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Home My WebLink About1991-08-26 School Committee MinutesREADING PUBLIC SCHOOLS Reading, Massachusetts SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING REGULAR SESSION MINUTES CALL TO ORDER AUGUST 26. 1991 Chair Barbara Philbrick called the regular meeting of the Read- ing School Committee to order at 7:38 p.m. in the Superintendent's Conference Room. All members were present. Also present were Superintendent Robert J. Munnelly, Assistant Superintendent Lynn M. Bak and a reporter from the Chronicle. MINUTES George Shannon moved to accept the minutes from June 22, 1991 and the July 15, 1991 meetings. Stan Nissen seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. George Shannon moved to accept the minutes from the July 29, 1991 meeting. Stan Nissen seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous with one abstention. BILLS AND PAYROLLS The warrant for Bills was as follows: July 29, 1991 - General Expense - $29,092.98 August 5, 1991 - General Expense - $60,596.03 August 12, 1991 - General Expense - $17,626.33 August 19, 1991 - General Expense - $ 8,579.09 August 26, 1991 - General Expense - $93,484.40 The warrant for Payrolls was as follows: August 9, 1991 - Teachers - $122,449.28 August 23. 1991 - Teachers - $111,987.34 August 2, 1991 - Bi- weekly - $ 37,572.81 August 16, 1991 - Bi- weekly - $ 37,205.33 CITIZEN INPUT The Chair recognized Reading Citizen, Steve Thomases, who requested time to speak during the Deferral of Salaries portion of the Agenda. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT ON READINESS FOR THE OPENING OF SCHOOLS Dr. Munnelly stated that the schools are ready to open on Tuesday, September 4, 1991. The Superintendent added that supplies REGULAR SESSION MINUTES 2 AUGUST 26, 1991 are coming in and advised that due to the difficulties with data processing, secondary schedules will be ready on time but could not promise it would run as smoothly as previous years. _0 The Superintendent noted that the bussing schedule for elementary students will be published in the local papers by Thursday or Friday of this week. Dr. Munnelly also advised that Grade 9 -12 students, who were previously bussed, have been notified by post - card that there will be no bussing for Reading Memorial High School. OLD BUSINESS HIGH SCHOOL BUSSING POLICY Dr. Munnelly presented the revised draft of the School Bus Policy, EEAA that now reads: 1. Those pupils entitled to free transportation shall be pupils in grades K -8 only who live more than two (2) miles from their assigned schools. Timothy Twomey moved to accept for a second vote the School Bus Policy, EEAA. Matthew Cummings seconded the motion Discussion continued. The vote was unanimous. Dr. Munnelly stated that Michaud Bus Company would provide bus service to Reading Memorial High School if sufficient people came forward to pay for school bussing. CONFIRM SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING CALENDARS FOR FALL Dr. Munnelly shared the proposed September, 1991 through January, 1992 School Committee meeting schedule. Discussion followed with the Committee suggesting an additional meeting for Tuesday, October 1st and an alternate meeting date of November 19th. School Committee members requested that the open hearing meet- ings be identified as to the schools the meetings were going to be held at. POLICY ON DEFERRAL OF TEACHER SALARIES' Dr. Munnelly shared the memo he received from the Town Manager, Peter Hechenbleikner, dated August 22, 1991, advising that the Finance Committee, by a vote of 8 -0 -0 voted not to endorse the concept of the deferral of teachers' payroll in order to balance the FY92 budget. The memorandum also advised that the Board of Selectmen by a vote of 4 -0 -0 voted to direct the Town Manager not to use the deferral of teachers' salary to re- balance the FY92 budget. An enclosure to this memorandum (B -2 -b) outlined the Town Manager's budget modifications for FY92, with the school's 60% share being $359,081. REGULAR SESSION MINUTES 3 AUGUST 26, 1991 Dr. Munnelly advised that the Town Manager's prioritized list of budget reductions would be presented to the Board of Selectmen for their meeting on August 27th, and that the Board of Select- men will meet on September 10th to close the Warrant for Special Town Meeting to be held on September 26, 1991. Dr. Munnelly stated that he hoped people would see the deferral as an action to avoid catastrophic disruption in the schools. He noted that the Board of Selectmen had voted not to hold a "Super Tuesday" election for an override of Proposition 2 1/2. The Town's Financial officer, Beth Klepeis, presented the fiscal implications