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HomeMy Public PortalAboutBrewster School Committee -- 2011-02-17 Minutes ApplowED Brewster School Committee Minutes of Thursday,February 17,2011 Held at Eddy Elementary School Chair O'Reilly called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present for the Committee: David Telman,Jen Rabold, Marie Enochty,Mara Liebling and Chair O'Reilly For the Administration: Bonny Gifford, Keith Gauley,Denise Fronius,and Hans Baumhauer Others: Town Officials and interested citizens CITIZENS SPEAK—None RECOGNITIONS- Principal Fronius recognized Donna Desrosiers,Paul Kehoe,and Lou Andigar for their work on the Character Education Program. Mr. Keohoe's class shared songs,"Don't Laugh at Me"and"We Belong Together"with the Committee and the audience. PRIORITY BUSINESS Brewster Little League Principal Gauley indicated that the Brewster Little League is requesting the use of the baseball fields from April—September for afterschool and weekends. The Brewster Little League will be fixing the pitcher's mound,home plate,the scoreboard and will be responsible for labor and costs. On a motion by Mr.Telman,seconded by Ms.Enochty, it was voted unanimously to approve the request from the Brewster Little League for the use of the fields. Administrators'Reports Principal Fronius reported that Dibels and Writing scores have a marked improvement noting this was due to intervention programs. Presently they are collecting food for the"Caring Cupboard"and collecting money for"Pennies for Patients." Principal Gauley reviewed the fall and winter administration of tests,including Dibels,Oral Reading Fluency,Maze Reading assessments and bench mark writing prompts. Kaitlyn Taylor was the winner of the National Geographic Society's Geography Bee for Eddy School. Dr.Bonny Gifford,Assistant Superintendent reported that she has attended many staff meetings to give teachers an overview of the Massachusetts Frameworks as they work on aligning Math and ELA curriculums. The Curriculum Leadership team, the Literacy Team and the Math Literacy Team continue to meet. The Title I audit is complete and has been submitted to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Coordinated Program Review is taking place focusing on Civil Rights, Special Education and ESL at this time. The Bullying Prevention Intervention Team continues to meet with curriculum review in each building. Bus Transportation Survey Jen Rabold reported to the Committee on the very successful Transportation Forum held at the Middle School regarding the proposed Two-Tier Bus Transportation system. Elementary School parents shared concerns about childcare and costs. After school daycare providers shared ideas on how to help parents and indicated that scholarships were available. Many people supported the idea of a later start time for the High School students. Mr.Baumhauer indicated that the Joint School Committee will vote on the Two-Tier Transportation System on March 10`h. Ms.Rabold reviewed the parent survey from Eddy and Stony Brook parents,most indicating"no problem"or"could make it work." FY11 Budget Hans Baumhauer,Business Manager,reviewed the monthly expenditure report and indicated transfers and explanations of overages will be reported at the March meeting. There was a question raised about Account 7056—SN Teachers-$40,000 which will be corrected next month in the expense reports. Brewster School Committee Minutes—February 17, 2011 Page 2 4 FY 12 Budget Update Chair O'Reilly indicated that he met with Dr.Hoffmann, Charlie Sumner,and Ed Lewis on the budget.The proposed budget was$6,477,767,Actual Budget for FY11 =$5,861,330,difference is: $616,437. (2.5%over FY11 =$146,535) Balance is $469,902. Agreed cuts=$75,292. Current-$394,610. Chair O'Reilly reviewed the Priority Lists totaling$75,292 in reductions thus far. Ms.Rabold asked that the$2,500 playground equipment at Eddy be moved to the Capital Plan. She indicated that a grant application to the Community Playground Committee could be submitted by November. Principal Gauley indicated monies spent have been for safety issues on the playground equipment or removal of equipment. Chair O'Reilly asked that the grant be investigated and then that line item can be moved to the Capital Plan. The Committee reviewed further proposed deductions. Dr. Liebling asked what$400,000 would look like for individuals- $118,000 per year,$10.00 per month,$2.50 per week,or a cup of coffee. Ms.Enochty reminded the Committee that the Region budget needs an override as well which would make the override over$1,000,000. Selectmen Norton addressed the Committee regarding what an override means for Brewster and what would happen if the override did not pass. If three of the four Towns voted the override,and Brewster did not,they would still have to fund the budget and the cuts would have to come from Brewster Elementary Schools. Chair O'Reilly indicated he wanted to present a budget with the money that is needed to