Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 01/09/2024Approved 02-06-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 09, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in person and virtually on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. The open meeting session was called to order by Chair Lynn Cavicchi at 6:01 p.m. Members Present: Administration Present: Lynn Cavicchi (Chair) Teresa Murphy, Superintendent Jenn Walsh (Vice Chair) Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent (Teaching/Learning) Steve Schoonveld Ed Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent (Finance/Operations) Jenifer Sellon Members Absent: Vivian Webster Chair Lynn Cavicchi called for a motion enter into Executive Session 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 to discuss the MEA contract. Motion to enter into executive session by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon at 6:03 n. -4 (D Roll Call Vote: Steve Schoonveld aye cn 7 '^ Lynn Cavicchi aye co r— rrl c Jenn Walsh aye � cn J � rn Jenifer Sellon aye D U m Motion Carries 4- 0 r— o 0 jo -n -n The committee returned to Open Session at 6:51 p.m.00 cn c� rn Public Speak: None Administrative Reports: Superintendent Teresa Murphy announced that Jim Leonard, Director of Special Education will retire on August 1, 2024. During his tenure he has built great relationships internally and with our families and out -of -district schools. He oversees special education, McKenney Vento, Foster care as well as other student services. He was one of the district leadership members who worked throughout COVID and is currently overseeing the new IEP process. Roland Green has advertised several parent coaching sessions. She also introduced Kristina Delaplain who is the Interim director of Roland Green. Our Human Resources department recognized by the MIAA Health Insurance Group for their efforts in administering health awareness. Congratulations to Jocelyn LeMaire, Amy Donnelly and Stephanie Kierys. We have been notified that our newcomer families will be relocated to a hotel in Stoughton. As these families fall wider McKenney Vento, we must offer these families the option to continue school in Mansfield. We will follow up once we have an idea how many students will transfer and how many will be transported back here. Page 1 of 7 Approved 02-06-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 09, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Assistant Superintendent Michael Connolly provided an update on the next phase of the Student Opportunity Act. This was initiated in 2019 by DESE to close achievement gaps. We are currently well on our way to completing our three-year plan. By 4/1/23 we must submit our plans for the next three years. In preparing for this, we are identifying the greatest gaps, using DESE templates, and devising action steps. We need to engage all stakeholders and are currently working on ways to do this which will include PAC, MESA, School Councils, etc. We intend to bring this to school committee for a vote on 3/12/24. High School Representative Report: Andrew Fleishmann and C.J. Moussette updated the committee on the recent food drive (86 lbs. of food), the new ID policy which is slowly being accepted by students, and spirit week. In athletics, winter sports are well under way. The first semester ends on January 26th. The High School Quiz Show team has its first competition of the year. Winter Percussion competitions start soon. Approval of Warrant: Salary & Goods & Salary & Goods & Wages Services Wages Services 2024-10 24020S 2024-11 24022S 11.10-23 11-14-23 11-24-23 11-28.23 General Fund 1,730,862.70 253,859.33 1,745,483.64 218,211.60 Medicare 2,539.20 - 2,539.20 - Capital - 79,995.00 - 77,416.00 Revolving 83,632.55 4,768.94 70,999.00 195.25 Food Service 37,290.31 38,272.94 33,907.47 39,843.46 Gifts - 1,735.86 - - Student Activity - 942.00 - 9,951.88 Grants 76,571.90 27,319.82 79,307.56 25,007.00 Prior Year - - - - 1,930,896.66 406,893.89 1,932,236.87 370,625.19 Motion to approve the warrant memo dated 12-7-23 by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Motion carries 4 - 0 Approval of Minutes: Date 1st 2nd Discuss Y N Vote Roll Call Open Meeting 12-05-23 JW JS N 4-0 Open Meeting 12-12-23 JW JS N 4-0 Page 2 of 7 Approved 02-06-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 09, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar New Business: Consideration of K- 5 Math Curriculum: Principals John Nieratko and Ryan Gentili presented their request for school committee to approve a new math curriculum for Robinson and Jordan/Jackson. As an introduction, Assistant Superintendent Michael Connolly noted that our contract with our current vendor is about to expire. As we need to engage in a new contract, we took this opportunity to view options. The Federal Education Department and DESE hot]) provide curriculum rankings and evaluations to assist schools in their research. These tools help us to narrow down to a small group of curriculums that provide a high -quality instruction. Mr. Nieratko and Mr. Gentili reviewed the steps which led us to narrowing down our choices to three (one being our current vendor.) For each of the three programs, we procured sample materials and over a two -month period reviewed with staff. We also obtained quotes for licenses, products and professional development. Both schools came to the consensus of moving forward with Reveal Math from McGraw Hill Education. If approved today, the next steps will be to purchase materials/digital licenses; secure professional development and develop a family communication plan. Questions / Answers: Steve Schoonveld- How did the Ed Reports evaluate each of the three products? The Reveal math program was one of the top -rated products. The scores of the three finalists were close. Are these reports available for all disciplines? Yes, we