HomeMy Public PortalAboutBrewster School Committee -- 2014-05-15 Minutes ;
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Brewster School Committee D
May 15,2014
Brewster Town Hall
Present for the Committee: Trish Hill,Marie Enochty,Dave Telman, Brenda Cazeault,Donna Kalinick
Present for the Administration: Dr.Richard Hoffmann,Dr. Ann Caretti,Ms. Giovanna Venditti, Principal Fronius
and Principal Hughes
Call to Order
Chair Telman called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
Recognition
Principal Fronius recognized Donna Drown, Cafeteria Manager,who was honored by the School Nutrition
Association of Massachusetts as the"super lunch hero"of the year.
Citizens Speak
None
PRIORITY BUSINESS
Peace Poetry Presentation
The 2014 Voice of Peace Poetry Contest resulted in nine student representing Stony Brook Elementary School this
year. The Stony Brook winners were congratulated and invited to read their selections to the School Committee.
The kindergarten students were: Jacob Eldredge, Gregory Viprino, Matthew Allard and Loring Eldred. First Grade
students were: Brad Hagopian,Margaret Conrad,Lilah Coombes,Charlie Leighton,and Anthony Zou. Principal
Fronius thanked Mrs.Donovan and Mr.Campbell-Haley for helping their students with the Veterans' for Peace
Poetry Contest.
Ms.Cazeault noted that she attended the reading of the poems in Centerville and was amazed at the children on stage
and the sounds of their voices.
Administrators' Reports
Principal Hughes reported that she had a wonderful time participating in the Brewster in Bloom Parade and thanked
Leah Belliveau for leading the charge. She also noted that the students are finishing up MCAS with make-up tests to
follow. She is revising the master calendar,has completed class placement and teacher evaluations are on target.
Ms.Marcia Dugas,Ms. Patsy Marchant and Ms.Cathy Stratico were awarded grants from the Nauset Garden Club.
She indicated the playground was taking shape with several major pieces of equipment in place. Volunteer Day is
May 31°. She also indicated that she was given an opportunity to evaluate PARCC. Step up Day is May 30th and
there will be tours for parents at the Eddy School with the help of student council members.
Principal Fronius reported that Kindergarten screening has begun and that 70 children have registered. Heather
Holcolm-Jones was awarded a grant from the Nauset Garden Club and will be preparing a pizza garden. The
Secretary of Education,Michael Malone, will be visiting Stony Brook School on Tuesday,May 20th at 1:00 p.m. for
a walking tour. On Friday,May 23rd,both schools will have an all school assembly at 1:00 p.m. From 9:00— 10:00
that same day they will be remembering volunteers. June 10"'there will be a big event as meteorologist Barry
Burbank will be visiting Stony Brook at 10:00 a.m.
Director of Student Services,Dr.Ann Caretti, updated the Committee on the Preschool Director position. They
received ten applications, interviewing 4 and narrowed the search to two. They will be meeting with those two
candidates from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Monday at the Central Office and Thursday from 3:30 to 4:00 p.m. Prior to the
"meet and greet,"she will be taking the candidates to the schools. The names of the two candidates for consideration
are: Peggy Donoghue and Joanna Stevens, both school psychologists. They will also be replacing one Preschool
teacher who will be retiring at the end of the year. They will be interviewing a part time OT for Preschool as well.
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She also indicated that"Teacher Justine"will be moving to Eastham and the new teacher will be at Stony Brook so
that teachers can support each other.
Assistant Superintendent Gauley's report was included in the packet. Dr.Hoffmann indicated that Mr. Gauley is
planning some outstanding summer activities. Teachers are applying to lead sessions or participate,with most
sessions being grant funded. Mr. Gauley will have an update for you at the next meeting.
Superintendent Hoffmann shared moments of his China trip with the Committee highlighting his amazing
experiences as he traveled around to educational facilities in the area. Class sizes, student day,teaching times and
collaboration were mentioned. He noted that he would like to think about a foreign language program for our
students indicating that the Chinese students begin English studies in Grade 3.
FY14 Budget Update
Giovanna Venditti,Director of Finance and Operations,reviewed the Eddy School expense reports with the
Committee indicating a balance of$43,494. The Stony Brook School expense reports were reviewed with the
Committee indicating a balance of$21,076 as a result of revenue being applied from Circuit Breaker and Building
Use.
