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HomeMy Public PortalAboutJoint School -- 1/30/2014 Minutes 1 Pt4. Joint School Committee Meeting BR:Ew TER '0104 January 30, 2014 Present for the Committees: Region: John O'Reilly, Chris Easely, Brian Kavanaugh, Cheryl Codair, Ed Lewis, Jayne Fowler, Sue Skidmore, Sarah Blackwell and Ed Brookshire Brewster: David Telman, Donna Kalinick, Trish Hill, Brenda Cazeault and Marie Enochty Eastham: Ann Crozier, Mary Lou Sette, Laura Freeman, Joanne Irish and Amy Handel Orleans: Josh Stewart, Eric Ehnstrom, Ed Rohmer, Ginger Marks, and David Abel Wellfleet: Tern Frazier, Mort Inger, Betsty Pontius Present for the Administration: Dr. Hoffmann, Keith Gauley, Tom Conrad, Maxine Minkoff, Mary Beth Rodman, Diane Carreiro, Scottie Finnegan, Denise Fronius and Joanna Hughes Call to Order John O'Reilly called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. Citizens Speak None Agenda Changes The Chair indicated that Item E. Policy Manual Update would be taken out of order as Dorothy Preston, representing the Mass. Association of School Committees (MASC), was in attendance to answer questions for the committee. Fundraising Policy - Members of the committee discussed the Policy about Fundraising by PTO's, specifically those with a non-profit status, and the need for School Committee approval to raise funds. Ms. Preston indicated that the School Committee has the authority to approve fundraisers because the school's name is being used. Ms. Enochty indicated that the vote was relative to a change to the existing policy that was suggested by the Policy Subcommittee and emphasized that the original policy is still in place. Discussion ensued. Some Committee members felt that a PTO as a separate organization did not need to seek approval from the School committee in order to raise funds for the schools. The contention was the Committee could deny access to the PTO to use a school for fundraising or a committee could decide not to accept the funds raised but could not approve or disapprove specific fundraising activities. Other committee members felt that since the PTO was raising funds on behalf of the schools and would be using the school's name,that the PTO would need permission to do so. The proposed wording changes were not acceptable to the Committee and it was requested that it go back to the Policy Subcommittee for further review. Chair O'Reilly suggested that proposed changes to the policy should be made in writing and submitted to the Policy Subcommittee. Ms. Enocty urged the 1 I P a g e Joint Meeting,January 30,2014 committees to work together to have one policy and to work together to have one policy manual for one system. All committee members agreed that any policy should not make it burdensome for the PTO in order for them t conduct fundraising. Staff and School Committee Communication Policy— Ms. Preston indicated that most school committees in Massachusetts have established a chain of command or chain of communication that everyone, including staff, is expected to follow. She indicated that School Committee protocol should be if staff members have an issue, they talk to their Principal, if it is not resolved, they talk to the Superintendent and if it is not resolved, they bring it to the School Committee. She indicated that one person oversees what is going on in the District and in order to carry out the Superintendent's responsibilities with Principals and Staff, the Superintendent needs to know what is happening in the District. The flow of communication should go through to the person who has the knowledge of the laws and the particulars on the issue so that the Superintendent can run the District efficiently and effectively. She went onto say that prior to Ed Reform,things were very different but now there is more authority delegated to the Principals and the Superintendent. Mr. Rohmer referenced a 1981 School Committee policy from Brookline that had no restrictions on staff communication. Ms. Preston indicated that Brookline may need to keep up on revising their policies and probably has not looked at their policies in a long time NEA Union President, Mark Mathison,thought the policy was contradictory as anyone can speak during the Citizen Speaks section of a meeting but teachers and staff members are not allowed to do so. Staff would like to have the ability to have input on certain subjects. Ms. Preston indicated that if the issue pertained to the collective bargaining agreement, staff would go through their union representatives. Ms. Crozier indicated that when there is an issue in Eastham, it is put on the agenda, for example-class size, and teachers come and speak freely to the committee. Eastham School Committee members never felt the teachers felt were restricted. Ms. Hill felt the policy to be too