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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 12/12/2023Approved 01-09-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting RECEIVED Minutes for Tuesday, December12,.20 It� r� FFKS OFFICE In Person & Virtual Meeting using Q NInat+ 2m mAR -1 P I: 39 An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in person �dp}rLx I n Tuesday, December 12, 2023. The open meeting session was called to order byJ�l1It�1ifit 6:30 p.m. �> j' [ 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 Vivian Webster (at 6:55 pm) Members Absent: Public Speak: None Administrative Reports: Superintendent Teresa Murky reported on the numerous holiday happenings in our district ranging from performing arts to charitable giving. Events include a performance of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, MHS marching band performances in two parades, MHS choir at the Council on Aging's annual luncheon, MHS winter concert / Caroling at Home and the QMS winter concert. Our staff and students overwhelmingly support the West Side Benevolent Circle, Our Daily Bread Food Pantry, Toys for Tots, Attleboro Area Interfaith Collaborative and our Military. It is wonderful to see the support and cooperation with our community. Recently MIAA announced several awards in MA. Both Steve Smith and Carolina DiBiase were awarded Coach of the Year honors which recognizes excellence in character, service, leadership and coaching. Mr. Smith has coached Mansfield High School girl's soccer for many years. Over the years he has earned over 200 career wins, brought 14 out of 18 teams to the MIAA tournament and most recently coached the girls to the State Finals. Ms. DiBiase has coached cross country since 2000 with several high team placements through the years including winning the 2022 MIAA Division 2 Outdoor Track and Field State Championship. Congratulations to both. Jacqueline Collins achieved recertification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards with a concentration in business, marketing and financial services. Completing this recognition is a very rigorous task. Congratulations to Ms. Collins. Lastly, Ms. Murphy announced an effort taking place to create uniformity in our brand including our Hornet logo, our green/white color scheme and messaging. We have hired Jeff Eagles Creative to help us develop the design. Ms. Murphy made it clear that we are NOT changing our color scheme or removing the Hornet. We simply want to refine what we have in place and bring uniformity to how we present ourselves. For example, on our website alone, there are 18 different versions of the hornet. We have a long history with the hornet (since the 1940s) and want to keep our traditions. Ms. Murphy has also Jeff Eagles to design a Mansfield Public Schools seal. One exists for the town and the high school already. The project will be led by Assistant Superintendent Michael Connolly, Principal Russ Booth, Athletic Director Tim Selman and Superintendent Murphy. There will also be an advisory group made up of individuals with long histories with the community Page 1 of 6 Approved 01-09-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 12, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar including parents of current and former students involved in athletics and performing arts, alumni, community members, staff as well as representatives from the select board and school committee. Questions / Answers: Steve Schoonveld- Steve noted that the hornet appears in many places throughout the Mansfield community. Will we trademark our design? Teresa noted we have discussed this but are not yet sure. We are working primarily with the secondary schools and will then consider options for the elementary level. We do not plan on forcing this design on our community partners. Steve then asked if we can make sure we differentiate the school hornet from the town hornet. That idea will be taken into consideration. Are we keeping the Mansfield Green? Yes, we will continue to use Green and White but there are so many versions of green already used within our schools. We strive for uniformity. Michael Connolly noted that vendors vary in what shades of green they carry. Jenn Walsh was very happy to hear about all the holiday events. Jenifer Sellon volunteered to work on the new brand initiative. She also expressed her appreciation for all the charitable work and noted that the new Bentley calendar is now available. Lynn Cavicchi commended the school district for the help provided to our community. She saw the Charlie Brown Performance and noted that it was fantastic. She congratulated staff on their accomplishments. Assistant Superintendent Michael Connolly announced that the district has started to explore how Al (artificial intelligence) will be used in education. The concept has been around for some time but brought to the forefront last spring. Assistant Principal Matt Maguire, as part of an internship, will be leading efforts to look into learning opportunities, pit falls, policy needs, and professional development. There is a lot to learn. Questions / Answers: Lynn Cavicchi- Interesting to hear what some teachers are already doing with Al. We need to use this as a learning tool for our students and happy that we are being proactive. It is interesting