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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-02-09 School Committee MinutesM READING PUBLIC SCHOOLS Reading, Massachusetts SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 1987 Call to Order Chairman Cliff Allen called the regular meeting of the Reading School Committee to order at 7:30 p.m. on February 9, 1987 in the Superintendent's Conference Room at 34 Gould Street. All members of the School Committee were present. Also present were the Superintendent, Robert S. Wells, Assistant Superintendents Robert J. Munnelly, and Ronald A. Winslow, Charles Papandreou, Principal of the Barrows Elementary School, Dr. Alexanian, Barry Low, Director of Music, Jane McKenzie, Music Teacher at the Barrows School, parents, and a reporter from the Chronicle. A-nr-val of Minute=_ of January 26, 1987 A motion was made by Mr. Shannon, seconded by Mrs. Philbrick, to approve the Minutes of the Meeting of January 26, 1987. The vote was 4 -0, with Mr. Coco and Mr. Nissen abstaining because of their absence from the meeting. Bills and Pavrolls Warrants for bills and payrolls were approved as follows: Bills February 16, 1987 - General Expense - $43,178.30 February 23, 1987 - General Expense - $97,231.54 Pal.7rolls February 13, 1987 - Teachers - $350,74-.29 February 13, 1987 - Weekly - 32,595.62 February 20, 1987 - Weekly - 30,806.88 February 27, 1987 - Weekly - 30,028.01 Citizens' Input Mrs. Kendra Cooper askec to be reccg ,ized atekef` if tohe- -e +%%� 1C be an opportunity for the public to comment. on the bud.et wh . that ite7, ca::e uo for discussion? Mr. Clif= Allen stated that the opportunity would be available when the subject came up for discussion. School Hichlichts Dr. Wells stated that the Director of Music, Mr. Barry Low, was going to demonstrate to the School Committee the work that has M, READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 1987 been going on in the Elementary Schools in music. Mr. Low then stated that there had been an Article in the Reading Chronicle that evening on an interview he had with Mrs. Nissen at the Parker School which he felt had described very well what he would try to demonstrate tonight. Mr. Low stated the staff at the elementary level were doing some very creative work with the students, and spoke of two songs that had been written by Reading students which had been used by Mr. John Corcoran, a musician who recorded them for commercial distribution. Mr. Low then turned the presentation over to Mrs. McKenzie, Music teacher at the Barrows School. Mrs. McKenzie briefly explained how the songs were developed and how she tried to coordinate the creation of these songs with the curriculum going on at the School. She then played and sang some of the songs that the students had created for the School Committee. Mr. Barry Low played the tape of the songs recorded by Mr. Corcoran for the committee, a copy of which each member had received. Mr. Cliff Allen thanked Mr. Low and Mrs. McKenzie for their presentation. FY88 Bud-,et Mr. Cliff Allen stated that some salary issues might have to be discussed in Executive Session, after which the committee might return to Open Session. He stated he would make an announcement if this were necessary. Mr. Allen stated perhaps it would be appropriate to let Dr. Wells speak about the requested information from the last meeting. Dr. Wells stated the committee had gone through most of the Budget, with a few corrections, which had now been made. He stated there were some questions on Special Needs figures for this year and also a question in the 9000 Series in regard to a line item, Tuition for Public Schools. Dr. Wells stated this item had been renamed Tuition for Vocational Schools, and he was recommending that the $1,000 originally requested be left in that account. Dr. Wells stated there was a regulation in regard to Adult Education requiring the School Department to pay for vocational type courses which were not offered by the Town for Persons _ �__uing t::_ occupation in order to make a living. Dr. Wells stated he has spoken to Dr. Alexanian about the Special Needs Budget, and Ron Winslow would speak to them about the specific figures for this year. Mr. Winslow stated on the 9100 Series, where we had appropriated S20, ='.:?, we have expended approximately $14,000. He stated the projection was that another $13,000 would be needed until June, w^ic`, will show a negative figure of approximately $7,000. Mr. Winslow noted that in the 9300 Series, where the appropriation was $101,930, we have