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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-12-14 School Committee Minutes� rFC� Meeting Minutes Town of Reading �A�IXCOAAA�rJ Board - Committee - Commission - Council: School Committee Date: 2023-12-14 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: IvJED CLERK °9A 3y Tom Wise, Sarah McLaughlin, Shawn Brandt, Erin Gaffen, Charles Robinson and Carla Nazzaro Members - Not Present: Others Present: Assistant Superintendent Dr. Sarah Hardy, Director of Finance and Operations Dr. Derek Pinto, Superintendent Dr. Thomas Milaschewski and Student Sachi Selvakumar Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Olivia Lejeune on behalf of the chairperson. Topics of Discussion: A. Call to Order— Mr. Wise called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. to review the agenda. E. New Business 1. Vote to Approve 07-03-2024 through 06-30-2027 Reading Facilities School Custodians Contract Mr. Wise noted contract negotiations with the Facilities School Custodians have concluded. Similar to conversations with the teachers, conversations with the custodians were productive. In looking at comparable communities we were able to make some adjustments to the steps making it a standard eight step scale. Previously, the steps were one through four and from there 10, 15 and 20 leaving staff without raises for six years. COLAs were added in the second and third year at 3% and 3.75%. Finally, adjustments were made to the vacation time allotted and paid holidays so if Christmas Eve and New Years Eve fall on a working -business day it will be a paid vacation day. Mrs. Gaffen motioned to approve the 07-01-2024 through 06-30-2027 Reading Facilities School Custodians Contract, seconded by Mr. Brandt. Contracts must also be approved by the Town Manager who is present on Zoom with us tonight. Roll Call Vote — Mr. Robinson — yes, Mrs. Nazzaro — yes, Mr. Brandt — yes, Mrs. Gaffen—yes, Ms. McLaughlin — yes, Mr. Wise —yes, Town Manager Mr. Fidel Maltez — yes. The vote passed 7-0. Page I 1 2. Vote to Approve 07-01-2024 through 06-30-2027 Reading Administrative Secretaries Association Contract Mr. Wise noted the Administrative Secretaries' contract negotiations followed a similar path as the other two bargaining units. Updates were made to contract language perspectives. Similar to the custodians, the administrative secretaries will have the same paid vacation day if Christmas Eve and New Years Eve fall on a working -business day. The salary scale has been reworked in the first year and then as we have two levels for this bargaining unit, level A will have a 5% increase in years two and three and level B will have 5.5% in year two and three. Mrs. Gaffen motioned to approve the 07-01-2024 through 06-30-2027 Reading Administrative Secretaries Association Contract, seconded by Mr. Brandt. Roll Call Vote — Mr. Robinson — yes, Mrs. Nazzaro — yes, Mr. Brandt — yes, Mrs. Gaffen—yes, Ms. McLaughlin —yes, Mr. Wise — yes, Town Manager Mr. Fidel Maltez — yes. The vote passed 7-0. B. Public Comment Mrs. Gaffen motioned to take out of order item B — report one, seconded by Mr. Brandt, and the vote passed 6-0. 1. Student —Sachi Selvakumar provided the following highlights: - The interact club which is an extension of the Reading Rotary held a Thanksgiving bake sale raising $300 all to be donated to the Reading food pantry. - The girls rising club which focuses on feminism and women empowerment participated in the Festival of Trees and wrapped up their fall clothing drive seeing great success. - The arts department continues with amazing performances this season including the Dickens Faire, song fest, and the Five Star Theatre Auditions. The winter concert just took place yesterday and the RMHS Choir will be caroling around the different schools next week. - Members of the Orbit club have collectively posted more than 40 news items at RMHSorbit.com. Some of this includes seven new episodes of the Orbit Conversation podcast which were produced using equipment purchased through an REF grant. - The Student Advisory met this week focusing on Flex periods. - Winter sports are underway and we are seeing some good things about the wrestling team. - As for upcoming events, winter break is coming up, January 23rd is future freshman night and RMHS is partnering with Fidelity to bring financial literacy sessions to students in grades 11-12 in the month of January. Fidelity will also provide a session to parents at the January PTO meeting. Public Comment — None Page 12 Focus on Excellence 1. Birch Meadow Composting Program — Dr. Milaschewski welcomed Birch Meadow student leaders who have been leading the charge on the composting program. Principal of Birch Meadow, Dr. Burnham, provided a brief introduction and invited the student leaders to present their slides. Students discussed why composting is important, the initiative history, how it works, student ambassador requirements and the benefits, and what to expect in the future. Birch Meadow has piloted this program, and the goal is to see it at other schools in the future pending funding. Consent Agenda 1. Minutes (11-30-2023) 2. Wrestling Tournament Field Trip Approval 3. Friends of Reading Rockets Hockey Donation 4. Golf Equipment Donation 5. Acceptance of FY24 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B (IDEA) Federal Targeted Special Education Program Improvement Grant Award Warrant Reports 1. 11-28-2023 2. 