HomeMy Public PortalAboutBrewster School Committee -- 2017-06-14 Minutes Nauset Regional School Committee
June 14 2017
Brewster Town Hall
Present for the Committee : Chris Easely, Jim O ' Leary, John O ' Reilly, Ed Brookshire, Sarah
Blackwell, Robert Sinclair, Sally Probolus, Deb Beal and Judy Schumacher
Student Representative : Michael Sanborn
Absent for the Committee : Tracy Vanderschmidt
Present for the Administration : Thomas Conrad and Ed MacDonald
Others : Amy Roberts, Neal Milan
Call to Order
The Superintendent called the meeting to order at 6 : 00 p .m. and asked for nominations for the
position of Chair of the Regional School Committee . Sarah Blackwell made a motion that was
seconded by Jim O ' Leary to nominate Chris Easely as Chair . Robert Sinclair made a motion that
was seconded by Judy Schumacher to nominate Deb Beal as Chair. Ed Brookshire made a
motion to close nominations that was seconded by Deb Beal . In a majority vote of 5 yeas, Chris
Easely became the Chair of the Nauset Regional School Committee . Deb Beal received 4 votes .
Chris Easely took nominations for Vice Chair. Deb Beal made a motion that was seconded by
Judy Schumacher to nominate Bob Sinclair. John O ' Reilly made a motion that was seconded by
Sarah Blackwell to nominate Jim O ' Leary. In a majority vote of 5 yeas , Jim O ' Leary became the
Vice Chair of the Nauset Regional School Committee . Robert Sinclair received 4 votes .
Other positions were filled as follows :
Ann Tefft, Secretary
Bill Dugan, Treasurer
Asst. Treasurer : John O ' Reilly and Jim O ' Leary
Payroll Authorizers — Sarah Blackwell, Deb Beal, Tracy Vanderschmidt Alternate : John
O ' Reilly
Policy Subcommittee — Sarah Blackwell and Judy Schumacher
Budget & Finance Subcommittee : Chris Easely, Ed Brookshire, Judy Schumacher and Jim
O ' Leary
Capital Asset Subcommittee : John O ' Reilly, Chris Easely, Deb Beal, Jim O ' Leary
CO Budget Subcommittee : John O ' Reilly, Ed Brookshire
Health and Wellness Subcommittee : Sarah Blackwell
Negotiations : Robert Sinclair
T-ransportation-Subcommittee.arah-Blackwell—, Sally-Probolus-d-Brookshir n
Substance Abuse Task Force : Tracy Vanderschmidt
Cape Cod Collaborative — hold until next meeting
MS Council : Deb Beal and Tracy Vanderschmidt
Nauset Regional School Committee , June 14, 2017 1 P a g e
HS Council : Robert Sinclair and Sarah Blackwell
Negotiate Tuition Agreements, Provincetown and Truro : John O ' Reilly and Jim O ' Leary
Renewable Energy : Deb Beal, Sarah Blackwell
International Student Committee — Robert Sinclair and Deb Beal
Evaluation and Student Learning Subcommittee : Robert Sinclair and Deb Beal
Seminar Subcommittee : Robert Sinclair, Deb Beal and Judy Schumacher
Agenda Changes — none
Citizens Speak-none
Parents , students and citizens were extended an invitation to participate in the Open Meetings ,
Community Development Partnership
Andrea Aldana, from the Community Development Partnership , updated the committee on the
Orleans Winter Farmers ' Market that was held at the Nauset Middle School . She is working on
updating data this summer and will provide the committee with a report . It was jointly decided
that the Orleans ' Farmers Market will take over the winter market in the future . She thanked the
Nauset Regional Middle School for providing such a great community setting . She also thanked
the Nauset Greenhouse for all their efforts as well as Dr. Maxine Minkoff for her support.
Student Representative Report
Michael Sanborn reported that there are very few weeks remaining in the school year and the last
day of finals is June 21St . In May, the drama production, "High School Musical , " was a huge
success . The Fine and Applied Arts Night was very impressive . Awards nights have been held
for student athletes . Scholarship Night was held as well . In Nauset sports , the Girls ' Tennis
Team was in the Semi-Finals and was victorious . The Girls ' Golf Team has a 9- 3 record.
Nauset Track was in the NCC State Tournament . He also reported that Step-Up Day is June 21St.
