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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-11-07 School Committee Minutes FR Town of Reading Meeting Minutes KEGEIy ED,, �� TOWN CLERK Board - Committee - Commission - Council; 2 School Committee 220 JAN 13 P!" 52 Date: 2019-11-07 Time: 7:00 PM Building: School - Memorial High Location: School Library Address: 62 Oakland Road Session: Open Session Purpose: Open Session Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Chuck Robinson, Linda Snow Dockser, Jeanne Borawski, Tom Wise, Pat Calley and John Parks Members - Not Present: Others Present: Superintendent John Doherty, Chief Financial Officer Gail Dowd, Assistant Superintendent Christine Kelley, Director of Student Services Jennifer Stys, Director of Facilities Joe Huggins, Dale Gienapp, Gienapp Architects Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair Topics of Discussion: 1. Call to Order Chair Robinson called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. and reviewed the agenda. A. Public Input Mr. Robinson called for public comment. There was none. B. Consent Agenda Mr. Robinson asked if the committee wanted any items removed from the consent agenda. Accept a Donation from the Friends of Reading Rockets Hockey, Inc. - Approval of Coolidge Nature's Classroom Field Trip Mrs.Borawski moved,seconded by Mr.Parks,to approve the consent agenda. The motion carried 6-0. C. Reports Student Representative Page 1 1 Ms. Drummey reported on the upcoming RMHS production of Chicago. Football, swimming,cheer and cross-country teams are participating in post season tournaments and the RMHS Veterans Day celebration at RMHS will be at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. D. Old Business Elementary Space Update Dr. Doherty began by saying that Town Meeting approved funding for the elementary space/enrollment study. Dale Gienapp is here tonight to update the committee on what has been done to date. He also shared that the Permanent Building Committee has been involved. Mr.Gienapp shared the topics he would be discussing tonight He will discuss the project purpose, background and assumptions,existing conditions,enrollment and space needs,planning options and conclusion and next steps. He reviewed the enrollment projections. The data from NESDEC shows modest increases,however most of the growth is in the Killam and Birch Meadow area. With that in mind the goal is to develop multiple schemes and plan for the next 20 years. Mr. Gienapp next reviewed MSBA standard square footage for classroom spaces. Additional classroom space will be required for enrollment increases and programmatic changes. Our pre-kindergarten numbers continue to increase impacting classroom space in the district. Programmatic changes have also contributed to the reduction in classroom space. The existing conditions at the five elementary schools was reviewed. Constraints contributing to any solution include limitations in current districts,cycle of building renovation/needs and awareness of middle school districting. Wood End would be difficult to expand due to insufficient access roads. It is not practical to expand at Joshua Eaton or Barrows;enrollment would need to be reduced to meet square fpotlstudent guidelines. Assumptions made when developing possible scenarios include having pre-k students at the high school is not advantageous,modular classrooms are not a long-term solution, redistricting is acceptable, interest in downsizing to 4 sites and all estimates are based on approximate cost/sq. ft. It has been determined that it is not practical to expand at all sites,structurally it is not feasible to add a 2nd floor to any school and there would be no advantage to move grade 5 to the middle schools. Mr.Gienapp reviewed the proposed scenarios to address the elementary space needs. • Scheme A—Add a second floor to Killam to create a 750-student school, redistrict and does not address Pre-K. • Scheme B—Build new 660 student school on Killam site, build an addition to Birch Meadow,would address Pre-K. • Scheme C—Gut and renovate Killam for 500 students,build an addition to Birch Meadow,redistrict and does not address Pre-K. • Scheme F—Build new 650 student school on Killam site,vacate Birch Meadow, add on to Wood End,redistrict and does not address pre-K. • Scheme G—Build a new 750 student school on Killam site,demolish Birch Meadow,redistrict and does not address Pre-K. • Scheme H—Build a new school on Birch Meadow site to house Pre-K and K, and Killam becomes new 650 student school. Page 1 2 Using Killam appears to be the most logical site for development. There is no advantage to renting space to address the space issues,we cannot just redistrict,and it is not practical to add onto each building. Mr. Gienapp reviewed the timeline and MSBA process. The MSBA Statement of Interest(SOI)window opens in January. If we choose to submit a SOI and are selected we will receive a contract,once the contract is signed,we have 270 days to prepare the required documentation. Mrs. Borawski said we are out of space and we are in a bit of an enrollment bump,what is driving enrollment. NESDEC looked at births,home sales,populations by school district and an aging population selling to families. They also reached out to reapers and met with the Assistant Town Manager. The committee asked clarifying questions on MSBA reimbursement,timeline,enrollment and funding decisions. The discussion turned to the schemes that have been presented. We would have to submit one project at a time to MSBA. Mr. Robinson feels if we decide on a plan it may be a combination. MSBA will ask you to prioritize the projects. There is a lot of competition, Reading does not have tremendous growth and our buildings are in good shape. The process will be competitive,and we may receive a lower rank which may result being put on the waidist. Mrs. Borawski