Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-01-19 School Committee Minutesf .q OFR 0 p Jlj Town of Reading Meeting Minutes a: Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2017-01-19 Building: School - Memorial High Address: 62 Oakland Road Purpose: Open Session Attendees: Members - Present: RECEIVED TOWN CLERK READING. MASS. 1011MAR !3Pt31i Time: 7:00 PM Location: RMHS Schettini Library Session: Open Session Version: Final Jeanne Borawski, Chuck Robinson, Elaine Webb, Linda Snow Dockser, Gary Nihan, Nick Boivin Members - Not Present: Student Representatives Mario Cutone & Alex Nazzaro Others Present: Superintendent John Doherty, Director of Finance Gail Dowd, Director of Student Services Carolyn Wilson, Assistant Superintendent Craig Martin, Coolidge principal Sarah Marchant, Killam principal Sarah Leveque, Wood End principal Joanne King, Board of Selectmen John Arena & Barry Berman, RPS Budget Parents, Director of Facilities Joe Huggins, Facilities Manager Kevin Gerstner, Erin Calvo Bacci and Fincom member Paula Perry Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Chair Borawski called the School Committee to order at 6:09 p.m. and reviewed the agenda. Mr. Boivin moved, seconded by Mrs. Webb to enter into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining and to return to open session at 7.00 p.m. The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr. Boivin, Mrs. Webb, Mr. Robinson, Dr. Snow Dockser, Dr. Nihan and Mrs. Borawski The meeting adjourned at 6:09 p.m. Chair Borawski called open session back to order and opened the public hearing on the budget at 7:00 p.m. Mrs. Borawski read an email sent to her by a reading parent. Parker Foreign Language teachers Leah Christi and Jennifer Gray read a statement asking the School Committee to restore middle school language to the budget. They feel the district will be taking a major step backwards offering foreign language to grade 8 only. They also feel that foreign language supports the general curriculum. Page 1 1 Parker ELA teachers Julie Merrill and Andrew Spinali addressed the proposed cut of an ELA block in the middle school schedule. The double block provides for social - emotional support, curriculum pacing and helps the grade 6 students transition to middle school teaching time management skills. The reduction in ELA time may also affect our Bridge program students reducing the opportunity to interact with their peers during the ELA class. RTA president Eric Goldstein and RMHS teacher Jeff Ryan asked the School Committee to vote to ask the Board of Selectmen to put a Proposition 21/2 question on the ballot in April suggesting a lower amount. A successful vote would address the personnel cuts in the budget which will have an adverse effect on our student's success. High school budget parent Andy Friedman asked the committee to consider non- personnel/program cuts. Killam parent Jessica Kaufamn is concerned about teacher cuts and asked if the building based budgets could be cut or eliminated to restore these positions. Former RMHS student Nathan Giacalone asked that the foreign language cuts be restored. He feels the opportunity to study languages is important especially in our global society. He asked that that areas such as administration be looked at for reductions. Julie Wall, parent and former foreign language teacher asked that all possibilities be examined and exhausted before eliminating any positions. Alicia Williams, PAC & Birch Meadow parent, is disheartened at the loss of foreign language and other cuts. She feels that the funding of professional development seems high in comparison to what is being cut. Are there ways to offer less expensive professional development. Have teachers been asked if they find the professional development opportunities helpful. RMHS sophomore Kelly Ward expressed her concerns of the reductions in the foreign language programs and feels that learning a language exposed students to different cultures. She also feels that this reduction will negatively impact Reading in the view of colleges. Middle school student Kathy thoroughly enjoys her foreign language class and would like to see the offerings continued. She handed the chair a petition signed by 521 students in support of keeping the foreign language programs. Marianne Downing, Parker and Joshua Eaton parent, said the sixth grade students will be directly affected and seventh graders may not get into foreign language in eighth grade. She referred to the Munis budget saying that several non -represented positions appear to be receiving large increases. She next addressed professional development and asked if teachers found it important; what data do we have showing that PD is a benefit to student outcomes? Mrs. Downing next spoke about the 185 days in the teachers' contract saying that the average teacher days in 24 peer districts in 183. She would like the committee to look at the teacher days. She would also support a smaller override and reminded the community it is not just about the schools. Page 1 2 Dr. Doherty clarified the information in the Munis budget referred to by Mrs. Downing and said the positions she referenced are all part of a collective bargaining group. Rebecca Liberman, RMHS parent, shared concerns in the collapsing of the CP/SCP tracks. She feels combining them will harm students and may cost the district more in additional student supports. She also referenced the math tracks. She asked the committee to look at professional development, administration and athletic fees for possible cost savings areas. Resident Nancy Docktor pointed out that a budget should be built with priorities acknowledging that the positions most important to the schools are the teachers. Mary Richards, middle school parent, would like to see the middle school double ELA block restored. She feels the students are benefitting from this and feels that we are retreating from the mission of the district. She asked what will the seventh grade students be doing if there is not a foreign language opportunity and what will the eighth grade students who do not get into the foreign language elective be doing, what is the educational opportunity for these students? RMHS Foreign Language Department Head Joanne Alvarez was grateful to everyone that has come out to support all programs. She said it is a sad day for Reading. Language studies exercise the brain and there is a crossover to all subjects. She questions how this will affect accreditation. Middle school students Emily and Lucy are thankful for the opportunity to take a language; they feel it opens the door to the world by expanding the knowledge of different cultures. The also feel it helps in other subjects, increasing the knowledge of root words in English for example. Alisson Engel, parent, moved to Reading for the schools and loves the community but fears these proposed cuts