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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 09/12/2023Approved 09-26-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, September 12, 2023 In Person& Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar RECEIVED TOWN CLERKS OFFICE An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in person and vi aV Py VeF3ay2: 3b September 12, 2023. The open meeting session was called to order by Vice Chair Jenn Walsh at 6:31 p.m. H ANSFIELD IASSACHUSETTS Members Present: Administration Present: Jenn Walsh (Vice Chair) Teresa Murphy, Superintendent Steve Schoonveld (at 7:38 pm) Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent (Teaching/Learning) Jenifer Sellon Ed Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent (Finance/Operations) Vivian Webster Members Absent: Lynn Cavicchi (Chair) Public Speak: None Communications: None Administrative Reports: Superintendent Teresa Murphy announced that the start of school was very successful despite the heat and humidity which was extremely challenging for our staff and students. Our open house was well attended, bus arrivals were smooth and student routines such as breakfasts and gathering by grade or teacher were as if the students had not left for the summer. J/J added another lunch and recess block reducing the number of students in the cafeteria atone time. We welcomed 9 students recently placed in the Envision Hotel and Red Roof Inn. We believe this will be all of the newcomer families for now but anticipate further newcomer placements in hotels as the year progresses. On Monday, with the extreme rains during the weekend, Robinson had an issue with one of the roof drains which backed up causing 2 classrooms to get wet. Our district worked quickly to relocate classrooms so that students could start their day. Facilities is addressing the situation and we anticipate the classrooms to be back to normal on Wednesday. Jen Sellon asked if the cost to fix would be significant. Ed Donoghue reported that it is a minor, inexpensive repair. On Thursday, Teresa will hold a "State of the Schools" Address which will be a virtual presentation with the opportunity for parents to make comments at the end. Assistant Superintendent Michael Connolly reported that Mansfield has been selected by DESE for a comprehensive audit during this school year. We were notified in late June; we appealed for a waiver since we are in a NEASC review at the high school, but the appeal was denied. The goal of DESE's review is to provide our district with feedback on our systems, policies, procedures and our equity practices while focusing on 6 areas: leadership/governance; finance/asset management; human resources/professional development; curriculum/instruction; assessments; superintendent support. DESE is working with a vendor who will come to our districts for observations, interviews and focus groups during the week of October 16th. Vivian asked if we know if other districts were chosen. Mr. Connolly reported that Taunton was selected. Assistant Superintendent Edward Donoghue reported that we had a good transportation start to the school year. The district moved the registration deadline to earlier in the summer allowing us Page t of 6 Approved 09-26-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, September 12, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar more time to prepare routes. Most families were responsive but we will always have some last- minute registrations. For these, we try to get students on a bus as soon as possible but we do need time to evaluate the routes and modify stops as necessary. As a district we transport approximately 2400 students using 29 buses. The state has announced that free lunches are now a permanent fixture for MA schools. Our district has shown a 50 - 60% participation rate which is much higher than pre-covid. Both lunch and breakfast options are available. Ed also noted his appreciation for the kitchen staff working in extremely hot conditions during the first week of school. Approval of Warrants: Salary & Goods & Salary & Goods & Goods & Salary & Wages Services Wages Services Services Wages 2023-25 230050S 2023-26 23053S 23055S 2023 6.9-23 6-13-23 6-23-23 6-27-23 6-30-23 7-7-23 General Fund 2,494,189.22 704,218.76 1,461,558.16 431,992.07 1,124,976.47 1,299,864.38 Medicare 2,465.60 - - - Capital - 31,020.45 - 230,343.93 52,160.00 - Revolving 39,340.49 203,291.46 41,078.12 1,879.27 163,144.50 43,099.19 Food Service 29,463.52 56,109.35 29,638.54 40,126.29 23,253.27 13,630.91 Gifts - 