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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-01-23 School Committee Minutes Town of Reading Meeting Minutes T; ; DJDe1MOPFP -' i iL'1/'� ioard - Committee - Commission - Council: 2020 FEB I p PN (: 4 School Committee Date: 2020-01-23 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, John Parks, Linda Snow Dockser, Jeanne Borawski, Tom Wise, and Pat Calley Members - Not Present: Others Present: Superintendent John Doherty, Chief Financial Officer Gail Dowd, Assistant Superintendent Christine Kelley (arrived at 7:16 p.m.), Director of Student Services Jennifer Stys, HR Administrator Jenn Allard, Killam principal Sarah Leveque, Barrows principal Beth Leavitt, Coolidge principal Sarah Marchant, Coolidge Assistant Principal Bri Karow, Joshua Eaton principal LisaMarie Ippolito, Birch Meadow principal Julia Hendrix, Parker principal Ricki Shankland, RMHS principal Kate Boynton, Fincom member Paula Perry Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Chair Robinson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and reviewed the agenda. A. Public Hearing on FY21 Budget Mrs.Borawski moved,seconded by Mr.Parks,to open the public hearine on the FY21 budget. The motion carried 6-0. Rebecca Liberman,Pratt SL,urged the School Committee to restore VHS in the FY21 budget. She also asked for funding to complete the math curriculum guides for all grades and physical textbooks for all students in math. Mrs. Liberman asked about the cost of the middle school math curriculum and which was chosen. Mrs.Borawski moved,seconded by Mr.Parks,to close the public hearine on the FY21 budget. The motion carried 6-0. The public hearing closed at 7:05 p.m. B. Public Input Mr. Robinson called for public comment. Page I I Rebecca Liberman requested a math update at a future meeting. She shared concerns about declining math achievement. C. Consent Agenda Mrs. Borowski asked if the committee wanted any items removed from the consent agenda. None were removed. Approval of RMHS Model UN Field Trip Approval of the RMHS Habitat for Humanity Field Trip Mrs.Borowski moved,seconded by Dr.Dockser,to approve the consent aeenda. Mr.Wise asked if it was a normal procedure to have a former teacher as a chaperone. Dr. Doherty said it was. The Habitat trip has current staff also chaperoning this trip. He then asked if the grade 12 students were upcoming or graduating. Dr.Doherty said they were upcoming seniors. The motion carried 6-0. D. Reports Liaison Mr. Wise reported on the Select Board meeting. He shared that RMLD will be cutting dividends effective the 2022 fiscal year. There was concern how it will impact the FY21 fiscal year. There was also discussion on the future use of the Daniels House. Therewill be a public meeting on January 301h at the Reading Public Library. The Town was able to sell some debt due to lower costs of the Turf II and security projects. There was an informative security update at the meeting and Mr.Wise encouraged the community to watch the video. Lastly,the Select Board provided an economic update. Dr.Dockser reported on the recent RCTV meeting. She was happy to share that there are 2 high school students that attended. She thanked the Rotary Club for their donation to RCTV. Rotary acknowledged all that RCTV does for the community. The Board discussed the current and FY21 budgets and voted to approve their FY21 budget. They are coordinating a weekend food drive to support the needs of families over the summer. Mrs. Kelley arrived at 7:16 p.m. RCTV is working hard to get folks into the studio. They plan on offering opportunities for the community to come in and work with students on the use of technology. Dr. Dockser thanked RCTV for their coverage of the Martin Luther King Day celebration. They will also be producing candidate interviews and hosting a candidate forum on February IA Dr. Dockser attended the Friday professional development activity. The staff watched the movie"Most Likely to Succeed'. After the viewing the staff broke into small groups to discuss and answer the following questions: • What are the hopes,aspirations,and dreams that our community has for our young people? • What are the skills and habits of mind that our children need for success in this rapidly changing and complex world? Page 12 • What are the implications for the learning experiences we provide in our school systems? She reported on the Martin Luther King Day celebration held on Monday. She thanked all that participated in this event. She thanked METCO Director Grant Hightower for his role. She thanked the community groups that provided refreshments for the event. Mrs. Kelley added that this was a great community event and acknowledged that the middle and high school AWOD groups and the high school GSA club also participated. She thanked Josh Goldlust for coordinating the event. Mr. Parks reported on the recent Recreation Committee meeting. He said the Birch Meadow Sub-Committee has disbanded and it is now a working group. Discussion on Sunday hours was held. Lastly, he thanked Joe Huggins and Gail Dowd for their hard work on the Turf II Project and bringing it in under budget. Dr.Dockser added that the Human Relations Ad Hoc Committee will be meeting on January 30 at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be at Town Hall. E. New Business FY2021 Budget Presentation The School Committee received the list of questions and answers for their review. Mrs. Dowd pointed out that the questions/answers have been grouped by like subjects. Mr. Robinson said that there will be a follow-up to the questions on Monday night. Mrs. Dowd said the questions will also be submitted to the Finance Committee. Mr. Robinson asked committee members to submit any adjustment to the budget prior to Monday night's meeting. The goal is to submit a balanced budget to the Town Manager. H. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll(A) Warrant 52030 1.23.20 $206,366.75 b. Calendar IIL Information/Correspondence IV. Future Business V. Adiournment Adiourn Mrs. Borawski moved,seconded by Mrs.Callev,to adjourn. The motion carried 6- 0.0. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the mceting. Page 13 Link to meeting video: h!Ws://www.youtube.com/watch?v--5JC-P5sNa5Y John F herty,Ed.D. Page 14