restrictive especially when the School Committee has difficult decisions about financial choices and program changes. Mr. Kavanaugh felt the policy contained very specific censorship to a very valuable class of people and that is very damaging. It was suggested that the revisions to the Policy Manual be made public and the Chair of the Policy Subcommittee, Ms. Skidmore, indicated it would be discussed at the Subcommittee meeting. Ms. Skidmore also indicated that all the Policy Subcommittee meetings are public meetings and anyone is welcome. She also noted that the School Committee policy manual is a living document and at any time there can be a change to the document. Mr. Lewis felt the School Committee members were elected officials representing the public and that not everything needs to be put on the website for the public to discuss. 2 I P a g e Joint Meeting,January 30, 2014 Approve Policy I, Instruction, for a second reading Brewster— On a motion by Dave Telman, seconded by Marie Enochty it was voted 5-0 to approve policy I, Instruction, in form, for a second reading. Eastham— On a motion by Joanne Irish, seconded by Mary Lou Sett, it was voted 5-0 to approve policy I, Instruction, in form, for a second reading. Wellfleet—On a motion by Mort Inger, seconded by Terri Frazier, it was voted 5-0 to approve policy I, Instruction, in form, for a second reading. Orleans— On a motion by David Abel, seconded by Josh Stewart, it was voted 5-0 to approve policy I, Instruction, in form, for a second reading. Region- On a motion by Sue Skidmore, seconded by Ed Brookshire, it was voted 8 yeas and 1 nay (Brian Kavanaugh)to approve policy I, Instruction, in form, for a second reading. Superintendent's Mid Cycle Review Various members of the Committee weighed in on the mid-cycle review noting that everything seems to be in process but some members could not make an assessment at this time Mr. Kavanaugh objected to the process and suggested that committee members concentrate of the Superintendent's performance not the schools. Members of the Committee would like to see the results of the parent survey to give an accurate assessment at this point. Ms. Cazeault indicated that she would like to see the results of the parent survey and the Superintendent's reflections on the results. The Tech Plan is incomplete at this time and only indicates that it is adaptable to the elementary schools. She stressed the need for measurability. Ms. Hill would like more detail about evidence and artifacts. Ms. Pontius suggested using coding sheets with some rational of what the evidence represents. Dr. Hoffmann thanked the Committee for their comments and noted in the final evaluation he will have electronic folders showing goals and evidence. Dr. Hoffmann indicated that he would like the Committee to be able to see the impact of his work. The parent survey will be back soon and results will be posted to the website and the School Committees will be notified. The School Committee and the Superintendent will review the results in detail at a future meeting. Central Office Budget Dr. Hoffmann explained the Cental Office budget and noted the very small staff that works long hours and handles a$44,500,000 budget. Eric Ehnstrom, Chair of the Central Office Budget Subcommittee reported that they met on December 1 7th and reviewed the first draft of the Central Office Budget at 3.05%. The Subcommittee asked that the Superintendent bring it in at 2.5%. On January 15th, Version 2 of the Central Office budget was reviewed and voted unanimously to recommend approval of Version 2. Mr. Ehnstrom noted the budget has one moving part, reserved for negotiations. Dr. Hoffmann explained that there is a line item in each budget called reserved for negotiations. He indicated that if negotiations come in higher than what is in the budget, other items will have to be reduced. Ms. Kalinick requested that if the number comes in lower than what is reserved,that it be returned to the School Committees. 3 I P a g e Joint Meeting,January 30,2014 A motion was made by Donna Kalinick and seconded by Dave Telman to approve Version 2 of the Central Office Budget in the amount of$1,539,865 with a proviso that any funds in the line reserved for negotiations not be expended but returned to the School Committee. Union 54 Vote— Brewster—3 yeas (David Telman, Donna Kalinick and Brenda Cazeault) Eastham—3 yeas (Ann Crozier, Joanne Irish, and Laura Freeman) Orleans—3 yeas (Josh Stewart, Eric Ehnstrom and Ed Rohmer) Wellfleet—3 yeas (Mort Inger, Terri Frazier, and Betsy Pontius) Region Vote— A motion was made by Ed Brookshire and seconded by Sue Skidmore to approve Version 2 of the Central Office Budget in the amount of$1,539,865 with a proviso that any funds in the line with reserved for negotiations not be expended but returned