1,140.72 - 4,199.39 3,790.49 - Student Activity - 17,022.24 - 61,072.38 45,539.02 26.00 Grants 103,881.86 10,484.00 40,815.59 14,389.82 24,166.35 41,956.06 Prior Year - 12,500.00 - 223.33 91,230.00 - 2,669,340.69 1,035,786.98 1,573,090.41 784,226.48 1,528,260.10 1,398,576.64 Motion to approve the warrant memo dated 07-13-23 by Jenifer Sellon / Vivian Webster Motion Carries 3-0 Salary & Goods & Salary & Goods & Wages Services Wages Services 2024-1 24002S 2024-2 24004S Page 2 of 6 Approved 09-26-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, September 12, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar 7-7-23 7-11-23 7-21-23 7-25-23 General Fund 153,496.82 291,581.79 277,664.38 336.889.20 Medicare 2,539.20 - 2,539.20 - Capital - - - 3,930.00 Revolving 5,638.85 - 56,041.42 2,896.84 Food Service 3,727.62 - 6,976.34 12,231.46 Gifts - - - - Student Activity - - - - Granls - - 29,654.21 9,616.00 Prior Year - - 1,094,193.46 84,781.31 165,402.49 291,581.79 1,467,069.01 450,244.80 Motion to approve the warrant memo dated 08-24-23 by Jenifer Sellon / Vivian Webster Motion Carries 3-0 Approval of Minutes: Date 1st 2nd Discuss Vote Roll Call /comments Y N Open Meeting 06-06-23 Jenifer Vivian N 3-0 Sellon Webster Open Meeting 06-13-23 Jenifer Vivian N 3-0 Sellon Webster Open Meeting 07-18-23 Jenifer Vivian N 3-0 Sellon Webster Gifts: None Old Business: Budget Subcommittee: Met last week and discussed subcommittee guidelines & expectations; budget timeline. Meet with the town budget subcommittee this week and will continue budget discussions at the next meeting. New Business: Consideration of Field Trips- MHS Marching Band to MetLife Stadium: Band Director Justin DeJoy presented this upcoming trip which will take place in November. This is a performance opportunity for our honors band students whose show will be critiqued and feedback will be provided. The students also have the opportunity to see other high school performances. This trip is very similar to last year except it will be just one overnight. Justin reviewed the itinerary and costs. Motion to approve MHS Marching Band field trip by Jenifer Selon and Vivian Webster. Page 3 of 6 Approved 09-26-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, September 12, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Motion Carries 3-0 Consideration of SRO MOU• This MOD is based on a template developed by the state as part of the police reform bills. Chief Ron Sellon and Superintendent Teresa Murphy worked together to make minor tweaks that support our needs. Ms. Murphy noted that when we complete an annual evaluation, we are evaluating the SRO program not the individual SROs. We are very blessed to have Detectives Derek McCune and Ken Wright as our SROs. As part of the evaluation, Police and School departments had set goals of revising the Crisis Manual (complete) and developing/completing lock down drills which had gone by the wayside during COVID (complete). Teresa provided various examples. Their scope extends from daily efforts in the school to attendance at major school events to participation in various school activities including being part of the J/J musical! The salaries are split between the school and town. She noted that MASC likes to see school committees have the opportunity to approve the MOUs. Vivian Webster likes that Teresa referred to police reform. Our SROs are very approachable for our families. Jenn Walsh noted that we are so lucky to have this partnership. Kenny and Derek love their jobs and the kids love them. Jenifer Sellon noted that it is an amazing program and she is so thankful for what the SROs have done for our families. Motion to approve the 2023-24 SRO Memorandum of Understanding by Jenifer Selon and Vivian Webster. Motion Carries 3-0 Update on End of Year FY23 Financials: Assistant Superintendent Donoghue reviewed a spreadsheet showing the Budget, expenditures and remaining balances on each of our cost centers. He noted those areas where we overspent including the Central Office budget due to the Bristol Aggie assessment for their new building; Facilities due to high heating costs last year; special education due to us pre -paying for some of next year's tuition; and technology mostly due to costs associated with improving our cyber security. Overall, we did not over spend our budget and were able to return approximately $620,000 back to the town as free cash. Update on Revolving Account Balances: Assistant Superintendent Donoghue reviewed a spreadsheet (revised from original packet) showing beginning and ending balances for each of