FY15 Budget
Chair Telman thanked the townspeople,the Selectmen and Finance Committee for supporting the budget and
thanked everyone for supporting the Brewster Schools. Dr. Hoffmann echoed those sentiments and thanked citizens
for their support,including support of the capital article. A recap of the budget process, in an extremely difficult
year,was reviewed by Dr.Hoffmann and he thanked the School Committee for their thoughtful consideration of the
budget. He also recognized that it is difficult for the School Committee to vote the budget knowing there may be
some reductions. He also indicated that the Committee needs to finalize FY15 and asked them to see how to
empower the Principals to get FY15 balanced. There are potential personnel changes at the Eddy School and
negotiations are ongoing.
Chair Telman stated the Committee should allow the Principals to do their job so that people that could be impacted
by a reduction have an opportunity to make decisions for themselves. He noted the Principals will make the most
appropriate decisions for the schools. Discussion ensued regarding contracts and conversations with staff about
reductions. Ms.Enochty indicated her reluctance to vote on personnel cuts of any kind because there are still
unknowns. Ms. Kalinick noted that there are two changes in Preschool, changes at the Stony Brook School,and
negotiations that have not been resolved. She stated she was reluctant to make any more cuts. She also indicated that
account#5015 and#5060 were not to be reduced.
Ms.Venditti explained that she went to the Principals to see where the$12,914 reduction would be applied. The
reductions were based on needs and the Principals recommended these reductions. Ms. Kalinick indicated that the
Committee did not vote to cut anything specific and only voted to cut$12,914 out of the budget. Small group
support for reading was mentioned and she indicated that the Committee did not want to make that cut. Principal
Fronius indicated there would be minimal impact on reading groups and stated that she and the teachers are
comfortable with this. Funding sources, l less kindergarten class,retirement of educational assistant and elimination
of an educational assistant were mentioned. Principal Fronius also indicated that if there was no need to reduce the
budget,then she would keep the educational assistant for a student who requires a 1-1 but it is not in the IEP. Ms.
Cazeault indicated that the Kindergarten class is already at 70 students and that services are important when it comes
to small groups. Chair Telman indicated if the Committee made the cuts,they could always be added back and
because the Committee made a reduction of$12,914,Ms. Venditti brought forward a list.
Ms.Kalinick and Ms.Hill agreed that the Committee specifically decided not to make any reductions but just voted
the number. Dr. Hoffmann indicated that there is a potential problem,as contractually the people need to be notified
by May 15th but under no circumstances later than June 15"'. You can always restore these positions. Ms.Kalinick
stated that perhaps the Committee could make the cut and hope to put that person back in the budget.
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Chair Telman asked that Ms. Venditti put the salaries back in the right column,knowing that in June they may need
to adjust it. Ms.Enochty felt the Committee should make the cut tonight and then put back in at the next regular
meeting on June 19t. Ms.Hill inquired if the money was put back into the budget if that Principal Fronius would
restore services to the current level. Principal Fronius indicated that they would have the same service hours and
number of groups as they have this year. Ms. Kalinick indicated she would not be on the Committee in June and
stated that reduction was not a cut she would have endorsed. Ms. Enochty indicated that the Committee must honor
the contract,vote cuts tonight and notify personnel. Ms. Hill indicated she is very reluctant to do this but would like
the position to be put back into the budget as soon as money is available.
Principal Hughes indicated that she and Principal Fronius could make a list, in priority order, of things that they
would put back into the budget if money became available.
Motion:
On a motion by Marie Enochty, seconded by Trish Hill, it was voted 4 yeas, 1 nay(Ms.Kalinick)to reduce account
#5015 and account#5060.
Survey Results
The Superintendent and Committee members reviewed the parent survey. The Principals wrote an action plan to
address parental concerns and to make improvements where needed. Dr.Hoffmann indicated that he would like to
survey parents every year. This survey has been administered for 8 years but he would like the committees to tweak
it a bit and make it shorter.
Ms.Enochty noted that most school's result throughout the district is within 10%of each other and that overall
Nauset is doing a good job.
Dr.Hoffmann indicated that parents would like more timely access to student outcomes and parents would like to
know what students are doing in the classrooms. He also suggested that they will be looking district-wide to see
what more they can do for the academically advanced students. He indicated that many parents indicated that
homework was an issue but did not know if it was too much,not enough, or want it to be more focused. He hopes to
meet with parents at each school before school gets out to hear what their thoughts are on the subject of homework
and other areas as well.
Ms.Kalinick indicated that most people are happy with Nauset but the Committee should continue to look at
bullying, look at ways we educate ALL students, and address changes in the schools and student learning to assist
parents. Ms. Cazeault indicated that outreach and engagement is something the schools need to figure out. She
suggested having coffees and other ways to help parents connect. She suggested a volunteer program to help with
outreach,engaging parents and community members.
The Principals explained how they developed their action plans. Ms. Hill was concerned that the action plan was
based on a few comments and not based on the data of the whole. She felt it was worth revisiting the data to see
what were the lowest favorable or highest unfavorable.
