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Home My WebLink About1993-12-20 School Committee MinutesREADING PUBLIC SCHOOLS Reading, Massachusetts SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING REGULAR SESSION MINUTES DEC,EM1389 20, 1993 CALL TQ.QRDEk Chalr._ Roberta, D',Antona :k_eg'uiar the Reading Sehonl *;Committed° to Qzert 7 332 -m. in, the _-.,C4Atra1 ' Office Conference Room Ail -, juembdr.s were'.' present-'.'.. XIso, P we�ne... Superinie�dq-qt�Pqb t, J. Munne 1 ly As-sii3tant. Sup.erinte, Dennis .-A R' c:',fiar d 5. �' F nCom, Representatives Nathan ,.'-�"W.hite. and Steve '.glewitt? and', a, -reporter fiom the Chronicle�- MINUTES ID --he M-11 Matthew -Cummin4ds �mdved totes from` .4 I November 9 9 3 , �22, L -.. e t.i'nVr__i! _SU . _s4n: QA.v.ictbi-� . po motion. Thee was discussion t0 cc reitt the approve -. motion for 3ctob6-r -18 1993, The .:v I j-0- , ''RoS6rta dto shou D'Antona abstained.,The eorredtion'was noted.. unanimous.. Z7 Sqp an cavicchf-moved -t-Q, at2r6ve 4Lnutes-j.roni the ember 6, 1493-.! i-Matthe4-- QumMil%gss 50qgjpded,,,jt,he motion -, Mr. 11 Shann6h requested" is concetp for a`,stew > Ln _j_uibd i g rather than the ren- ovatioA'be reflected in.lthose m1nutes. The correction was noted. The motion was unanimous. The,,warrants for Bills were'_ e e: fc1'Jows: '01 '1993, D&c m0er 2 Bills I,29 889-40 -11 e g-- The warrants for Payrolls wire a follows: December. .17, i9-93, Biweekly $123,146.98 CITIZENS,,' INPUT .Mr. and Mrs. Waterrhan :asked when home - schbali v ou Id be'° Dr. Mqnnelly explained that the Aext' meeting will be;,,un the�ea ri&4. be Janua.ry,,3; 1994 acid lioin4 Schooling SUPERINTENVENt'S AND-.,SCH-QOL COMMITT,,EE-: 7-KAIR',S REPORT -Dr. Munnelly invited Reading Memorial. High School .,Senfor Alana- 'Nappi, to c-ome forward to accept tK .1993 Superinten- REGULAR SESSION MINUTES 2 DECEMBER 20, 1993 dent's Excellence Award. The Superintendent explained that Ms. Nappi ranks 14th in the senior class. He noted that she has been a class officer as a junior and is secretary of the senior class as well. Dr. Munnelly added that she has been inducted into the French Honor Society, the National Honor Society, was the recipient of the Princeton Book Award last spring, and has been a member of the Student Council and also a Peer Leader for all four years of her high school career. Along with her scholastic attainments the. Superintendent stated, Ms. Nappi is a skilled ballet student who is currently performing in the "Nutcracker" in Boston. The School Committee congratulated Alana Nappi for her accomplishments-and wished her continued success. Dr. Munnelly publicly thanked Joe Saccone, who televises the School Committee meetings via Cablevision, for his ongoing commitment. PERSONNEL (out of order) Assistant Superintendent Richards informed the School Commit- tee of the recent resignation of Garry Reidester, -Computer teacher at Parker; and Shelly Sheridan, SPED Assistant at Killam. INFORMATION AND PROPOSALS CALENDAR (out of order) Dr. Munnelly sought input into the School Committee's Winter/ Spring 1994 Calendar. He stated an additional: meeting, January 3, 1994, should be added and that time will need to be set aside for a round table meeting with School Councils. A date of January 31 was proposed. The Superintendent stated he would prepare a final calendar. NEW BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH SCHOOL COUNCILS DISCUSSION The Superintendent advised that the Co -chair of the High School Advisory Councils asked to meet with the School Committee in order to establish communication. Ms. D'Antona outlined the three areas of their concerns: 1. Timetable - When does the School Committee expect the School Improvement plan to be completed and sent to them for approval? REGULAR SESSION MINUTES 3 DECEMBER 20, 1993 2. Definition - Define the desired areas to be covered in the School Improvement Plan that are to be explored? What are the expectations of the School Committee? 3. Communication - How are the councils to interact with each other, that is from school to school and from level to level? A member stated that each of the 7 councils need to outline what School Improvement Programs will be defined. He noted that the School Committee will not craft a district -wide School Improvement Program. Ms. D'Antona stated the councils are interested in knowing what they should focus on during the first year. Another member advised all school councils need to have their own preliminary plans formed for the round table discussion. A School Committee member stated we need to work off same set of expectations for a collective understanding. Assistant Superintendent Richards related it is healthy for the councils to ask questions. He added that over time they will realize that they have the answers to many of the questions. School Committee members expressed that they are looking forward to the round table meeting. WAIVER George Shannon moved to waive the $150 fee for the use of the High School Auditorium on January 23, 1994 for the 350th Anniversary Committee to hold an ecumenical worship service. Matthew Cumminqs seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. VISITORS Linda Carter and the Reading Band