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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-02-05 School Committee Minutes� N OFR Town of Reading r Meeting Minutes a� u s39+1MCORp�� Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2018-02-05 Building: School - Memorial High Address: 82 Oakland Road Purpose: Open Session Attendees: Members - Present: RECEIVED TOW (CLERK, READ /a� 2#'B HAR -5 PH 1:46 Time: 7:00 PM Location: Superintendent Conference Room Session: Open Session Version: Final Chuck Robinson, Sherri Vanden Akker, Nick Boivin, Jeanne Borawski, Linda Snow Dockser, and Elaine Webb Members - Not Present: Student Representatives Cutone & Coumounduros Others Present: Superintendent John Doherty, Director of Finance Gail Dowd, Assistant Superintendent Craig Martin, Director of Student Services Carolyn Wilson, RPS Administrators Joanne King, LisaMarie Ippolito, Heather Leonard, RPS Budget Liaisons, Selectmen Barry Berman, Al Sylvia - Reading Chronicle, Bob Holmes - Patch Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Chair Robinson reviewed the agenda and called the meeting to order and reviewed the agenda. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Comment Marianne Downing read a statement from Rebecca Liberman who asked the School Committee to do everything they could to preserve teaching positions. Selectman Barry Berman thanked the School Committee for attending the recent Board of Selectmen meeting at which the override number was discussed and voted. He said it is important to work collaboratively and be transparent as we continue to work through this process. B. Consent A eg nda Mrs. Webb asked if the committee wanted anything to be removed from the consent agenda. There was none. Page 1 1 Consent A eg nda - Approval of RMHS French Exchange Field Trip - Accept a Donation to the RISE Preschool - Accept a Donation to the Parker Middle School - Accept Donations to the Wood End School - Accept a Donation from RMHS PSST - Approval of Minutes (January 11, 18 & 22, 2018) Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Dr. Snow Dockser, to approve the consent astenda. The motion carried 6-0. C. Rem Liaison Dr. Snow Dockser reported that there will be a community conversation at the Reading Public Library on March 21St using the World Cafe model. Mrs. Webb reminded the committee that the FY2019 balanced budget will be presented at the Fincom meeting on Wednesday night. Director of Student Services Mrs. Wilson reported that 7 teachers are enrolled in an online course at the Landmark School, 6 from Eaton and 1 from the high school. She next reported that the next SEPAC meeting is February 12th in the Superintendent's Conference Room and at the February 26th School Committee meeting she will be reporting on the DESE Mid -Cycle review and OCR updates. Superintendent Dr. Doherty updated the committee on the high school principal search indicating that the screening committee has met twice and the interviews will be held on Thursday. Following the initial interviews, a pool of prefinalists will be determined who will meet with the Superintendent. After those meetings finalists will be chosen and site visits and open microphone nights will be scheduled. This will more than likely occur after vacation. He next reported on the incoming kindergarten class. We currently have 317 incoming kindergarten students, 40 of which are enrolled in the half day program. Anyone that registers for full day kindergarten from this point will be placed on a waitlist. This year we will have two half day kindergarten sites; one at Joshua Eaton and the other at the Killam School. Half day students from Barrows will attend Joshua Eaton and the half day students from Wood End and Birch Meadow will attend Killam. D. Old Business Second Reading of Revised Policy JICFB — Bullying Prevention Page 1 2 Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mr. Boivin, to accept and approve the second reading of revised Policy JICFB — Bullying Prevention Superintendent Doherty updated the committee on the changes made to the plan and policy ensuring the language was the same on both documents. The motion carried 6-0. Reconstruction/Override Budget Chair Robinson said he was comfortable with the number as a result of the January 30th Selectmen meeting and agreed with Mr. Berman in remaining transparent throughout the whole process. Superintendent Doherty thanked the Board of Selectmen on the process and thoughtful discussion during the recent meeting to determine the proposed override question and amount. The benefit and capital costs are factored into the total amount approved by the Selectmen. Once the dollar amount was determined by the Selectmen vote, the Superintendent went back to the District Leadership Team to develop a prioritized plan of items to include in the Reconstruction Plan. The Priority Plan is focused on restoring/retaining classroom teachers and classroom support, restoring technology support and increases