expended to date 582,407. He stated that the projection from February 1 to the end of the year was for an additional $77,000, putting this account in the red approximately $ 57,000. Mr. Winslow stated in the 9400 Series, that there was ofl READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 1987 appropriated $33,000, of which $18,000 has been expended. He stated the overall picture in the 9000 Series, covering programs with other schools, indicated an anticipated negative balance of approximately $65,000. Dr. Wells stated these were the reasons why the Administration was recommending so large an increase in the Special Needs for next year. He stated he was making the assumption that the School Committee had made a commitment to ask the Town, either through Bonds, or Capital Outlay in possibly a separate account, for the roof repairs on Barrows. Dr. Wells noted because of this he was recommending that the $5,000 for Roof Repairs for Barrows be taken out of the 4220 Series, Page 20, and replaced with two other items, that he felt were needed, to be included in the 7200 and 7300 Series. He stated these were a flagpole at the Parker Middle School in the amount of $1,500, and a fence at Birch Meadow School, in the amount of $3,500. Dr. Wells briefly discussed the need for these two items with the School Committee. Mr. Allen stated he would like to make some degree of closure to the expense portion of the Budget, if the committee felt comfortable with that aspect of the budget without going into Executive Session. Mr. Coco stated that he had a question on Page 53 o£ the 7400 Series, where the administration was requesting the purchase of two small pick -ups to replace the present van in the Maintenance Department. He stated he felt it might be more cost effective to purchase only one pick -up this year, and then if needed, the other vehicle next year. Mr. Coco felt it would give the department one year of experience on whether or not another pick -up was needed, and if purchased, when they needed replacement, it would not occur in the same year. Mr. Coco made a motion, seconded by Mr. Shannon, to reduce the Item in the 7400 Series, Page 53, replacement of van with two small pick -ups, in the amount of $7,000, for the purchase of only one pick -up in FY88, leaving the purchase of the additional vehicle until FY20-. M--. S.annon. asked If t-- vehicle which Was being replaced was se_-. ;cab_= for another yea_ Mr. Winslow stated in turning in the van for two pick -ups the advantage was to provide a more efficient operation by having two vehicles. ce stated the van is very rusted and the differential has just been replaced, and it has had a lot of hard use. Mr. Winslow then stated, in answer to Mr. Shannon's question, perhacs another year souls be squeezed out of the van, but he still felt the great advantage would be lost by not purchasing t^.e two vehicles this year. A vote was taken on the motion, and it was unanimously aoorOved. Mr. Nissen made a motion, seconded by Carol Lvons, that the item in the 4220 Series, Roof Repair at Barrows, be deleted in the amount of $5,000 and be replaced by items in the 7400 Series, flagpole at the Parker Middle School, in the amount $1,500, and in the 7300 Series, fence at Birch Meadow School, in the amount of $3,500. READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 1987 Mr. Shannon asked if the fence at the Birch Meadow School included fencing along Arthur B. Lord Drive. Dr. Wells stated it did not, because it was decided that if the area along Arthur B. Lord Drive were fenced, it would block cars from entering that area which served also as a parking area. A vote was taken on the motion, and it was unanimously acoroved. Mr. Shannon asked if on the Roof Repair for Barrows, the committee would be asking for a separate Bond Issue, or to be included with a general Town Bond? Dr. Wells stated on this repair and also the repair of the roof at the Reading Memorial High School, totaling $220,000, he was assuming that other departments would be requesting Bonding.'He stated it always made the cost of Bonding more reasonable having only one Bond Issue for all departments. He stated he was hoping also to be reimbursed by the State School Building Assistance Commission for 60% of the cost of the roof repairs. A motion was made by Mr. Niccer, eeccnded by '''ire.. Philbrick, that the School Committee accept the Exr,en e Buc^.et, as amended deleting the purchase of one pick -,,p truck in the amount of $7,000, and presented by the Administration for the School Budget Expense, in