to think about what kind of technology our current preschoolers will use once they move to the upper grade levels. Jenn Sellon has used Al at work and it is important that we all learn more about its benefits. We need to embrace it but make sure students do not use as a crutch or replacement for actual work. Steve Schoonveld noted, like any tool, we need to learn when and how to use it. Gifts: Consideration of Mansfield Youth Lacrosse (MYL) Gift Proposal: Teresa Murphy introduced Dean Hogancamp of Mansfield Youth Lacrosse. He is here to present their gift proposal of labor and supplies in order to add turf surrounding the current lacrosse wall at MHS. Teresa noted that Mr. Hogancamp has already met with herself, Athletic Director Tim Page 2 of 6 Approved 01-09-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 12, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Selmon, MHS Principal Russ Booth, Facilities Director Matt Jacques, Assistant Superintendents Michael Connolly and Ed Donoghue. Mr. Hogancamp reviewed the details of the proposal which will provide a turf field surrounding the wall with landscaping ties that will keep it in place and facilitate any mowing of the fields around this area. The turf is somewhat different than a typical turf field which is porous and allows water to filter through. This turf is low maintenance material which will be pitched so water will run off into the surrounding area. There are also no pellets in this turf. The overall cost of the donation is estimated to be around $33,000. Questions / Answers: Steve Schoonveld asked if we spoke to conservation about wetlands or to the neighbors. There are no wetlands in that area. The district considered reaching out to the neighbor but there is really no impact as the wall is already there and the pitch/water runoff will be away from that home. Jenn Walsh asked if we were turfing the entire field or a small section. The area to be covered is approximately 51' x 40' on one side of the wall and 31' x 40' on the other. Teresa noted that we hope this work can be done prior to spring sports with no impact to the current field hockey field. Work is weather dependent. Ed hopes that we can complete this sooner than later. He asked Dean if there was any concern with frost. There should not be but all work will be evaluated related to the weather at the time of install. It is expected that materials can be shipped in a couple of weeks and the labor effort to be approximately 2 days. Labor and supply costs are based on prevailing wages/cost. Vivian Webster's only concern is how the timing plays out with other major facilities projects. What happens if the weather delays it until the summer? Matt Jacques will coordinate efforts with MYL so that there is no impact to any of our planned projects. Lynn Cavicchi wanted more information on the lifespan of the turf. It is warrantied for 10 years with little to no maintenance needed. The hope is that the entire field maybe turfed by that point. However, if not MYL commits to providing a replacement. All committee members expressed their sincere appreciation for the generous gift. Motion to accept Mansfield Youth Lacrosse's gift of a turf installation by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Motion Carries 5 - 0 New Business: Consideration of MHS & QMS Color Guard Trip to Cranston Rh The bulk of information was provided to the committee on 12/5/23. Superintendent Murphy reviewed the details that the color guard will travel to RI for a one -day competition. All costs will be covered so there is no cost to the student. Motion to approve the MHS/QMS Varsity Color Guard Field trip to Cranston RI by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Motion Carries 5 - 0 Page 3 of 6 Approved 01-09-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 12, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Consideration of FY25 School Budget: The initial budget was first presented for review on 12-5-23. Some slides were reviewed again this evening by Ed Donoghue. Steve provided a different view of the data highlighting that a large portion of the increase is due to extraordinary/unexpected circumstances such as the loss of grant funding, an increase in the Bristol County Aggie assessment and special education increases. The expected portion of the increase to the budget is less than 7%. Ed agreed, indicating that he has long stated that the schools cannot survive on an annual increase of only 3%. Lynn noted that this is the initial budget which requires school committee approval so it can be provided to the town manager by the end of the calendar year. Jenifer Sellon asked for further clarification on special education tuition increases. Are they as high as last year? No, we expect tuition increases to fall in the 4% to 5% range rather than 14% which occurred last year due to faulty legislation. Checks and balances were put into place to prevent this from happening again. Teresa noted that these schools are experiencing the same staffing shortages that we are. Motion to approve the initial budget of $61,548,680 by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Discussion: Steve asked if the motion can be amended to state that the approval is for purposes of presenting it to the town and public. The reasoning is that the budget will evolve