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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 03/02/2021Approved 03-16-21 / An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held virtually on Tuesday, March 2, 2b21 F The open meeting session was called to order by Kiera O'Neil at 5:33 pm. ;n "� Members Present: Administration Present: Kiera O'Neil Teresa Murphy, Superintendent of Schools Lynn Cavicchi Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent (Teaching/Learning) Lauren Scher Edward Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent (Finance/Operations) Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Jenn Walsh Linda Fernando Members Absent: None ***All votes taken by roll call vote *** Roll Call: Kiera O'Neil aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Jenn Walsh aye Linda Fernando aye Lauren Scher aye Kiera O'Neil asked for a motion to enter into Executive Session pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 30A, Section 21 for the Following Purpose: Under Exception No. 3. To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares. Motion to enter into executive session by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh Roll Call Vote Lynn Cavicchi aye Jenn Walsh aye Kiera O'Neil aye Linda Fernando aye Lauren Scher aye Motion Carries 5 - 0 School Committee returned to Open Session at 6:05 pm Public Speak: Public Speak is open for 15 minutes for anyone who has registered via GoToWebinar. None Communications: None Administrative Reports: Superintendent Teresa Murphy spoke on three items. Page 1 of 7 Approved 03-16-21 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar MHS has set tentative dates for their MCAS testing in May. Grade 11 during week 1 and grade 10 during week 2. Both A and B cohorts will come into the building for in person testing. On those days all other MHS non testing students will learn remotely. Schedules will be sent out to parents as soon as they are complete. CHAMPS summer programs will not run this summer. We are very disappointed about this decision but we feel it is important for the district focus on getting our students back in the building this fall. Our Summer CHAMPS is not gone for good and we look forward to inviting our staff, families and students back during the summer of 2022. It should be noted that we will be offering academic recovery programs to those students in need. More information to follow. Teresa is happy to announce a new book authored by Kindergarten teacher Donna DiCarlo and illustrated by Karen Connors a long time para-professional. The book, titled "Joe and Buddy" provides a history of Donna's grandfather who delivered milk in the North End. It was important to Donna to preserve his memories for future family generations. Karen provided fantastic illustrations to go along with the story. Congratulations to both! Approval of Warrant: Goods & Goods & Services Salary & Wages Services Salary & Wages 21031S 2021-16 21033S 2021-17 2-2-21 2-5-21 2-16-21 2-19-21 General Fund 204,644.87 1,551,553.49 574,374.07 1,553,908.86 CARES - - - Medicare - 2,323.69 - 2,323.69 Capital 8,134.58 - 528.00 - Revolving 4,933.94 52,106.94 3,069.29 52,276.01 Food Service 20,409.45 20,551.39 23,047.67 19,815.35 Gifts 4,200.00 - 7,817.70 - Student Activity - - 6,919.48 - Grants 10,744.75 82,492.03 1,133.88 83,317.40 Prior Year - - - - $ 253,067.59 $ 1,709,027.54 $ 616,890.09 $ 1,711,641.31 Motion to approve Warrant memo dated 02-23-21 by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh Roll Call Vote: Lynn Cavicchi aye Jenn Walsh aye Kiera O'Neil aye Linda Fernando aye Lauren Scher aye Motion Passes: 5-0 Page 2 of 7 Approved 03-16-21 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Approval of Minutes: Date 1st 2nd Discuss Vote Roll call Order Y N Open Meeting 02-09-21 LF JW N 5-0 Lauren S. Linda F. Kiera 0. Jenn W. Lynn C. Open Meeting 02-18-21 JW LS N 5-0 Lynn C. Jean W. Kiera 0. Linda F. Lauren S. Exec Session 02-18-21 JW LS N 5-0 Lauren S. Linda F. Kiera 0. Jenn W. Lynn C. Gifts: Superintendent Murphy announced a gift over 2000 masks donated by TJ Maxx in Easton. Due to the high volume of items, we shared with the Council on Aging, West Side Benevolent, New Hope, and St Marys. In addition we provided a mask to all Robinson and Roland Green students and staff. Remaining masks were made available to all staff. We are very grateful to their generosity. Old Business: Committee Updates: Facilities: Met last week. One custodian has resigned but we have already found a replacement. Matt Jacques will provide a facilities update later in this meeting. Budget: Met with the Town wide group to discuss next steps. There is a lot in motion right now as we wait for state and federal funding. The group also looked at COVID expenses and how much is needed to move forward next year. Upcoming meetings will be held in March and April. New Business: Facilities Quarterly Update: Facilities Director Matt Jacques provided an update on our projects