12-07-2023 Mrs. Gaffen motioned to approve the consent agenda, seconded by Mr. Robinson, and the vote passed 6-0. Reports 2. Director of Finance & Operations — No report 3. Assistant Superintendent of Teaching & Learning— Dr. Hardy thanked the teachers participating in a literacy professional learning opportunity offered through Hill for Literacy which is an intensive training and above and beyond normal responsibilities. 4. Superintendent— Dr. Milaschewski stated it was announced to the RMHS community last week that Ms. Jessica Callanan has been named the permanent principal of RMHS. Ms. Callanan signed a three-year contract for the role and we look forward to seeing the work she does to move the high school forward. Earlier tonight we ratified the contracts for the custodial staff and secretaries and Dr. Milaschewski took the opportunity to thank both bargaining units. Our custodial team is working around the clock and behind the scenes to ensure we have some of the cleanest buildings. The work in the schools' floods through the secretaries and they show great ability to multitask while also being the heart of the school. 5. Liaison/Sub-Committee a. Mr. Robinson —The Charter Review Committee met to continue going through the articles. At a recent meeting, the Recreation Committee reviewed a presentation from the YMCA on ARPA monies for programming they are doing. b. Mrs. Nazzaro —The Killam School Building Committee now has a designer fully on board with a signed contract. On Monday, the executive team meetings will begin by first looking at site conditions and a vision process. c. Mr. Brandt— No report Page 1 3 d. Mrs. Gaffen — No report e. Ms. McLaughlin — No report f. Mr. Wise—No report E. New Business 3. Northeast Education Consortium (NEC) Budget/Facilities Issue Presentation and Discussion Dr. Milaschewski provided some context on tonight's subject regarding budget and facilities issues at NEC. Provided in the packet is a NEC annual report and a PowerPoint regarding the HVAC project. Joining the meeting tonight is NEC Executive Director Ms. Fran Rosenberg to help answer any questions. Reading is a member district of NEC and Dr. Milaschewski is a representative on the board. Since 2009 there has been an identified need to update the HVAC systems at NEC. The project has continued to be pushed down the line but is now at a place where it is an urgent project. The cost for the project is $11.5 million and the plan to fund the project is through a $9.4 million bank loan and covering $2 million out of the reserves fund. The ask from the board is to fund a portion of the money from the reserves fund to help move the project forward. There have been multiple proposals, but the most recent would be a tiered model based on enrollment. Reading has five students enrolled, which would be a one-time assessment of $32,000. Dr. Milaschewski is in support of this project as, financially, if we decided to move away from the consortium, we would be paying a lot more for the same services for our students and it shows our commitment to our students. Ms. Rosenberg added while this was a project neglected for some time, in 2017 the consortium created a capital plan with the intention to complete the project in 2020 and at that time it was estimated to be a $1 million project then turning into an $11 million project due to circumstances out of their control. This building houses most severely disabled students leaving very few alternative options. The committee spent some time asking questions and moved to a vote. Mr. Wise motioned to support Dr. Milaschewski in his approval of the tiered rate system to support the capital need for Northeast Education Consortium, seconded by Mrs. Nazzaro, and the vote passed 6-0. 4. Ct1— FY24 Human Resources Update Ms. Roach thanked the committee for the opportunity to present tonight and provide an overview of the Human Resources status and recent initiatives. In the packet, a comprehensive HR presentation has been provided that covers filled positions, open positions, terminations, leaves, time -to -fill statistics, and substitute rates. Ms. Roach highlighted the following key points: - Open Positions: Currently, there are only three open positions districtwide. The open positions include a para role at RMHS and two Cafeteria Workers vacancies. Page 14 - Trends and Areas of Focus: There are no alarming trends of causes for concern in our data. The information aligns with our expectations, and we have a clear understanding of the areas requiring continued focus. Data trends are comparable to previous years and in some areas, we have seen positive decreases in the volume of filled positions and leaves. - HR Initiatives: We are actively engaged in negotiating and ratifying contracts with the five bargaining units while ensuring fair and beneficial agreements for both parties. We are in the process of revising job descriptions to better attract the right candidates. There are ongoing efforts to create onboarding efficiencies to expedite the onboarding experience for new hires. We are working towards automation of training to enhance accessibility and make it more readily available for staff. Ms. Roach thanked Andrew Goetschius and Kristyn Cohen for their tireless work in advancing all that is being covered in the HR space. A question was raised about the adjustment to substitute rates and the impact that is having. Ms. Roach stated we are staying steady and have come up from two years ago based on comparisons. This time of year is big for college students returning for the winter break and we start to see an uptick. 