Dr.Hoffmann indicated that it is his goal to look at certain categories that have gotten less than 75%satisfaction and
address those. He and the Administrators will work on these over the summer. Ms. Hill asked if Dr.Hoffmann was
going to create action steps for the district. He indicated that this will be part of next year's goals.
Policy Updates
Chair Telman indicated that he attended the Policy Subcommittee meeting and the subcommittee voted to move the
policies forward as written. Relative to the School Committee and Staff Communication Policy, it was determined
that the Administration will make an effort to help all the staff and school committee members as well as
administrators to understand the policy by meeting with the lawyer and Jim Hardy so that everyone has the same
understanding of the policy. Ms. Hill indicated that at a prior subcommittee meeting she thought the decision was to
remove the second line in the policy. Ms. Hill asked if it was possible to ask the attorney to look at the legality of the
15Br'ewster School Committee 5-15-2014 Page 3
policy without the second sentence. Dr.Hoffmann indicated he would be happy to bring this back to the
subcommittee. Chair Telman indicated that this would be discussed at the Joint meeting.
Chair Telman indicated that the fundraising policy was discussed and the subcommittee voted to move the present
policy forward as written. He said the subcommittee was in agreement that PTO's,PTA's,would not have to bring
forth a list of fundraiser other than to make the committee aware of what is happening in the school. They would not
require an approval but would just keep school committee informed. Ms.Hill indicated that would require a change
in language. Dr.Hoffmann tried to add language to the policy for the subcommittee to entertain but they wished to
keep the policy as written. Dr.Hoffmann indicated that the legal opinion on this policy is complicated and talks
about the rights of both parties. He thinks the PTO's are terrific and we need to work together. Ms.Enochty felt the
legal opinion made it clearer that organizations don't have to ask permission but to give a list is a common courtesy.
Ms.Hill indicated that the policy is not written that way. She suggested it say that we would like to have those lists
so that we are aware of what is going on. She also indicated that two subcommittee meetings ago they talked about
changing the language to make it more of a courtesy and informational piece.
Chair Telman indicated that the other four member towns wanted to keep it as is. He was not in agreement,but
would still like to know as a school committee member what is happening with regard to fundraising in the schools.
Dr.Hoffmann indicated that Orleans,Wellfleet,Eastham,and the Region felt there was no need to change the policy
as it is working fine in their schools. He indicated that Mr.Telman felt that Brewster could tweak this policy and
write its own language. He indicated that Brewster would have a separate page in the manual. Ms. Enochty
indicated she was very uneasy with being on a committee with people doing fundraising for Stony Brook and Eddy
and not knowing about it. Ms.Kalinick indicated that it was"approval"versus letting the Committee know about the
fundraisers. She also indicated that the PTO has a lot of contact with the Principals. Chair Telman indicated that it is
his goal to vote it down.
Dr.Hoffmann indicated that the Non-Resident Policy was discussed and it was the vote of the subcommittee to leave
the language as is due to financial ramifications through the loss of Chapter 70 money. Citizens can still appeal to
the school committee.
REPORTS AND INFORMATION
Cape Cod Collaborative—Ms. Hill indicated they were working on the articles of agreement and had to submit them
to the state for approval. They had a discussion about quorums and voting members and are looking to craft
language to address that issue. Members of the Collaborative were acknowledged for their service.
PTO—Ms.Hill indicated that the PTO is still looking for someone to serve as president. Events coming up include
field days at both schools and teacher appreciation lunches.
Building Needs Committee—Chair Telman thanked the town, Finance Committee, Selectmen and Bob Miller for
their support of the Eddy roof project and urged voters to get out and vote for the new roof.
Playground Subcommittee—Ms. Hughes indicated that May 31'was Volunteer Day and that she will be getting the
information out to parents. They will be laying pavers, cleaning up,and doing minor landscaping.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
On a motion by Marie Enochty,seconded by Donna Kalinick,it was voted unanimously to approve the minutes of
April 17th with a minor change on page 3.#7. Remove wording: The committee does not need to approve more cuts.
On a motion by Marie Enochty, seconded by Donna Kalinick, it was voted unanimously to approve the minutes of
May 5,2014.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
On a motion by Marie Enochty,seconded by Donna Kalinick,it was voted by roll call vote to go into Executive
Session,not to return to open session,for the purpose of discussing strategy with respect to collective bargaining
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with union personnel,at 10:07 p.m. On a roll call the vote was as follows: Trish Hill-yea, Marie Enochty-yea,Dave
Telman-yea,Brenda Cazeault-yea,Donna Kalinick-yea
The Committee went into Executive Session at 10:07 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ann M. Tefft
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