HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-01-02 School Committee Minutes A
Town of Reading
a Meeting Minutes
Board - committee - commission - Council: Lf< - ! i2: 23
School Committee
Date: 2020-01-02 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
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair
Topics of Discussion:
I. Call m Order
Chair Robinson called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. and reviewed the agenda.
A. Old Business
Superintendent's Contract Extension
Mr. Robinson stated that the purpose of this meeting was to address an open meeting law
violation that occurred at the December 19,2019 meeting. It was pointed out that the
reason for entering into executive session was not specific enough as to the purpose of
this specific meeting. Mr. Robinson stated that this had been the past practice and we
will make the necessary change.
Mr. Robinson shared that he is struggling with the dialogue in the community regarding
the timing of the decision.
Dr. Docker read a statement(see attached)advocating for the contract extension. She
added that the committee should not table the vote on the contract extension. The
committee was given a sacred trust to make the best decisions. She acknowledged that
the OML violation is shared by the committee.
Mrs. Borawski agreed that responsibility for the error is shared. Tabling the vote and
continuing the discussion will not cloud mistrust.
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Mr. Parks said the vote was a hard decision for him;we are serving the will of the people.
He agrees with the chair that tabling is best and is not a light decision. The committee
made a mistake collectively. He agrees to table the vote.
Mr. Wise feels this discussion and vote should have been tabled originally and discussed
after the March election.
Mrs.Calley said that the committee had a thorough,thoughtful discussion and is
personally okay with the decision to table.
Dr. Dockser is against tabling this vote and sweeping it down the road. This matter was
discussed for over two hours. The current committee has the knowledge and experience.
The learning curve is slow,and the new committee can make a decision to revisit if there
is good cause.
Dr. Doherty asked a procedural question according to Roberts Rules. The main motion
should be read first and then, if decided, it should be tabled and not terminated.
Mrs.Borawski moved seconded by Mr.Parks to exercise the School Committee
option to extend the Superintendent's contract one year from the expiration date of
June 30 2020 to an expiration date of June 2022.
B. Public Input
Mr. Robinson called for public comment.
Geoffrey Comm, Ridge Road,appreciated that the School Committee acknowledged the
mistake made regarding the Superintendent's contract extension process and he supports
the extension. He feels the district has a good team and it is reasonable to let them work
together and provide stability in leadership in the district.
Dan Ensmingeq Oakland Road,wanted to make a parliamentary point asking if the
action taken in executive session needed to be voted to rescinded and then proceed with a
new motion.
Mrs. Robinson responded by saying that counsel has indicated that the only vote that
counts is the one taken in open session.
Marianne Downing, Heather Drive,thanked the committee for the prompt
reconsideration and agreed with Mr. W ise's suggestion that legal counsel attends a future
meeting to provide a refresher on the Open Meeting Law. She wanted to address the
decision to change the Superintendent's Evaluation Cycle. She was concerned that
committee members would only have the opportunity to do one performance evaluation
in their term. She pointed out that she reads the evaluations each year. She also pointed
out that the change violates the Superintendent's contract which requires a yearly
performance review on which the Superintendent's compensation is based. She feels the
new members should be trusted to complete the performance review as the current
members were when they joined the board.
Mr. Robinson pointed out that the performance review was not on the agenda tonight,but
we can certainly revisit it after March 3`°.
Linda Phillips,Willow Street, asked if this discussion was about the illegal actions on
December 19o.
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Chair Robinson said the meeting was called as a result of the OML violation and is to
rectify the action.
Mrs. Phillips appreciated the public recognition of the OMI,violation and asked if the
vote in executive session would be nullified. She asked if the draft minutes of the
executive session would be available. Mr. Robinson said the minutes will not be released
until they are approved which the committee has not done. She asked what the rationale
was to vote on this matter in executive session,would this include the performance
review? Mr. Robinson said that was a separate discussion. Dr. Doherty's review was
done in October and the committee met to discuss salary.
Mrs. Phillips asked why this discussion was not held in open session. Mr. Robinson said
we have established an error was made. The Superintendent had discussions with the
Chair and Vice Chair to discuss his contract extension. He continued by saying that the
Superintendent has the right to advocate for himself. Mrs. Phillips questioned the timing
of the discussion with three new members coming on board in March. Chair Robinson
said the committee will need to vote on or before June 30,2020 to extend the contract for
a year.
