HomeMy Public PortalAboutBrewster School Committee -- 2020-12-17 Minutes Brewster School Committee iire
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Thursday, December 17 , 2020
Brewster Town Hall (Virtual Meeting)
Present for the Committee : David Telman, Judi Lech, Katie Jacobus , Jessica Larsen
Present for the Administration: Superintendent Thomas Conrad, Director of Finance & Operations Giovanna Venditti,
Principal Keith Gauley, Principal Joanna Hughes
Others Present : Marilyn Dearborn; Friends of Brewster Elders, Peter Lombardi , Brewster Town Administrator,
Members of the Community
Call to Order
Chair Telman called the virtual meeting to order at 6 : 29 p .m .
Agenda Changes — None
Citizens Speak — None
PRIORITY BUSINESS
Administrators ' Reports :
Principal Gauley ' s report was included in the packet and welcomed questions . Principal Gauley thanked all the school
nurses and Stony Brook Elementary School Nurse Colleen Lawless in particular for all their hard work in dealing with
the pandemic and associated issues ; Principal Gauley also thanked Kinlin Grover, Friends Market and other local
businesses for their donation of Thanksgiving Meals, and the Friends of Brewster Elders for their generous offered
donation of funds to purchase necessary winter items for local families .
Principal Hughes ' report was included in the packet. Principal Hughes echoed Principal Gauley' s thanks to the
nursing staff including Eddy Elementary School Nurse Melissa Miller. Principal Hughes stated she is thankful to all
parents, staff, and community members for their efforts during this difficult year.
Chair Telman thanked both Principals ' for their reports and also for their efforts over this school year.
Superintendent ' s Report
Superintendent Conrad reported to the Committee on the following :
Negotiations are ongoing and the Team is working very hard, on a rigorous meeting schedule to get the contracts
settled and are hoping for a completion date in January; This time of year is typically filled with school visits and
concert both of which are very much missed this year; Discussions are ongoing with Town Recreation programs on
how to move forward with winter sports . Superintendent Conrad believes one of the critical parts of reopening the
schools was limiting any visitors who come into the building, which is what is helping to allow staff and students to
feel safe, and he has no plans to change that policy, The High School Building Project is moving forward and there
will be more information coming on that in future meetings .
Friends of the Brewster Elders
Marilyn Dearborn was present to inform the Committee about a gift of $ 1 , 000 to each Brewster elementary school to
purchase items such as coats, mittens, pajamas , socks , whatever it is a student might need to get through this winter .
It was moved by Jessica Larsen, seconded by Katie Jacobus and voted unanimously to accept this generous gift.
The Committee thanked Marilyn Dearborn and the Friends of Brewster Elders for their gift .
FY22 & Five Year Capital Plan
James Nowack, Assistant Director of Finance and Operations , reviewed the FY22 and Five Year Capital Plan with the
Committee . After discussion it was moved by Jessica Larsen seconded by Katie Jacobus and voted unanimously via
roll call vote to approve the FY22 & Five Year Capital Plan .
Brewster School Committee Minutes December 17 , 2020
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Chair Telman requested the total square footage for the estimate to replace the sidewall shingles at Eddy Elementary
School .
FY21 — 26 Capital Improvement Plan Requests for Brewster Elementary Schools
Brewster Town Administrator Peter Lombardi explained to the Committee the Capital Planning Committee ' s current
budgeting and procedures relating to Capital Requests . Currently they have requested each department head submit
their requests . Mr . Lombardi indicated that he thought the Capital Requests from the Brewster Schools for FY22 were
in line with what the Committee was budgeting.
FY21 Budget
Giovanna Venditti reviewed the Expenditure Reports for Stony Brook and Eddy Elementary School, highlighting
items with $ 1 ,000 or more variance from the previous month . November ending Stony Brook balance was $ 190, 330,
and November ending Eddy balance was $ 110,440 .
FY22 Budget Update
Giovanna Venditti reported to the Committee that she and Superintendent Conrad have had several meetings with
Principals ' Gauley and Hughes , and are close to having the FY22 Budget ready to present to the Committee .
Reports and Information
Cape Cod Collaborative — Katie Jacobus reported that the Collaborative is still having difficulty finding drivers ,
and the Board was able to purchase $ 50 gift cards for each staff member in lieu of a holiday party .
PTO — No report
School Council — No report
Policy Subcommittee — Judi Lech reported on the last Policy Subcommittee Meeting . The new Staff
Responsible Use Policy has been reviewed by Legal Counsel and is now undergoing some format changes . Once
it is accepted by the Committee, it will be reviewed by the Union .
Substance Abuse/Mental Health Task Force — no report
Building and Needs Assessment — no report
Strategic Plan — no report
Preschool Enrollment — Report was included in the Committee packet
Central Office Subcommittee — Katie Jacobus reported that the Committee met twice and have approved the
FY22 Central Office Budget. There will be one more meeting. Due to variances in enrollment, both elementary
schools ' share of the CO budget have been reduced from 9 . 5 % to 9 % .
MASC Conference Update — Katie Jacobus reported on the November 71h virtual MASC Conference . All
resolutions passed . Most of the discussion was held on lowering the voting age for municipal elections .
Approval of Minutes
On a motion by Katie Jacobus , seconded by Judi Lech , it was voted unanimously to approve the Minutes of
October 15 2020 and November 19 2020 as written .
Brewster School Committee Minutes December 17, 2020
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Chair Telman informed the Committee he had received another resignation . Jessica Larsen explained to the
Committee she needed to resign her spot on the Brewster School Committee effective December 18 , 2020 .
Jessica thanked the Committee for their work for the students of Brewster . The Committee thanked Jessica for
her 6 years of service .
Given this new resignation there are now two vacant seats on the Committee . Town Administrator Peter
Lombardi suggested moving the joint meeting between the BSC and the Brewster Select Board to January 4 ,
2021 to give members of the community ample time to submit a letter of interest to fill those vacancies .
Adjournment
On a motion by Jessica Larsen, seconded by Katie Jacobus, it was voted unanimously via roll call vote to adjourn
the meeting at 7 : 23 p .m .
Submitted by,
Arlynn Consiglio
Included in packet : Principals ' report, FY22 and Five Year Capital Projects , Friends of Brewster Elders gift
proposal , Expenditure Reports, Preschool Enrollment, Minutes
Brewster School Committee Minutes December 17 , 2020
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