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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 07/23/2024Approved 08-27.24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, July 23, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in person and virtually on Tuesday, July 23, 2024. The open meeting session was called to order by Chair Steve Schoonveld at 6:07 p.m. Members Present: Administration Present: Steve Schoonveld (Chair) Teresa Murphy, Superintendent Jenifer Sellon (Vice Chair) Ed Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent (Finance/Operations) Lynn Cavicchi Jenn Walsh Vivian Webster Members Absent: None The chair asked for a motion to Enter into Executive Session and Return to Open Session pursuant to MGL c. 30A, § 21(a) 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. Upon completion of this session will return to open session. Motion by: Lynn Cavicchi / Jenifer Sellon ROLL CALL Vote: Jenifer Sellon aye _j Jenn Walsh aye_ a Lynn Cavicchi aye Vivian Webster aye Steve Schoonveld aye ru y Motion Carries 5 — 0 Return from Executive Session at 6:44 pm. -, n `rt C7 n Public Speak: None rn Administrative Reports: Superintendent Teresa Murphy announced that we have completed a design for the Mansfield Public School new seal. With help from our Vendor, Jeff Eagles, who designed our new logos, we have created a design using the new Mansfield Green color, a mighty oak tree and the words "Love of Learning" in Latin. Oak trees were prominent in the town of Mansfield. The wood from the trees was used to weave baskets that were used as signals at the train station. From the acorn grows a mighty oak which represents our students growing into young adults. 1770 represents the date that the first school was established in Mansfield. The oval braided border represents our train tracks. This is the first seal for the district. There is already a seal in place for the high school. Questions/Answers: Steve asked if the high school will continue to use their seal. Teresa noted that we are researching this and will decide. Lynn leaning toward the idea of the high school also using the seal. The motto was pulled from students in the working group that developed the core values. Page 1 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, July 23, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Lynn asked about the launch process. Teresa noted that we are working on pulling the logo, seal, and language into our daily lives. Over the summer we will be producing new signage for schools. Our new website will be designed with the new logo and colors. Ed Donoghue provided a very brief update on the FY24 financial close but indicated it was too early in the process to provide any detailed/ final information. We do anticipate giving back $600,000 to the town which in turn will beset aside for capital projects. Ed will also provide updates on our revolving funds. Questions / Comments: Steve requested that we review the year end information even if not finalized and asked for information on prepaid tuitions. Ed noted that the amount was approximately $1,000,000 similar to years past. We have done this for the last 5 or 6 years. Lynn noted we should highlight this as part of the budget planning process. She also noted that Deb Scott has been working on revisions to the Revolving Funds Guidelines. Steve reviewed and discussed each of the revolving accounts. Some items of note: • Lynn is concerned that some accounts are used for salary offsets and that could cause issues down the road if we cannot maintain the needed balances in these accounts. • Steve asked why school choice account wasn't fully spent down. Some of it relates to when the money is received. We anticipate being able cover the salary of 1 %: teachers in 24-25. We will look into what should be kept as a minimum balance. • The athletics account should be reviewed to see if anything in the operating budget can be moved to the revolving accounts. • Lynn had concerns about the minimum floor of the Little Hornets account; Steve asked if we were collecting enough to invest in the Little Hornet's program. Ed noted we may be due to look at fees again. • Steve requested a meeting with Ed to discuss what is in the operating budget vs revolving accounts. As an example, he noted the transportation director's salary and whether that should be in the revolving account or the budget. • Why is the facilities account high? We will use to put in the new bleachers at the high school which was not part of the original MSBA request. Ed updated on summer projects: • Robinson Playground is on track. Stairs, retaining wall poured and paving will take place next week. • Elevator modernization is complete. There was one minor issue with the inspection which will be addressed. • Gym Floor is on target for mid -September. Asbestos abatement was completed over the weekend. Concrete work will be done for the backboards and then the floor can be placed. • Alumni Field: The turf has been installed and track work continues. Next week lighting and then bleachers, fencing and the scoreboard. • The QMS boiler equipment is in place and the piping is being installed. • The QMS parking lot is being reworked in order to make it ADA compliant. Jenifer Sellon asked for some more information on the asbestos. Asbestos was a waterproofing paint used on concrete. It is only dangerous once exposed. In order to remove, plastic is put up around the Page 2 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, July 23, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar entire gym to make it air tight and giant vacuums are used to remove the asbestos. This is done by a licensed vendor. Approval