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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-12 School Committee Minutes f` Q E •/ Town of Reading ti e� " Meeting Minutes 3J/NCORIet Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2015-02-12 Time: 6:00 PM Building: School - Barrows Location: Cafeteria Address: 16 Edgemont Avenue Purpose: Open Session Session: General Session Attendees: Members - Present: Linda Snow Dockser John Doherty, Superintendent Jeanne Borawski Craig Martin, Assistant Superintendent Chuck Robinson Chris Caruso Elaine Webb arrived at 6:20 p.m. Members - Not Present: Gary Nihan Martha Sybert, Director of Finance Carolyn Wilson, Director of Student Services Carl Gillies, Student Representative Others Present: Andrea Nastri - Student Representative Heather Leonard, Barrows Principal 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 6:09 p.m. Chair Caruso welcomed guests and reviewed the agenda. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input(I) Chair Caruso called for public input. There was none. B. Reports Mrs. Borawski updated the Committee on the recent Recreation Committee meeting. The summer camp early bird registration is underway. She also shared that John Feudo will now be overseeing the reorganized Community Services Page I 1 Department at Town Hall. Lastly she reported that the Killam baseball field will undergo improvements. Mr. Robinson asked about the turf field maintenance schedule. Dr. Doherty indicated that the maintenance schedule has been moved out a couple of years on the Capital Plan. Mrs. Borawski provided an update on the recent Elementary Space Needs Committee meeting. Members of the Committee went on site visits to RISE, Barrows, Eaton and Killam and saw first-hand what obstacles we are facing. She felt the visits were very powerful. Dr. Snow Dockser reported on the recent Human Relations Advisory Committee meeting where they discussed the recent Martin Luther King event. The HRAC welcomes feedback on the event. The HRAC is also looking for new members to join the Committee. She also shared that the HRAC is working with Wakefield to assist them in creating a similar committee. The HRAC is also collaborating with METCO and Winchester on a multicultural event. She also attended the recent First Lego League event at Coolidge and was pleased to see the collaboration between participants of all ages. The High School Robotics team volunteered as coaches and the Coolidge Science Olympiad Team manned the refreshment stand as a fundraiser for their team. She also attended the Reading Public Library groundbreaking. Mr. Caruso received a letter from Phil Vaccaro requesting support of the renaming of the Varsity baseball field. He would like to discuss this nomination at a future meeting. Student Representative Nastri reported on the Drama production of Fools last weekend. She said it was a great event. The next production will be Antigone the first weekend in March. She also shared that the RMHS Chorus will be hosting a mini-golf fundraiser at RMHS on February 27th. The course will be set up within the high school with clubs and sports teams creating and manning holes. Dr. Doherty also spoke of the First Lego League event. Twelve elementary and middle school teams participated in the annual event. Mrs. Webb arrived at 6:20 p.m. Students developed Lego robots which completed a series of predetermined task and presented on a current problem in the STEM area. This event exposes the elementary and middle school students to real world problem solving types of activities and is a great feeder program for the High School Robotics team. The High School Robotics team will be hosting a robotics competition in the Field House on March 7th and 8th The last item reported on was the upcoming Taste of Metro North to be held in the RMHS Field House on February 25th. This event is hosted by the Reading/North Reading Rotary. This is a major Rotary fundraiser with a good Page 12 deal of the proceeds used to benefit the Reading Public Schools and the Reading Education Foundation. Mrs. Webb reported on the recent"Women in Innovation- Design your STEM Career"which featured a panel type discussion with women in the STEM fields. Panelists included Reading Memorial High School graduates. Ms. Lorraine Martin was the keynote speaker at the event. Mrs. Webb thanked RMHS science Department Head Mary Anne Lynn and Principal Adam Bakr for their assistance. C. Continued Business Update on Kindergarten and Elementary Space Needs Dr. Doherty reported on the recent Modular Classroom Informational session held at Killam. He said there was a good dialogue and question and answer session. The attendees raised some good points. The additional information will be added to the presentation for Town Meeting. The second session will be held this evening right after the School Committee meeting. The Superintendent reviewed the lottery guidelines and the process if Town Meeting does not approve the Modular Classroom funding. The lottery tentatively will be held on March 2nd in the evening. It will be held in the Superintendent's Conference Room and televised on RCTV. The Superintendent also reminded the public that if a family opts to attend an elementary school other than their home school, transportation will not be provided. Mrs. Webb wanted to be sure that the financial impact of the loss of kindergarten and extended day revenues was included in the presentation to Town Meeting. Chair Caruso said that he and Mr. Robinson would introduce the Superintendent at Town Meeting. Dr. Doherty would then present the information on the article. FY15 Budget Status Update Superintendent Doherty reviewed the budget status as of January 31, 2015. He pointed out areas of concern at this point in the year. One area of concern is within the Special Education budget. Increases in the Home & Hospital Tutoring services and several unanticipated out of district placement placements have contributed to the increase in spending to date. Mr. Robinson asked if snow removal costs came out of the snow/ice budget or the maintenance budget. Dr. Doherty said the overtime costs come out of the maintenance budget. Mr. Robinson suggested that we track those costs and piggyback expense on the Town's request to Town Meeting for a funding reimbursement. D. New Business Page 13 III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) The following warrants were circulated and signed. Warrant S1533 2.05.15 $170,259.67 Warrant S1534 2.12.15 $120,905.64 Warrant P1516 1.12.15 $1,457,042.00 Warrant P1517 2.13.15 $1,396,450.96 b. Minutes (A) c. Bids and Donations (A) Award of Joshua Eaton Roof Designer Services Contract Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to authorize the Superintendent to enter into contract with Gale Associates, Inc. of Weymouth, MA for designer services for the Joshua Eaton Roof replacement. The motion carried 5-0. Donations Friends of Reading Rockets Hockey Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to accept the donation in the amount of$2,000 from the Friends of Reading Rockets Hockey to be used to support a coaching assistant for the boys' varsity team. The motion carried 5-0. Kohl's Associate in Action Grant Program Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to accept the donation in the amount of$500 from the Kohl's Associate in Action Grant Program to be used to support the recent Martin Luther King Day celebration. Dr. Snow Dockser thanked the associates and manager of the Burlington Kohl's for volunteering at the Martin Luther King Day celebration. The motion carried 5-0. Capozzi Construction Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to accept the donation in the amount of$50 from Capozzi Construction to be used to support the recent Martin Luther King Day celebration. Dr. Snow Dockser wanted to personally thank Capozzi Construction for their donation and said that they would like to be involved in next year's event. Page 14 The motion carried 5-0. Minutes Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to approve the open session minutes dated January 15, 2015. The motion carried 5-0. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to approve the open session minutes dated January 22, 2015. The motion carried 5-0. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb, to approve the open session minutes dated January 29,2015. The motion carried 5-0. d. Calendar Mr. Robinson asked where we stood with snow days and the last day of school. Superintendent Doherty said we have used 6 days and the projected last day of school will be June 25th at this point. This is the same date as the past two years. If we have to use any more snow days the Superintendent will look at ways to avoid extending the school year any further than necessary. Mr. Caruso reminded the School Committee of the February 23rd Special Town Meeting and the February 24th School Committee meeting. Dr. Doherty pointed out that the budget presentation to the Finance Committee is on March 11th IV.Information V. Future Business VI.Adjournment Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to adjourn. The motion carried 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 6:49 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. it,'_ Jo . Dohe ' , Ed.D. Page 15