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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