use these to ensure we are using high quality instruction in all our core subjects. Did our rubric rate all factor equally or were they weighted? Each factor was weighted equally but were based on our initial needs -assessment. Jenn Walsh and Jenifer Sellon both showed their appreciation for the staffs efforts in researching these products and ensuring we are choosing a top product. Lynn Cavicchi: How well does this flow into the grade 6 curriculum in the middle school? We worked with Principal Dave McGovern and our Department Chair Jaime Mintz to ensure a smooth transition. Mr. McGovern also noted that the QMS math licenses are up next year. Steve Schoonveld asked if we would be getting rid of grade 6 accelerated math. Per Mr. McGovern, no but there will be some restructuring. Will there be plenty of professional development? John Nieratko noted that our vendor will initiate training and slowly transition to our own staff training others. How do we ensure that the pacing is appropriate for students allowing them to move forward through high school? Mr. Nieratko noted that there are no significant changes in content. The mastery of skills is still emphasized but the product allows each teacher some flexibility in how to move through the curriculum. Motion to approve the purchase of the K - 5 Reveal Math program. by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Motion Carries 4 - 0 Page 3 of 7 Approved 02-06-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 09, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Consideration ofFY25 Fees: Assistant Superintendent Ed Donoghue presented that there is only one change proposed to the fee structure and that is an increase in the golf team athletic fees. This increase is to cover the fees associated with a change in golf course venues. The fee would be similar to students who participate in sports requiring rental fees such as hockey and gymnastics. We may come back for further discussion on our own facilities fees but that is a much more involved process. Fee change is from $150 to $200. Questions / Answers: Steve Schoonveld would like to make sure that our facility fees are inline with our costs. Per Mr. Donoghue, we don't cover all costs but we try to align with local districts. Steve requested that we have in-depth conversations on future fee increases to ensure that we are not raising fees "just to raise therm" Lynn Cavicchi suggested that the budget sub committee initiate a comparison of fees with other districts. Jelin Walsh noted that the facilities subcommittee intends to start reviewing fees in the next meeting. Can we take another look at transcript fees? And the process of producing transcripts? It seems like it is a cumbersome, lengthy and costly process. Jenn Walsh followed up that many parents complain about having to call over and over to obtain transcripts. If parents have to follow up that much then there should not be a cost. Superintendent Murphy will look into this issue. Motion to approve the increase to the MHS Golf Athletic fees by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Motion Carries 4 - 0 Detailed Presentation ofFY25 School Budget: In December, Assistant Superintendent Ed Donoghue provided a high-level summary to the committee. Tonight, several presenters will provide the detail behind those numbers. No additional vote required. Noted below are specific areas where further detail was provided: Ed Donoghue: utilities shows an increase of approximately 6%. However, we are awaiting our first big gas bill with the new MHS boiler. We hope to see some improvements. We now have our own HVAC staff member on board which will help to reduce some of our maintenance costs going forward. Jim Leonard reviewed the special education cost center. The cost drivers are in -district consultation, clinical and behavioral support, transportation and out -of -district tuitions. The numbers provided are our "best guess" based on our known student needs plus some leeway for new enrollments. Jenifer Sellon asked if we are required to accept an IEP created by another district. Jim noted that students have the right to receive the same level of support as their prior district. However, we do review the plan and, in some cases, offer alternatives. Any costs associated with students who enter the district after April 1st is partially covered by the sending district. Steve noted that the circuit breaker is always a year behind. Can we expect level funding from last year? Generally, the percentages remain the same. We typically do not qualify for any extraordinary funding. Jim went on to explain that the first $50,000 is covered by the district and the remaining tuitions are covered at a rate of 75%. The formula does change from year to year. Page 4 of 7 Approved 02-06-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 09, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Lynn appreciates Jini s conservative approach to budgeting for special education costs because there is always a significant unknown. MHS Principal Russ Booth reviewed the high school budget. Big increases can be found in the renewal of the digital hallway pass license, NEASC commitments, ASPEN custom reports, new schedule builds and new flex scheduling software. Textbooks increased due to the need to purchase both science and math textbooks. As a reminder, many textbooks come with digital subscriptions which are used by students. The digital component is most often the reason for the upgrades. Teaching supplies are up to purchase new uniforms for orchestra, band and choir. Additional supplies are needed to support the new textbooks. Athletics increases include baseball and softball field maintenance plus an increase in tournament fees, trainer costs, and outside venue costs. Lynn Cavicchi asked for clarification on the use of gate fees. A change will be made to the presentation to