Carla Nazzaro, Red Gate Lane,thanked the committee for their commitment to the
students in the district and recognizing the OML violation. She said she would
appreciate being given the opportunity, if elected,to participate in the performance
evaluation process.
Mr. Robinson reiterated that the evaluation process was not on the agenda but would be
willing to discuss after March 3`d as a future agenda item.
Mrs. Downing wanted to follow up on something Mrs. Phillips mentioned. She pointed
out that the committee has not released executive session minutes since 2017.
Mr. Robinson said the committee approved several sets of executive session minutes at
the end of June, but they have not been released.
Dr. Doherty added he will review with legal counsel before releasing.
Mrs Borawski moved,seconded by Mr. Wise to postpone the main motion of
exercising the School Committee option to extend the Superintendent's contract
until a subsequent School Committee after March 3,2020.
Dr. Snow Dockser disagreed with the delay in the vote feeling there should be respect for
standing SC members who were voted in to have a voice.
Mr. Robinson respected her opinion.
Mrs. Calley feels we should not circumvent the will of the people,we are the people and
are working hard to make good decisions.
The motion carried 5-1 Dr.Dockser voting against.
II. Adiournment
Adjourn
Mrs Borawsk' moved,seconded by Mr.Parks to adiourn. The motion carried 6-0.
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The meeting adjourned at 7:53 p.m.
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: httvs*//www.voutube.com/watch?v-9TNEFx49RaA
Jo n . Do rty, E
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January 2, 2020 Respectfully Stated by Linda Snow Dockser, Ph.D.
Six years ago and then again 3 years ago, I was given a sacred trust.
I was elected by the people of Reading to use my bestjudgement in making decisions that impact our
schools—to make the best decisions I can,that ultimately impact our students,our teachers,our
administration—our district and our community.
There are 5 of us on the School Committee that have likewise been elected,with our sixth having been
selected by the School Committee and Select Board—two groups of diverse officials elected by you,the
people of Reading.
It is thejob of our committee to make decisions relating to policy, budget,and the superintendent in a
timely fashion.
And it is thejob of our committee members to listen to all members of the public, learn from our meeting
agenda presentations from our staff and administration, and from the other school committee and related
associations also grappling with similar challenges and decisions.
It is ourjob to make the best decisions possible with all of the information we have and learn. Speaking
for myself, I know that what we do impacts the climate and culture of the schools as well.
I am constantly learning and recently learned that our committee made two errors when we had an
executive session to discuss the Superintendent's contract. Neither of the errors related to our
deliberations of his contract in executive session. The two errors were that we correctly informed the
public that we would be discussing non-represented personnel,but we did not identify that we would be
discussing the Superintendent's Contract. The second mistake was that we did not vote again in public
once Executive Session was over. I apologize for my ignorance and the resultant mistakes.
However, I hold to my opinion that we as a current school committee had an obligation to make a
decision to extend Dr. Doherty's contract.
The date for this decision was either June 30th or it would default for the following year. For the time,
expertise,and commitment, and may 1 say"heart and soul"that Dr. Doherty invests in our district and
our community, Dr. Doherty deserves better than us defaulting so that his contract is extended . He also
deserves the extension to be decided by a school committee who has been working with him.
MASC recommends that new school committee members do not participate in the formal evaluation of a
superintendent until they have been on the committee for around 6 months. We were the school
committee who evaluated him,we gave him good marks,and our schools reflect the hard work of our
teachers, staff, and administration with Dr. Doherty at the helm.
1 know that he has personally met with folks who had questions about curriculum;he has advocated for
his teachers when they have been challenged and it is appropriate to do so, and he worked very hard to
help get the over-ride passed so that our teachers would not lose theirjobs,the district would not lose
middle school Foreign Language,and so that we could persist in working towards a school district that
educates all of our children, as whole individuals- addressing their social emotional and behavioral
needs as well as their academic needs.
I know that not everyone is happy with every curriculum,every decision,every interaction with Dr.
Doherty. To please everyone is impossible,but he listens and leams. He advocates for teachers and
children at the State level as well as locally. That has been my experience.
I think our school district and our leadership team and our children deserve high quality stability in the
raucous stone that is raging in our country right now. I stand by my decision to extend our
Superintendents contract, knowing that next year,the new committee will both review his progress
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towards goals and where his contract should head next. The upcoming committee has not lost control,but
has gained time to make the right decisions when they have control. I believe good decisions will be
made down the road and that we made the right decision for now.
Thank you for this opportunity to share my opinion.
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