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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-08-29 School Committee MinutesREADING PUBLIC SCHOOLS Reading, Massachusetts SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING REGULAR SESSION MINUTES CALL TO ORDER AUGUST 29, 1988 Chairman George Shannon called the regular meeting of the Reading School Committee to order at 7:40 p.m. in the Conference Room of the Superintendent's Office at 34 Gould Street. All members were present except Richard Coco. Also present were Superintendent Robert J. Munnelly; Assistant Superintendents Lynn M. Bak and Ronald A. Winslow; Past R.T.A. president, Stan Quinlan, present R.T.A. President, Peter Greene; parents and a reporter from the Chronicle. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Stan Nissen made a motion to approve the Minutes from the July 25, 1988 meeting. Barbara Philbrick seconded that motion. The vote was 4 -0 -1, with Margaret Cowell abstaining due to not being in attendance on the 25th. BILLS AND PAYROLLS The warrent for Bills and Payrolls were as follows: BILLS: August 15, 1988 - General Expense - $70,386.43 August 22, 1988 - General Expense - $20,053.57 August 29, 1988 - General Expense - $86,351.79 PAYROLLS August 11, 1988 - Teachers - $103,140.58 August 25, 1988 - Teachers - $103,566.42 August 12, 1988- Weekly - $ 20,274.60 August 19, 1988 - Weekly - $ 19,347.89 August 26, 1988 - Weekly - $ 21,861.97 CITIZENS INPUT Kendra Cooper, P.T.O. Chairperson, informed School Committee Members that the wheels have been set in motion to get a fence in front of the forest portion near the Birch Meadow School. Peter Greene, R.T.A. President, wanted a few points clarified from the last School Committee's meeting with the R.T.A. First, salary was not the only issue holding the R.T.A. back from SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 2 AUGUST 29, 1988 CITIZENS INPUT (CONTINUED) .. settling, but also there are language disputes. Also, the R.T.A. is not in full agreement with the School Committee on their position in negotiations. Mr. Greene's point being, if the R.T.A. were in full agreement with the School Committee, negotiations would not be in the stalemate they are in now. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT (1) Opening of School - Schools are ready to open September 8th. Classroom teachers and specialists are assigned, and a new teacher orientation takes place August 31st. Buildings are thoroughly cleaned and shined up for the students. Reading anticipates 3,584 students this year, which is a slight decrease from last year's numbers. The opening workshop for teachers will take place September 6th at Reading High Auditorium. Mr. Shannon, Peter Greene and Dr. Munnelly will be making some welcoming remarks. Dr. Richard Strong, a nationally prominent teacher /educator, will give the keynote address. Dr. Strong will be the leader of an exciting staff development program for 60 of Reading's secondary school teachers during the 1988 -89 school year on the topic of obtaining instrumental excellence. (2) Interactive TV - Reading's interactive T.V. alignment with Wakefield High School, which will result in 5th year French being available for Reading and Wakefield seniors, will be beginning on September 8th along with all the other courses. Gina Healy, will be the teacher of this interactive course. Mrs. Healy had time to get ready this summer, met with the Wakefield Foreign Language faculty to arrange books and other teaching materials, and field - tested with Joe Cain the equipment needed for a classroom video production situation. Lowell University had donated the use of 2 facsimile (FAX) machines to provide for the passing of homework, tests and other communications instantaneously. It's all very exciting!! (3) Dr. Munnelly reported on the Retreat that the Board of Selectmen and FinComm had on Saturday, July 23, 1988 to discuss future plans for the Town of Reading. OLD BUSINESS Dr. Munnelly introduced to the public Dr. Alex Alexanian, Special Education Director for Reading Public Schools. Dr. Alexanian in turn introduced two parent /citizens, Dr. Donald Green and Charles Symonds, who presented highlights of their study process for the SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 3 AUGUST 29, 1988 OLD BUSINESS (CONTINUED) report on "The Future of Special Education" in Reading which School Committee members received earlier this summer. This group was charged with studying the future of Special Eduuation in Reading in the 1990's (see enclosure) and reporting back to the School Committee by this past June. The School Committee's job was to "hear" the report, and get to understand it and its implications for future action. The major consensus, by P.A.C. group members and Task Force members, was enthusiastic, encouragement and a great sense of accomplishment. Dr. Munnelly, and School Committee members thanked all especially the Task Force members, who had a hand in that report and presentation. SCHOOL COMMITTEE AGENDA CALENDAR Dr. Munnelly took the School Committee's suggestion and incorporated these ideas into the month -by -month agenda item calendar. Chairman Shannon and Dr. Munnelly will use this calendar to lay out meetings so the School Committee can continue their "new" tradition of 3 -3 1/2 hour meetings to accomplish School Committee business. