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Home My Public Portal AboutBrewster School Committee -- 2020-09-17 Minutes Brewster School Committee no Thursday, September 17 , 2020 �,W� Brewster Town Hall (Virtual Meeting) Present for the Committee : David Telman, Jessica Larsen, Christine Peterson, Judi Lech, and Katie Jacobus Present for the Administration: Thomas Conrad, Giovanna Venditti, Keith Gauley, and Joanna Hughes Call to Order Chair Telman called the virtual meeting to order at 6100 p . m . Agenda Changes — None Citizens Speak — None Er;.` �:i ` i ` 1 '! �'ir� i EF'`q PRIORITY BUSINESS Administrators ' Reports Principal Joanna Hughes indicated everyone is doing really well and how good it is to be back at school . The building task force and Principal Hughes have been planning for months and months . She explained the 8 professional days with staff to prepare them for the start of schools noting it was so worthwhile to review all the protocols . She reported there are 159 students in-person, 48 remote including 12 new students . Third grade students were able to see their classrooms . There will be a meet and greet for remote families to get supplies and meet their teachers . They want to make sure all students new to the Eddy School feel comfortable . Principal Gauley indicated that it is glorious having the kids back in school . He recognized the hard work of so many people who contributed so much along with the dedicated staff members . He reviewed in-person enrollment : Kindergarten = 15 per class , Grade 1 14 per class , and Grade 2 = 13 per class . Remote enrollment is : K = 8 , Grade 1 = 8 and Grade 2 = 17 . They are working on procedures like drop off and pick up and it gets better every day. Superintendent ' s Report Superintendent Conrad thanked Joanna Hughes and Keith Gauley for months of work getting to the reopening of school . He indicated it was a very emotional opening in terms of the efforts that went into getting us back after seven months of being apart . He heard from all elementary schools that the students were excited and happy to be back with their teachers and friends . Parents were happy as well . Transportation has gone very well and he recognized the efforts of the Business Office Staff. He reminded members of the limited capacity on buses and reminded parents to call the Business Office if they need transportation for their child. He thanked the many parents who were able to drive their child to and from school . He met with Esther Fitzgerald, Director of Adult Education, who informed him that they will be canceling the fall and winter programs and will look forward to beginning operations in the spring limiting the number of people in the buildings . He praised Esther for her dedication and commitment to the program for many years . She will be moving into retirement and he wished her the very best. He also indicated that the Town i of Brewster would like the school committee meetings to begin at 6 : 30 p .m. in the future . He thanked the school committee for their calmness and thoughtful consideration around the first case of the virus . 1 Revised 2020-2021 Calendar Keith Gauley resented the school calendar that included days for staff training prior to the start of school on September 16 '. There will be 175 school days for students in this calendar year noting early release days for professional development each month . The Superintendent anticipates a committee coming together to talk about snow days and hopes to bring something to the boards within the next couple of months . If there is a power outage, i that would be a problem. Chair Telman asked if Administration has thought about a different way to handle parent conferences . Asst . Superintendent Gauley indicated that all conference will be remote . I Brewster School Committee Minutes September 17, 2020 [ 1 ] j : 3 Motion: On a motion by Katie Jacobus , seconded by Judi Lech, it was voted unanimously to approve the revised 2020-2021 school calendar. On a roll call the vote was as follows : Judi Lech-yea, Katie Jacobus — yea, Christine Peterson — yea, Jessica Larsen — yea and David Telman — yea The Superintendent introduced Mary Buchanan, Director of Student Services , to the committee . She shared her excitement for being at Nauset. She is in her 110' year as director of student services . She indicated it was a pleasure to see how invested and caring everyone is and really focused on the social emotion well-being of each student. She also praised the Business Office for doing a great job with transportation. She is excited to be at Nauset and looks forward to meeting everyone, not virtually. FY21 Budget Giovanna Venditti reported the end of year balance for Eddy School is $47 , 963 that was returned to the town . She noted prepayments in the amount of $74,015 for special education expenses, transportation and out of district placement . The Stony Brook balance is $2 , 350 . She indicated $ 50 , 313 was returned to the town. Prepayments totaling $ 122, 500 were also paid . FY21 Budget Giovanna Venditti indicated that she will have all salaries encumbered in October. Policies for a First Reading Jessica Larsen expressed concerns about the temporary policies . Members discussed the opening meeting law and getting questions answered before the meeting. Chair Telman requested that he be copied on questions directed to someone on another board. Motion: On a motion by Christine Peterson, seconded by Katie Jacobus , it was voted 5 yeas to approve EBCFA, Face Coverings for a first reading . On a roll call the vote was as follows : Judi Lech-yea , Katie Jacobus — yea, Christine Peterson — yea, Jessica Larsen — yea and David Telman — yea Motion: On a motion by Christine Peterson, seconded by Katie Jacobus , it was voted 5 yeas to approve MBE, Remote Learning, for a first reading . On a roll call the vote was as follows : Judi Lech-yea, Katie Jacobus — yea, Christine Peterson — yea, Jessica Larsen — yea and David Telman — yea Motion$ On a motion by Christine Peterson, seconded by Katie Jacobus , it was voted 4 yeas and 1 nay, to approve Policy Issues for the Pandemic EBS Supplemental, for a first reading . On a roll call the vote was as follows : Judi Lech — yea , Katie Jacobus — yea, Christine Peterson — yea , Jessica Larsen — nay and David Telman - yea The Chair indicated that for the second reading they will get further clarification on EBC . Reports and Information Cape Cod Collaborative — Katie Jacobus reported that the Collaborative is having difficulties getting bus drivers, the HVAC system was inspected with no problems, and that Modem Teacher is the platform they are using for remote learning . The Star Program has 43 students, 4 from Nauset, none from Brewster. The Way Point Program has 20 students, 10 remote with 3 being from Nauset . PTO — Christine Peterson reported that they had an Executive Board meeting on August 27th and is figuring out what they will do this year in terms of fundraising. They had a fundraiser at Papa Ginos that raised $ 145 . They may change their meeting time . They will do a "direct ask" to parents in the beginning of October . School Council — no report Policy Subcommittee — no report Transportation Subcommittee — no report Brewster School Committee Minutes September 17, 2020 [2 ] Substance Abuse/Mental Health Task Force — Jessica Larsen indicated that Mary Buchanan has reached out to the group and will be scheduling a meeting in October. Building and Needs Assessment — no report Strategic Plan — The Superintendent indicated that he is concentrating on getting schools opened and will bring this up at a later date . Approval of Minutes On a motion by Judi Lech seconded by Christine Peterson, it was voted unanimously by roll call vote to approve the minutes of August 20, 2020 . On a roll call the vote was as follows : Judi Lech-yea, Katie Jacobus — yea, Christine Peterson — yea, Jessica Larsen — yea and David Telman — yea Adjournment On a motion by Jessica Larsen, seconded by Katie Jacobus, it was voted unanimously by roll call vote to adjourn the meeting at 6 : 52 p . m. On a roll call the vote was as follows : Judi Lech-yea, Katie Jacobus — yea, Christine Peterson — yea, Jessica Larsen — yea and David Telman — yea Submitted by, Ann M. Tefft Included in packet: Policies, Revised Calendar, End of Year Financial Reports and Minutes I i i i i I i i Brewster School Committee Minutes September 17, 2020 [ 3 ) I i 3 i