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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-02 School Committee Minutes °`"b r,ECEIVE1) �_ Town of Reading TOWN CLERK Meeting Minutes rt, ,^:,( I iC . P1 It— °°w°°`� cmn Nue 16 PM 2: 34 Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2020-11-02 Time: 5:00 PM Building: Location: Address: Session: Open Session Purpose: Open Session Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Chuck Robinson, ]ohn Parks, Tom Wise, Erin Gaffen, Carla Nazzaro and Shawn Brandt Members - Not Present: Others Present: CFO Gail Dowd, Dorothy Presser, MASC Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Linda Engelson on behalf of the Chair Topics of Discussion: I. Call to Order Chair Robinson opened the meeting and announced the School Committee was meeting in a virtual setting,fully remote via Microsoft Teams, practicing social distancing and in accordance with the Governor's suspension of certain open meeting laws. The Chair called attendance: Mr. Robinson-here Mrs. Dowd-here Mr. Parks-here Mr. Wise-here Mrs.Nazzam-here Mrs.Gaffen-here Mr.Brandt here Mr. Robinson called open session order at 5:00 p.m.and reviewed the agenda and welcomed Dorothy Presser of MASC who will be overseeing the Superintendent Search Process. A. Publichunt Mr. Robinson explained that for public comment,please use the live chat feature on the Microsoft Teams link which will be posted on the Superintendent's Blog and sent out via Connect Ed prior to the meeting. In lieu of the live chat,you may send an email in advance of the meeting to schoolcomn'tteeCareading.k 12.ma.us This email will be included in the next packet. B. Old Business Superintendent Search Process Mr. Robinson began by saying that the purpose of this meeting was to begin the Superintendent Search Process. Page 1 1 Ms. Presser said that she met with Mrs. Dowd, Mr. Robinson and Mr. Wise last week to review the process and timeline which she presented. Mrs. Gaffen asked if School Committee members would be expected to attend or welcomed at the focus group sessions. Mrs. Presser said that generally the focus group sessions allow for the staff,administration and parents to speak openly. It is best if the consultant conducts these sessions keeping in mind,they are public meetings and SC members are welcome to attend. She recommended that the Sc members avoid attending forums held for staff and administrators. Mrs.Nazzaro asked if this was a typical timeline. Mrs. Presser said it was and a vast majority of the applications are submitted in the last few days of the posting. Mrs.Nazzaro questioned if the application window was long enough and would like to consider extending it to 6 weeks. Mrs. Presser said the committee could decide to extend the application window. Mr. Brandt asked if the application deadline could be extended, feeling that January 4'" is right after the holiday break. Mr. Parks would be fine with extending the deadline. Mr.Wise was amenable with moving the deadline a couple of days,but January is a very busy month and there is not a lot of extra time built in. He suggested that the screening committee could review applications over the weekend. Mrs. presser added that the January 19'^date(interviews)could be pushed a day or two but the February I I"School Committee vote on an appointee is prior to February vacation and if pushed out we are looking at dates in the beginning of March. Mr. Robinson asked if we could change our timeline midstream. Mrs. Presser said she would be able to get the word out that the deadline has been changed. She added that the position has been posted as an upcoming search on the MASC website. The committee asked some clarifying questions. Mr. Wise moved, ded by Mrs Nazzaro,to approve of Proposed timeline for Superintendent Search. Mr.Wise moved,seconded by Mr. Parks,to amend the Proposed timeline for the Superintendent h application deadline from Monday January 4,2021 to Wednesday January 6 2021 The roll call vote carried 6-0. Mr. Parks, Mrs.Gaffen,Mrs. Nazzaro, Mr. Wise,Mr. Brandt and Mr.Robinson. Mr. Parks asked how the site visits would work during COVID. Mrs. Presser said they would be done virtually and has found that the site visits have gone well virtually with rich conversations. The roll call vote on the original motion carried 6-0 Mr. Parks,Mrs.Gaffen, Mrs. Nazzaro, Mr. Wise, Mr. Brandt and Mr. Robinson. Discussion moved to the online survey tool. Mrs.Presser suggested that the committee provide