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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-07-22 School Committee Minutes 277 READING PUBLIC SCHOOLS Reading, Massachusetts SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES JULY 22, 1986 Call to Order Chairman Cliff Allen called the regular meeting of the Reading School Committee to order at 7:35 p.m. on July 22, 1986 in the Superintendent' s Conference Room at 34 Gould Street. All members of the School Committee were present with the exception of Mr. Richard Coco and Ms. Carol Lyons who were on vacation. Others in attendance were Superintendent, Dr. Robert S. Wells, Asst . Superintendent, Dr. Robert Munnelly, parents, and a reporter from the Daily Times Chronicle . Mr. Allen noted that Mr. Ronald Winslow, Assistant Superintendent in Charge of Business, was also on vacation. Approval of Minutes of Meeting of July 7, 1986 A motion was made by Mr. Nissen, seconded by Mr. Shannon to approve the Minutes of the Meeting of July 7 , 1986, and the vote was unanimous. Bills and Payrolls Warrants for bills and payrolls were approved as follows: Bills July 25, 1986 - General Expense - $24,658.78 Payrolls July 25, 1986 - Weekly - $18,035 .32 July 24, 1986 - Teachers - $85 ,931.97 Citizens ' Input Mr . William Griset, a parent, asked to be recognized. He stated he wanted to make a comment and express some concerns regarding the REACT Program, an item he did not see on the Agenda. He stated under the guidance of Eileen Woods the program has been very successful. He understood that Mrs . Woods had submitted her resignation and would be taking a position as Principal in the Town of Andover. Mr. Griset stated he felt this was a tremendous loss for the Town and the REACT Program. He stated he thought Mrs . Woods deserved a special vote of thanks from citizens of the Town for her wonderful and tireless work. At this time , Chairman Cliff Allen, stated that Mrs . Woods ' resignation was on the agenda and perhaps Mr. Griset would prefer to hold his comments until that time. Mr. Griset stated he was willing to wait until then. 278 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES July 22, 1986 Mrs. Kendra Cooper, a parent, asked to be recognized and stated in reading the draft of the Minutes of July 7, 1986 , she wondered why Mr. Coco' s remarks regarding the District Attorney' s advice on the Open Meeting Law_ discussed at that meeting and some comments made by Dr. Wells on the same subject, were not included in the Minutes. Mr. Nissen stated that Minutes are required to certainly describe all actions taken by the body, but they describe the topics that were discussed very generally. He stated, there is no requirement that every word or statement made by every member should be included, and it would be impossible to require anyone to do that . Mr. Nissen stated in answer to why those particular comments were not included, he felt that this was a level of detail that was p is t stated everyone statements own cto wha t important and not all c uld be included in the Minutes. Mrs. Philbrick stated that Mr. Coco luded Minutes, and if he felt that his re marks should have been included in the Minutes, he was free to make that comment, as were any of the committee. She stated she felt it was up to the members to see that their comments were written if they felt they had been omitted. Mrs. Philbrick stated she agreed with Mr. Nissen that the Minutes were a summary of comments of topics discussed, and she felt the Secretary does a very good job getting the inomasion. any member ber felt should be changed, otheyo a could do so mistakes that any before approving the Minutes. Cable T. V. Recuest to Film School Committee Meetings Mr . Cliff Allen stated he had received of Continental Cable, which Buldin, Community Services Director that in the Fall, Continental Cable would like to cover various committees within the Town Government, and that they had set aside Monday evenings , on an alternative basis, to cover the Town committee meetings and meetings of the School Committee. Mr. Allen stated that Continental was asking if the School Committee had any questions or problems with this happening in September. He ted could ld committee eirtfeelinngsdto have a Mr. Buldin din discussion at Continental that at h Cable . Mr . Nissen stated he had no objections, but he had two specific concerns . He stated as the committee did not meet in a very large room, he was concerned that the camera would take up a large part of the area set aside for the audience, and secondly, that the School Committee meetings were very lengthy, and from past experience with filming by Cable, the lights were very hot and shat ted d could hat Continental Cable tlsho should be Mr . Nissen to use as stated minimum an amount of lighting as possible . 279 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES July 22 , 1986 that at Mrs . Philbrick stated she would like that during or after Executive some meetings , the commit tee Session, they go back into Open Session for one reason or another and Continental should be made aware that this does happen. Mr . Shannon stated he thought the concept of filming the meetings was a good one, and his only s concern e u pment being disruptive lto ethe with regard to the lights 4 meeting. He stated he felt it should be made clear that this would not be acceptable. Mr. Shannon also stated, on the positive side, he thought the filming might enhance interest by the Town. Mr . Nissen suggested that if the meetings were not filmed every week , perhaps they could be moved to the Lecture Hall for the taping. Mr. Shannon stated that the committee should keep in mind that the administrative files were easily accessible from the present location, and, therefore, that might be an inconvenience. Mr. Allen noted since filming in rthe there Fallerhen would rcontact objections the to Continental Cable 9 Community Service Director and inform him of their concerns and work out the details before September. 