technology replacement for classrooms, creates systems which allow for alignment of curriculum standards and teaching practices across the five elementary schools, will strengthen our core instruction (Tier 1) for all students, increased special education leadership for building support and program development, creates a sustainable model for curriculum renewal, restores athletics to current program levels and builds in expenses to all for greater sustainability in Years 2 and 3. Dr. Doherty outlined each area of the proposed reconstruction/override budget. ecommended Funded Override/Reconstruction Budget Retain To FTE Middle School Teachers - retains middle school model $ 500,000 $ - $ 500,000 Restore 5,o FTE High SchoolTeachers $ 350,000 s $ 350,000 Retain 3,o FTE ElementaryTeachers - retains class sizes (mid-2o's) $ 241,000 $ - $ 241,000 Retain 1.o FTE Regular EducationTutor (retain elementarytutor hours) s 20,000 s s 20,000 Salary Adjustments (retaining and attracting staff) s 36o,000 s s 36o,000 Curriculum Updates and Renewals $ - $ 150,000 $ 3,50,000 TeacherTrainingforScience, ELA, Math (K-8) $ $ 75,000 $ 75,000 Add 1.o FTE K-6 Math/Science Curriculum Coordinator $ 95,000 $ - $ 95,000 Add 1.o FTE K-6 ELA/Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator $ 95,000 $ - $ 95,000 Restore 1.o FTE ComputerTechnician $ 57,000 $ $ 57,000 Classroom Computer Replacement $ - $ 500000 $ 50,000 Add o.5 FTE Special Education Team Chair $ 49,250 $ - s 49,250 Restructure o.5 FTE RISE Preschool Director/Assistant Director for Special Education $ 70,000 s - s 70,000 Restore Athletics Schedule - restore z non-league games and Elementary Chorus $ $ 25,000 $ 25,000 $1,837,250 $ 300,000 $ 2,137,250 Target $ 2,137,250 Page 1 3 Retain and Restore Teaching Staff/Student Support The 16.0 FTE proposed in the priority plan represents 69% of the total funding requested. It allows us to retain the middle school model and schedule, including Grade 6 ELA, Grade 7 and 8 Foreign Language, elementary class sizes for grades 3 — 5, current elementary tutor hours during the school day, provides additional course selections at RMHS, more AP classes across all disciplines, use NEASC process to restructure current offerings and provides opportunities to retain and attract staff by making salaries more comparable with other communities. Learning and Teaching ,Support (Curriculum, Training and Technology) The funding in the proposed priority plan in this area will be used for curriculum replacement, and renewal each year, it will provide on-going training for teachers and other staff across all levels, and increase technology support and replacement of older computers. Learning and Teaching Support (Leadership) Positions included in this area include 2.0 FTE Curriculum Coordinators, 0.5 FTE Special Education Team Chair and 0.5 FTE Assistant Director of Student Services. This will allow the district to create a system and infrastructure to reflect the demands of new educational standards and address the challenges of meeting the needs of all students and provides additional special education leadership to support and strengthen our indistrict programs. The Curriculum Coordinators will improve the consistency in teaching and learning among our five elementary schools with the goal being that each student has the same learning experiences grades K — 5. They will also assist in providing a smooth curricular transition to middle school, facilitate ongoing improvement of educational programs, coordinate and maintain curriculum document, align to state standards, provide content expertise and feedback for staff and help coordinate and provide ongoing training for teachers. The addition of special education staffing will allow us to provide greater oversight to our special education programs and teachers with a greater focus on special education program development and improvement and provide additional support to building principals at the elementary level. Athletics The priority plan restores the athletic game schedule to current levels as well as the elementary chorus after school program. Dr. Doherty concluded by sharing that communication is a key element to any successful override vote and shared what the district is doing in this area including budget bulletins via newsletters and blogs, meeting with School Council and PTO groups, holding optional staff meetings, office hours and addressing questions from the community. Page 1 4 Mr. Robinson asked if the Curriculum Coordinators would have an evaluation role. Dr. Doherty said both the Curriculum Coordinators and team Chairs will assist the elementary principals in this area. Mr. Boivin asked for clarification on the title Curriculum Coordinator and asked about the challenges of having 5 elementary schools. He also asked about the demands put on elementary teachers that teach multiple subjects. Dr. Doherty responded by saying that curriculum coordinators are common positions in education and it is an administrative