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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1982-11-01 School Committee Minutes51 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES November 1, 1982 Call to Order Chairman Garroway called the regular meeting of the Reading School Committee to order at 7:31 p.m. on November 1, 1982, in the Central Office Conference Room. All members were present, as were Superintendent Wells and Assistant Superintendents Munnelly and Winslow. Among the 12 visitors present were Architect Archibald MacLaren and his Associate, Richard Labao, Pupil Personnel Services Director Dr. Alexander Alexanian, High School Principal Leonard D'Orlando, and representatives of the Citizens Advisory Council, Finance Committee and Daily Times and Chronicle. Approval of Minutes of October 18, 1982 On a motion by Mr. Nigro, seconded by Mrs. Philbrick, the minutes of the meeting of October 18, 1982, were unanimously approved with the following correction: page 2, paragraph 6, first sentence should read: Thirty -six communities participate in METCO, with about 6,000 students involved. Bills and Payrolls Warrants for bills and payrolls were authorized as follows: Bills October 29, 1982 - General Expense - Total - $48,939.77 November 5, 1982 - General Expense - Total - $25,193.02 Payrolls - October 29, 1982 - Weekly - Total - $24,453.75 November 4, 1982 - Teachers - Total $301,339.81 November 5, 1982 - Weekly - Total - $26,487.88 Citizens' Input There was no citizens' input. Old Business 0 Under Old Business Chairman Garroway requested the two School Committee representatives to the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC)to make sure that at least one of them would be able to attend each CAC meeting and to let the CAC Chairman know in advance who will be present. Under the same agenda item the Chairman asked members to review for the next meeting School Committee Policy Series A and B. MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS The Committee went over the 15 resolutions to be voted upon at the annual MASC /MASS meeting November 5th, in Hyannis. In general, Committee members agreed with the recommendations of the MASC Resolutions 0 VlTllll lttee, however, it was the consensus that Chairman Garroway, as the voting delegate, 52 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 1.1982 would be given the latitude to use his discretion after hearing the arguments pro and con as voiced at the meeting. Bids - Stand -Alone word Processor Mr. Winslow reviewed the four bids for a stand -alone word processor to be purchased for the Business Education Department from a grant, and recommended the bid of American Computer Group, Inc. (ACG), Boston, at $8,010, $1090 under budget. He noted that although the bid from Digital Equipment Corp. was $1,315 less, Digital would not provide the one year of service or the on -site training called for in the specifications. He added that it will still be Digital equipment because ACG is a vendor of Digital equipment. Mr. Allen moved, seconded by Mrs. Philbrick, to award the bid for the Stand -alone Word Processor to American Computer Group, inc., at $8,010. The motion carried 5 -1, with Mr. Coco casting the negative vote. Special Needs Appeals Process Dr. Alexander Alexanian, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, addressed the Committee on the need for changes in the Special Education Appeals Process, requesting that;'. they support this need and enlist the support of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. As an introduction to Dr. Alexanian's presentation, Dr. Wells said that he, as well as Dr. Alexanian, has been concerned for some time about the legal costs of the appeals procedure. Town Counsel costs attributed to representing the School Department in appeals procedures last year were estimated at $9,000. Also, many hours of school personnel time were involved with teachers sometimes subjected to intensive legal cross - examining. Dr. Wells said that the new Commissioner of Education has requested that some of the funds appropriated to review Chapter 766 be used to investigate the Appeals Procedure. Reviewing the background, Dr. Alexanian said the Appeals Procedure has evolved from a rather informal process to one in which more and more lawyers are involved and been transformed into a court -like setting, with subpoenas, briefs, Etc. This forced the School Department to call upon the services of the Town Counsel more and more. Dr. Alexanian emphasized that healthy alternatives must be sought. He is now serving on a statewide team which is part of a $500,000 study by the State. Part of his role is to develop some suitable alternatives which it is hoped will serve the school systems and will be best for the children. He said one of the changes being sought was a strengthening of the mediator role. Dr. Wells noted that even though Reading was highly commended by the State for its Special Program, only 50% of appeals cases were won. During a question and answer period Dr. Alexanian said the cost of private day placements ranged from $8,000 to $13,000 per child annually, in addition to about $2,000 per child for transportation. He also said that the educational plans most commonly involved in appeals cases were those recommending substantially separate placements (SEEM classes). He added that Reading usually had only two -three appeals per year. 53 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES _ NOVEMBER 1, 1982 Chairman Garroway told Dr. Alexanian that the Committee is very supportive of these efforts and endeavors and thanked him for his presentation. Feasibility Study - R. M.H.S. Chairman Garroway emphasized that the Feasibility Study was merely a beginning and that its presentation tonight did not constitute School Committee endorsement nor did it mean that any action would be taken at this time. He added that a follow - up to tonight's presentation will be scheduled for a later date. Mr. Richard Labao, Associate of Architect Archibald MacLaren engaged by the School Committee to do a feasibility study on surplus space in the High School, then "walked" the Committee through the thirty- one -page report. Members had many questions. In answer to these Mr. MacLaren gave the following information: 1. The effects of "mothballing" a building would be that it would deteriorate faster, but the deterioration would be mainly cosmetic. It would be more logical to mothball the entire Coolidge Junior High School than portions of the High School. 