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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 08/13/2024Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, August 13, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in person and virtually on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. The open meeting session was called to order by Vice Chair Jenifer Sellon at 6:09 p.m. Members Present: Administration Present: Steve Schoonveld (Chair)* Teresa Murphy, Superintendent Jenifer Sellon (Vice Chair) Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent (Teaching/Learning) Lynn Cavicchi (at 6:21 p.m.) Jessica Davis, Assistant Superintendent (Student Services) Tenn Walsh Ed Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent (Finance/Operations) Vivian Webster Members Absent: None *Steve Schoonveld attended remotely; roll call votes are required. Roll Call Vote to open: Steve Schoonveld aye Jenn Walsh aye Vivian Webster aye Jenifer Sellon aye Motion Carries 4 - 0 Public Speak: None } Administrative Reports: r� Superintendent Teresa Murphy announced the hiring of lemilee Neely as an assistant principal,5-F Mansfield High School. There are still some other positions that we are attempt~i)hg to hire across the district; we are working hard to bring candidates in as soon as possible. co M r*r Teresa is very happy to report the receipt of state funds to purchase new band uniforms. Representative Adam Scanlon had reached out to the district in the spring to see if we had any unmet needs in our budget. Noting that our uniforms were way overdue for replacement, we asked if he would consider this. Band Director Justin DeJoy worked out an estimate and presented it to Representative Scanlon who brought it forward to the state. Forty thousand dollars has been included in the MA Governor's budget to pay for these uniforms. Once the money comes in we will move forward with ordering the uniforms which will include the new logo. Vivian asked if all athletics were getting new uniforms this fall. No, the district anticipates that it will take almost a decade to replace the uniforms with the new logo as these uniforms are replaced on a set schedule. Assistant Superintendent Ed Donoghue reported on the summer projects which are all nearing the end of completion. Upgrades to the two elevators at MHS and CMIS have been completed and inspected. The MHS gym floor has been installed and sanded and coating of polyurethane will begin. Lines will be painted and the final coating will be done. Next step is the installation of bleachers during the month of September. Ed anticipates that students will be able to'use the gym floor at the start of school. Alumni field is progressing. The track will be installed next week; lighting has been installed, new bleachers are in progress; fencing installed and scoreboard in progress. We also were able to paint the Page 1 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, August 13, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar press box. One issue was discovered. In the past our soccer field was 120 yards with lines and goals in the endzone. The new lines have created a field of 100 yards in length; short of each endzone. We are allowed to play on this size field but it is preferable to be longer so a fix has been designed which will crate a 112 yard field. We are working with the turf company to paint new lines. We will meet MIAA criteria with this change. The playground equipment has been installed and paving complete. The rubberized matt will be done next week. This is on track for an 8/30 completion date. The QMS boiler is moving forward and QMS now has hot water. Heating systems are still in progress. However, work will be completed within the boiler room and will not impact students. Coolers are scheduled to be installed next week. Steve Schoonveld asked if we had planned dedication dates for each of these projects. Teresa noted that we do not yet but are looking into this as the projects come to completion. Assistant Superintendent Jessica Davis gave her first presentation in her new roll as head of student services. She reported that between July 8 and August 8, we serviced 110 students on IEPs via our extended day summer program. She worked closely with Transportation Manager Leslie Green to arrange busing, and with Christine Riley who coordinated the summer program. Lynn Cavicchi asked if we could also have numbers on CHAMPS and Summer School. Jenifer Sellon commended Jessica and the school department for assisting Mansfield Police over the weekend in identifying a lost child with autism. Committee Updates / Old Business: Budget: The budget subcommittee met last week to work through upcoming issues. To date only Steve has been chosen for the Insurance Task Force Team. There are three possible budgets that will be presented: 3% Increase; level services; balanced budget. The budget subcommittee will meet on 8-22- 24 and the tri-board will meet on 9-11-24. The process is moving quickly with the intent to have budget numbers earlier than previous years. We will need to determine what these numbers mean for staffing. Policy: The subcommittee met and have worked through several policies that need to be changed prior to the start of the school year as they impact handbooks, mandated training or day to day procedures. These policies will be considered later in the meeting. lenifer Sellon noted the need for a facilities subcommittee meeting. New Business: Consideration of Space Study Needs Assessment Priorities: Jenn Walsh and Vivian Webster will be attending an upcoming town wide space needs study. She would like to go into the meeting with agreed priorities set by the committee. In the June workshop, the committee identified the following priorities: Move Roland Green to the main campus (as part of the Robinson School), Build a new high school, reconfigure the existing high school for a middle school. Lynn Cavicchi noted that she completed a walkthrough of the middle and high schools with administration to see how the various proposals would impact their schools. Having done so, her vision of the priorities has shifted. She feels that we should still prioritize the move of Roland Green to Robinson as it will improve student access to the library, cafeteria as well as