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT COUNCIL The law which guide School Improvement Councils, (SIC), calls for one member to be appointed by the School Committee to each School Improvement Council. The School Committee's appointee, (which is to be done annually), cannot be a parent of a child in that school. Each school needs a member from the public at large although at one school the person will accept a reappointment. Dr. Munnelly suggests that the School Committee ask the public to volunteer by calling School Committee members or the Superintendent's Office, and that preparations be made to make appointments at the September 12 meeting. Each S.I.C. will develop a plan to spend $10 a pupil. There may be a distribution of an additional $2.50 early next year. Mr. Shannon asked both medias present at the meeting to inform the public on the S.I.C. vacancies. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 4 AUGUST 29, 1988 NEW BUSINESS Once again, the Rodriguez family seeks approval to carry out home schooling of their 4 children. The family has an arrangement with the CLONLARA SCHOOL of Michigan which supervises home schooling, provides texts, suggests lessons, etc. The Clonlara curriculum is fairly standard and matches Reading's for compulsory schooling purposes. As part of the School Committee's policy, members ask for evidence of student progress. After many requests and some delays, standardized test data were turned over to Lynn Bak. It took little analysis to see that the children were far below Reading performance standards in most areas tested. If these children were in the Reading schools and had these test performances, we would begin diagnosing the problems and planning of remediation activities. Special education core evaluations would have been instituted. This observation has been communicated to the parents and to the Clonlara School. It is the view of the administration that a drastic revision of the home schooling plan is called for because of the childrens' lack of academic progress. Dr. Munnelly and Lynn have insisted that the school and parents get on with diagnosis and remediation, and that they develop home schooling plan to meet the childrens' needs in prompt fashion. Dr. Munnelly accordingly recommeded that the Reading School y Committee approve, for a three - calendar -month period, the home schooling for the Rodriguez family children so that the family and Clonlara School can carry out diagnostic studies of the childrens' learning of basic skills and can develop a suitable plan to remediate and improve the childrens' learning. There was a period of questions and discussion. Carol Lvons made a motion to approve a three - calendar -month period, the home schooling for the Rodriguez family children so that the family and Clonlara School can carry out diagnostic studies of the childrens' learning of basic skills and can develop a suitable plan to remediate and improve the childrens' learning. The motion was seconded by Margaret Cowell. The vote was unanimous. AWARD OF BIDS Mr. Winslow and his staff have recommendations on the award of bids for microscopes for RMHS; student and cafeteria furniture, and for the re -bid for the roof at the Field House. Mr. Winslow will be recommending the low bid for furniture and the roof, and the 2nd lowest bid for the microscopes. The awards were as follows: SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 5 AUGUST 29, 1988 SPECIAL NEEDS TRANSPORTATION 4WD Stan Nissen made a motion to approve the Special Needs Transportation as shown on Attachment B -3 -b (1), dated 8/25/88. The motion was seconded by Barbara Philbrick. The vote was unanimous. MICROSCOPES Stan Nissen made a motion to approve the Microscope bid, as shown on Attachment B -3 -b (2), dated 7/22/88, in the amount of $6,042.00. The motion was seconded by Barbara Philbrick. The vote was unanimous. SCHOOL FURNITURE Barbara Philbrick made a motion to approve the furniture bids, as shown on B -3 -b (3), dated 8/17/88. The motion was seconded by Carol Lyons. The vote was 4 -0 -1 with Margaret Cowell abstaining, reason unstated. RE- ROOFING OF THE HAWKE'S FIELD HOUSE Stan Nissen made a motion to approve the roofing bid, as shown on Attachment B -3 -b (4), Caesar's Roofing, in the amount of S194.000.00. The motion was seconded by Margaret Cowell. The vote was unanimous. STUDENT INSURANCE Carol Lyons made a motion to approve the insurance bid to Lefevre Insurance Agency, for the 1988 -1989 school year, dated 8/29/88. The motion was seconded by Barbara Philbrick. The vote was unanimous. ADULT EDUCATION FEES SCHEDULES Reading's policy calls for the Reading School Committee to set fees for the self - supporting adult education program. Marc Alterio, Athletic Director, has proposed a budget with cost -of- living raises for staff. A modest increase in fees is called for. It is the administration's recommendation that the new fee structure be adopted. Barbara Philbrick made a motion on recommendation of Administration, fee schedules for adult education, as shown on Attachment B -3 -c, dated 8/26/88. The motion was seconded by Margaret Cowell. The vote was unanimous. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 6 AUGUST 29, 1988 INFORMATION AND PROPOSALS H.V.A.C. TECHNICIAN DENIED. Dr. Munnelly informed the School Committee that the grant submitted jointly by the Town and School Department to the Executive Office for Communities and Development to fund a HVAC repair technician was turned down recently. GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM UPDATE Lynn Bak spoke briefly on the information /report Karen Rickershauser and Sue Wood have prepared on their attendance at the Gifted and Talented "Confratute" at the University of Connecticut. They participated in an inservice meeting carried out one day this week for administrators by Roslyn Frank, the head of the Gifted and Talented office at the Massachusetts Department of Education. Informational packets and books were circulated for the School Committee's Review. There was a brief period of questions and comments. ESSEX AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL SCHOOL - VOCATIONAL ENROLLMENTS- 1988 Dr. Munnelly informed the School Committee that 4 students from Reading are enrolled at Essex Aggie. Some of the students are high school vocational students and 2 are associate degree candidates for whom Reading pays half of the tuition ($1200 of a $2400 tuition fee). All are studying in agricultural- related fields such as landscaping, floriculture, or horticulture. GOALS BOOKLETS Ms. Bak distributed the secondary and elementary goal booklets to School Committee members for the 1988 -1989 school year. These booklets are updated versions of goal statements which have guided Reading's curriculum effort in the past. The booklets were reprinted in limited quantities so the School Committee could carry out a meaningful review of K -12 curriculum which is a key professional activity in the Reading Public Schools. SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 7 AUGUST 29, 1988 GOALS BOOKLETS (CONTINUED) It is these goals, or one's similar to them, which are the starting and ending the School Committee points for on -going examination of the effectiveness of the Reading Schools. The goals are a set of promises, and every few years it is important to look carefully at how well Reading's students perform in reference to these goals. The intent is to deliver what was promised. This process has served Reading well for the past 10 or more years. As Reading moves into the future, the School Committee may want to play an active part in the reviewing, refining, and changing of goals of the system. Various curriculuar groups will be coming to the School Committee to report progress and make suggestions for revision. Curriculum goal setting is at the heart of the educational process, and is clearly a key activity for School Committee members. There was a period of questions and discussion. Ms. Bak thanked Sue Wheltle for her help in pulling these booklets together. PERSONNEL ACTIONS Resignations Stan Nissen made a motion to approve, on recommendation of Administration, the resignations of Mr. Barry Low, Director of Music, and Mr. Paul Soule, teacher of Science at Reading Memorial HiQh School. The motion was seconded by Margaret Cowell. The vote was unanimous. The School Committee, Dr. Munnelly and Ms. Bak wish both success, and the best of luck in their future endeavors. Appointments /Re- Appointments Stan Nissen made a motion to approve, on recommendation of administration, the appointments /re- appointments of teachers as shown on Attachment D -2. The motion was seconded by Margaret Cowell. The vote was unanimous. Mr. Winslow informed the School Committee on some transfers and appointments in the secretarial /custodial /aide areas of Reading School System. They were as follows: SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES 8 AUGUST 29, 1988 A000intments /Re- Appointments (Continued) Darlene Porter, transfer to Maintenance; Kathleen Butler, transferring from an aide to receptionist at Reading High to replace Hilda Ahlstrom; Dale Stewart, aide at Parker Middle School; Patricia Faria, aide at Coolidge Middle School; Virginia Anderson, transfering from aide to attendance at Reading Memorial High School. Custodians Fred Kirkland, to Barrows School; John Talbot, to Reading Memorial High School; William Martin, to Joshua Eaton School. Barbara Philbrick made a motion to approve the recommendation of administration to approve the transfers /appointments, as stated above The motion was seconded by Stan Nissen. The vote was unanimous. ADJOURNMENT At 9:25 p.m., the School Committee unanimously voted to adjourn and go into Executive Session and not return to Regular Session .,b by roll call vote.