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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-01-15 School Committee Minutes 1 OF 1- /o t�_ � Town of Reading ( 7 ` Meeting Minutes 9.1NCOR4e Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2015-01-15 Time: 7:00 PM Building: School - Memorial High Location: Superintendent Conference Room Address: 82 Oakland Road Purpose: Open Session Session: General Session Attendees: Members - Present: Linda Snow Dockser John Doherty, Superintendent Jeanne Borawski Martha Sybert, Director of Finance Chuck Robinson Carolyn Wilson, Director of Student Services Gary Nihan Craig Martin, Assistant Superintendent Chris Caruso Elaine Webb Members - Not Present: Andrea Nastri & Carl Gillies, Student Representatives Others Present: Chris Copeland, RTA President Tom Zaya, RMHS Assistant Principal for Athletics & Extra-Curricular Lou Caputo, Network Administrator Kelly Colon, Director of Facilities Lynn Dunn, Director of Nursing Kristin Killian, RMHS Fine Arts Department Head Adam Bakr, RMHS Principal Paula Perry, Fincom Reading Public Schools Budget Parents Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: John F. Doherty, Ed.D. Superintendent Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Chair Caruso called the School Committee to order at 7:05 p.m. Chair Caruso welcomed guests and reviewed the agenda. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input(I) Chair Caruso called for public input. B. Reports Page I 1 Sub-Committee Dr. Snow Dockser reminded the community of the Martin Luther King celebration that will be held on January 19t . The event begins at 9:30 a.m. with a light breakfast and the program begins at 10:00 a.m. C. Continued Business D. New Business FY16 Budget Presentation District-Wide Programs Dr. Doherty reviewed the Health Services, Athletics, Extracurricular and District Technology cost centers. He pointed out that this cost center does not include instructional technology which is in the Regular Day cost center. The Superintendent reviewed the connection with the district goals and initiatives. This cost center plays a critical role in the behavioral health of our students. He reviewed the drivers to this cost center. As with all cost centers, contractual collective bargaining salary increases make up a major portion of the budget. There will also be increases in Extra-Curricular and Athletics due to offsets from the proposed increase in user fees. Ms. Sybert began the review of the individual cost centers. The Health Services cost center will see increases in the salary line as a result of collective bargaining agreements. This cost center is level funded for all other categories. Mr. Robinson asked what constituted the 9% increase in the salary line. Dr. Doherty indicated that we have one nurse that has a Master's degree. Athletics budget drivers include increases in coach's salaries, and the cost of game staff personnel. A decrease in transportation costs was made based on the past use. It was felt that the proposed cost should be sufficient. There will be an increase in the offset from the Athletics revolving account as well. This budget is proposing an increase in user fees. Ms. Sybert reviewed comparisons to other surrounding and comparable communities. User fees have not been increased since 2012. Dr. Doherty added that the revenue from the user fees is used to cover 92% of the coach's salaries. Ms. Sybert shared athletic participation numbers which have stayed steady over the past few years, including the year the user fee was increased. Discussion continued regarding the possible impact of increased user fees. The members were concerned that participation levels may suffer. A question was asked regarding ticket costs for home events. Mr. Zaya said the Middlesex League AD's set the ticket cost for league events. Revenue generated by ticket sales for home games goes to our budget. Mr. Robinson suggested that students not be charged to attend home events and asked if it was possible to determine the Page 2 revenue from student ticket sales. Ms. Sybert said she would look into gathering that data. Mr. Caruso asked what the impact would be if the individual fees were increased and there was no increase in the caps. Mrs. Perry suggested it may be time to look at a tiered fee structure for some sports. Discussion continued and the members asked questions regarding the need to rent facilities for track, gymnastics, swimming and hockey. Mr. Zaya pointed out the facilities used for track meets can be pricey but as renters of the facility, the league controls the concession and gate receipts. Mrs. Webb cautioned that before tiered fees are considered more data needs to be available. Mr.Nihan does not want to discourage participation. Ms. Sybert reiterated that the user fees are used for coach's salaries and not supplies. Mr. Robinson said the Booster organizations supplement the coaches' salaries. Dr. Doherty said the Boosters provide funding for additional coaches. These are positions that the head coach or Boosters would like to have but are not necessarily needed. Dr. Snow Dockser asked if financial assistance was available to families. Ms. Sybert said we use the free and reduced lunch process. She went on to review the Extracurricular Programs. She reviewed the proposed budget. Most of the offset used in this cost center comes from Drama and Band user fees. As with Athletics, this budget is proposing an increase in Drama user fees. Mr. Caruso asked what the participation rate was for drama. Ms. Killian said that the participation rate remains level. Mr. Caruso then asked how many shows are there in the