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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-03-08 Finance Committee Minutes;EIVED i 0Yl!'H CLERK( 01NG, MASS. Finance Committee Meeting 206 ~P'l 20 P 2' 0 March 8, 2006 The meeting convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were Chairman Chuck Robinson, Vice Chairman Andrew Grimes, Finance Committee Members Paul Bolger, David Greenfield, George Hines and Marsie West, Superintendent of Schools Pat Schettini, Assistant Superintendent of Schools John Doherty, Schools Director of Human Resources and Finance Mary DeLai, School Committee Chairman Rob Spadafora, School Committee Members John Carpenter, Elaine Webb, Lisa Gibbs and Pete Dahl and Recording Secretary Paula Schena. Rob Spadafora called the School Committee Meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. Pat Schettini noted that the District Improvement Plan is the.budget driver. Chuck Robinson questioned the grant writer position. George Hines asked if it was a company or an individual. Mr. Schettini noted that it is an individual who is a former teacher and has been writing grants for 10 years. George Hines asked if there was a projection for upcoming grants, and Mr. Schettini noted that a $1 million Social Studies grant is being worked on and that is shared with other communities. Mr. Schettini reviewed the regular day budget. He noted that they are adding two new teachers to balance class size. George Hines asked if teachers are transferred to other schools, and Mr. Schettini noted that they are it is in their contract that allows them to do so, if needed. Paul Bolger asked if there is an increase in students, and Mr. Schettini noted that they look at the kindergarten numbers. Marsie West asked about the impact of the new housing, and, Mr. Schettini noted that he has spoken to other communities who have the same housing and there is no significant impact. Mr. Schettini noted that there is an increase of $7,000 in system wide testing for an additional assessment tool called Scantron. He also noted that the Teacher Induction Program is a mentoring program required by the State for all new teachers. Chuck Robinson asked about the cost, and Mr. Schettini noted that it is a $1,000 stipend for the year. Mr. Schettini distributed the technology plan and noted that the School Department does not have adequate equipment and if they add technology, then they need a Technology Specialist to instruct. George Hines asked if this person will focus on just one thing, and Mr. Schettini noted that this person will have to be a "Jack of All Trades." Chuck Robinson asked if this has to be a full-time position, and Mr. Schettini noted that all of their needs will not be met with this one additional person. Mr. Schettini reviewed the teachers' salary scale. He noted that teachers hired before 1998 got to the top of the scale quickly. For new teachers, the step increases have scaled down so it takes Finance Committee Meeting - March 8, 2006 - Page 2 longer to get to the same amount. He also noted that differentials are a stipend, longevity is a contractual obligation, sick leave buyback is contractual, and they have capped and put a sunset clause on sick leave buyback. Mr. Schettini reviewed the Special Ed section of the budget. He noted that they did without a psychologist for one year and have reconstituted it this year. The Special Ed In-District Program Supervisory is needed to have the best programs to retain the students in the district. This will help reduce litigation cost: Chuck Robinson asked that this position be broken out separate from teachers. Paul Bolger asked if the State reimburses for this, and Mr. Schettini indicated that federal monies pay for some salaries. Mr. Schettini noted that there is also -a need for two additional assistants. There are two youngsters in the RISE Program that need one-on-one supervision. He also noted that there is a Nurse in every school - he added one for Wood End. The Director of Nursing evaluated the RISE youngsters over the Summer and determined that an additional Nurse is needed. Mr. Schettini noted that the legal budget is up 42% for Special Ed attorneys. They have extended the year for the Special Ed Summer Program so the students don't have a regression of learning. He also noted that the Ed Assistants are doing the secretarial work so the position has been reclassified and the hours increased. George Hines noted that the adaptive equipment has increased from $30,000 to $50,000, and that the School Department is budgeting for something they don't know will be needed. Mr. Schettini noted that they can't predict with accuracy - it's like predicting snowstorms. George Hines noted that there is a program to increase snow and ice each year but not by that much of an increase. Mr. Schettini noted that if they come back to the Finance Committee for a certain piece of equipment, then people will know who the child is. Pete Dahl noted that they are trying to put in reasonable amounts to keep the children in the district. Elaine Webb noted that the budgeting has been 99% accurate, and they have not had to deny services to any children. Mr. Schettini noted that another school increase will be the Nurses' salaries because they have not finished negotiations with them yet. Mary Delai reviewed the custodial maintenance budget. She noted that through retirements and attrition, they have 5.2 less full-time employees so they looked into outsourcing cleaning. They outsourced the cleaning at the High School, have saved in salaries, and it, has been a successful experiment. Mary Delai noted that $435,000 has been spent to date for natural gas. They are looking at approximately $875,000 for this year. Chuck Robinson noted that the Finance Committee will review the Capital Plan on March 15th, and. then vote on the budget on March 22nd. Finance Committee Meeting - March 8, 2006 - Page 3 A motion by Grimes seconded by West to adjourn the Finance Committee Meeting of March 8, 2006 at 10:20 p.m. was approved by a vote of 6-0-0. A motion by Carpenter seconded by Webb to adjourn the School Committee Meeting of March 8, 2006 at 10:20 p.m. was approved by a vote of 5-0-0. Respectfully submitted, S etary