0•en Meetin• Law - Letter from the District Attorne ' s Office Cliff Allen stated hea wished letter to recently from other an AssistanteDmem�bea� that he had received sent from,the Enlow, in included sent from the Secr y and that stating their opinion of when Minutes become a record, unt copies of the Minutes can e from Uenotesgly He indicated that oany of time for transcription member could have a copy of this information, if they so wished. and stated that the information contained in the letter had been so noted. Resignations Dr . Munnelly stated tedtherEileen esignaaiont in border for tohacceptethe Talented, had submi t principalship of the Sanborn School in Andover. He stated that the administration was recommending acceptance with reret , t were happy that she has been given this opportunity a tion promotion. Dr. Munnelly also eatlthe ParkergMiddle from Leslyn Cowan, a strong Science teacher,eace School because she was relocating to Florida. He was recommending acceptance of her resignation also. On a motion b Mrs . Philb second CommiCommittee was Shannon, acc ptingt the with regret that the S chool resignations of Mrs. Eileen teaa teacher of ParkerdMiddle Talented, School and Leslyn Cowan, Science immediately. The vote was unanimous. 280 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES July 22 , 1986 Mr. William Griset, a parent, asked to be recognized in order to state that Mrs. Eileen Woods had done an outstanding job with the REACT Program. He felt the School Committee should also be complimented for supporting this program. Mr. Griset stated he had two concerns, the first of which was that someone be hired as quickly as possible for Mrs. Woods ' position in order that the transition in the Fall would be efficient and smooth, although he was aware that it would be difficult to replace someone of her caliber. Mr. Griset stated Mrs. Woods had a great number of plans in progress for the program, and it would be a great task for someone who is selected. Secondly, he wanted to address the issue of expanding the REACT program, possibly in the next year or two, to the Middle Schools. He stated this might be an appropriate time for the committee to consider what steps should be taken to accomplish that. Mr. Griset felt that to expand the program would require the hiring of at least one other person, who was almost the equivalent of Mrs. Woods. He stated this could be done once the replacement for Mrs. Woods is found. Cliff Allen stated he was uncomfortable reacting to this proposal because Mrs. Woods' resignation was so new. He noted that the committee shared Mr. Griset' s feeling about Eileen Woods and in fact, some members of the committee and the administration had traded comments to that effect. Mr. Allen stated he was sure that all concerned wanted to maintain the level set by Mrs . Woods . Mr. Griset then stated that the REACT Program was one that should continue and had the support of a very large group of parents . Mrs . Philbrick then stated that she had received some phone messages that people were concerned that because of the resignation of Mrs . Woods the committee was considering not continuing the program and that it would be discussed at the meeting tonight . She stated she wanted to assure everyone present that that was not true. Mrs . Philbrick stated the program was in place and following its normal course , and the next step would be finding a replacement for Mrs . Woods . Dr . Munnelly stated anticipating some concerns , he had already sent out an inhouse notice through the RTA chain which informs teaching staff of the vacancy and had run an ad in the Boston Globe and had already received approximately a dozen applications. At this time , a parent, Mrs . Claire Ciampa, asked to be recognized to ask if the committee had any intentions of expanding the program in the next few years. Cliff Allen stated his recollection was that it was decided to implement the program and because of the newness of Mrs. Woods' j resignation, he thought it would very unfair to ask for an answer to this question tonight . He stated the committee was only concerned with maintaining the program at the moment. Mr. Allen stated that when the program gets organized, then we will think of expansion , and he didn' t think the committee should move any quicker than that. 281 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES July 22, 1986 Mr . Shannon stated he was on the Citizen' s Advisory Committee for this program, and when the School Committee approved the program, it was indicated that the program would be evaluated at its present level in 2 or 3 years . He stated now that there would be a new Director, we were back to square one. Mr. Shannon stated that being realistic, he could not see an expansion of the program for at least 2, or perhaps 3 or 4 years . Mrs . Chiampa stated she didn' t mean expansion in the same sense as Mr. Griset, but only perhaps an additional person to work with the program at its present level. Dr. Wells stated he didn' t understand how a rumor about deleting the program could have started. He stated he had just finished the year-in-review