the amount of S2,411,926.00. The vote was unanimous. After a short discussion between com;:ittee members, it was decided to continue with Salary items that could be completed in Open Session. Dr. Wells then stated the administration was recommending the reduction of $15,000 which was originally in the Budget under Sabbitical Leaves. He stated there was nothing built in the original Salary Budget for staff turnover, although there is always some annually. This occurs when new teachers are hired at the lower rate than those who have left the department. Dr. Wells recommended the reduction of $25,000 from the Budget from teachers' salaries, regular, for staff turnover. He also stated because of declining enrollment, he was recommending the deletion cf $75,000 that would to srec_`�, al_1 tc_ t'e _.r... _ of 2 English and 1 Business Ed. teachers at the High School, and would also c---,e under Teachers' Salaries, regular. Dr. Wells stated this would be a total reduction of $115,000. He also noted t':at as discussed at the last SChco_ me=t_ ^, there could possibly be a reduction of an additional 52 S,000rbecause of the deletion of one SEEM teaci-:er. .e s tat_ ti__ wC�'_' be d e f i n i t e 1 y decides at the March 3rd Mr. Nissen made a motion, t;-.at the cCL COI Committee adopt the Salary Butcez for FvE., as indicated in Enclosure B -2 -a, in the amount- of S 10 , 956 , 803 . T:: ^.e vote was unanimous. READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 1987 Telephone Services R.M.H.S. & 34 Gould Street Dr. Wells referred to Enclosure B -2 -b, for a new telephone system at R.M.H.S., and stated if the committee went along with this recommendation, he felt there would be further savings of the monthly costs with New England Telephone because of the larger capacity of the phones for intercom lines. He stated, at the end of 5 years, the Town would own the equipment and that in itself would be a big savings. Dr. Wells stated the Merlin System, or equal, would have a capacity of 70 telephones. He stated the present system at the High School has a capacity of 16 phones, and phones that could use an intercom are using regular lines to call from department to department, increasing message units on the basic service. Dr. Wells stated the major costs are not with A.T. &T., but with New England Telephone, and this new system would show a savings of $16,000 over a period of 8 years, along with giving us a more effective and efficient telephone system. Dr. Wells stated as this will save the taxpayers money and improve communications within the School, he felt it would be worth it to go to the Town and ask for approval for a 5 -Yr. Lease /Purchase for the High School. He stated he also thought it would be cost effective this year for an outright purchase of telephone equipment for 34 Gould Street, since there was going to be a savings on fuel oil. He stated the cost would be in the vicinity of $9,000, but there would be no interest charges to consider. Dr. Wells stated, in regard to the concern of some committee members last week, he had been told by A.T.& T. that both Merlin systems would be compatible with each other and with any new system the Town might put in, although they had indicated it was rare that a Town the size of Reading would tie their School Department to the other Town functions, for reason that they were so dissimilar. Mr. Shannon asked if there was a breakdown on what percentage of the calls on independent lines are actually calls that could have been made on an intercom line at the High School? Mr. Winslow stated that the telephone company did not break the_ c::�_=ts ccw-:, only the message units were listed. Dr. welis stated he was recommending only 3 departments be left with independent lines and they were: the Guidance De_oartment, the Maintenance Depart- tent, and the Cafeteria Office and Athletic Deoartment. Carol Lyons has a question on the savings outlined on Page 2. Dr. Wells stated the $2,916 savings was for eliminating 9 separate lines, and the additional cost was for adding the 2 hunter lines at the Hich Schccl, whic'n would brine the total nu -lber of hunter lines to 5. He stated in a letter frcm the N. E. Telephone, they noted that the elimination of the 9 separate lines would mean a savings of $243.00 per month, but there would be an added cost of $54 a month for the two additional hunter lines. Mr. Nissen stated one item he noted was not included was maintenance costs, which would have to be considered if we owned the equipment. Dr. Wells stated he had spoken to Mr. Winslow 94 