over the next few months and can be different when it is presented in June at Town Meeting. Motion amended to approve the initial budget of $61,548,680 for• initial presentation to the town and public by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Motion Carries S - 0. School Committee Business: School Committee Goal Proposal Review: Chair Cavicchi opened the discussion by summarizing school committee goals as areas within the committee purview which support the district goals but do not create additional work on district leadership. Jenifer Sellon was not able to offer any goals but reviewed the two sets of proposals provided. She agrees with the ideas in proposal related to policy, facilities and financial management goals but questioned how each could be measurable. She particularly liked the professional development goal to build knowledge in the committee by attending conferences and internal meetings / school events. The policy goal is to support the continued review of our policy manual. The facilities goal is to support the district over the next few years as it reviews the short- and long-term strategies of the educational space study. The school committee will also work with the superintendent to develop the FY25 budget. Jenifer lilted the community engagement goal listed in proposal two. Jenn Walsh agrees that connecting with the community is important as it allows the public to ask questions of us. Professional development is also important keeping in mind that all the work the committee does is for the students. It is important that we engage so that we understand how the district operates. Vivian did not submit any goals but likes the idea of improving community engagement. Page 4 of 6 Approved 01-09-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 12, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Steve noted that he had spoken with MASC representative Dorothy Presser for her input. These are not goals for the school committee to achieve; these are goals for the district. These goals must be measurable and state not what we do but what the district needs to do. In other words, what are the goals for the district so we can support leadership. There was discussion on identifying what, exactly, the school committee goals represent. Are they district goals or school committee goals? They shouldn't just be a checkoff list of items the committee needs to do. Steve recommended further research and possible discussion with Dorothy Presser. Lynn summarized the discussion noting that many items in the second proposal are already touched upon in the school improvement plans. The committee should not be attempting to change the district goals as we are a bit late in the year. The school committee goals should be established in the spring for the following year, much like district goals. What we need now is a set of goals to support our district leadership. For example, we need to support progress on the educational space study. We should make sure we have a budget that supports initiatives on the school improvement plan, our equity plan and our district goals. Turnover in our committee, has led to a loss of knowledge base and it is important to build that back up again. We owe it to our students to be more knowledgeable. Hence, professional development is key. Further discussion was held on how to get to our goals from our job descriptions, whether the goals should be long term or annual and how to intertwine our goals with the district. Superintendent Murphy, recognizing this is a school committee decision, offered some perspective by encouraging the members to consider the work they already do rather than set additional goals upon themselves. They spend many night time hours at meetings, working on policy or the budget, working closely with others on CIP and our facilities, etc. These important actions help to support our students. It might be best to consider short term areas while looking more long term in the spring when we look at the next set of district goals. Some of the goals discussed are, in fact, measurable. For example, on the financial side, the budget approval at town meeting would signify a measurable tool. Chair Cavicchi wrapped up the discussion by offering to review the proposals and to draft a set of goals for review based on the discussions this evening. These goals will be revisited in January. Upcoming agenda items were reviewed. Steve asked for discussion on potential revolving funds policies. It was agreed that Steve will bring this to the policy subcommittee first. Teresa noted that she will be sending the School Improvement Plan progress report to the committee soon. If there are questions by the committee, we can add the progress report to an upcoming agenda. Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting: None Page 5 of 6 Approved 01-09-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, December 12, 2023 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Documents Referenced: MYL turf proposal MHS/QMS color guard field trip FY25 proposed budget School committee goals Motion to adjourn: At 8:07p.m, Lynn Cavicchi asked for a motion to adjourn. Motion made by by jenn Walsh / jenifer Sellon. Motion carries 5 - 0 Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent & School Committee Page 6 of 6