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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-01-13 School Committee MinutesReading Public Schools Reading, Massachusetts I F~ 4 Regular Meeting of the School Committee ~J. Open Session P 12: 10 Date: January 13, 2011 Time: 7:30 p.m. (Open Session) Place: Superintendent's Conference Room School Committee Members Present Chuck Robinson Karen Janowski Chris Caruso Lisa Gibbs David Michaud Hal Croft Staff Members Present John Doherty, Superintendent Patty deGaravilla, Assistant Superintendent Mary DeLai, Director of Finance and Operations Kim Oliveira, Director of Pupil Services Visitors: Craig Martin, Coolidge Principal Mike Scarpitto, RMHS Assistant Principal Karen Callan, Barrows Principal Cathy Giles, Killam Principal RPS Budget Parents 1. Call to Order Matt Casey, Reading Patch Art Katz, Reading Advocate Barry Berman, Fincom member Marsie West, Fincom member Jack Aherne Chairperson Caruso called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. The Chair reviewed the agenda and welcomed guests. II. Recommended Procedure A. Public Input (I) Reports (1) 1. Student 2. Liaison Mr. Michaud reminded the committee of the upcoming Coolidge Drama Presentation of Annie. Mr. Caruso acknowledged the recent award of Eagle Scout to student representative Jared Beaulieu. January 13, 2011 Mr. Croft reported that Mr. Fiore, HS Social Studies teacher underwent successful hip replacement surgery. 3. Superintendent's Report Dr. Doherty reported on the one hour delay today. He commended the DPW and school maintenance department on their extraordinary efforts to allow us to have school. The Superintendent announced that the Reading Public Schools will be presenting the film "Race to Nowhere" and discussion session that will take place on January 25 in the Fine and Performing Arts Center. He encouraged all to attend. 4. Director of Finance and Operations 5. Assistant Superintendent 6. Director of Pupil Services B. Continued Business C. New Business FYI 2 Regular Day Cost Center Dr. Doherty reviewed the make up and functions of this cost center. He briefly reviewed how the budget was developed and the three scenarios. The Regular Day Cost Center makes up over half of the school department budget with the bulk of the expense being salaries. Ms. DeLai detailed what is included in the Regular Day budget. She reviewed the impact of the three scenarios. Ms. DeLai went on to remind the School Committee that the AARA funding is ending therefore the 4.0 FTE tutor positions that had been funded through this money will have to be absorbed into the Regular Day cost center. The district will also have to go out to bid for transportation and substitute teacher services in the spring and a 5% increase has been anticipated. There was discussion on alternatives to substitute teacher services. The question was asked if the school department could take on this task. Ms. DeLai pointed out that it would be more costly to become the substitute provider for the district than to hire a third party. Ms. DeLai went on to outline the staffing cuts that may need to occur if the most likely scenario is reality. Dr. Doherty handed out updated enrollment projections for the next school year. He pointed out that the incoming kindergarten numbers were based solely on the census. Kindergarten registration is currently underway and the full-day lottery will be Tuesday. He indicated that 2 teachers will be added in grade 1 at both Killam and Eaton to address class size. Dr. Doherty and Ms. DeLai addressed the questions submitted by committee members. Clarification was provided regarding what positions can be funded out of revolving accounts, how much funding is required for Open Circle. January 13, 2011 Mrs. de Garavilla indicated that each teacher must be trained. Open Circle does not provide "train the trainer" opportunities. The district currently uses grant and professional development funds for this training. Dr. Doherty addressed questions regarding Virtual High School. He indicated that the high school administration is working at increasing the enrollment. Mrs. Janowski would like to investigate the possibility of marketing VHS more effectively. Budget parents DeRusha and Loughlin asked for clarification on per pupil spending. Ms. DeLai said that each principal receives an amount of funding based on enrollment and can allocate the funds in the best interest of their building needs. Mr. Caruso called a brief recess at 9:13 p.m. Mr. Caruso called the meeting back to order at 9:20 p.m. FY12 Special Education Cost Center Dr. Doherty turned the meeting over to Mrs. Oliveira for the presentation of the Special Education Cost Center. She reviewed the Special Education enrollment trends, placement types and numbers and our in- district programs. Mrs. Oliveira went on to discuss the FY12 focus areas. She indicated she was in the process of interviewing candidates for a Social/Emotional/Behavioral specialist to support students in crisis as well as to provide a link to community services. She feels that it is important to provide needed support to students at all levels. The addition of a Social Worker/Behavioral Specialist is included in the FYI 2 budget. Mrs. Oliveira is hoping to expand the co-teaching model now in place at the high school where a special education teacher is in the classroom with a content area teacher. She has included the addition of 1.0 FTE teacher in the FY12 budget. Another focus area in the budget is for Autism support services. She is hoping to expand the program to Parker and has included the addition of a .8 special education teacher with math background to support this program. Mrs. Oliveira indicated that she is hoping to eliminate some of the substantially separate programs in the RISE Preschool. A full day RISE program has been implemented to offer opportunities for tuitioned in students as well as special needs children. Her focus is to provide quality professional development at little or no cost. The special education department staffing will be reviewed to accommodate the decrease of a 1.0 secretary. There will be a continued focus of collaboration between general and special educators and improved partnerships with parents. Increased communications with parents could lead a reduction in legal costs. She went on to outline the areas included in the special education budget. Extended year, professional development, adaptive technology and tuition to other districts have resulted in increases in the special education budget. There have been reductions in consultation services, office equipment, adaptive equipment, collaboration services and tuitions to collaboratives. Mrs. Oliveira addressed that had been submitted by committee members. Mrs. Oliveira clarified the status of the IDEA grant. The district received funding as part of the AARA grant that is now expiring. We still have the IDEA entitlement grant which has stayed fairly consistent in the January 13, 2011 level of funding. Ms. DeLai warned that this funding may be affected by changes in the special education populations. Mr. Caruso thanked Mrs. Oliveira for the comprehensive presentation. III. Routine Matters • Bills and Payroll (A) • Approval of Minutes • Bids and Donations Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Gibbs to accept a donation in the amount of $6,500 from the Coolidge PTO to be used to support instructional technology and resources as outlined in the Superintendent's memorandum dated January 11, 2011. The motion carried 6-0. Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Gibbs, to accept a donation in the amount of $4,149 from the Wood End PTO to be used to purchase twelve netbooks as outlined in the Superintendent's memorandum dated January 11, 2011. The motion carried 6-0. Calendar IV. Information Mr. Caruso reminded the committee that the next meeting will be on January 20tH V. Adjournment VI. Executive Session Mr. Robinson moved, seconded by Mrs. Gibbs to enter into Executive Session to discuss safety and security issues and not to reconvene to open session. The roll call vote was 6-0. Mr. Caruso, Mr. Michaud, Mrs. Janowski, Mr. Robinson, Mrs. Gibbs and Mr. Croft. VI. Future Business Meeting adjourned at 10:15 p.m. NOTE: The minutes reflect the order as stated in the posted meeting agenda not the order they occurred during the meeting. Ppe F. Dohe , Ed.D rintendent of Schools