will adversely affect the attraction to the community. Killam teacher Jo Ellen McGinnity began by saying that the Superintendent has been completely transparent throughout this whole process. She expressed concerns that year 2 of the Know Atom science curriculum is not being funded. She also said that increased class sizes will make it difficult to teach the core curriculum in the detail needed. Mrs. McGinnity also feels we will not be preparing our students. She supports the restoration of the 3.3 kindergarten paraeducators. RMHS student An Huang said the budget was a hot topic in the high school corridors. He expressed his support to continue to offer foreign language in the middle schools. He said the ability to take French has impacted his life with lessons learned crossing over to other subjects. Susan Gillotti, Coolidge parent, would like the committee to look at other options with respect the the schedule change and foreign language cuts at the middle schools. Brian Gilbertie, Killam parent, knows it is not easy to develop a balanced budget but feels teachers are the heartbeat of the building. Page 1 3 Jill DiMare, high school parent and kindergarten paraeducator, spoke of the importance of the paraeducator support in the kindergarten classrooms. Kate Boyd, incoming kindergarten parent, finds the discussion compelling. She feels teachers have so much to learn from each other and she expressed concerns about the future foundation of the district. Brynn Burkhardt, Killam parent, supports the paraeducators in the kindergarten classrooms. She asked what the next least bad of the bad option might be. She also asked if the School Committee saw the options during the development of the budget. Dr. Doherty stated that he and the administrative team began working on the budget on October 19d . They had 10 different versions and had individual conversations with the School Committee members. Sophie Gellot, Coolidge parent, is upset about the cuts in foreign language. Her children are bilingual and feels it is important to speak another language. Lynna Williams, Birch Meadow parent and RMHS Director of Guidance said that these cuts will have a negative effect on the high school. She said it will impact the social -emotional health of our students. She asked the School Committee to ask for another override vote. Geoffrey Coram, budget parent, is a strong supporter of foreign language like many in the audience. He encouraged all to attend the Financial Forum on January 25h. Sherri VandenAkker pointed out this is the 4t' year of budget cuts asking what will happen next year. Chair Borawski thanked all for their input. The public hearing was closed at 8:50 p.m. Chair Borawski called a brief recess at 8:50 p.m. Mrs. Borawski called the meeting back to order at 9:00 p.m. and reviewed the agenda. II. Recommended Procedure - A. Public Comment There was none. B. Consent Agenda There was no consent agenda. C. Reports Student Representatives There was none. Page 1 4 Liaison's Report Chair Borawski reminded the public of the Financial Forum on January 25th at 7:30 p.m. at the Reading Public Library. Director of Student Services Mrs. Wilson reported that there will be a SEPAC meeting on January 21 st at 9:00 a.m. in the Superintendent's Conference Room. D. Old Business There was no old business. E. New Business FY2018 Budget Presentation Facilities Cost Center Mr. Huggins began by reviewing the department's mission statement and provided a department overview. Mr. Huggins went on to review the essential technology being utilized in his department. FS Direct is used for scheduling all school rentals and invoicing, Maintenance Direct is a work order system used to enter and track work requests. FS Automation ties into the Town Energy Management system linking to school rentals to monitor the HVAC needs. Utility Track allows for the monitoring of energy usage and costs across all utilities and identifies trends on consumption and spending. Mr. Huggins next reviewed the key functions of his department, the organization chart, statistical information and FYI Capital Projects. School Building Facilities is 3% of the total budget and the major changes in the FYI budget include a decrease in contract cleaning services, a decrease in the offset and as with all cost centers employee salaries and benefits are a major driver. Mr. Huggins reviewed the staffing. The decrease in the contract cleaning will result in a shifting of more of the high school cleaning to the 3.0 FTE building custodians. Mr. Robinson asked about the decrease in the contract cleaning. Mr. Huggins said our guys will be responsible for more of the cleaning. The building will be clean. Mr. Robinson asked how we could reduce this contract. Mr. Huggins says there is language in the contract that allows use to decrease the scope. Dr. Snow Dockser asked about the courier position. Mr. Huggins said our courier is very busy. Page 1 5 Mrs. Webb thanked Mr. Huggins for creating a mission statement. Mrs. Borawski felt the reorganization 2 years ago has been seamless. Mr. Boivin asked about utilities and wanted to know the utility cost winter/summer and occupied/unoccupied and if we could find any savings. Dr. Nihan asked about the use of facilities offset. Mrs. Dowd said she has reviewed the balances and this offset will make the account sustainable. He followed up by asking if Mrs. Dowd had met with the Town Accountant on the audit report. Mrs. Dowd indicated she is working very closely with Ms. Angstrom and will update the committee at an upcoming meeting. Mr. Huggins reviewed the Town Core budget which includes salaries, maintenance expenses, school repair expenses, school utilities, town repair expenses and town utilities. Dr. Nihan asked how tight the budget will be at the end of the year. Mr. Huggins said it is difficult to determine, it depends on how harsh the winter is and if we incur any extraordinary repair needs. Alicia Williams asked if students in detention could be used to clean the high school. Mr. Huggins said that he has used students looking for community service to help out. She followed up and asked if parents could be used as the courier. Mr. Huggins said he would not be comfortable with that because of confidentiality concerns. Geoffrey Coram asked about the possibility of installing solar panels. Mr. Huggins indicated that we do not have the required rooftop square footage to accommodate solar panels. He did say we are using solar to preheat air on this building. Mrs. Borawski deferred the presentation on revolving accounts until Monday night. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) b. Calendar IV. Information V. Future Business VI. Adjournment Page 1 6 Adjourn Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Dr. Nihan, to adjourn. The motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. o n F. Doherty, d.D. Page 1 7