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HomeMy Public PortalAboutBrewster School Committee -- 2009-09-17 Minutes appRovii Brewster School Committee Minutes of September 17, 2009 Held at Eddy Elementary School Chair O'Reilly called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. ROLL CALL: - For the Committee: Steve Jones, Marie Enochty, John O'Reilly, David Telman (Absent: Jennifer Rabold) - For the Administration: Richard Hoffmann, Denise Fronius, Keith Gauley, Hans Baumhauer - Others: Town officials, teachers, parents, interested citizens AGENDA CHANGES - Whitecaps' Lease Request added to the agenda before Administrators' Reports. CITIZENS SPEAK- None RECOGNITION Superintendent Hoffmann recognized Toni Young, art teacher at Stony Brook, as an unsung heroine who inspires students and brings out their creative talents; Joan Sutton, 1st grade teacher, for her enthusiasm and passion for her work continuing each and every year with this being her 40th year in the district; and Coleen Lawless, Stony Brook school nurse, for her enthusiastic start with the challenging year ahead considering H1 N1 and the many health challenges students have. PRIORITY BUSINESS - Whitecaps' Lease Request Peter Blatz of the Whitecaps Baseball League reported on the improvements they've made to the field at Stony Brook and noted that they will be looking at aeration and top seeding for next year. He asked the Committee to vote to renew their lease. The Whitecaps are also donating $200 to the Stony Brook School. It was moved by Marie Enochty, seconded by Steve Jones and voted unanimously to renew the lease for 2009-2010. - Administrators' Reports Principal Fronius reported on the wonderful opening day; the successful open houses and Wellness Expo; there are two open seats on the School Council; the Cape Cod Symphony's sponsorship of the Music Works program. Principal Gauley expressed his appreciation for the excellent staff and support of parents; he gave Kudos to the staff for the great scores on the MCAS, the subgroups met AYP this year, performance in ELA and Math are very high, a full report will be given at the October meeting; enrollment is at 250 students; over 100 students in 4th and 5th grades are taking instrumental music which is more than double the numbers last year. He asked the Committee to approve an increase in the cost for breakfast to $1.50 (from { ' r Brewster School Committee Minutes—September 17, 2009 Page 2 $1.00)and ala carte to $.50 in order to increase revenue for the tight budget. It was moved by Steve Jones, seconded by Marie Enochty and voted unanimously to increase school breakfast to$1.50 and ala carte to $.50. Superintendent Hoffmann reported on the opening day for staff with everyone meeting together at the Middle School. He spoke to staff regarding bringing passion to their work and doing the best you can. He explained his decision not to show President Obama's speech on opening day with children just beginning school; by showing it later, the teachers and the students were better prepared to get the most out of the President's message. Building Committee Proposal Mr. O'Reilly opened the discussion to get the thoughts of the School Committee and to get thoughts and questions from the audience. The joint meeting with the School Committee and the Selectmen scheduled for September 24th will be televised. Mr. Telman reported that there were two meetings of the Building Committee resulting in adding a road to the new section, the moving of the Whitecaps'garage will be removed from the costs; they're doing a walk-through on September 16; there are twelve contractors who will be bidding the job. He explained that before any work starts, Denise Fronius, Dr. Hoffmann and the Committee will go over the guidelines with the general contractor to keep disruptions down. The project was reviewed by Mr. Telman. Concern was expressed about some of the areas being too small (i.e., health office, gym, supply space), the noise during construction. The timeline was reviewed: if Town votes yes on the addition, it is hoped to have a signed contract before November 1; start the project in the middle of November to be completed in ten months thus allowing the students to move into Stony Brook in December 2010. It is a very aggressive schedule. The question of the reimbursement from the state for the Eddy School was addressed. The Selectmen have requested a response in writing from the MSBA to clarify if having a program between K-12 in a portion of Eddy would be enough to maintain the reimbursement from MSBA. Mr. O'Reilly