9B. The Plan was approved 5 -0. REGULAR SESSION 141NUTES 5 JANUARY 30.1995 Maintenance is computer upgrading not to be confused with computer repairs. The School Committee recognizes that as the Information Technology Plan is implemented we need to provide replacement equipment on a regular schedule as new technology comes to the market. The Replacement Schedule would begin in in FY 2000 as follows: YEAR AMOUNT 2000 $ 100,000 2001 $ 100,000 2002 $ 200,000 2003 $ 200,000 2004 $ 200,000 2005 $ 200,000 The Information Technology Plan should be restored as proposed in the School Committee Plan. It was suggested to spend $312,000 in FY 1996 and $ 400,000 in FY 1997 followed by $ 400,000 in FY 1999, 2001 and FY 2003. It was voted 5 - 0. SD 10 ELECTROPLATING LOCKERS The Electroplating Lockers Program should be restored as proposed in the School Committee Plan. The project has never been funded so now many of the lockers are unsightly. SD 11 RMHS PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE Withdrawn by School Committee 9/12/94. SD 12 THE BARROWS LIBRARY SPACE REMODELING Fine as proposed SD 13 CEILING TILE REPLACEMENT The Ceiling Tile Replacement is fine as proposed. SD 14 THE RMHS ENERGY MANAGEMENT COMPUTER Fine as is. SD 15 VEHICLE REPLACEMENT Fine as is. SD 16 OVERFLOW RETROFIT OF OIL TANKS Moved to FY 95 and Completed. REGULAR SESSION 14INUTES 6 JANUARY 30, 1995 SD 17 MAINTENANCE SNOWBLOWERS Withdrawn by School Committee 1/30/95. The School Committee feels that snowblowers should be in the Maintenance Budget. SD 18 CLASSROOM FURNITURE. The Classroom Furniture Program should be restored as proposed in the School Committee Plan. The desks and chairs can only last so long. Matt Cummings moved to approve THE AMENDED CAPITAL PLAN. The Amended Capital Plan was approved with the necessary comments. The vote was 5 -0. An 7nTrnu At 10:00 George Shannon moved to adjourn. Thomas Stohlman seconded the motion. The vote was 5 -0. Matthew Cumminas Roberta D'Antona George Shannon Thomas Stohlman Timothy Twomey lcspectful Submit ed, III / l) Dennis Richards Interim Superintendent