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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm Minutes 04/02/2013Mansfield School Committee Meeting Amended Minutes for Tuesday. Apri12, 2013 Town Hall, Room 3B & C An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held at the Town Hall on Tuesday, April 2, 2013. After returning from Executive Session, the Open Session meeting was reopened and called to order by Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge at 7:40 PM. Motion U.C. 5-0 Members Present — roll call vote to re -open the Open Meeting; Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Chairman; yes Mrs. Kiera O'Neil, Vice Chairman; yes Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz yes Mrs. Jean Miller, yes Mr. Wayne Smith, Jr. yes Also Present: Mrs. Brenda Hodges, Superintendent of Schools Mr. Edward Vozzella, Director of Finance SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT We have closed the date for accepting applications for the Principalship at the Robinson School. We have asked Robinson teachers to submit their names if they would like to be a member of the Search Committee. We have asked the principals to ask any of the parents from the parent committees if they would also like to serve on the committee. A few of the principals themselves are also going to be part of the process. Mrs. Hodges noted that we had 53 applications and she had gone through and screened them and found seven that meet the criteria we are looking for and had advertised for. APPROVAL OF WARRANTS Salary & Wages 2013 -14 01/04/2013 1,429,819.36 Goods & Services 2013 -1024 01/08/2013 620,622.99 Salary & Wages 2013 -15 01/18/2013 1,411,702.07 Goods & Services 2013 -1026 01/22/2013 305,918.50 Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge called for a motion to approve the warrants. A motion was made to approve the warrants 1st by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, tad by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. Motion U.C. 5 - 0 11— APPROVAL OF MINUTES Executive Session Minutes of February 26, 2013, were approved. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge called for a motion to approve the Executive Session minutes for February 26, 2013. A motion was made to approve the minutes 1` by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, 2nd by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. Motion U. C. 4 — 0 —1 — Jean Miller abstained — Not present at the meeting The School Committee Minutes of February 26, 2013, were approved, as amended. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge called for a motion to approve the minutes of February 26, 2013. A motion was made to approve the minutes 15` by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, 2nd by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. Motion U. C. 4 — 0 —1 — Jean Miller abstained — Not present at the meeting OLD BUSINESS Budget Update 2013: Mr. Vozzella noted that he was closing out the quarter and he had just run the reports today and I will look at them today and then I will get them out by the end of the week, but he could say that, preliminarily, we don't have any issues at all. We are running favorably in salary and wages as well as Special Ed, and I'll elaborate more later. Mrs. O'Neil asked if they could also have a copy of the report for the next meeting. 2014 Budget Priorities: Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge explained that both Brenda and Bill were asked to put together a priorities list and bring them forward. Mr. Trowbridge explained that the Superintendent and Town Manager sat down a few weeks ago and went over the priorities. The School Committee was in possession of the list which included 31 positions. This list of priorities was put together by the leadership Team and gone over by the Superintendent. Mrs. Losiewicz noted that she felt that they had hit the direct services for the kids, which was critical, and with the amount of money that we have it was important to do this. Mr. Trowbridge asked Mrs. Hodges to explain the reasons behind the addition of the Special Education teachers. Mrs. Hodges explained that the reason we are requesting three Special Education teachers for QMS is because an additional Special Education teacher is needed at each grade level to support academic needs for high risk students, as well as supporting the success of general education students. With the addition of these Special Education teachers at the middle school, this will also provide flexibility in the schedule so that Department Chairs are able to provide the leadership and oversight of the curriculum implementation that is necessary for student —2— achievement and success. With the current schedule, common time does not exist so that Department Chairs can meet collectively with their teachers to review the curriculum and maintain integrity to the curriculum and the Common Core Standards. With the increased focus on accountability, this process is extremely important to the achievement and success for all students. The goal of Robinson Elementary was to continue expanding the Full Day K Program. With additional grants funding the expansion of the Full Day K Program, Mansfield will be able to increase classes from 6 to 8 in FY 14 at no cost to the district. This would require the addition of 1 teacher; however, that salary would be funded through the incremental tuition revenue generated, as well as available funds from the grant. We currently have 236 student enrolled for next September. This will not impact the requested appropriation for the FY14 Budget. The second teacher that would be required will be transferred from Grade one. We have a teacher retiring in grade one, and with our enrollment projections decreasing, we will be able to reduce from 13 to 12 classes and still keep class sizes at 22 per class. After much discussion, Chairman Trowbridge called for a vote by the Committee on the priorities list and addition of the Curriculum Director. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge called for a motion to approve the Curriculum Director and Priorities A motion was made to approve a Curriculum Director and the Priorities list, I` by Mrs. Jean Miller, 2nd by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz. Motion U. C. 5~ 0 Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge then called for a motion to approve the full Day Kindergarten. A motion was made to approve the full day Kindergarten 1" by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, 2nd by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. Motion U. C. 5 — 0 Sub Committee Updates: There were no Sub Committee updates. There was some discussion on the Finance Committee meeting that started out as a subcommittee meeting and turned into a large discussion about the budget. Strategic Plan Update: The Superintendent included the summaries of the town Planning Board's Zoning By -Law amendments that are necessary for the Strategic Plan Implementation. Mr. Michael Trowbridge mentioned that all the zoning changes proposed by the town are to spur more development in the Industrial Park —3— Review Superintendent Goals: Mrs. Hodges explained the procedure that the Principals, Directors of Special Education, and herself have done and reviewed the District and Superintendents Goals. The district's Leadership has revised the District Goal # 3: Technology Integration, as it did need clarification. The Leadership Team agreed that all the other goals accurately reflect the educational initiatives and work of the district, necessary for student achievement and success. Mrs. Hodges provided a copy to the School Committee of the original District and Superintendent's Goals 2012 — 2013, along with the revisions. Statement of Interest / Resolution: Massachusetts State Regulations require the School Committee to authorize the Superintendent of Schools to submit a "Statement of Interest "for any local building project. This statement of interest is submitted for the Robinson window project. Resolved: Having convened in an open meeting on April 2, 2013, the Mansfield School Committee, in accordance with its charter, by -laws and ordinances, has voted to authorize the Superintendent of Schools to submit to the Massachusetts School Building Authority the Statement of Interest Form that will be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by no later than April 10, 2013 for consideration in FY2013 for the Robinson Elementary School located at 245 East Street, Mansfield, MA, which describes and explains the following deficiencies and the priority category for which an application may be submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority in the future as a priority 5 SOI which calls for the replacement of windows at the School to increase energy conservation and decrease energy related cost; and hereby further specifically acknowledges that by submitting this Statement of Interest Form, the Massachusetts School Building Authority in no way guarantees the acceptance or the approval of an application, the awarding of a grant or any other funding commitment from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, or commits the Mansfield School District to filing an application for funding with the Massachusetts School Building Authority. This Statement of Interest was read aloud by School Committee member, Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to authorize the Statement of Interest for the Robinson Window Project. A motion was made to accept and authorize the Superintendent to submit this statement to the MSBA, 1st by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz and 2nd by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. Motion U. C. 5 — 0 1¢ Student Project / Logan Marks: Mansfield High School senior, Logan Marks, was given permission earlier to move forward with his project: The basis of Logan's project is to take three designated plots of land and give them a facelift and revitalize them within the community. The planting locations are around the Qualters Middle School and Jordan Jackson Elementary School signs. The third location is in the downtown area just past the Mansfield Travel Agency, which has already been approved by the Selectman. The process will begin in early spring by planting shrubs and flowers that will flourish on their own and beautify the area. Massachusetts Discipline Bill / Attendance: The recent Massachusetts Discipline Bill was passed and the MGL Regulations on attendance. It is important that the district, and especially the high school, adopt policy that is in compliance with these changes. It is necessary that the district handbooks for FY 2013 —14 reflect these changes. Request to Reschedule Early Release