of the Warrant: Motion to approve the warrant memo dated 06-11-24 by Jenn Walsh / Vivian Webster Motion carries 4-0-1 (Jenn Walsh abstained as her son is on the summer payroll) Salary & Goods & Salary & Goods & Wages Services Wages Services 2024-23 24046S 2024-24 24048S 5-10-24 5-14-24 5-24-24 5-28-24 General Fund 1,743,774.87 970,413.61 1,769,174.32 718,294.02 Medicare 2,539.20 - 2,497.36 - Capital - 7,500.00 - 35,558.61 Revolving 52,503.02 1,561.25 55,213.13 4,445.81 Food Service 33,596.73 38,665.41 37,764.14 59,444.24 Gifts - - - 74.01 Student Activity 3,945.34 10,050.68 122.67 21,036.33 Grants 96,645.61 6,516.66 69,266.07 7,493.00 Prior Year - - - - 1,932,904.77 1,033,707.61 1,934,037.69 846,346.02 Motion to approve the warrant memo dated 07-15-24 by Jenn Walsh / Vivian Webster Motion carries 4-0-1 (Jenn Walsh abstained as her son is on the summer payroll) Salary & Goods & Goods & Salary & Goods & Goods & Salary & Wages Services Services Wages Services Services Wages 2024-25 24050S 24051S 2024.26 24052S 24055S 2024-27 6-7-24 6-11-24 6-18-24 6-21-24 6-26-24 6-30-24 7.6.24 General Fund 2,162,082.99 296,472.07 - 2,539,061.82 359,947.62 1,460,771.98 1,292,972.46 Medicare - - - - - - - Capital - 106,186.07 - - 234,373.19 1,090,348.63 - Revolving 56,264.47 203,204.26 - 57,162.36 3,360.38 215,205.65 53,642.20 Food Service 37,200.32 55,032.55 - 36,872.15 43,277.48 15,804.20 17,599.71 Gifts 2,260.00 905.23 - (750.00) 6,621.20 636.76 - Studenl Activity 8,374.24 22,283.00 58,298.00 (600.00) 16,031.98 47,479.57 - Grants 139,592.19 13,537.50 - 97,648.75 35,368.25 39,032.11 33,770.07 Page 3 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, July 23, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Prior Year - - - - 465.00 - - 2,405,764.21 697,620.68 68,298.00 2,729,396.08 699,445.10 2,869,277.90 1,397,984.44 Gifts: Bluestone Bank has offered us 7 used laptops for school use. Lori Letendre reviewed their specifications and they will be very useful to us. The value ranges from $200 - $300 for each laptop. Steve asked about the procedures for approving gifts. Will we add an agenda item to formally accept these laptops? Lynn thought perhaps quarterly this could be added to the agenda. Teresa, however, noted that approval typically would occur if the gift has an impact on our infrastructure (school buildings or grounds) or has financial implications. In this case neither was impacted and we had to act quickly on the offer or it would have gone to another school. Lynn suggested that gifts go back to the policy subcommittee for review and discussion on procedures. Committee Updates / Old Business: Space Needs: Jenn Walsh updated the committee on the last meeting. It was the first meeting at which the committee discussed goals and methods to move forward. Next meeting in August. Policy: Lynn Cavicchi noted that the subcommittee is meeting frequently to keep the momentum going. Several policies will be brought forward tonight and at the next meeting relating to administration and handbooks. Facilities: Jenifer Sellon was brought up to speed with the subcommittee and had an extensive review of the facilities projects. Budget: Steve provided an update on several meetings which have occurred since the end of school. He cautioned the committee and district that the Norton override did not pass and we should consider that possibility in Mansfield next year. Lynn noted that the committee is working on a 5-year projection and is accelerating the budget process this year. There will likely be many iterations of the budget before finalized. Steve said we must have a good estimate of the budget in September. New Business: Presentation of new website: Technology Director Lori Letendre announced the development of a new Mansfield Public Schools website for the start of the school year. The key reasons for making this change are to align with our district rebrand, improve communication, site navigation, functionality and ease of use. Additionally, there is a complimentary app that will work on android and IDS devices. We will also migrate to their communication tool allowing the district to easily notify parents, students and staff of important or emergency information. One notification can be easily sent out via email, SMS, phone call, Facebook, etc. On phones, parents can subscribe to the school that they are interested in and sign up for notifications. Another nice feature is the ability to easily translate the website into many different languages. For our district staff, the new website is much easier to navigate and update. Questions/Comments: Page 4 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, July 23, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Steve thinks this is a fantastic way to improve communications. Will each parent have a unique log in? No, no login is required. Parents will still log in separately to ASPEN for student information. How can the school committee help? If there are any obstacles please let us know. Lynn thinks the ADA compliance features, translations and the ability to easily view the site on phones is important. Vivian likes the sleek, modern look and appreciates the app features. She likes that staff email addresses are not published. Jenn appreciates all the hard work and really likes the app features. Jenifer appreciates the effort and is especially pleased with the ADA compliance. Presentation of summer technology projects: In addition to the website development there is a lot of work to be done this summer including: • Upgrading our backup systems • Cybersecurity supports • Upgrade of our firewall for greater protections • Deploy Windows 11 district wide (will start now and continue