The Seniors graduate on Saturday, June 91h
IB Presentation
Dr. Amy Roberts reviewed the history of the IB application and updated the committee on the
present status of said application. Included in the packets was the consultant report. Dr. Roberts
indicated the High School is well-prepared for implementation. The only area that needs support
is the Library and that is being addressed . Asst. Superintendent Gauley indicated that the High
School staff has been working on this on the PD and Collaboration days . On October 19 and 20
representatives from the IB Programme will visit the High School . Grade 9 students will be the
first class that will be offered IB . Dr. Amy Roberts and her team were thanked for doing such a
tremendous job .
Chair Easely took a moment to thank John O ' Reilly for his service as Chair of the Regional
School Committee for the past 6 years . He has served the district well for a long time .
Nauset Regional School Committee , June 14, 2017 2 1 P a g e
Administrators ' Retorts
Principal MacDonald ' s report was included in the packet. Principal MacDonald and Neal
Milan, Nauset High School Council, presented some research being done on the attendance
policy at Nauset High School . It was indicated that the state requires 95 % attendance and Nauset
falls below at 92- 93 % . They looked into reasons why. They met with teachers to talk about
strategies and brought this to the school council . They cleaned up language as to what is and
what is not an excused absent and added a preamble about the importance of education in the
plan. Going forward there will be an item on attendance in the School Improvement Plan. They
will have a marketing campaign to raise awareness of the importance of attendance, with the
thinking being, if you improve student attendance, you will improve student achievement.
Principal Minkoff s report was included in the packet. If members have questions, they were
encouraged to email Principal Minkof ..
Mr. Gauley ' s report was included in the packet. If members have questions , they were
encouraged to email Mr . Gauley .
Superintendent Conrad reported the Mr. Gauley is off Cape and Ms . Venditti has jury duty .
Dr. Minkoff had an award ' s program so she could not be in attendance.
The Superintendent shared good news about the Cape Light Compact Municipal Program that
could save the district $ 31 , 643 and will cost the district nothing . Bob Lewis and Principal
MacDonald are working with the Cape Cod Light Compact to re-lamp the entire campus from
fluorescent to LED lighting . This project will commence in the summer . He congratulated the
High School on a great graduation . He also congratulated the Middle School on their concerts .
He updated the Committee on work he is doing with MIT . Nauset has been invited into the MIT
summer program where students will be dealing with building autonomous cars . The
Superintendent is reaching out to elementary teachers as this will be a system-wide initiative .
FY17 Budget Review
The Superintendent indicated that the Dashboard was reviewed in the subcommittee . If you have
any questions, email Giovanna Venditti ,
The Superintendent distributed a document about what is happening relative to Charter School
reimbursements . This could be discussed at a future meeting.
Cafeteria Revolving Account Comparisons
A comparison with prior years of the Cafeteria Revolving Fund was included in the packet. The
Superintendent indicated that the Food Service Department is making good progress .
Gifts and Grants
On a motion by James O ' Leary, seconded by John O ' Reilly, it was voted unanimously to accept
the gifts and grants as presented .
Nauset Regional School Committee, June 14, 2017 3 P a g e
HS Project Update
The Superintendent reported that the Region is heading toward Modular 1 . The four towns have
approved the $ 1 . 3 million borrowing for the Region to move forward with the feasibility study.
As of June 1St the Region will enter into work for planning for MSBA . He indicated the work
that is being done through the Capital Asset Subcommittee is looking at the composition of the
building committee who will work on this project for 3 - 5 years . The MSBA suggested a
committee of 12- 13 which is in line with what the Capital Asset Subcommittee was thinking .
The final list must be submitted to the MSBA by July 31St. This could be 5 years of work and the
building committee may meet almost weekly .
MASC/MASS Joint Conference
The Superintendent asked if members wished to attend the November conference . John
O ' Reilly, Chris Easely, Judy Schumacher and Tracy Vanderschmidt would like to attend .
Summer Retreat Date
A lengthy discussion took place relative to the agenda of the summer meeting and the wording of
the agenda item . The Superintendent distributed, Nauset Public Schools, Section B , "Board
Governance and Operations, " to members for their review.
The Superintendent indicated that part of the process of the High School remodel is to determine
the makeup of the remodel . At town meetings , some citizens in our communities suggested the
Region look at the number of school choice students and at our population . He felt this could be
a topic of discussion to review at a summer workshop meeting . He indicated that part of
Modular 1 for the High School renovation project is to have an enrollment configuration report .