our revolving accounts. He noted that some balances are higher than they should be, but that districts are still struggling to rebalance after COVID. For example, our food services balance is high due to the time out of school. The district is spending down this balance by purchasing new equipment such as a freezer, walk in fridge and dishwasher. Teresa asked if Ed would explain why we try to spend these funds rather than save. Ed noted that there are state laws which guide us on balance amounts. Right now the state is not coming down hard on districts as we return from covid years. End of Year Evaluation of Superintendent Teresa Murphy: Vice Chair Jenn Walsh made a brief statement about the importance of the committees' commitment to participating in the annual evaluation. Comments are not included in the evaluation because they were provided by only 2 of the 5 members. Page 4 of 6 Approved 09-26-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, September 12, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Ms. Walsh provided an overall update stating that the committee marked Superintendent Murphy with an overall rating of Proficient noting that she met the District Improvement goal (revising the crisis manual); made some progress toward her professional goal (completing her doctoral dissertation) and some progress toward her student learning goal (participating in the town -wide Diversity Equity and Inclusion committee) noting that the town had just started running sessions so there was no opportunity for Teresa to meet this goal. The composite evaluation and individual assessments are all available as public record. At this point Steve Schoonveld arrived remotely at the meeting. All votes will be roll call going forward. Vice Chair Walsh asked for a motion to enter executive session Under Exception No.2: To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel (Superintendent Murphy) 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 (Food Services Bargaining Unit) Upon completion of this session will return to open session. Motion to adjourn to executive session for the reasons stated above by Jenifer Sellon and Vivian Webster. Roll call vote: Steve Schoonveld aye Vivian Webster aye Jenn Walsh aye Jenifer Sellon aye Motion Carries 4 - 0 Consideration of Superintendent Murphy Contract., The committee returned from Executive Session at 8:36 pm. Jenn Walsh announced the terms of the new contract and asked for a motion to approve Superintendent Murphy's new contract of a 3.31% increase, a salary for 2023-24 of $212,000 with payments retroactive back to July 1, 2023. Contract is extended to June 30, 2027. Motion to approve Teresa Murphy's new contract as stated above by Jennifer Sellon / Vivian Webster. Discussion: Steve Schoonveld noted that he is not typically in favor of extending a contract out by one year based on his past experience with Town of Mansfield contracts; however, he is willing to do so for Superintendent Murphy based on the wording of the contract. Roll call vote: Steve Schoonveld aye Vivian Webster aye Jenn Walsh aye Page 5 of 6 Approved 09-26-23 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, September 12, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Jenifer Sellon aye Motion Carries 4 - 0 School Committee Business: Vivian Webster asked if there was any update on this year's MHS Student Advisory Committee. Diane Nugent noted that the students have been elected and names were posted to the web page. A list will be emailed to the committee. The students will be introduced at the next meeting. She also asked if there is any schedule for the Wellness committee. Superintendent Murphy will research. Steve Schoonveld noted that there were no CIP meeting dates listed. The town has not scheduled yet but once they do, the meetings will be added. Teresa and Ed will meet with Kevin Dumas and Barry LaCasse for an initial review of CIP items. Steve noted that we will need to do much more detailed review of the educational space study. Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meetingi None Documents Referenced: Meeting Minutes Warrant Memos Metlife Field Trip SRO MOU FY23 Year End Financial Update Current Revolving Fund Balances 2022-23 Superintendent Contract Motion to adjourn: At 8:50 p.m., Jenn Walsh asked for a motion to adjourn. Motion made by by Jenifer Sellon and Vivian Webster. Roll Call Vote: Jenifer Sellon aye Jenn Walsh aye Vivian Webster aye Steve Schoonveld aye Motion carries 4-0 Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent & School Committee Page 6 of 6