completed since last spring including: MHS electrical project, refurbished bathroom floors at JJ and MHS, replacement of exterior doors, refurbished the Robinson Gym Floor, Moved 33 moving trucks of furniture out of our classrooms into a storage facility, purchase of PPE, Designed and built sanitizer "stoppers" to provide measured output each use, converted 12 bubblers to fill stations which completes the district conversion, many painting projects, floor waxing, completion of HVAC control project which was very beneficial in our back to school ventilation requirements.), new signage, removal of an old oil storage tank at JJ, worked with IT to develop a help ticket system for work orders, over 200 windows fixed at JJ and Robinson. Chair O'Neil thanked Matt for all the efforts by his department. We couldn't have returned to school without their efforts. The outward appearance and cleanliness is much appreciated. Vice Chair Cavicchi noted that it is reassuring to know that while juggling Page 3 of 7 Approved 03-16-21 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar COVID, we are still working on basic district needs. Lynn asked about the new CDC guidance on ventilation. Matt noted that with our new HVAC control system we are always bringing in fresh air to our buildings. We will review the latest guidelines but are confident that we will be all set. FY22 Budget and C[P Update (taken out of order); Matt Jacques reviewed the FY22 Capital requests that were put forward to the town. (Plow truck replacement, SPED mini bus (2), District Univentilator Replacements, Lighting Upgrades, District paving and concrete). Questions / Answers: Can use any of our COVID money towards these efforts? In the past no; however, with new funds that become available there may be more leverage on how we use the money. Ed also noted that there is Esser funds that we can use for capital. We will continue to review the best place to allocate that money during the budget process. Are there any big summer projects this year? The biggest effort will be the security check -in stations at each school. What is the status of the Robinson Roof? The audit showed that we have 5 - 7 years of life remaining which is more than we anticipated. It was a very thorough audit so we have a really good idea of the scope of the entire project. Due to the life expectancy we will not be able apply for state reimbursements yet but will when the time comes. The FY22 Budget remains limbo while we wait to see what we will receive for state and federal funding. However, we expect that we should be able to work towards a favorable budget. Consideration of Policy: Code Title Action Motion 1 Motion 1 2 Disc Y N Vote Order Promotion and Remove LS JW N 5-0 Lauren S. Retention of Students QMS Linda F. IKE language Kiera 0. and move Jean W. to Lynn C. handbooks Discussion: QMS Principal McGovern proposed a change to the promotion/retention language in the handbook. This language also resides in policy. It was determined to remove the language from policy and keep it in school handbooks. The new proposal expands summer school opportunities. Lynn Cavicchi asked when QMS would consider retention over summer school. Principal David McGovern noted that there are no surprises to parents. The school communicates continually throughout the year if there are any concerns. Retention is reserved for rare cases with a conversation between administration, guidance, parent/guardian and student. Motion to approve change to the 2020-21 QMS handbook for retention and summer school by Lauren Scher / Jenn Walsh Page 4 of 7 Approved 03-16-21 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Discussion: This approval is for this year only. Principal McGovern will bring language in front of school council as a permanent change and will revisit with the committee during handbook approvals in the spring. Roll Call Vote: Lauren Scher aye Linda Fernando aye Kiera O'Neil aye Jenn Walsh aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Motion Passes: 5 - 0 Return to School Update Assistant Principal Connolly reported that we have had 2 successful days of the return of our kindergarten students. We are very excited to have our full roster of kindergarten students in the building. Special thanks to our staff, teachers and faculty at Robinson, our administrators, health services, transportation staff and facilities staff for their efforts. We will continue to monitor over the next couple of days and weeks to determine the next group to return. Items to watch are weekly Robinson cases, community cases, and quarantine numbers as we move closer than 6 feet. Robinson students who are out on quarantine will receive support from an additional teacher dedicated to assisting students out of the building. It should be noted that DESE has announced plans to bring more students back to full in person learning. We are awaiting guidance. However, we do understand that when this is announced, the commissioner will have authority