simplify parent drop off/pickup when students are in multiple buildings. She also noted the age of Roland Green. She noted the QMS grade 6 wing is relatively new. The biggest issue for both MHS and QMS are the aging science Page 2 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, August 13, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar labs along with other "hands on" rooms such as art, band, chorus, etc. She feels that for the short term we need to get a better sense of our learning spaces and set priorities. Our science labs need prioritization and some targeted investments would be wise. Eventually we will need a new building but we still do not know how the grades would be configured in each building. Teresa noted that the architect provided several thoughts for reworking our buildings if we preferred not to build new. However, she senses that our community is looking for a new high school. Jenn Walsh noted that she will be touring schools on Friday. She expects that our priorities will be fluid as time progresses. Lynn recommended that the subcommittee meet with every principal to discuss the recommendations and get their feedback. Teresa noted that one thing not addressed in the study is air conditioning. She realizes it is not needed every day but the number of days per school year that the a/c is needed has grown over time. She has asked Ed Donoghue and Matt Jacques to look into this. Ed noted that he hopes to add air conditioning to the QMS library next summer. Steve noted that the recommendations in the study appear to be in line with what Jenn and Lynn are recommending so what we need to do now is set timelines. For example, can we look to start building the expansion for Roland Green in 2029 and then shortly thereafter start work on the new high school? Then if there are delays, we could switch gears and look at short term solutions. Jenn Walsh felt that we needed to identify needs first before looking at timelines. Steve noted that we need to establish a starting point and our recommendation should be to make the expansion of Roland Green a priority with a date set as "as soon as possible" due to the expected useful life of Roland Green. Jenn Walsh tied our process in with the Town Ten Year Master Plan completed in 2020. She believes that in the next master plan 2030 — 2040 will include a new school building. Jenifer Sellon does not want to wait until a new master plan; she feels we need to prioritize the build of a new school and see how things play out. Both Lynn and Jenn do not disagree with a new building but would like to see modernization of our science labs prioritized in the meantime. Steve suggested that in the next five years we move Roland Green and modernize the science labs. Then in the following 5 years, we took at a new building. Ed recalls that the estimate to upgrade science labs in MHS and QMS would be approximately one million dollars. Lynn noted that the district should discuss potential configuration of the grades before proposing a new build. For example, would we expand J/J to be 3 —6 and then a middle/high school grades 7 —12? Steve entered the following motion: In the next five years move Roland Green into an integrated Robinson School and modernize the spaces in QMS and MHS particularly focused on science labs. Jenn Walsh seconded. Roll Call: Steve Schoonveld aye Vivian Webster aye Lynn Cavicchi request that we amend the motion to include art rooms. Generally, we are looking at architectural options 2 and 3 at MHS and QMS. Amendment presented: within the first five years to support the move of Roland Green to the Robinson School and to modernize classrooms under options 2 and 3 for MHS and QMS. First by Steve Schoonveld and second by Jenn Walsh. Page 3 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, August 13, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Roll Call: Steve Schoonveld aye Vivian Webster aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Jenn Walsh aye lenifer Sellon aye Motion passes 5 — 0. Looking to the next 5 years. Steve presented a motion to support a build of a high school/middle school structure in the 2030-2040 timeline with exact details to be determined. Jenn Walsh seconded. Discussion: Jenn Walsh recommended that the motion be vague identifying a new building once reconfiguration of grades complete. This leaves us flexibility to look at enrollment, space mining. Ideally in the next master plan we would expect that the town put aside money for a new building. Jenn Walsh motioned that in the next Town of Mansfield Master plan we explore the option of a new building after we explore options of configurations. There was no second. Jen Sellon asked if that meant we are not bringing our needs to the space study committee now? Jenn noted we would but are unable to identify which building is needed. Steve thought we should not reference the future master plan which is an unknown. Teresa suggested support of a build of a high school / middle school complex between 2030 and 2040. Teresa noted that the MSBA process takes a very long time and to consider a build in 2030 means we need to start the process now. Jenn Walsh changed her motion to support a build of a high school/middle school complex between 2030 and 2040. Second by Vivian Webster. Roll Call Vote: Steve Schoonveld: aye Lynn Cavicchi: aye Jenn Walsh: aye Vivian Webster: aye Jenifer Sellon: aye Motion passes 5 — 0 Consideration of Food Services A la Carte Fees: A la Carte Items Milk K-12 $0.60 Extra Entree MHS $3.75 QMS $3.25 Second Lunch MHS $4.00 QMS $3.75 Assorted Snacks I MHS $.75 - $1.50 Bottled Water 8 oz $0.50 Bottled Water 16 oz $1.00 Page 4 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, August 13, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Ed Donoghue presented the 2024-25 prices for a la carte items. Vivian asked if vending machines could be added to the schools. Ed noted that we have Gatorade and protein bars for athletes at the high school but due to nutrition guidelines for the school day, these vending machines are only available after school hours. Lynn noted that these a la carte fees are set annually by the FDA. We do not have much flexibility in these costs. Motion to approve the 24-25 food services a la carte fees as presented by Jenn Walsh / Vivian Webster. Discussion: Steve asked if these prices are sustainable given the high cost of meals such as salmon. The district feels that we can manage these costs given that salmon will not be served often and to date has had limited interest by students. Roll Call Vote: Steve Schoonveld: aye Lynn Cavicchi: aye Jenn Walsh: aye Vivian Webster: aye Jenifer Sellon: aye Motion passes 5 — 0 Update on policies recently reviewed/ no changes required: ACA Non-discrimination on the basis of sex and JIC student discipline were reviewed per the recent MASC recommendations. What we have in place was recommended to us by legal counsel and no changes are required. Steve was concerned about some of the language inconsistencies. There was discussion on whether these were really discrepancies. Assistant Superintendent Michael Connolly and Lynn Cavicchi are reluctant to make any changes as this language was provided to us by legal counsel. Policies will be noted as reviewed / no changes. Consideration of Policies for deletion: Revise/ Code Title Action Notes Motion 1 Motion 2 Vote IIAE Reconsideration of Delete Duplicate of a policy Steve Jenn 5-0 Instructional Resources we just updated. Schoonveld Walsh Roll Call: 1HB Unexcused Absences and Delete Out dated language. Truancy MASC no longer has. Steve aye Lynn aye Jenn aye Vivian aye Jenifer aye Page 5 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, August 13, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Consideration of Policy Changes: Code Title Action Notes Motion Motion Vote 1 2 ADB Alcohol and Drugs Revise See note 1 Motion to approve revisions as presented in policy list with amendments as discussed by Jenn Walsh / Lynn Cavicchi IKB Homework Revise See note 2 IKB-R Homework Language for Revise See note 3 Handbooks Roll Call: Steve aye Lynn aye JH School Attendance Revise JHD Exclusion and Revise Exemptions from School Jenn aye Attendance Jenifer aye Vivian aye KHA Solicitation in Schools Revise Motion Caries 5 - 0 Note 1: Steve was concerned that vaping and smoking were not included in this policy. It was noted that there is another policy that covers this. Vivian asked if this would pertain to students who may have legal prescriptions but used them inappropriately outside of the nurse's office. Yes, this would cover the discipline needed. Note 2: Add a date (2018) to the references to identify when those schools were looked at. Note 3: Changes made to reflect policy of withdrawing students who take an extended vacation break. Steve questioned the language regarding "research shows" since we do not reference the source of the resource. There was also some inconsistency between the MHS and QMS language. Adjustments will be made so that the two schools match. Steve questioned the practice of missing homework vs missing quizzes and felt there were inconsistencies. The changes proposed tonight were centered around the extended vacation. Perhaps we can revisit the policy in the future. Steve did request a correction to change "total weighted average" to "total weighted grade average." Consideration of new policies: Revise/ Code Title Action Notes Motion 1 Motion 2 Vote JICK Harassment of students None Per legal counsel, we n/a do not need adopt. ILD Student Submission to Adopt Federal Regulations Jenn Vivian Roll Call: Educational Surveys and provided and MASC Walsh Webster Steve no Research recommends adopted. Vivian aye Steve questioned the Lynn aye language which is Jenn aye confusing between JenifeY aye when to opt in and when to opt out. After Page 6 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, August 13, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar discussion no changes Motion will be made. passes 4-1 Consideration Handbook Chanaes Based on Recent Policv Chanae: Extended vacation language impacting sections referring to JH, IKB and IKB-R Nurse dismissal language Food Services Protection of Student Rights Motion to approve the handbook changes by Jenn Walsh / Vivian Webster Roll Call Vote: Steve Schoonveld aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Jenn Walsh aye Vivian Webster aye Jenifer Sellon aye Motion carries 5 — 0. Note that spelling corrections are needed for the nurse dismissal. Other- Items not anticipated by the Chair 48 hours prior to this meeting: Teresa Murphy presented information received yesterday regarding our Title I grant. Typically each year we receive approximately $200,000 which is used to fund an elementary reading specialist. This year our grant was increased to approximately $350,000. Title I money is intended to strengthen our core literacy programs in school by providing support to low achieving students and providing professional development to staff. Our funding increased due to our increase in low income students. After discussion, the district felt we would be best served by hiring a literacy coach at the Robinson School who will work with staff on best practices for all classrooms. Teresa is hoping that an existing teacher will step out of the classroom for one year to take on this position. That staff member will continue to receive their teacher salary and have the option to return to the classroom in the next year. The draft job description is almost complete and will be presented for approval on 8-27-24. Steve asked if the committee needed to vote on the grant funding. No, this is an entitlement grant from the state as they determine the amount given. He expressed some concern on this being a one-year position and having to hire a replacement for the teacher as a one-year contract. Could this limit the quality of candidates? Teresa and Mike assured Steve that this is a very common practice that takes place every year. School Committee Business: None Documents Referenced: Policy Page 7 of 8 Approved 08-27-24 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, August 13, 2024 In Person & Virtual Meeting using GoToWebinar Handbook Language Food Services Fees Motion to adjourn: At 8:30 p.m., Vice Chair Sellon called for a motion to adjourn Motion to adjourn by Jenn Walsh / Vivian Webster Roll Call Vote: Steve Schoonveld aye Lynn Cavicchi aye Jenn Walsh aye Vivian Webster aye Jenifer Sellon aye Motion carries 5 — 0. Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent & School Committee Page 8 of 8