5. Q1— FY24 Financial Update Dr. Pinto provided a Q1— FY24 financial update for the period ending September 30, 2023. This is the first of four FY24 quarterly reports to be provided to the committee. There are four sections of the document which include: a financial summary of the operating fund by cost center through QS, a description of the cost centers and drivers, recommendations for QS budget transfer between cost centers, and a financial summary of special revenue funds. Each cost center budget incorporates the new spending for the agreed upon priorities from last year and is approximately where we would expect to be at this stage in the year. It is important to note this is a snapshot in time representing one month of school spending in the September timeframe. As for what to expect next, Dr. Pinto is working on salary projections that will be carried out until the end of the year, implications of spending priorities we had last year to this year and uncovering year -over - year spending trends. Dr. Pinto thanked Katelyn Finnegan on the finance team who has been invaluable in providing institutional memory and great organizational skills to help carry this work forward. Dr. Pinto provided a brief budget update for FY25. At this time, the team is completing budget development and beginning work on the Superintendent's FY25 recommended budget report. Some important dates to keep in mind: January 4th is the first budget night with a focus on Administration and Special Education cost centers, January 111h is the second budget night with a focus on the regular day, districtwide and facility cost centers, January 18th is the third budget night with a public hearing and finally, January 251h is Page 1 5 slated to be the FY25 recommended budget vote. The Finance Committee will tentatively review the budget on February 2g`h followed by a town meeting in April. 6. FY25 School Committee Budget Priorities Discussion Dr. Milaschewski stated we are anticipating a level service budget for FY25 with not many adds. Our priority and focus are to meet all contractual obligations and sustain the roles we have added in the last few cycles. The committee provided the following priorities for the administration to consider as they put the final touches on the budget and things to flag as we pursue grants or have end of year savings: - Maintain the path towards Universal Full -Day Kindergarten. - Continue the expansion of RMHS Innovation Pathways. Implementation of recommendations from Secondary Math Pathways advisory committee. Review of Middle School literacy curriculum. Structural support for Reading Memorial High School leadership. Sustain and meet contractual obligations. Maintain ESSER staffing. Maintenance and expansion of Special Education investments. Exploration of additional Tier II support. 7. Dyslexia Early Identification, Notification, and Escalation Process Review and Discussion Dr. Hardy was joined by Wood End Literacy Specialist Stacey Foresman and Humanities Coordinator Erin Burchill to provide the second in a series of literacy updates to the committee. This second presentation focused on early literacy screening and literacy intervention plans. The presentation covered the following items: - An overview of the new screening tool and an explanation on what universal screening is and what it does. - A process for family communication of results and intervention plans. - Initial planning for Tier 11 literacy intervention based on screen results. - Consistency across all elementary schools with responsive adjustments to intervention supports and progress monitoring. The committee asked questions relating to the following items: — The assessment experience: It was explained that each subtest is a one - minute fluency assessment. The example was provided in the case of a kindergartener who would receive four one -minute assessments with directions and explanations provided for a total of about seven minutes. of assessment. Assessment is done in a quiet space to avoid distractions. Subtests change for different grade levels. — Extending the new screener at the fourth or fifth grade level: This has not been discussed yet, but there has been discussion about how IRLA is being used as a monitoring tool. DIBELS gives us slightly different information. — RISE screening: We have a screening process in place but our new director, Ms. Wilcox, is looking at how this can work better. Page 16 — Tier II support: This is a big piece as we continue to look at the data and monitoring rollout. — Wait time for an SST referral: A question was raised about how 30 weeks potentially goes by before we have information to provide a special education referral. It was pointed out the time is not completely wasted because at the end of the eight-week cycles we have a lot of information about the student. We may find the best move after eight weeks is to intensify or change the intervention to see how the student responds and continue progress monitoring. It is also important to note the cycle can be interrupted at any point in time. Ms. McLaughlin motioned to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Mrs. Nazzaro, and the.vote passed 6-0. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoFDZ5AwLWA Meeting Adjourned from regular session at approximately 9:16pm. Page 1 7