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Home My WebLink About1988-01-11 School Committee MinutesW'. READING PUBLIC SCHOOLS ,Reading, Massachusetts SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES CALL TO ORDER January 11, 1988 Chairman George Shannon called the regular meeting of the Reading School Committee to order at 7:30 p.m. on January 11, 1982, in the Lecture Hall at Reading Memorial High School. All members with the exception of Richard Coco were present. Also present were the Superintendent Dr. Robert J. Munnelly; Assistant Superintendent Ronald Winslow; Principal Mark Piechota; High School Social Studies Chairperson, Tom Darrin; Assistant Principal Robert Quinn;and a reporter from the Chronicle. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Mr. Nissen, seconded by Mrs. Philbr; k to approve the minutes of January 4, with the following changes: add time of adjournment of.12:05 a.m.,-correct the arrival time of Mr. Shannon from Assistant Superintendent Search Report to Citizens Input. The vote was unanimous. BILLS AND PAYROLLS Bills and payrolls were approved as follows: Bills January 18, 1988 Payrolls January 15, 1988 CITIZENS INPUT No citizens input. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT General Expense Teachers Weekly $60,162.36 $358,616.02 $48,265.63 Dr. Munnelly introduced the students representing the tudent Advisory Council and High School Staff Members. NEW BUSINESS Quarterly Meeting with School Committee of Student Advisory Council. Students Nancy Drane and Tara Callaghan guided two groups of board members and audience participants through Reading Memorial High School. The tour consisted of viewing the Computer Lab, Library, the closed in Science rooms, the Focus area, and the tech area. After the tour Chairman Shannon on behalf of the School Committee, thanked the students and staff for the time offered in the guided tour of selected areas in Reading Memorial High School. READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 2. JANUARY 11, 1988 NEW BUSINESS (cont.) After reconvening in the Lecture Hall, Student Council member Tara Callaghan described activities conducted and planned for the school year. These include: 1) canned food drive; cans collected for Home for Little Wanderers 2 ) Smoke -Out 3) Annual Globe Santa 4) Christmas cards to Dear Abby servicemen 5) Put jukebox in Cafeteria 6) Senior Prom 7) Reading Scholarship Foundation - Phone -a -Thou 8) Lip Sync Contest Chairman Shannon commented on the level of activity and involvement of the Student Council at the high school and commended the time and effort offered by the students. Chairman Shannon thanked Tara Callaghan for presenting the information to the School Committee. Reading Memorial High School Year to Date. Dr. Munnelly then intro- duced Reading Memorial High School Principal Dr. Mark Piechota and Assistant Principal Robert Quinn. Dr. Piechota proceeded to read the;.. "Ideal Curriculum" written by U.S. Secretary of Education, William Bennett, comparing that to the curriculum offered at our high school. Concerns raised by Dr. Piechota included the high school drop -out rate and the need for Business Education students to have a one -year arts program included in their curricula. Chairman Shannon thanked Dr. Piechota for sharing an overview of the school year to date, and took note of the suggestions offered. High School Social Studies Curriculum Development. Superintendent Munnelly introduced Social Studies Department Head, Tom Darrin. Mr. Darrin briefed the committee on recommended changes the staff would like to see implemented in the Social Studies curriculum at the high school. These changes would shift more emphasis into teaching about other areas of the world and would better achieve departmental goals to the benefit of the students. Questions and discussion followed the presentation. OLD BUSINESS Budget. Dr. Munnelly reviewed the 1989 preliminary budget with recommendations for deletions and reductions from the first version of the budget that was presented on January 4, 1988. This figure totalled $280,961. 1�1 } READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 3. OLD BUSINESS (cont.) JANUARY 11, 1988 SUMMARY OF TOTAL SCHOOL BUDGET FY89 - SALARY AND EXPENSE DRAFT 2 The majority of cuts focused in the areas of special aeeds,transportation, and tuition. Questions and discussion followed Dr. Munnelly's presen- tation. INFORMATION AND PROPOSALS Committee Member, Clifford Allen regretfully submitted a letter of resignation. Chairman Shannon moved to accept with deep regret Mr. Allen's letter of intent. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Philbrick. The vote was unanimous. ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH: STATUS REPORT Mr. Nissen informed the committee that forty -four applications were reviewed. Seventeen candidates were selected to interview. Future committee meetings, including interviews, will be held at Eaton School on the following dates: January 12, January 14, January 16, January 19, January 20, January 21, BARGAINING 7 :00 -10:00 p.m. 7 :00 -10:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. -1:30 p.m. 7 :00 -10:00 p.m. 7:00 -10:00 p.m. 7:00 -10:00 p.m. Mr. Nissen and Ms. Lyons volunteered to represent the School Committee to serve as members on the subcommittee for Cafeteria and Custodial bargaining. At the next School Committee meeting, Mr. Shannon will announce the names of all individuals serving on this subcommittee. FY89 FY88 Diff. TOTAL REGULAR DAY EXPENSE $1,905,768 $1,719,330 $186,438 10.8% TOTAL SPECIAL NEEDS EXPENSE 666,237 471,175 195,062 41.4% TOTAL ATHLETICS EXPENSE 96,715 82,921 13,794 16.6% 2,668,720 2,273,426 395,294 17.4% TOTAL SALARY 11,210,369 10,956,803 253,566 2.3% GRAND TOTAL $13,879,089 13,230,229 648,860 4.9% The majority of cuts focused in the areas of special aeeds,transportation, and tuition. Questions and discussion followed Dr. Munnelly's presen- tation. INFORMATION AND PROPOSALS Committee Member, Clifford Allen regretfully submitted a letter of resignation. Chairman Shannon moved to accept with deep regret Mr. Allen's letter of intent. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Philbrick. The vote was unanimous. ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH: STATUS REPORT Mr. Nissen informed the committee that forty -four applications were reviewed. Seventeen candidates were selected to interview. Future committee meetings, including interviews, will be held at Eaton School on the following dates: January 12, January 14, January 16, January 19, January 20, January 21, BARGAINING 7 :00 -10:00 p.m. 7 :00 -10:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. -1:30 p.m. 7 :00 -10:00 p.m. 7:00 -10:00 p.m. 7:00 -10:00 p.m. Mr. Nissen and Ms. Lyons volunteered to represent the School Committee to serve as members on the subcommittee for Cafeteria and Custodial bargaining. At the next School Committee meeting, Mr. Shannon will announce the names of all individuals serving on this subcommittee. READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 4. JANUARY 11, 1988 - - -, ADJOURNMENT At 11:05 p.m., there being no further business, Mr. Nissen moved to adjourn, seconded by Mrs. Philbrick. The vote was unanimous.