Parents, on the television monitor, presented a visual report of the recent Sleigh Bell Parade in Boston. Ms. Carter commented on community and outside compliments the band parents received. The band parents proudly spoke of the band's first gold medal and highest scores accomplishments. They invited the public to a concert being held at Reading Memorial High School on Wednesday evening. Congratulations were extended by the Administration and School Committee members to Mr. Bunten, the band, and the parents who support the band. REGULAR SESSION MINUTES 4 DECEMBER 20, 1993 OLD BUSINESS BUDGET FY 1995 REVIEW OF PRELIMINARY BUDGET Dr. Munnelly presented an overview of the revised preliminary budget that represents an increase of 5.4% over the current fiscal year's $15,948.438. The Superintendent shared the following draft budget analysis for FY95: $16,811,616 BUDGET DRAFT TOTAL FOR 1995 - 168,000 REVENUE EXPECTED $16,643,616 - 402,500 COSTS TRANSPORTATION (BELOW LINE) $16,241,116 (ABOVE THE LINE) + 2,391,031 TOWNSIDE (INCLUDES $45,000 CAFETERIA $18,632,147 HEALTH BENEFITS, $35,000 FOR SALARY INCREASE TOWNSIDE + $25,000 IN NEW EMPLOYEES' COST ADDED TO FY94 $2,331,031 $18,191,144 TARGET SPENDING AMOUNT (Formulas figured out with Town Accountant) $ 441,003 AMOUNT PRELIMINARY BUDGET EXCEEDS TARGET He added that the Education Reform law mandates minimum levels of education spending, which for Reading in FY95 is estimated at $18.2 million. School Committee member Mr. Stohlman requested the salary budget figures. Another member, Mr. Cummings, asked if the $50,000 for computers would be an above the line figure? Dr. Munnelly replied that he assumed that amount was for the portables adding he would investigate the amount further. For comparison the Superintendent continued with Actual Expenditures FY93, Annual Adopted Budget (Revised) FY94, and the Proposed Budget FY95 figures for School Administration, Regular Day, Special Education Instruction, Other Services, Athletics, and Custodial. Dr. Munnelly explained some of the Proposed Budget FY95 figures. In the Administration Division a member stated the $10,000 negotiations council figure may be needed by School Committee for help while impact bargaining with teachers and money could also be spent on arbitration, noting this class- ification could be titled Labor Council. Under Regular Day Division, Dr. Munnelly stated in FY94, 1900 days of absences had to be covered by substitute teachers. A member suggested updating the title of Teacher Aides to Edu- cational Assistants. A member questioned if the Data Process- ing Lease ended in 1994? REGULAR SESSION MINUTES 5 DECEMBER 20, 1993 The Superintendent advised that the present year's budget for Special Education Instruction Division has not been completely worked out. Mr. Twomey requested an explanation of the Other Service Extra - Curricular figure and pointed out in the Athletics Division the Athletic Director's Salary was not accurate when reported as half -time. Asked about first aid liability, Dr. Munnelly replied we have taken prudent steps in that direction. The Superintendent advised the teacher salary rate for FY95 an increase of 4.7 %. Dr. Munnelly continued with FY95 Equipment and Building, Custodial and Maintenance Basic Building Expenditures and Priorities. A School Committee member asked Dr. Munnelly to check into reference figures for the support of hiring a licensed electrician for a custodian. Another member questioned when could an Early Retirement vote be taken. Dr. Munnelly replied in January. FinCom member, Mr. White stated it will need to be approved by the Finance Committee to be put on the warrant. The Superintendent discussed Priority ary Budget FY95. The following items Draft - identified by Dr. Munnelly reduction: Sabbatical $16,000 Electrical Costs 9,000 Asbestos 2,500 Mainstreaming 10,000 Staff Development SPED Chemical Holding Tank 8,000 1.5 Specialists 45,000 SPED Tuitions/ Transportation 102,000 Elementary SPED Teachers 59,440 added Sept /June 93 -94 Increase for Substitutes ? Items for were not as (w) (w) (r) (r) (r) (w) (w) (r) (w) (w) the Prelimin- in the Budget want or (r) EXAMINATION AND DISCUSSION ABOUT DECISION POINTS Dr. Munnelly outlined the decisions for warrant article consideration as follows: 1. Roof Replacement -RMHS $314,000 2. Ceiling Tile Replacement -RMHS 32,000 3. Space Remodeling- Barrows School 15,000 4. Chapter 504- Chairlifts /Toilets- 15,000 Systemwide REGULAR SESSION MINUTES 6 DECEMBER 20, 1993 5. Alarm and Fire Protection - Systemwide 36,000 6. Oil Tank Removal and Overflow 29,000 Retrofit of Remaining Tanks 7. Boiler Replacement 172,000 8. Early Retirement -0- 9. Vehicle Replacement (Van) 20,000 $ 633,000 Dr. Munnelly stated that these and other capital expenditures should be funded through a special warrant article at the next Town Meeting. ADJOURN At 10:40 p.m. Thomas Stohlman moved to adjourn to executive session for the purpose of negotiations George Shannon seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Susan Cavicchi Matthew Cummings Roberta D'Antona George Shannon Thomas Stohlman Timothy Twomey Respectfully Submitted Robert J. Munnelly, Ed. D. Superintendent Of Schools Secretary To The School Committee