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 1987 about this cost, and their experience in the past 15 years had been that they had had only very minor repairs done on the phones, and none had to be replaced. He stated as with any Maintenance Contract, it was not really worthwhile to have them during the first few years of purchasing the equipment. Mr. Nissen asked what the life of the equipment was. Mr. Winslow stated they were guaranteed, parts and service, for 10 years on the bids that were received. Mr. Winslow stated they had received quotes on Maintenance on the bids of approximately $186.00 a month for the entire system or a rate of $22.00 per manhour. He noted that A.T. &T. has revised their maintenance price structure, and the cost would now be slightly lower. Mr. Nissen stated his feeling was, considering repairs, and replacement with more updated equipment, and obviously getting more for our money, he would be prepared to approve the proposal. Mr. Coco stated the administration had used 8 years as a break -even point. He noted after 8 years we would be spending $31,500 on the old system and after 8 years with a 5 -Yr. Lease /Purchase, the cost would be $33,240.00, which did not include Maintenance Costs of approximately $186.00. He stated he thought it should be compared on a 5 -Yr. basis, which showed the $3,993 a month totaled $19,665 and the 5- Yr.Lease Purchase added up to $33,240, which he did not think was a real savings as it was costing approximately an additional $14,000. Mr. Coco stated he felt an estimate of 50% savings was excessive of the message units being needed to support the internal communication at the High School. Mr. Nissen stated he thought Mr. Coco misunderstood the figures on Page 2, as these were the line charges, which Mr. Nissen felt were conservative estimates. Dr. Wells noted that he had not indicated there would be a 50% savings in the message units. Mr. Nissen stated although he agreed we would have to pay maintenance costs eventually, he felt the cost was not much more than the department was presently paying, taking into account we would have a new system and equipment. Mr. Nis =_e *- -de a motion., seconded by Mr. Shann.�.,n, to instruct the Administration to proceed with appropriate measures to enter into a 5 -year Lease /Purchase Plan to upgrade the telephone system at R.M.; .S , as ce_ccribed in Enclosure B-2--'-. The vote was 5-1, with Mr. Coco v;,tinc in the necative. Mr. Ni=_Sen made a motion, seconded by Mrs. Philbrick, to instruct the _v-inistration to obtain bids for the purchase of a new Merlin, or equal, telephone system at the Central Office, 34 Gould Street. The vote was 17-2, '++izh Mr. Coco and Mr. Shannon yotinc in the necative. 95 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 1987 School Calendar Dr. Wells explained to the School Committee that the contract required that he consult with the RTA on the School Calendar before bringing it to the School Committee for approval. He stated he had spoken with Stan Quinlan, and he agreed it was acceptable. Dr. Wells noted that the calendar contained the 182 days required by Reading's Contract and 180 by State Law, with 3 built -in snow days, but because of the lateness of Labor Day, this was one of the years in which school would end late in June. Mrs. Philbrick made a motion, seconded by Mr. Coco, to accept the School Calendar for 1987 -88, as outlined on Enclosure B -3 -a. The vote was unanimous. Horace Mann Teachers - Proposals Dr. Wells stated these proposals were the ones that were approved for acceptance by the Advisory Committee. He stated he had recently spoken to the State Department of Education, and they indicated that a number of Towns had not yet accepted the criteria for these awards. Dr. Wells stated that Charlie Papandreou, Chairman of the Review Committee and Principal of the Barrows Elementary School, was there to give a quick overview of three representative proposals submitted for their approval. He noted that the $31,000 entitlement would be coming in shortly from the State, and would be sent to the Town Treasurer. Mr. Papandreou stated that the Review Committee consisted of 4 teachers and 4 administrative staff members, and they were: himself, M. Piechota, Paul Guerrette, Jack Delaney, Eleanor Withe, Maureen Rea, Jeff Cryan, and Stan Quinlan, with Jan Feagley as an alternate. He stated the committee had held 3 meetings, and as each member had the proposals to review before the meetings, their task was really to set some guidelines in rating the priority of the