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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-01-20 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts Regular Meeting of the School Committee Open Session Date: January 20, 2011 Time: 7:30 p.m. (Open Session) Place: Superintendent's Conference Room School Committee Members Present Staff Members Present Chuck Robinson John Doherty, Superintendent Karen Janowski Patty deGaravilla, Assistant Superintendent Chris Caruso Mary DeLai, Director of Finance and Operations Lisa Gibbs Kim Oliveira, Director of Pupil Services Matt Conway Student Representative Visitors: Ellie Freedman, RMHS Principal Matt Casey, Reading Patch Cathy Giles, Killam Principal Art Katz, Reading Advocate Lynn Dunn, Director of Nurses Joe Huggins, Director of Facilities Matt Wilson, Network Administrator Marsic West, Fincom member ® Phil Vaccaro, Athletic Director Hal Torman, Fincom member RPS Budget Parents 1. Call to Order Chairperson Caruso called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The Chair reviewed the agenda and welcomed guests. IL Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) Reports I 1. Student Mr. Conway shared that the end of midterms was tomorrow and that Emily Crampe was awarded the High 5 for the Iceland Project. 2. Liaison Mrs. Janowski reported on the recent Martin Luther King, Jr. event at RMHS. 3. Superintendent's Report Dr. Doherty reported the success of the Coolidge production of "Annie". The Superintendent announced that the Reading Public Schools will be presenting the film "Race to Nowhere" and discussion session that will take place on January 25 in the Fine and Performing Arts Center. He encouraged all to attend. January 20, 2011 4. Director of Finance and Operations ANN No Report 5. Assistant Superintendent No Report 6. Director of Pupil Services No Report B. Continued Business C. New Business Green Repair Program Ms. DeLai outlined the next steps in the Green Repair Program. A committee will be created for the selection of the Owners Project manager and designer. She reviewed the criteria for the selection committee and defined the make-up of the group. Ms. DeLai requested that the School Committee to appoint a representative to the selection committee for the OPM and Designer for the green repair projects. Mrs Janowski nominated Mrs Gibbs seconded by Mr. Robinson, to serve on the selection committees for both the OPM and the dcsi ner for the MSBA Green Repair Program. The motion carried 4-0. ® FYI Other Cost Centers Dr. Doherty reviewed the make up and functions of this cost center. He briefly reviewed how the budget was developed and the three scenarios. Health Services Dr. Doherty shared the drivers of the Health Services budget which includes the increase in the number of students that are on 504 Medical Accommodation Plans, addressing the complexity of the services required and increased reporting and documentation. Ms. DeLai reviewed the components of this cost center and reviewed the three scenarios and the impact on the Health Services budget. Athletics Dr. Doherty shared the challenges in developing the Athletics budget which includes the addition of JV Girls Hockey, shifting coaching salaries to EduJobs is not sustainable long term, the increased reliance on revolving funds and parent booster organizations. Ms. DeLai reviewed the components of this cost center and reviewed the three scenarios and the Q impact on the Athletics budget. Ms. DeLai also reviewed three alternatives proposed to get to the -0.5% budget. One being the reduction of expenses by $40,000; the other two options would involve increasing user fees. January 20, 2011 Extracurricular Activities ® Dr. Doherty and Ms. DeLai reviewed the challenges in developing the extra -curricular budget which include the elimination of activity fees, no longer offering after school fitness center access (due to reduced participation) and the support that booster groups provide to activities. Ms. DeLai reviewed the components of this cost center and reviewed the three scenarios and the impact on the Extracurricular Budget. The increase to dues and memberships and decreasing stipends due to the elimination of the fitness center program has impacted the development of this cost center. Networking & Technology Maintenance Dr. Doherty reviewed the challenges in developing the Networking & Technology Maintenance cost center. The increase in technology district wide and the current level of staffing is not adequate to address the needs of the district. Ms. DeLai reviewed the components of this cost center and indicated that there will be no major increases or decreases to individual line items. Dr. Doherty and Ms. DeLai reviewed the previously submitted questions. (See attached) School Building Maintenance ® Dr. Doherty turned the meeting over to Ms. DeLai. Ms. DeLai reviewed the components of the School Building Maintenance cost center indicating that the largest component includes energy, utilities and salaries. The district has been successful in reducing the cost in these areas to a degree. Challenges in budget development in this cost center include fewer administrators, high square footage ratios per shift per man hour, fewer rentals and the Green Repair Program. Ms. DeLai reviewed the three scenarios and outlined the impact of each. Town Building Maintenance Ms. DeLai reviewed the components of the Town Building Maintenance cost center indicating that the largest