clear that up. Jenn Walsh asked for the percentage of students who participate in performing arts. Russ will look into that. QMS Principal Dave McGovern reviewed the budget changes. There is a big increase in the budget for textbooks which are needed for ELA, French and 7d, grade accelerated math licenses/books. Some of our books are 14 years old and as noted earlier we must be sure that we are using high quality instructional material as defined by DESE. In FY25 we will need to look at ELA and in FY26 all math. Purchasing of equipment includes the slow conversion of classroom desks as well as new lockers. The goal is to purchase lockers with the locks built in as our current batch of locks are extremely old. The locker / lock combination is the best alternative. Steve asked if there was anyway to put the lockers and furniture in for CIP? Dave felt that the locks really need to be replaced asap. Regarding the desks, this has been an annual request over the years and we have only six more classrooms to complete. Both Ed and Dave felt that it was appropriate to leave these costs in the operating budget; Steve encouraged us to look ahead and utilize CIP. Jordan/Jackson Principal John Nieratko discussed the budget changes for J/J. There is money in the budget for the new math curriculum text books (half for next year and half the following year.) There is an increase in cost to continue with the Illuminate data assessment tool. The increase in equipment is due to the replacement of some teacher desks and classroom chairs. In addition, there will bean assessment of all furniture needs. Steve asked that this review be in addition to that at QMS and also to include all schools to determine needs. Jenifer Sellon asked for more detail on highly qualified instructional materials. Does the district get dinged if we are audited and are not using these materials? For example, what if we need to make budget cuts and we cannot make these purchases? That is correct, DESE can write us up in an audit and we could get blocked from certain grant money. We also lose public perception as this information is posted on their website. Lynn Cavicchi asked why there is budget in J/J for the health registry but not in any other school. The health services overall budget is managed through J/J as that is where the main office is located. Software upgrades will be made in all schools. Principal Ryan Gentili reviewed the Robinson budget requests by highlighting the textbook increase for the new math program and the continued licensing for Illuminate (our data management tool.) The increase need for translations have also impacted the budget. Page 5 of 7 Approved 02-06-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 09, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Director Kris Delaplain reviewed the Roland Green Budget. The biggest increase is for coding supplies as the curriculum moves toward beginner technology lessons. Jenn Walsh was excited to hear that we are introducing technology for that age group. Further discussion was held on COVID grant history and where the money was used. (These funds are ending.) As an overview, money was spent on PPE supplies (sanitizers, masks, etc), chromebooks, remote learning, special education, vacation week academies, summer school and staffing additions including interventionists. Jenifer Sellon asked if the recent announcement of state spending cuts would have any impact on us. At the current time there is no impact to education. Lynn Cavicchi asked if we are looking at other grant reductions. There does not appear to be any concern of reductions at this time. With potential budget cuts, the committee discussed the need to reconcile budget constraints vs level services, how to determine which needs won't be met. The goal needs to be meeting level services. How will we be impacted by the loss of ESSR funds? Superintendent Murphy noted that we have slowly been incorporating these positions into our operating budget. There is increasing concern on how the budget cuts are impacting us. Last year there were reductions such eliminating the assistant principal position at the Robinson. We have a lot of new curriculum coming our way; do we have the staff to manage these changes? How do we articulate our needs during budget talks? There is a lot to work through between now and the spring town meeting. School Committee Business: School Committee representatives to the Town of Mansfield Space Study: This group will be modeled after the town budget subcommittee and will study the needs of tine town including the school needs based on our own educational space study. Jenn Walsh, Steve Schoonveld and Jenifer Sellon all expressed interest and will send an interest email to Teresa. School Committee Goal Proposal Review: Chair Cavicchi reviewed the revised goals which were built from comments and suggestions at the last school committee meeting. The three priority areas are: Academic Advancement for ALL students; Facilities Assessment and Educational Visioning Study, MPS Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Strategic Plan. Feedback was positive. Chair Cavicchi asked for a motion to approve. Steve Schoonveld requested that we postpone a vote since Vivian Webster was not in attendance. Vote will occur at the next meeting. Upcoming agenda items and meeting dates were reviewed. Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting: None Page 6 of 7 Approved 02-06-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, January 09, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Documents Referenced: K - 5 Math Curriculum FY25 Fees FY25 proposed budget School committee goals Motion to adjourn: At 9:49p.m, Lynn Cavicchi asked for a motion to adjourn. Motion made by by jenn Walsh / jenifer Sellon. Motion carries 4 - 0 Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent & School Committee Page 7 of 7