proposals. Mr. Papandreou described the categories given by the State Department, into which each one off the proposals must fit. He noted that 36 proposals were submitted in the amount of S60,000, therefore, the Review Cc=_,ittee had to make some tough decisions. Mr. Pa_ andreou stated of those that were submitted the committee accepted 7 from the elementary schools, 3 from the middle schools, and 13 from the High School, totaling 23 proposals, in the amount $31,350. He noted that no one proposal was accepted for the full amount of S2,500, and some were only partially funded. Mr. Papandreou stat�a the participation in submitting these proposals was very gratifying and involved approximately 45 staff members. He then briefly reviewed three proposals with the School Committee. Some of the committee members had some question on the balance of the awards to each school. Dr. Munnelly and Mr. Papandreou stated they would work on this problem in the next round, as the shortness of time had prevented them from spending time on it. READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 1987 Mr. Coco made a motion, seconded by Mr. Shannon, to accept the Horace Mann Teachers Proposals, as outlined in Exhibit B -3 -b, in the amount of $31,350. The vote was unanimous. Cliff Allen and the other committee members thanked Mr. Papandreou and his committee for their work on these proposals. Dr. Wells noted that looking at the list of proposals indicated they were going to take some monitoring and evaluation, which would not be a minor task administratively. He also stated that next year the entitlement would increase to approximately $50,000, but he had very positive feelings on the quality of the proposals. Parent Advisory Committee - Policy Dr. Wells stated that new regulations regarding special education programs required a Parent Advisory Council (PAC) be established. He stated Dr. Alexanian had worked on this Policy for some time and was presenting a draft that he thought was workable, of which each member had a copy. He stated this would not only serve the Special Needs area, but hopefully, could be used as a general policy for any Advisory Committee in the system. Mr. Nissen noted that in reading the Policy, the first paragraph was specific in regard to School Improvement Councils, but the balance was very definitely referring to Special Education, and he did not feel it could be used in a general sense. He also stated that after reading the first paragraph under Item II, the first paragraph seemed almost unnecessary. Dr. Wells stated it did appear that there would have to be some changes made in order to make this a general policy. Mr. Coco then stated he was making a motion to accept the Policy, but with the following changes in the Policy language: capitalizing the words, "school -based improvement councils ", in the first paragraph under Item I and eliminating the word "based "; in the last sentence in that paragraph the words "and approval" be inserted before the word "development "; and in the first paragraph under Item II, the word "a" be inserted before "Parent Advisory Councils" and to change t_ns wOrc "Councils" to singular; in the second paragraph, the word, "an" be changed to "the in the fifth para^raon under Item, II to insert the word, "The" before the word "Chlairperso ^" . The ^tior. was seconded by Mr. Shannon. Mrs. Ph i lbrick stated in regard to the change in the first paragraph, under Item I, she felt agCiny "an approval" did not clarify the sentence, as the sentence before referred to improvement councils, w:o developed expenditure plans, but she did acree that they ap pr;,ved them. Mr. Coco agreed to delete this from his motion. 97 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 1987 there was a brief discussion on the language of the policy and the reasons for it. Mr. Coco suggested perhaps there should be some guidelines developed in keeping with the intent of the Policy. Mr. Nissen made a motion to amend the original motion to include the change of wording, "including, but not limited to,, in the fifth paragraph, under Item II to, "for example ". This was seconded by Mrs. Philbrick. A vote was taken on the amendment, and it was defeated 2 -4. A vote was taken on the original motion, as amended by Mr. Coco, and it was voted unanimously. Financial Statements Mr. Winslow briefly reviewed the three statements with the School Committee. He noted that there was indicated on the Account Balances and Salary and Expense Report, a pattern of spending which seemed not to be drastically different