2. The effect of socialization of elementary and high school students in the same building was not taken into consideration for this study as Mr. MacLaren felt that must be determined by the Administration. 3. No consideration was given to the heating system and location of pipe lines - decisions were made from a space point of view. 4. The reason no thought was given to housing the High School in another building was the major investment in physical education and athletic facilities on the High School grounds. 5. It would not be cost - effective to house two separate schools in the High School, i.e., middle school and high school, not sharing facilities because, without going into a building program,there would be a problem with the cafeteria and auditorium use. 6. Using the High School for office space could mean destroying the commercial market in the area or ending up with a lot of vacant space. The cost of maintaining office space would be high. It would have to be air - conditioned, at an estimated cost of $6 -9.00 per square foot. 7. If Coolidge Junior High School or the Birch Meadow School were to be considered for elderly housing in the future Birch Meadow would best lend itself to that use. 8. The proposal for which costs are listed on page 31 of the Report could be phased in. Mr. MacLaren did not, however, visualize the need for extra classrooms. Figures used are based on current costs. There was a brief discussion among School Committee members on "meshing" this Report with the upcoming report of the Middle School Advisory Committee. No consensus was reached. 54 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 1. 1982 Chairman Garroway concluded the discussion by thanking Mr. MacLaren and his Associate and stating that the School Committee would continue to discuss the Feasibility Study at the next meeting. FY84 Budget Preparations The Chairman announced that a letter had been received from the Finance Committee inviting the School Committee to a meeting on Tuesday, November 16th, 7:30 p.m., in the Senior Citizens Center, to discuss budget preparations and guidelines for FY84. Citizens Advisory Committee 1982 -83 Goals The Chairman acknowledged the receipt of the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) 1982 -83 Goals and asked CAC Chairman Donald Shepheard if there was anything he would like to add. Mr. Shepheard said that the order in which the goals were listed represented a rough priority. Chairman Garroway commented that he felt the list of six goals was rather ambitious and that he was a little concerned about the scope. The list of CAC Goals follows: A. To explore the possibility of establishing a "Gifted and Talented" Program in the Reading School System, including but not limited to: 1. Current identification and handling of gifted children in the Reading Schools 2. Programs in other school systems 3. Cost /benefit evaluation of alternatives B. To explore elementary school curriculum in light of the planned closing of the Pearl Street School and subsequent redistricting. C. To become more active in the budget development process of the School Committee, providing recommendations and support where deemed appropriate. D. To continue efforts directed at building strong communication links with the Citizens of Reading, the Reading School Committee and the Administration. E. To evaluate various transportation safety issues, including but not limited to: 1. Seat belts in school busses 2. Identification of hazardous conditions where children are not bussed 3. Re- evaluation of the CAC's 1979 Transportation Report F. To continue CAC analysis of school enrollment. Mr. Shepheard said that one factor is a current membership of 17 to share the work, and another is that some of the goals have a very narrow scope. He added that "D" is an ongoing process. Mr. Nigro asked if the CAC expected to achieve goal "C" by going through the budget with the School Committee or by getting involved at the school building level. Mr. Shepheard replied that it would be done with the School Committee. 55 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 1, 1982 Chairman Garroway voiced concern about the broad charge of goal "B ". The CAC Chairman said that his Committee wanted to look into the uniformity of curriculum among elementary schools to ascertain whether transferring students would be encountering the same curricular area and level at a new school. Regarding goal "A -1 ", Mr. Nigro cautioned about labeling children. Mr. Shepheard agreed but added that he felt there must be a process for identifying gifted and talented children and they would like to be aware of it. Dr. Wells also cautioned against labeling, adding that "children with special talents" should be identified. Chairman Garroway suggested that the CAC could perhaps rephrase some of its goals. School - Related Communications The Committee took note of the following school - related communications: "Profile 1982 - 1983 - Reading Memorial High School;" "RMHS High Flier," and "Report on Education Research," VOL. 14, No. 21. Resignations Mr. Allen moved, seconded by Mr. Nigro, and it was unanimously voted to accept the resignation for purposes of retirement of Stuart Nichols, effective December 1, 1982, at the end of his vacation time. Mr. Nichols has been a member of the custodial staff for 34 years. Mr. Allen moved, seconded by Mr. Coco, and it was unanimously voted to accept the resignation, at the end of the school year, of Frank E. Tuxbury, Jr., CJH mathe- matics teacher, with the understanding that he would not be excluded from any early retirement incentive plan. Executive Session - Adiournment At 10:02 p.m. Mr. Landers moved, seconded by Mr. Nigro, to enter into executive session to discuss matters pertaining to bargaining and negotiations preparation. The motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote. Following a four - minute recess the executive session convened. The Committee remained in executive session until it adjourned at 10:46 p.m. Respect r., � C .. _.:'.:.cc" (j ,/) Robert S. ti7611s, Secretary