position with a strong content knowledge background. They will also have a vast knowledge of the frameworks and standards based instruction. In response to Mr. Boivin's question regarding the challenges of having 5 elementary schools, Dr. Doherty referenced a decision made around the time discussions were held regarding the addition of a fifth elementary school and the value of neighborhood schools. The Superintendent said that the elementary teachers are among the hardest working group because of what they do every day in their classrooms (new curriculum, social emotional wellbeing, diverse classrooms, a more inclusionary environment and a toolbox that allows them to deal with all kids in the classroom). Dr. Vanden Akker asked if the curriculum coordinators would be working with the data coach. The answer was yes. Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to accent the prioritized list of funded items as presented in the amount of $2,137,250. Marianne Downing asked why the curriculum coordinators were not K-5 vs. K — 6. Dr. Doherty said they will be assisting with the transition from grade 5 — 6, working with the middle school principals and staff. Mrs. Downing followed up asking about the curriculum pacing guides and charts development. Dr. Doherty responded by saying they would be assisting in this area. Mr. Boivin expressed concerns with adding FTEs in FYI without the true.cost moving forward and went onto say that he supports the override and has looked everywhere for funds and there is nothing left to cut. The motion carried 6-0. E. New Business Statement of Interest — Accelerated Repair Program Director of Facilities Joe Huggins reviewed the MSBA Statement of Interest process. Reading will be submitting a Statement of Interest as part of the Accelerated Repair Program to address the need to replace a boiler at the high school. The current boiler was moved from the old building during construction and put online as one of the two boilers in the building. It is reaching the end of its useful life. The application is comprised of two main sections; educational history/Impact & facility background/history. This process ensures that the asset being applied for is not going to be part of a larger renovation in the near term. To be eligible the value of the project needs to exceed $250,000, the boiler Page 1 5 replacement is estimated at approximately $585,000, the system must be at least 20 years old and the funding for the project must be allocated and approved. The FYI Capital Plan has $585,000 for the replacement of the boiler and the Facilities Department has already begun the process of obtaining a design. Mr. Huggins reviewed the timeline. The application is due on February 16th. The School Committee and Board of Selectmen need to vote and once voted the School Committee Chair, Town Manager and Superintendent will need to sign the SOI. Invitations to participate are anticipated late spring/early summer and if we are invited to participate construction will begin next winter/spring. We anticipate the reimbursement will be approximately 50% of the cost of the project. If we are not invited to participate, Reading will be able to fund the boiler replacement entirely through the Capital Plan. The School Committee asked clarifying questions. Mrs. Webb moved, Resolved: Having convened in an open meeting on February 5, 2018, prior to the SOI submission closing date, the School Committee of Reading, in accordance with its charter, by-laws, and ordinances, has voted to authorize the Superintendent to submit to the Massachusetts School Building Authority the Statement of Interest Form dated February 2, 2018 for the Reading Memorial High School located at 62 Oakland Road, Reading, MA which describes and explains the following deficiencies and the priority category(s) for which an application may be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority in the future Priority 5, Accelerated Repair Program for the replacement of Boiler #2 at the Reading Memorial High School which is approaching the end of its useful life and hereby further specifically acknowledges that by submitting this Statement of Interest Form, the Massachusetts School Building Authority in no way guarantees the acceptance or the approval of an application, the awarding of a grant or any other funding commitment from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, or commits the City/Town/Regional School District to filing an application for funding with the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Borawski. The motion carried 6-0. III. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) S1830 1.25.18 $208,124.97 S1831 2.01.18 $119,729.90 P1815 1.26.18 $1,528,473.27 b. Calendar IV. Information/Correspondence Page 1 6 V. Future Business VI. Adjournment Adjourn Mrs. Webb moved, seconded by Mrs. Borawski, to adiourn. The motion carried 6 -0 - The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. o F. Dohe , Ed.D. Page 1 7