component includes energy, utilities, building repairs and salaries. She explained the components of this cost center which includes salaries, cleaning services, inspections and testing, preventative maintenance, supplies, energy and utilities and building repairs. Ms. DeLai reviewed the three scenarios and outlined the impact of each. Dr. Doherty and Ms. DeLai reviewed the previously submitted questions. (See attached) III. Routine Matters • Bills and Payroll (A) • Approval of Minutes Mr. Robinson moved seconded by Mrs Gibbs to approve the open session minutes dated January 10 2011 The motion carried 4-0. January 20, 2011 Mr. Robinson moved seconded by Mrs Gibbs to noorove the open session minutes dated January 13 2011 The motion carried 4-0. • Bids and Donations Mr. Robinson moved seconded by Mrs Janowski to accept a donation in the amount of $50 from the Lenders Enviromental to be used to support professional development as outlined in the Superintendent's memorandum dated January 20, 2011. The motion carried 4-0. Calendar IV. Information Mr. Caruso reminded the committee that the next meeting will be on January 20. Monday evening's meeting will be the Public Hearing on the budget. He also reminded the committee of the Financial Forum on January 26`". Committee members were asked to submit questions in advance. V. Adioumment Mrs Gibbs moved seconded by Mr. Robinson to adiourn. The motion carried 4-0. ® VI. Future Business Meeting adjourned at 10:05 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. J hn F. Dohe , Ed.D perintendent of Schools r FY2012 Superintendent's Budget Questions and Answers Health Services 1. How do we handle substitute services? We have as employees of the district six nurse substitutes who are paid $75 per day to cover for our nurses. The paraeducator substitute coordinator also handles absence calls for nurses and makes to assign substitutes. We average 4-6 nurse substitute days per month Athletics 1. 1 understand the part of the increase in the facility rentals due to the addition of the girls 1V Hockey, but why are we automatically assuming rental rates are going to go up at the ice arena and the YMCA? This assumption is based ori preliminary conversations with the General Manager and Executive Director of each facility and the fact that rates have increased each year for the past several years. • 2. Why are we reducing field maintenance? In my opinion, we should be doing more especially with regard to the artificial turf fields. The primary expense thaf"we fund f rom this budget is for line stripping on the artificial turffields. We own the machine that aerates the field and the aerating is done Jour times per year by the DPW using this machine at their expense. Weare asking that the aeration schedule be increased to 6 times per year. The only additional expense is far die turf field pellets. We are planning to purchase a supply, of additional pellets this year (FYI I) which should give us a sufficientstoclgiile for the next two years. These pellets will be racked into the field just prior to the spring season and then as needed in the future. The maintenance of all other fields is the responsibility of the Reading DPW. 3. When was the last time we took a look at our equipment purchasing and maintenance contracts? As we have with other contracts, this may be an area we can save some money due to competition. The equipment maintenance expense is for the re furbishing of certain equipment such as football helmets and pads. There is no contract with individual vendors for this; rather, we solicit the lowest price each year using sound business practices as required under the municipal procurement law (Chapter 30B). ® 4. Can we get a breakdown of the amount of parent or booster group subsidy is provided to each sport? Since the new parent booster guidelines just went into effect this year, we do not • have accurate data on this. We should have good data for the current year to provide you in the next fiscal year. Extracurricular Activities 1. Can we use an offset to keep the fitness center open? We attempted to charge a user fee this year in the amount of $35 per season The number of students using the facility after school dropped significantly for the fall and winter from 30-40 students down to 13 students. At that level of participation, the total amount that we expect to generate this year is less than $1,500 or 7.5% of the total cost of the after school fitness center program. 2. Do we have hard evidence that the reduction in participation was due to the fees? If so, are we offering financial assistance where needed? We are told by the advisors and by the High School administration that this is the primary reason for the decline. In addition, the advisors for the clubs and activities for which there are no fees have seen an increase in participation We did not receive any financial assistance applications for the extracurricular activity user fees. 3. What are the royalties? The district is required to pay royalty fees in order to license the performance rights for a play, production or musical score. We are essentially purchasing permission to use and perform the playwright's or songwriter's property. Chuck Robinson — Ouestioas—School Buildine Maintenance 1. Why aren't we increasing [he annual payment from Reading recreation? The annual payment was established by an agreement between the Reading School Committee and Reading Recreation that was entered into, to the best ofmy knowledge, in FY2002. If the School Committee wishes, it may open discussions with the Reading Recreation to renegotiate the agreement. 