of taking the deferral action. School Com- mittee members further discussed the proposed deferral measure. Dr. Munnelly shared the draft policy, BDDE, that he had written to solidify the actions of the School Committee. Stan Nissen moved to reaffirm the policy, BDDE, on a second vote. George Shannon seconded the motion. Discussion followed. Reading Citizen Steve Thomases spoke, as a parent and supporter of the school system, against the deferral and advised the School Committee to look in other areas for cuts rather than teachers. RTA President Peter Greene advised that further cuts in should not be made and supports the proposed deferral measure. The motion passed on a 4 -1 -1 vote. Matthew Cummings moved that the Superintendent appoint a sub- committee to meet before Town Meeting, consisting of two Commit- tee members, one Administrator, two principals, one faculty member and one citizen to look at restructuring the system to minimize the effects of future cuts without impacting classroom teachers and class sizes. George Shannon seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. Discussion followed. REGULAR SESSION MINUTES NEW BUSINESS 4 AUGUST 26, 1991 BID AWARDS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COMPUTER FOR READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL On the recommendation of the Administration, Georqe Shannon moved to award the contract to supply administrative computers for Reading Memorial High School be awarded to Redicker Software, Inc. for $66,132. Matthew Cumminqs seconded the motion. Dis- cussion continued. The vote was unanimous. APPROVAL OF HOME SCHOOLING PLANS On the recommendation of the Administration, George Shannon moved to support the home schooling programs as outlined on enclosure B -3 -b. Matthew Cummings seconded the motion. Discussion fol- lowed. The vote was unanimous. At 10:15 p.m. a brief recess was called and Mary Williams left the meeting. Vice -Chair George Shannon called the Committee back to order at 10 :25 p.m. POLICY DISCUSSION ON SCHOOLS OF CHOICE Dr. Munnelly shared two memos dated July 22, 1991 and August 19, 1991, from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Educa- tion regarding school choice. Discussion continued with the con - census of the Committee not to take action at this time. INFORMATION AND PROPOSALS Assistant Superintendent Bak reported on the success of the self supporting summer program for 1991. Ms. Bak advised that a total enrollment of 256 students participated in the following three program areas: Skills Maintenance - 58 Enrichment - 178 High School Review Courses - 20 The Assistant Superintendent applauded the Director of the summer school program, Jeff Cryan, and publicly thanked his staff. BUILDING AND GROUNDS REPORT Dr. Munnelly complimented the Building and Grounds staff for completing major school repair projects under adverse staffing and financial conditions. The Superintendent noted that due to financial restraints preventative maintenance is not being done. REGULAR SESSION MINUTES 5 AUGUST 26, 1991 -, OTHER The Chair asked Timothy Twomey for a progress report he and Mary Williams have on the policy book. Mr. Twomey advised that they will have suggestions ready by the end of September or early October. DLDC(IAI AI LET RESIGNATIONS On the recommendation of the Administration, Stan Nissen moved to accept the resignations of Susan Tsiatis, Birch Meadow Library/ Media Specialist; Margaret Loder, Secondary Reading Specialist and Raquel Jacobson, Coolidge Middle School Science Teacher effective immediately. Matthew Cummings seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. APPOINTMENTS On the recommendation of the Administration, Stan Nissen moved to appoint Frances Tully as a Kindergarten teacher at the Barrows Elementary School at the salary rate of Masters Level, Step 1; Mary Johnston as a Grade 4 teacher at the Eaton Elementary School at the salary rate of Bachelors Level, Ste 1; Deborah Reinemann as a Grade 6 Physical Science teacher at the Coolidge Middle School at the salary rate of Bachelors Level, Step 1; Margaret Porter as a Special Education short -term substitute from Septem- ber 1991 through December 1991 at the Birch Meadow Elementary School at the rate of $100 per day; and Jean Ferguson as a 1/2 time Special Education teacher at Parker Middle School at the rate of Masters Level, Step 1 all effective September, 1991. Timothy Twomey seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. ADJOURNMENT At 10:55 p.m. Timothy Twomey moved to adjourn. Matthew Cummings seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous. R�NY Submitted RdW i Munn*9 Ed. D. PWNmdent Of schools "M* To The School Committee