throughout the school year) • Upgrade access points for improved speed and capacity • Preparing chromebooks for our incoming g3 students Steve asked why chromebooks were shutoff during the summer when some students would want to use them. Per Lori, the chromebooks are educational based devices. They should not be used for anything else so we shut them down. This also provides a break for the IT staff who are often busy with repairs, help ticket requests and monitoring chromebook usage. The devices are up and ready to go prior to the new school year. Teresa announced that Lori obtained a second cybersecurity grant. The first grant provided staff training. This grant will help prepare the district for a worst -case scenario by offering desktop exercises and drills. New/ Title Action Notes Motion Motion Vote Code I 1 1 2 EHAA District Security Relating Adopt One motion to adopt JW VW 5 - 0 to Technology all new policies as amended. EHB Data and Records Adopt Retention GBEE Staff Use of Technology Adopt GBEE-R Responsible Use — Staff Adopt IJND/IJNDC Access to/Responsible Adopt Use of Technology and Digital Resources Amendments: EHB-Grammatical fixes GBEE-change Para 3 to note annually GBEE-R add title, remove the word students, modify last para references to handbook and website IJNDB-R remove references to staff, employees Page 5 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, July 23, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar UNDB Use of Technology in Adopt Instruction UNDB-R Responsible Use — Students 11C1 Student Use of Adopt Technology in School KDC Community Use of Adopt Digital Resources KDC-E Community Use of Adopt Digital Resources - Exhibit KDCB District Website and Adopt Social Media Consideration of Title IX and Discrimination Policv revisions: New/ Code Title Action Notes Motion 1 Motion 2 Vote ACAB Sex Discrimination Revise One motion for all 1W VW 5-0 ACAB-R Sex Discrimination and Title IX Procedures Revise ACE Non -Discrimination on the Basis of Disability Revise JIE Pregnant Students Revise Consideration of new/revised Instructional Materials Policies: New/ Title Action Notes Motion Motion Vote Code 1 2 I U Instructional Materials Revise JW VW 5-0 second to last para from' convene IJ-R Instructional Material Revise As amended Procedures a review committee' to 'consider the same complaint' UL Library Materials Adopt Selection and Adoption IJLA Library Resources Re -code and Revise Update on Policies recently reviewed but no changes required: Page 6 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, July 23, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar AE Commitment to Accomplishment: Current Mansfield policy is specific to our district and went through review by legal counsel and approved with all unions via an MOU. Changes from MASC not required. LBC Relations with Private Schools: Reviewed with MHTL. Confirmed to leave as is. Note Vivian Webster left the meeting at 9:20 pm Consideration of Policies for deletion: Delete/ Title Notes is` 2nd Vote Code ADA School District Goals and Delete JW JS 4-0 Objectives Consideration of Paraprofessional MCA re Hall Monitors: Teresa Murphy reviewed the MCA with the committee. The initial list of changes was approved by Chair Schoonveld. Now the committee is asked to vote to approve the MCA. Motion to approve the MCA allowing High School Hall Monitors to be included in the paraprofessional contract by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Motion carries 4 — 0. Consideration of Job Descriptions: Earlier in the year, Jessica Davis was named as the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services. With this change in title, Superintendent Murphy felt it appropriate to change the titles of the Assistant Special Education Directors to Director of Elementary Special Education and Director of Secondary Special Education. Teresa wants parents to know and understand that special education students will continue to receive quality treatment even though Jessica's role has expanded to be all student services. There is no salary change. The committee reviewed the job descriptions. Motion to approve the job titles and descriptions for Director of Elementary Special Education and Director of Secondary Special Education by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Sellon Motion carries 4 — 0. Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting: None School Committee Business: Discussion and Consideration of a School Committee representative to an anticipated town -wide insurance Task Force. Motion to appoint Steve Schoonveld to the Insurance Task Force by Jenn Walsh / Lynn Cavicchi Motion carries 4 — 0. Discussion on school committee goals postponed to a later agenda. High level discussion regarding how the committee can help enhance communication to our families. What the committee's role is in Page 7 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, July 23, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar communicating to families. Lynn noted that the committee has existing goals and the committee should consider what progress has been made toward those goals. Added to future agendas was FY25 School Committee Goals, meeting to prioritize school needs ahead of fall town meeting, identify the school vision for building planning, handbooks, facilities subcommittee meeting. Documents Referenced: Policy Job Descriptions New website presentation New District Seal Warrants Motion to adjourn: At 10:02 p.m., Chair Schoonveld called for a motion to adjourn Motion to adjourn by Jenn Walsh / Jenifer Selion Motion carries 4 — 0. Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent & School Committee Page 8 of 8