2. How do our rental rates compare�to surrounding towns? Should we be looking to increase these? n U We provided the School Committee with a comparison of the rental rates for surrounding communities back in November. Our rates are comparable to other districts for almost all rentals. There are a few exceptions where some communities area bit higher or lower for a specific venue. We did not propose • an increase in rates as we have found that our rentals this year have declined we believe due to the sluggish economy and competition from other venues. 3. Why are professional salaries up 4.1%? The salary amount for FYI is lower than actual due to a contractual change that was made in the later part of FYIO. The actual amount for FY11 is $153,886 which translates to an actual increase in FY12 ofjust under 1.5%. 4. Why is the elevator maintenance contract up? The expense for lift inspections had not previously been categorized here but is now correctly funded from this line. In addition, the eostfor the fire alarm company to do testing associated with the elevators is now appropriately classified here rather than in the building repair line. 5. Is the uniform allowance a contractual obligation? Yes. The collective bargaining agreement includes language that entitles custodial and maintenance staff to $350 per year. In addition, this line also includes the expense to screen print or embroider the uniforms. • 6. Why is fire equipment up 38.5%? Casts for inspection and maintenance o% extinguishers, chemicalfume hoods, and suppression equipment had previously been charged to building repairs and is now appropriately categorized here. In addition, we now have additional fire alarm equipment and devices in two of our buildings. 7. What is the travel reimbursement? Custodial and maintenance staff who do not have access to a school vehicle are compensated when they are asked to travel between buildings or to drive to suppliers or warehouses to purchase equipment or supplies. 8. Why is Wood End's water and electricity consumption higher than the other schools? Neither Wood End's water nor electricity consumption is higher than the other schools. The graphs that are shown in the budget illustrate consumption per square foot which is more a measure of efficiency than consumption. In the case of electricity, Wood End has more electricity consuming equipment (mostly HVAC equipment) per square foot than many other buildings as ventilation requirements, for newer buildings require more air exchanges per minute. With respect to water consumption, the field in front of the Wood End School includes an irrigation system that is metered to the Wood End School. This is the only school that has a • field that is regularly irrigated 9. Can the custodial staff work more efficiently so that outsourcing becomes less necessary? The table below shows how the current workload is allocated between EPS custodial staffand the contractor's staff. All of the duties that are performed by the contractor can only be performed in the evenings. Currently, we have just three custodians at the high school including one day shift, one afternoon -early evening shin and one evening shift. In order to provide the same level ofservice, we would have to add 6.75 FTE custodians. The cost of this additional staff would be approximately $350, 000 including salary, benefits, taxes, and insurances which is over $120, 000 more than what we are currently paying the contractor. It would be impossible for the current 3.0 FTE staff at the High School to accomplish all of this work during their work day. (1) Includes dusting, glass, graffiti removal, desk/furniture cleaning, etc. (2) Includes set-up/breakdown for school events, meetings, workshops, athletic events, adult education or other classes, miscellaneous work orders, deliveries, snow & ice removal, etc. Town Building Maintenance 1. Same questions for Elevator and Fire equipment contracts. Please see the responses to Questions 4 and 6 in the School Building maintenance section above. 2. What are the building repairs? The building repair budget is built based on known and/or anticipated issues that 0I need to be addressed in the buildings as well as building maintenance and repair RPS Staff Contractor Duties EL Daily Hours FL Daily Hours Trash 0.19 1.50 0.63 5.00 Bathrooms 0.19 1.50 1.25 10.00 Dry -mopping 0.13 1.00 1.25 10.00 Wash/buff floors 0.31 2.50 1.50 12.00 • Vacuuming 0,50 4,00 063 500 Stairwells (sweep& mop) N/A N/A 0.63 5,00 Misc. Cleaning (1) 0.63 5.00 0.90 7.20 Misc Duties (2) 1.06 8.50 N/A N/A Total 3.00 24.00 6.78 54.20 (1) Includes dusting, glass, graffiti removal, desk/furniture cleaning, etc. (2) Includes set-up/breakdown for school events, meetings, workshops, athletic events, adult education or other classes, miscellaneous work orders, deliveries, snow & ice removal, etc. Town Building Maintenance 1. Same questions for Elevator and Fire equipment contracts. Please see the responses to Questions 4 and 6 in the School Building maintenance section above. 2. What are the building repairs? The building repair budget is built based on known and/or anticipated issues that 0I need to be addressed in the buildings as well as building maintenance and repair ® requests that are presented to the Facilities Department by Town and School building administrators. El I]