feedback from this discussion and draft a survey tool for Mr. Wise and Mr. Robinson to review and approve. Committee members agreed that they prefer the scaled survey tool and suggested additions to the tool. Mc Wise read public input from Geoffrey Coram: "There are a number of meetings in January. Thai's usually when the SC does the budget review. Will there be a conflict?" This calendar was developed to avoid conflict. Mr. Wise read public comment from David Cory:"I would like to be part of ofthe focus groups as a community member" Mr. Wise asked how we would reach those that are not on our contact lists. Mrs. Presser said we would advertise via social media,the town website and local papers. Page 1 2 Focus Groups Mrs. Presser is working with Mrs. Dowd to develop a schedule for focus group sessions. There will be sessions for staff,administration, students,town staff,parents and community members. Mr. Brandt wanted to be sure that RISE.staff were included. It was suggested to reach out to the Town Clerk to assist us in getting the word out about the focus group dates. Mrs. Dowd said she would reach out to Town Hall. Mr. Robinson shared that he could make a short announcement at Town Meeting. Screenina Committee Mr. Robinson suggested that a member of the Select Board be part of the screening committee. Mrs. Presser said it is common to have a building principal as part of the screening committee and if both were added to the committee that would put the number at 15. You do not want to go any higher, The School Committee would like to add a RISE staff member to the list They would like to keep the parent number at 5 but also be sure that a RISE parent is listed. Mr. Brandt asked how the screening committee would be selected. Mrs. Presser said that Mr. Wise and Mr. Robinson would review the applications with her and would recommend individuals to be moved forward for the committee and the School Committee would vote to approve. Mrs. Gaffen asked if this would be in public or executive session. The discussion would take place in public session. Mrs. Presser said the School Committee could see all applicants along with the recommendations. The appointment letters will go out from the Chair. Mr. Wise moved, ec d d by Mr. Brand[ to approve the proposed screening committee composition and recruitment plan. Mr.Wise moved,seconded liv Mr.Parks to amend the Screening Committee Composition to add one building Principal,one RISE staff member and,while keeping the parent count to 5 adding the tego v of RISE Parent. The roll call vote carried 6-0 Mr. Parks,Mrs Griffen Mrs Nazzaro Mr.Wise, Mr. Brandt and Mr. Robinson. The roll call vote on the 1 Motion carried 6-0Mr. Parks Mrs Gaffen,Mrs.Nazzaro, Mr.Wise,Mr. Brandt and Mr.Robinson. C. Public Comment There was an anonymous comment that could not be read but the question was addressed as part of the discussion. Continued Discussion Mrs. Presser described the next steps which include developing a brochure to be sent either electronically or via mail. The Committee preferred using a digital version to be sent out After the focus groups and online surveys are completed,she will develop a report to assist the Committee in determining the qualities they would like to see in the next Superintendent. This report will be discussed at the November 23`d meeting. Additional Public Comment Mr. Wise read two comments from Sherilla Lestrade: "A AfETCO parent.should be represented because they hate different outlooks and qualifications than a resident 2) is there arty reason we can't fust promote the assistant Sup we have and rook to hire a new assistant sup" Mr.Robinson said there is a METCO parent on the list The answer to question 2 is that there was a discussion and it was decided to conduct a search. Page 1 3 Continued Discussion Mrs. Presser finished up by saying that once the Screening Committee is appointed,they will review the applications and determine how many applicants to move forward. They will receive instructions and generally interviews would be granted to internal candidates. I. Routine Matters a. Bills and Payroll (A) b. Calendar 2 Information/Correspondence 3. Future Business 4, Adiournment Ad auto Mr.Wise moved,seconded by Mr. Brandt,to ad'ourn The roll call vote d 6-0 Mr. Parks,Mrs. Gaffen,Mrs. Na.aro,Mr.Wise,Mr. Brandt and Mr.Robinson The meeting adjourned at 6:17 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: https'Owww yomube.com/watch?v—JDYErxXoRRe F. Doherty, Ed.D. Page 1 4