asked about next steps and community outreach. Dr.Doherty said we would have an opportunity for the community to give feedback at a public meeting or at a School Committee meeting. The School Committee will decide on a scheme after the community has the opportunity to provide feedback. The Chair called for a brief recess at 8:40 p.m. The meeting was called back to order at 8:42 p.m. Continued Discussion District Improvement Plan/Superintendent's Goals As discussed at the last meeting, Superintendent Doherty reviewed the 8 priority indicators he recommends using for the evaluation process. Mrs. Borawski would like to use all indicators rather than just the 8 recommended by the Superintendent. Mr. Wise asked if we limit the evaluation to the 8 indicators how would they be weighted. Dr.Doherty said that DESE does not recommend weighting. Mrs. Borowski thought that was a good point and we would have to be a consistent voice on whether we evaluate on all of the indicators orjust the 8 priority indicators. Dr. Doherty asked what evidence he would need to provide; all orjust the 8. Mr. Robinson said the committee appreciates the 8 but would like to stick to all the indicators. Dr. Doherty will still have to use fiscal responsibility,but it would not be a goal. Mr.Parks asked if we should focus on the 8 indicators and look at the others. Page 1 3 Mrs. Borawski is leaning towards no change in the process and would like to hear how other districts are handling the process. Dr.Doherty said he will be attending a workshop on the Superintendent's Evaluation process. Mrs. Calley felt only evidence on the 8 indicators would be necessary. Mr. Robinson felt it is important to have evidence available for all indicators. Dr.Dockser felt that there is a lot of work to be done. Dr. Doherty shared that the evidence is a collection of documents, it is more of an administrative task putting them into the drop box. The committee decided to make no change in the Superintendent's Evaluation process for this year. E. New Business Ad Hoc Committee Appointment Chair Robinson said that a School Committee representative to the Ad Hoc Committee needed to be named. Mrs. Calley volunteered to serve as the liaison. Mrs.Borawski moved,seconded by Mr.Parks,to name Patricia Calley as the School Committee representative on the Human Riehts Ad Hoc Committee. The motion carried 60. Festival of Trees Dr.Dockser said this is a major fundraiser for the Reading Education Foundation and would love for the School Committee to do another exhibit to be mtHed off. She offered to coordinate and asked that the committee share the cost. The Festival of Trees is December 7&8. F. Reports Chief Financial Officer Mrs. Dowd shared that the work on Turf 11 is in the final stages finishing up some punch list items. Director of Student Services Dr. Stys reported that the Tiered Focused Monitoring visit is set and will meet in December most likely at the next SEPAC meeting pointing out that parent input is part of the process. We have received confirmation from the state of submitted data on the indicators and were happy with the prompt and thorough response. Liaisons Mrs. Borawski reported on the recent Select Board meeting where the tax split was discussed. She also followed up on public input at that meeting regarding the softball field. The resident had emailed the School Committee and thanked the Superintendent Page 14 and the Chair for getting back to him on the matter. The resident is now going through the proper channels. The SEPAC met earlier this week for the first time with the new Board. The group of four women who have taken on the organization will be looking to outside resources to help define the roles and responsibilities to help develop a good foundation for the group. They spent part of the meeting brainstorming priorities for the year keeping in line with the role of the SEPAC to provide information,resources and support for the parents of students with special needs. Their goal for the upcoming year will be to increase p[aren't engagement. The SEPAC has a parent that has volunteered to serve as the budget parent. Dr. Stys reviewed the Dyslexia Pilot at Joshua Eaton and the work being done to ease the transition for our specials needs students to the high school. Lastly,Mrs.Borawski shared that the SEPAC received an email from a SC member. She did not have the information, in her role as liaison,to respond to the SEPAC questions and asked that committee members follow the protocol and send emails to the Chair and the liaison to the boards or groups. Mr. Parks reported that the next Recreation Committee meeting is on November W and he was able to attend the MCAS presentation at Coolidge. Dr. Snow Dockser reported that RCASA continues to work on their reorganization and will be presenting on vaping soon. B. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll(A) There were none. b. Calendar III. Information/Correspondence IV. Future Business V. Adioumment Ad'ourn Mrs.Borawski moved,seconded by Mr.Parks,to enter into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to non-represented personnel and to return to oven session at approximately 9:30 mm. The roll call vote carried 6-0 Mrs Bora ski Mr.Parks,Dr.Dockser,Mr.Wise,Mrs. Calley and Mr.Robinson. The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. The School Committee retuned to open session at 10:24 p.m. Mrs.Borawski moved,seconded by Mr.Parks approve a 2.5%salary increase the Superintendent effective in the current pay cycle. The motion carried 6-0 Mr. Parks moved, seconded by Mrs.Bomwski to adjourn. The motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 10:30 p.m. Page 1 5 NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. Link to meeting video: httys:H/ .youtube.com/watch9v=TgoOEfPCXCc&list=PLkibnMpzKYxt6AcM02oLuP V C9Hw20TARx&index=2&t=0s J F. Doherty,dd.D. Page 1 6