to dictate when and if hybrid and remote learning can count toward student learning time. Families will have the option to stay remote if they choose. Director of Health Services, Christine Dooling spoke about Pool Testing (see presentation.) Ms Dooling reviewed the background and testing protocols of pool testing including needed staff, testing timelines and resulting actions of positive and negative tests. She then reviewed advantages and disadvantages noting that for a district of our size and the known number of COVID cases there is limited benefit. This is really geared toward larger districts with high rates of COVID in -school transmission. Chair O'Neil asked Christine to discuss the advantages again. Kiera does not have confidence that this is how we bring schools back as there does not appear to be significant advantages. She did note that perhaps it would make people feel more comfortable. Christine agreed that building confidence is important but pool testing will not be the best way to do so. Unless we have a majority of staff and students participate it is not helpful. Statistics across MA show low parent opt - in rates. Vice Chair Cavicchi asked how the number of quarantines will be impacted once we go less than 6 feet. Per Christine it is too early to tell but the district feels confident that at 3 feet testing for close contacts will still be mostly negative. Lauren Scher asked how long it takes to get the Pool Testing program up and running and how much staffing is needed. It will take at least 2 - 3 weeks before actual testing can start. We still need to determine staffing but there is the health component, clerical work and staff involvement. Page 5 of 7 Approved 03-16-21 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Both Kiera and Jenn Walsh are not particularly in favor but would support it if there was overwhelming evidence that it could get our kids back to school faster. However, the addition of vaccines, reduced rates and warmer weather seems to be enough to get us going. Superintendent Murphy concluded by saying the district would not put this effort forward for discussion. However, if anything changes we will revisit. Consideration of Job Description changes: Motion to approve modifications to Bookkeeper I and Payroll Assistant by Lauren Scher / Jenn Walsh Discussion: These positions were last updated in the early 1990s. Roll Call Vote: Lauren Scher aye Linda Fernando aye Kiera O'Neil aye Jenn Walsh aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Motion Passes: 5 - 0 Motion to approve a new job description of Technology Technician Level 11 by Lauren Scher / Jenn Walsh Discussion: This new position will allow the technology department to realign a technology technician to someone who can provide both network support and technology guidance on more complex help desk ticket items. One edit recommended on the supervisory portion to indicate "may provide supervision as needed" Roll Call Vote: Lynn Cavicchi aye Jenn Walsh aye Kiera O'Neil aye Linda Fernando aye Lauren Scher aye Motion Passes: 5 - 0 Consideration School Choice for 2021-2022: Annually School Committee must consider plans for school choice in the upcoming year. Assistant Superintendent Donoghue recommended that next year is probably not a good time to introduce school choice to our district. We face many challenges ahead to bring our students back to school and there are too many unknowns. However with shrinking enrollment we need to look ahead to upcoming years. Both Teresa Murphy and Lynn Cavicchi (as part of the Budget Subcommittee) expressed agreement. Motion to NOT implement School Choice for 2021-22 by Lauren Scher / Jenn Walsh Page 6 of 7 Approved 05-16-21 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, March 2, 2021 Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Roll Call Vote: Lauren Scher aye Linda Fernando aye Kiera O'Neil aye Jenn Walsh aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Motion Passes: 5 - 0 School Committee Business: A workshop should be setup to discuss district improvement plans. Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting: John Nieratko, Principal of Jordan/Jackson has brought forward a change to the second term report card. There are a few items that will be shaded because teachers have not had the opportunity to fully explore those content areas. Students will be graded at the end of the third term. The School Committee verbally approved but will not vote. Superintendent Murphy has the ability to authorize this under the Emergency Covid Policy EBC-S. Documents Referenced: J/J Report Card sample FY22 Capital Requests Motion to adjourn: At 7:44 p.m., Motion to adjourn the open meeting by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher Roll Call vote: Lynn Cavicchi aye Jenn Walsh aye Kiera O'Neil aye Linda Fernando aye Lauren Scher aye Motion Carries 5 - 0 Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Secretary to the Superintendent & School Committee Page 7 of 7