year. Ms. Killian said there is one show per season with 2 in the winter. Mrs. Borawski asked for clarification regarding the professional development line in the Athletic and Health Services budgets. Mr. Zaya shared that the professional development funds are used for mandatory coach training and other optional programs offered by the MIAA. The coach's education programs began last year. Dr. Doherty shared that all coaches will need to be CPR certified starting next year. Dr. Doherty also said that Athletic and Health Services professional development had previously had come out of the Regular day budget, it now appears as part of the Athletic and Health Service cost center. Dr. Snow Dockser fears that increased user fees will decrease the donations received from Booster groups. Ms. Killian said as a Director running an extra- curricular program she looks long and hard at what the needs vs. the wants are and works with her Booster/Parent groups and is sensitive to the impact increased fees will have. Page 13 Mr. Robinson asked how much we pay to the MIAA. Ms. Sybert will get the information. Mrs. Webb followed up on what Ms. Killian shared regarding wants vs. needs and there needs to be balance when working with parent's groups and the Boosters. Network and Technology Maintenance drivers include increases in salaries. There will also be the addition of a Technician. The funding for this position will be from savings in the School Transformation grant. The addition of this position will allow for the Elementary Technology Integration Specialist to focus on supporting the teachers and working with the proposed K-8 curriculum coaches. Dr. Snow Dockser asked about the wants vs. needs of the district devices. Dr. Doherty said we are not replacing them at the rate we should be and reminded the Committee that the technology replacement line was reduced by $50,000 this year. We have added 200 devices in the past year most of them donated by PTO and we are increasing the bandwidth for across the district in preparation for PARRC testing. This budget will add $20,000 to allow for these improvements and updates. Discussion continued on different funding options, the connectivity issues experienced in the buildings and how many devices and how much money the PTO groups and REF provide to the district. Mr. Nihan asked if all classrooms have Smartboards. Dr. Doherty said all elementary and high school classes do. The district is currently looking at other technology that is less expensive to replace the Smartboards that no longer work. School Building Maintenance Ms. Sybert reviewed the makeup and functions of this cost center. She reviewed the drivers to this cost center. As with all cost centers, contractual collective bargaining salary increases make up a major portion of the budget. Other drivers include increases in HVAC services and the projected increase in natural gas costs. Ms. Sybert shared that she learned today that gas prices are going down and it is the hope that we lock into a new contract at a lower rate than is budgeted. Our current contract for natural gas expires in June. We are also continuing to see reductions in electricity consumption. There will also be a$50,000 offset from the Extended Day Revolving Account. Dr. Doherty reminded the Committee that utility costs for the modular classrooms is not included in this budget. Mr. Nihan asked if the Extended Day produced enough revenue to support the $50,000 offset. Ms. Sybert said the offset is based on the net building use hours and nonprofit rental rates and since the program's inception it has grown a great deal. Mrs. Perry followed up asking if this was a sustainable offset. Ms. Sybert feels it is. Dr. Snow Dockser asked if there would be a deficit if full day kindergarten space issues were not resolved because many of those kids attend the Extended Day programs. She then reviewed the staffing budget by object and square foot maintenance expense by building. Page 14 Town Building Maintenance Cost Center Ms. Sybert continued reviewing the Town Building Maintenance budget. As with all cost centers, contractual collective bargaining salary increases make up a major portion of the budget. Mr. Robinson asked what was included in the Extraordinary Maintenance line. Mrs. Colon said that line is needed for unplanned repairs that are beyond preventative maintenance but do not fall into Capital expenses. She referenced the repair to a lift in the DPW garage. The Committee asked for clarification in the spending of this line and why there was a large increase between 2014 to this budget. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) The following warrants were circulated and signed. Warrant P1515 1.11.15 $1,388,284.22 Warrant S1530 1.15.15 $319,926.46 b. Minutes (A) Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mr. Nihan, to approve the revised open session minutes dated January 8,2015. The motion carried 6-0. c. Bids and Donations (A) d. Calendar Dr. Doherty reminded the Committee of the next meeting on January 22nd. It will be the Public Hearing on the FY16 budget and review of the questions submitted. The School Committee will vote on this budget on January 26th which will allow time to make whatever revisions needed before submitting to the Town manager by February 1st Mr. Caruso reminded the group of the Financial Forum on January 21st IV. Information V. Future Business VI.Adjournment Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to adjourn. The motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:33 p.m. Page 15 . • NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. # 0 1:' John F. Do ri y, •.D. Page 16