from year to year, except in the area of Special Needs, which had been discussed earlier. In regard to the Cafeteria Statement, he assured the School Committee that although the statement showed a loss 'this month, this was because of the vacation week which occurred during this period, and that Cathy Cook had assured him that the next statement would show a profit. Transportation Guidance Policy as per Selectmen Dr. Wells stated this was a Policy that had been recently adopted by the Selectmen. He noted he had included a report he had received from Dr. Munnelly on this subject which had come about because of some questions that parents had asked regarding the School Department's policy on this subject at a recent School Committee Meeting. He stated he felt the department had some policies in place on use of private cars for school trips and felt there were no major problems with these practices. Dr. Wells noted, that as the report indicated, parents who volunteer are well informed of the risks any pr: ced::re-, e`{: eCtc�t, and are also required to sign a release. Tentative School Committee Schedule Dr. Wells stated this schedule becan in March and continued to the end of June. :e stated he was�alsc sugge_t_ng that this year there be an Ocen Budget Hearing on March 30th, which originally was recuired by Law, but with the cc-inc of 'Prop. 2 1/2, had not been held. Cliff Allen stated he had discussed this with Dr. Wells and felt strongly also that this Hearing should be reinstated. There was some discussion on the fact that May had only one meeting, but there were no major disagreements on the schedule as presented. 98 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY-9, 1987 The Coen Meeting Law Amendment Dr. wells briefly reviewed this amendment with the School Committee, which he stated allowed School Committee's to go into Executive Session when interviewing preliminary candidates for administrative positions. Earlv Childhood Programs - Grant Awards Dr. Munnelly stated these were two grants that had been approved by the Department of Education, under Chapter 188, encouraging the formulation of early childhood programs. He noted that Robin D'A ntona had put a lot of energy into formulating one of these grants along with a community -wide task force. Dr. Munnelly stated the grant for early childhood programs was in the amount of S9,977 and the grant for workshop speakers and leaders from Wheelock and Lesley College to reassess our kindergarten was in the amount of $770, and would run from now until December. He stated there would be an additional grant recuest submitted next year. Dr. Wells' Announcement Dr. wells stated he would like to inform the School Ccmumittee and the general public that he will be resigning his position as Superintendent at the end of this School Year. He stated he had intimated a few years ago that he was planning to continue as Superintendent_ for only another 2 or 3 more years, and although he was not announcing the exact date, he was speaking about before the beginning of the next School Year. Mr. Nissen stated he had certainly enjoyed working with Dr. Wells and was very sorry to see him go and wished him the best of luck. Mr. Cliff Allen stated he hoped to have an opportunity to discuss this in more detail at a future meeting, and he was sure all the members felt as Mr. Nissen did. Leaves + 1 tecf, s was p=-st praCt�C° e Dr. ��un�,e iy spa a _ h was `pr`_^, the i ^_ - _ School Ccrunittee of three requests for maternity leave made by teachers in the system. He stated they were Gina .Healy, Fcre_cn Language teacher at P.M.H.S., Ann Marie Downing, Resource Room teacher at the Coolidge Middle School, and Bar:,ara ;ughes, Special %eeds Lai=c^ in rr. �'ex ..i�n's c___ce. He al =_ stated L h r e I- a r eq,,�es t Y _ _C ' e a . e -v - •gyp t .c a -: u- _� _ voce-:` it j�`.,�- Mar, _g -, Science teacher at Coolidge Middle Sc-.ccl for t:�., FYl °8% -88. Dr. Munnelly stated Mr. Mar had been a teacher in the system for 17 years, and the administration was recomn-mendinc t: e leave be granted. 99 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES FEBRUARY 9, 1987 A motion was made by Mr. Shannon, seconded by Mrs. Philbrick, to approve the unpaid leave of absence requested by Mr. Dorn F. Mar, Science teacher at Coolidge Middle School for the School Year 1987 -88. The vote was unanimous. At 9:30 p.m., a motion was made by Mr. Shannon, seconded by Mr. Nissen, to go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing issues of Bargaining and Negotiation. The vote was unanimous.