He indicated that this is a big issue because the MSBA wants certified enrollment numbers for
this project. MSBA wants Nauset to decide now about the configuration going forward . The
Superintendent indicated that it is not just enrollment that needs to be discussed but the program
as well . He indicated that the program determines the size of enrollment and staff. He does not
recommend downsizing and considering only Region students . There would be only 695
students and that would have a huge impact on the program.
The Superintendent indicated that the Administrators and Teachers brought forward the
educational needs of the school . This will be developed further in this process . It will be a
lengthy report and this board will review it . He suggested that the school committee review the
Program of Studies that is on the Nauset High School website .
The Superintendent reviewed the MSBA timeline with the committee .
It was suggested that the group come to the July meeting and articulate in more detail what it is
that needs to be done, then a special meeting can be scheduled . Jim O ' Leary, Deb Beal and John
O ' Reilly volunteered to meet and work on a document to bring to the entire committee in July .
The Meeting date was set for July 13th
Nauset Regional School Committee, June 14, 2017 4 P a g e
Reports and Information
Policy Subcommittee — No report.
Transportation Subcommittee — No report — meeting in June .
Cape Cod Collaborative — No report .
Budget and Finance Subcommittee — Chris Easely indicated that the Dashboard was reviewed
and there were no major changes . Bill Dugan submitted a report on OPEB to the subcommittee
and they will share it with everyone . There was a question about future meetings and
consolidation of dates .
Capital Asset Subcommittee — Chris Easely reported that the subcommittee had a discussion
on who might be on the building committee . The subcommittee will make recommendations
to the full committee . The subcommittee also talked about maintenance projects this year .
Substance Abuse Subcommittee — No report .
Renewable Energy — No report .
International Student Subcommittee — Superintendent Conrad reported on the space that is
being developed at the High School . The Committee called for three faculty members and
three administrators to work on the project . The committee is looking at how they will roll this
out for the opening of this center . They also received a donation for the project.
Future agenda Items : Re- address subcommittee assignments, limit subcommittee membership
to maximum of four, Attendance Policy, Charter School Funding
Executive Session —
On a motion by John O ' Reilly, seconded by Deb Beal, it was voted by roll call to go into
Executive Session to discuss contract negotiations with union and non-union personnel in
which having a discussion in open session may have a detrimental effect on its bargaining
position. The committee will come out of Executive Session and ratify the agreements in open
session. Roll call : Chris Easely-yea, Jim O ' Leary- yea, John O ' Reilly- yea, Ed Brookshire-
yea, Sarah Blackwell -yea, Robert Sinclair- yea, Sally Probolus - yea, Deb Beal - yea and Judy
Schumacher-yea
The Committee went into Executive Session at 9 : 10 p . m .
The Committee came out of Executive Session at 9 : 30 p .m.
Motion :
Ongmotion-by JohnWReilly, seconded-by4im O Leary itwas-voted-unanrmousiy—, to-ratify
the four votes that were taken in Executive Session for the Teachers , Educational Assistants ,
Secretarial and Superintendent ' s contracts .
Nauset Regional School Committee, June 14, 2017 5 P a g e
Approval of Minutes
Motion:
On a motion by Deb Beal , seconded by John O ' Reilly, it was voted unanimously to approve
the minutes of May 11 , 2017 as written . (Abstention : Robert Sinclair and Ed Brookshire)
Mr. Sinclair stated that it is difficult to capture the nature of comments and that minutes should
not be verbatim . Roberts Rules has general guidelines for minutes and contents . If members
want to hear what they said on a given topic they can review the video . He suggested the
committee have the secretary address what is done by the committee rather than what is said .
He also commented that in the role of the Chair, you give up the ability to participate in
discussion. He suggested Roberts Rules be reviewed .
Adjournment
On a motion by John O ' Reilly, seconded by Deb Beal , it was voted unanimously to adjourn the
meeting at 9 : 41 p .m .
Respectfully submitted,
-ftM . T fft
Included in the packet : Administrators ' reports, IB consultant report. Dashboard, Grants and
Gifts, and minutes . Distributed at the meeting : Section B of the Nauset Policy Manual and
Charter School Reimbursement document .
Nauset Regional School Committee, June 14, 2017 6 P a g e