to the School Committee. The motion passed 7 yeas and 1 abstention(Brian Kavanaugh) Mr. Lewis left prior to the vote. Update on Preschool Dr. Ann Caretti gave a presentation on the status of the Preschool Program. Included in her report were enrollment figures, budget figures, calculations for each town,tuition balances, and projected balances. She recommended that the School Committees reduce the preschool budget by $40,000 which will give Preschool a beginning balance on July 1'2014 of$77,463. Questions regarding the calculations, percentages and use of revolving account funds were discussed. Dr. Carretti will get back to Eastham School Committee members on their percentage. Dr. Caretti indicated that she is not aware of any retirements at this time and does not have a letter indicating that from anyone. She also noted that monies saved from hiring new teachers will be apportioned as fair as possible and would be returned to the Preschool Program Revolving Fund. Dr. Caretti also indicated that the revolving account pays for equipment, extended day program, consultants, and additional staff when needed. Union 54 Vote On a motion by Mort Inger, seconded by Ann Crozier, it was voted unanimously to use $40,000 from the Preschool Revolving Fund for FY 15. Brewster—3 yeas (David Telman, Donna Kalinick and Brenda Cazeault) Eastham—3 yeas (Ann Crozier, Joanne Irish, and Laura Freeman) Orleans—2 yeas (Josh Stewart, Ed Rohmer and 1 abstention Eric Ehnstrom) Wellfleet—3 yeas (Mort Inger, Tern Frazier, and Betsy Pontius) Technology Update Assistant Superintendent, Keith Gauley briefly reviewed the Technology Plan with the Committees. Some of the highlights included 1-1 devices, instructional coaches, upgrading labs at high school, 4 Page Joint Meeting,January 30, 2014 • • Computer Science K-12, emerging technology and how the district can stay updated. Ann Crozier, Chair of Union 54, asked that an elementary representative should be on the Committee and asked that Union 54 members be emailed to see if there is an interest. Mr. Gauley noted that all of the elementary teachers had input into the plan and there was a forum for them to offer feedback before the first draft of the plan was sent out. He will address questions or concerns at individual School Committee meetings. School Calendar Assistant Superintendent, Keith Gauley, distributed and reviewed two drafts of the school calendar with the Committee. Draft A: Orientation for new staff scheduled the week before school opens, one professional day before the school starts, Opening day for ALL staff—Sept. 3`d, Opening Day for Students—September 4th, Additional PD days, October 10 and February 2nd. Thanksgiving week and Christmas week—schools open for two days each week, student year 180 days. Draft B: Orientation dates and opening day for staff and students remain the same, PD day on October 10th and a flexible PD day option for staff, student year 181 days. (extends student year but not teacher year) Discussion items included a year with no early dismissals to provide increased time for students in class and to minimize disruption for parents, desire to add a 4th PD day(teacher collaboration day which would need to occur before school starts) and the possibility of having this would be negotiated with the NEA. Parent-teacher conference would still need to be added into the final calendar and we are working on adjustment to this year's schedule to avoid conflicts. Options with November 24 and 25 as well as December 22 and 23 were mentioned as possible professional developments and or days off but time in class would be more beneficial for students. This time off would also extend the school calendar. Concerns regarding professional development, paying substitutes which has budgetary implications,and coordinating district wide initiatives were mentioned. Eliminating PD days before Thanksgiving was also mentioned. Dr. Hoffmann reported that other Districts on the Cape are closing school for two weeks during the holiday break. The 2014-15 school calendar will be on the March 27th agenda for further discussion and vote. Approval of Minutes On a motion by Dave Telman, seconded by Laura Freeman, it was voted unanimously to approve the minutes of October 24, 2013. (3 Abstaining: Ed Brookshire, Joanne Irish, and Brenda Cazeault) ! P a g e e Joint Meeting,January 30, 2014 Adjournment A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 9:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted: Ann M. Tefft Included in the packet: Superintendent's Mid Cycle Update on Goals and Professional Standards, Central Office Budget,Preschool Report, Technology Report, Policy Manual Update—Fundraising Policy and School Committee and Staff Communications Policy, Draft School Calendar, Minutes i.Yt. Wage Page Joint Meeting,January 30,2014