maintain and restore what has been lost,so Brewster can continue providing a good education for the children. Moving a Special Needs teacher from Stony Brook to Eddy was discussed and the possible impacts on service delivery to students. Questions were asked regarding the caseload of Special Needs Teachers in Brewster. Presently at the Eddy School two Special Needs teachers cover three grade levels. Questions were raised as to how many students are in resource room settings? The Committee decided not to reduce a Special Needs teacher. Ms.Rabold discussed the educational assistant and the science lab. She felt the Science Program needs to be evaluated and become a priority for the district. Brewster,at one time,had a dedicated science teacher. She felt people should be aggressive about seeking out grants for science. Dr. Gifford indicated that a Science Curriculum framework will be coming soon along with an assessment system. The Committee reviewed the proposed reductions as suggested by Dr.Hoffmann. Discussion ensued relative to cutting the educational assistant for science lab,restoring a 12-month secretarial position,professional development and cutting subject coordinators. Dr.Liebling indicated that$1,000 for Great Books could be cut from the budget as she is making that donation to the school. The PTO also indicated that they would give a gift of$1,000 to each school. The Committee felt they could not cut instructional supplies and consumable workbooks. The Committee also decided that the position of Reading Teacher at Stony Brook should be included in the budget equaling 50%at Stony Brook and 25%at Eddy in Grade 3. Ms.Enochty felt that the Committee should keep the 50%reading teacher at Stony Brook but cut the.25 position at Eddy and felt that the Committee should try to get the budget down. Dr.Liebling felt she could support cutting the position as long as it was reassessed next year. Chair O'Reilly felt the impact of not funding the position would not be seen until 5 years down the road. Chair O'Reilly stated that if the Committee cuts to bare bones this year,then they will be back in the same place next year. Mr.Telman felt nervous about the override and reminded the Committee that preK to grade 12 students are our kids. Selectmen Rabold addressed the Committee indicating that the school budget will be weighed with everyone else's portion of the budget. He indicated the Committee had done a good job in keeping the budget down and that people will expect an override this year. He cautioned the Committee not to cut what they need just to help with an override. He suggested the Committee focus on their needs and keep actual needs in the budget and that is the budget that will be presented to the townspeople. The Committee continued to discuss restoring programs,ARRA and Jobs Funds,and getting back to where the budget was prior to the last few years. Selectmen Norton reiterated if the override does not pass in Brewster,and the other three towns vote it,Brewster will be looking at$400,000-$600,000 in cuts. Brewster School Committee Minutes—February 17, 2011 Pape 3 A vote on keeping the reading teacher at Eddy was a tie,so Chair O'Reilly indicated they would keep the 25%reading teacher at Eddy. It was suggested that playground repairs be reduced. Chair O'Reilly indicated the reductions presently totaled$99,092. On a motion by Ms.Rabold,seconded by Ms. Enochty,it was voted unanimously to approve the budget in the amount of $6,378,567. The Capital Plan was discussed relative to whiteboards. Chair O'Reilly will discuss this with Mr. Sumner. Building Use Hans Baumhauer,Business Manager,reviewed the draft Building Use Form for the District. This will be voted on at the Joint School Committee meeting on March 10"'. It was decided school sanctioned organizations will be decided case-by-case and then a list will be established. Update on Visioning Process The facilitator,Sky Freyss-Cole has been out of the country so the event has not been scheduled yet. Self-Evaluation Committee members felt a self-evaluation was a good idea and a project that could take place in the summer. REPORTS AND INFORMATION Cape Cod Collaborative—Dr. Liebling has a problem with the schedule and cannot be the liaison. Alternative representatives and sharing this position was discussed. It was suggested that skyping be looked into by the Business Manager. Approval of Minutes On a motion by Mr.Telman,seconded by Ms. Enochty,it was voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the meeting of February 2,2011. Executive Session On a roll call it was voted to go into Executive Session at 8:54 p.m.for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining with union employees. On a roll call the vote was as follows: Marie Enochty—aye,Mara Liebling—aye,Jen Rabold—aye,Dave Telman—aye,and Chair O'Reilly—aye loThe . ittee went into Executive Session and announced they would not return to open session. ' -: y sue ,tted, Ann efft,recarsing secretary , i:; I II