to Mav 2nd Mrs. Hodges requested that May 2nd be designated as an early release day to replace the cancelation of the original early release of May 1, 2013. This is important for accomplishing the Professional Development needs of the district. The School Committee approved Mrs. Hodges' request to reschedule the Early Release day to May 2nd, Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to reschedule the Early Release day. A motion was made to reschedule the day I" by Mrs. Jean Miller, 2nd by Mrs. Wayne Smith. Motion U. C. 5-0 Request to Increase 1 % Early Release Dam to 1/2 Day Early Release for FY 13 —14 When the FY 2013 — 14 school calendar was approved in February, Mrs. Hodges mentioned that she would be making a request to increase the 11/2 hour early release time to a one half day. The purpose of this request is that the district has a great deal of professional development work that must be completed at each building and at the district level. This work includes teacher evaluation training, training and preparation for PARC Assessments, specific content training for SPED staff to support the new SPED —5— `instructional single subject model, Para Professional training for behavioral and structural support, Common Core, Math and ELA Standards / report cards, address the needs as outlined in the NEASC Evaluation final report, ELL training and technology integration, just to name a few areas where professional development must be provided. Mrs. Hodges requested 8 half days to be determined by the leadership team to be included in the 2013 —14 calendar prior to June 30, 2013. The School Committee approved 8 half days to be determined by the leadership team and included in the 2013 —14 calendar prior to June 30, 2013. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge called for a motion to approve the 8 half days for next year. A motion was made to approve half days 1" by Mrs. Jean Miller, 2nd by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz. Motion U. C. 4-1 Mrs. O'Neil was opposed Field Trips (if any) MHS New York Field Trip: Mr. Scott Brigante, Director of Visual and Performing Arts at MHS, requested a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum in New York City on May 2, 2013. This trip meets the district expectations of 3 chaperones per 10 students. There will be no cost to the district. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to approve the MHS field trip to New York on May 2, 2013. A motion was made to approve the field trip, 1" by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, 2nd by Mrs. Kiera O'Neil. Motion U. C. 5-0 OMS Field Trip The QMS grade 611, Purple and Navy Teams requested approval for a field trip to Rhode Island College for a performance of Eureka! This live performance about Math will focus on several important mathematicians and their contributions to Math. The trip will be on May 24, 2013. There will be approximately 190 students with 10 chaperones and a cost of $15.00 per student. There will be no cost to the district. Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to approve the field trip to Rhode Island College on May 24, 2013. A motion was made to approve the field trip, ls` by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, 2nd by Mrs. Jean Miller. —6— `Motion U. C. 5-0 None SCHOOL COMMITTEE NEW BUSINESS The following statement was read aloud at the end of the meeting by Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge. Common sense is defined by Merriam - Webster as, "sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts." I think we can all agree that this is fairly simple definition to understand. I do not believe that the Sun Chronicle met this definition. The Sun Chronicle printed an article that on March 15th. An online article, by reporter David Linton, appeared that showed the victims name in an incident that occurred at the schools. This individual was a juvenile and a high school student. Just to be clear, I am referring to the victim's . When I saw this on line, I sent an email that evening to the Editor, Michael Kirby, stating my disappointment, and hoped that this name would be removed prior to the paper going to print the next day. The name did not get removed, nor did I receive a response to my email. The Superintendent, Brenda Hodges, also placed a call to the Sun Chronicle and did not receive a return phone call. Reporting news, comes with great responsibility. I hope in the future that the Sun Chronicle understands that and thinks twice before printing something that could potentially cause great harm to someone. It is easy to write a story, yet it takes more skill to write a story that uses common sense and sensitivity. I believe the Sun Chronicle owes the victim and their family in this case, an apology. OTHER Motion to adiourn: Chairman, Mr. Michael Trowbridge, called for a motion to adjourn the School Committee Meeting of April 2, 2013 at 9:50 PM for the sole purpose of adjourning. A Motion was made to close the meeting 1st by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, 2nd by Mrs. Jean Miller. A Roll call vote to close: Mr. Michael Trowbridge, yes; Mrs. Jean Miller, yes; Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, yes; Mrs. Kiera O'Neil, yes; and Mr. Wayne Smith, Jr. Motion U.C. 5-0 —7— Respectfully submitted, Mary 0. Jackson Secretary to the Superintendent & School Committee 1g-