pointed out that the Regional School Committee hasn't talked about this. We have until the fall of 2011 to make a change. There are four rooms in the Eddy school not identified for use by the Building Committee. It would not be possible to isolate one grade at Eddy because there wouldn't be any support staff. Mr. O'Reilly will attend the Region meeting on October 1 to inform them of this possibility. Concern was expressed over making a move during the school year. Mr. Jones remembered when the move into Eddy was done in February there were few issues; a lot of transition planning was done as there will be this time. Mr. Jones said the Committee is looking at consolidation of the two schools into one and are considering the cost savings as far as facilities are concerned; it is too early to be looking at staffing. Cost savings in utilities will remain in the school programs. FY 09 Budget Business Manager Baumhauer reviewed the FY 09 Budget Closeout. Mr. Jones asked about fuel usage at Stony Brook and why it went up so much when it wasn't a bad winter. Mr. Baumhauer is looking into that. He also asked Mr. Baumhauer to create a more detailed line item expense format so it is clear if there are overages. FY 10 Budget Update Mr. Baumhauer will bring forth areas of concern during the year and will reinstate transfer process that brings transfers to the School Committee for approval at the t. Brewster School Committee Minutes—September 17, 2009 Page 3 November and March meetings as well as the end of the year. Members requested that sub-accounts be included, that special ed be broken out, and show off-setting revenue (i.e., Cape Cod Collaborative). Mr. Baumhauer reviewed the FY10 budget shortfall, how this is going to be covered, and what steps are being taken to ensure this does not happen again. It was moved by Marie Enochty to reluctantly accept the recommended reductions in the FY 10 Budgets. The motion was seconded by John O'Reilly. Steve Jones would like to ask the Town for more assistance as the year goes on. Voted unanimously. Capital Plans and Town Meeting The Proposed FY10 Capital Plan was presented with administrators reviewing each item. Mr. Jones noted that the Stony Brook Emergency Generator Repair Project is there because the Town wants it in case of emergency. He requested that the Committee be provided with a spreadsheet that shows Capital items five years out. It was moved by Steve Jones and seconded by Marie Enochty to approve the Capital Plan at$152,500. This amount can be voted and then reduced prior to Town Meeting. Voted unanimously. Consider Leases for Stony Brook Classrooms It was moved by Marie Enochty, seconded by Steve Jones and voted unanimously to approve the leases for Cape Cod Collaborative and Cape Cod Child Development for use of classrooms at Stony Brook at the rate of$600 per month per classroom for 2009- 10. School Improvement Plans Mr. Gauley reviewed the Eddy School Improvement Plan. It was moved by Steve Jones, seconded by Marie Enochty and voted unanimously to endorse the Eddy School Improvement Plan as presented. There were no changes to the Stony Brook Plan as distributed at the last meeting. It was moved by Steve Jones, seconded by David Telman and voted unanimously to endorse the Stony Brook School Improvement Plan as presented. REPORTS AND INFORMATION - Cape Cod Collaborative Ms. Enochty reported that the tour will be on October 7 beginning at Stony Brook. - Transportation Subcommittee The subcommittee is looking at the current contract and working toward a new bid specification in January. - Policy Subcommittee Dr. Hoffmann reported on the Policy Subcommittee and explained that there is some overlap between the Policy Subcommittee and the Transportation Subcommittee. The Policy Subcommittee is reviewing the policies whereas the Transportation Subcommittee is looking at the bid specs. He has a spreadsheet which shows which group is working on what items to ease the confusion. Brewster School Committee Minutes-September 17, 2009 Page 4 APPROVAL OF MINUTES - It was moved by Marie Enochty, seconded by Steve Jones and voted unanimously to approve the minutes of July 20, 2009. It was moved by Steve Jones and seconded by Marie Enochty to approve the minutes of August 10, 2009, with the correction of the time the meeting was called to order to read 5:32 p.m. Voted unanimously. ADJOURNMENT - It was moved, seconded and voted unanimously to adjourn, subject to paying bills, at 9:27p.m. Respectfully submitted, ("6 -i-Y1.11) _-) B.J. Newmier, Secretary Brewster School Committee sr