with the Principals, and he would be giving consideration to some concerns that they had expressed to him regarding the Gifted and Talented Program. Dr. Wells stated the Elementary Principals had expressed some concerns about the future of the program and Middle School Principals about possible expansion. He stated that the Advisory Committee in their report did not advise against expansion, but felt comfortable that the Gifted and Talented were taken care of at Junior and Senior High Schools. Dr. Wells stated he would make a more formal report in September. He stated there were some concerns regarding the Program, but there were no plans to do away with it. Appointments Dr. Munnelly stated the administration was recommending the appointment of 3 elementary teachers who were listed on Enclosure D-1. He then discussed their qualifications with the committee. A motion was made by Mr. Shannon, seconded by Mrs. Philbrick , to appoint three elementary teachers to the appropriate school, grade level, and salary, as described on Enclosure D-1, for the 1986-87 School Year. The vote was unanimous. Dr . Wells then discussed the appointment of a Director of Data Processing to replace Ernie Spence. He stated the administration was recommending a one-year appointment of Patrick Schettini , who was presently a math teacher at RMHS . Dr. Wells discussed Mr . Schettini ' s qualifications and background with the committee. He indicated that Mr. Schettini would be placed on a leave-of-absence from his teaching position in order to protect his seniority as a member of the High School teaching staff, to which he wished to return at a later date. Dr. Wells noted that this position would not fall under the RTA contract. A motion was made by Mr. Shannon, seconded by Mrs . Philbrick , to appoint Patrick Schettini to the position of Director of Data Processing, at the salary of $32, 873. 40 ( 1.05 of Masters Max. ) - 282 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES July 22, 1986 no other increments or bonuses to be paid and also to grant Mr. Schettini a leave-of-absence from his teaching position at RMHS for the 1986-87 School Year. Dr . Wells noted that after a discussion with Mr. Schettini that afternoon, it was agreed Mr. Schettini would continue to tutor 6 top math students with whom he had been working and felt that their math program would involve the use of the computer. Mr. Shannon expressed some concern that there would be a possible conflict of interest between the Director ' s position and Mr . Schettini ' s teaching position, even though he was on leave-of-absence. Dr. Wells assured Mr. Shannon there would be no conflict of interest. A vote was taken on the motion, and it was unanimously approved. Dr. Wells then stated that he was recommending Mr. Barry Low as Director of Music for the Reading Schools , filling a vacancy created by the retirement of Jim Roth. He discussed Mr. Low' s qualifications with the committee , and stated Mr . Low had had strong recommendations from his colleagues and parents in the Danvers Schools. A motion was made by Mr. Nissen, seconded by Mrs . Philbrick, to appoint Mr. Barry Low, 15 Middlesex St. , N. Andover, as Director of Music at a salary of $36, 004.00 ( 1.15 of Masters Max. ) for the 1986-87 School Year. The vote was unanimous . Dr . Munnelly stated, in the absence of Mr . Ron Winslow, he was recommending appointments for custodians at the Coolidge Middle School and Joshua Eaton Elementary School . He stated both candidates were qualified and had been interviewed by both Larry Moore and Ron Winslow. A motion was made by Mrs . Philbrick , seconded by Mr. Shannon, to appoint Mr. Allen M. Horvath, as custodian at the Coolidge Middle School , on the 3 : 00-11 : 00 p .m. shift , and Harry Yessaian , as custodian at the Joshua Eaton Elementary School on the 12: 00-8: 00 p .m. shift, both at a salary of $17, 203 , 94 , Custodial 1 Min. , to be effective as soon as possible. The vote was unanimous . Dr . Munnelly then stated that he was in the process of interviewing candidates for the Middle School Science and also the Gifted and Talented positions . He also noted there was a teacher from the Home Economics Department that was riffed this year, who had 13 years of service with the Reading School Department, and who also had an excellent record of employment, and who had been looking for a position without success . He stated under the Riff Clause, there is offered to teachers with 20 years of service the option to take an early retirement . Dr . Munnelly noted this 283 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES July 22, 1986 particular teacher , counting her years of teaching in other communities, would have 19 years and 5 months to her credit. He stated he hoped the committee would agree, if she could not find another position by September, that we could use her as a permanent substitute until she could accumulate enough credit to take early retirement . Dr. Munnelly stated he would bring this issue up at the next meeting , if any action was needed by the committee. Cliff Allen then stated as there was no further business, he was informing the audience that the committee would be going into Executive Session for 25 or 30 minutes to discuss Bargaining and Negotiations , and may at some time during or after Executive Session go back into Open Session to possibly ratify a contract. At 8: 35 p.m. , on a motion by Mr. Shannon, seconded by Mr. Nissen, it was unanimously voted to go into Executive Session. Respectfully submitted, lirrea‘i aja Robert S. Wells, Secretary