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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm Minutes 6/17/2008An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held at the Town Hall on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. The meeting was called to order and opened by Mr. Trowbridge, 2nd by Mrs. Miller. A motion was made by Mrs. Miller, 2 ',d Mrs. Losiewicz; to have the School Committee go into Executive Session. A Roll Call vote was taken and the Executive Session meeting was called to order by Chairman, Michael Trowbridge at 6:35 P.M. Members Present — roll call vote to open meeting: Mr. Michael Trowbridge, Chairman - yes Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz, Vice Chairman - yes Mr. Frank DelVecchio - yes Mr. Steven Greenberg - yes Mrs. Jean Miller - yes Also Present: Mrs. Brenda Hodges, Superintendent of Schools Mr. Edward Vozzella, Director of Finance Correspondence: There was no correspondence brought forward at this meeting. Superintendent's Report: The Superintendent presented out going Athletic Director Margaret Conaty with a plaque in appreciation for her 19 years of service for the Mansfield Public Schools. Margaret will be the new AD in her hometown of Hingham, Massachusetts. We wish her the best of luck and continued happiness in her new job. Mrs. Hodges also announced the retirement of Mrs. Mary Lou Malatesta. Mary Lou has been the head Bookkeeper for Mansfield Public Schools for the past 14 years. Mary Lou & her husband Mike will be relocating to Houston to begin their retirement. We wish them many years of health and happiness. S. C. Minutes Page Z Approval of Warrants The following warrants were presented and accepted by the School Committee on June 17, 2008, Salary & Wages, # 2008 -43 dated 5/30/2008, in the amount of $1,495,568.98; Good & Services, #2008 -44 dated 6/30/08 in the amount of $725,158.60; Salary & Wages, #2008 -45 dated 6/13/08 , in the amount of $2,673,128.84 Motion to accept by Mrs. Jean Miller, 2 "d by Mr. Frank DelVecchio Motion U.C. 5 - 0 Approval of Minutes: The Executive Minutes of May 28, 2008 were approved. Motioned by Mrs. Jean Miller, 2nd by Mr. DelVecchio. Motion U.C. 5 — 0 The School Committee Minutes of May 28, 2008 were approved as amended. Motioned by Mrs. Jean Miller, 2nd by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz. Motion U.C. 5 — 0 OLD BUSINESS Mansfield High School Handbook Mr. Michael Connolly, Assistant Principal of Mansfield High School, brought forward the changes made to the MHS Handbook for the School Committee's approval. Minor changes in wording regarding the Attendance Policy were discussed and the document was accepted by a vote of 4 —1. Motion was made to accept by Mr. Frank DelVecchio and 2" d by Mrs. Lisa Losiewicz. M.C. 4 —1 with Mr. Greenberg against. 5 Year Plan Mr. Edward Vozzella, Finance Director for the Mansfield Public Schools, handed out a list of FY'09 budget enhancements for the Committee. The School Committee was complimentary of the 5 -Year Plan that was brought forward. Mr. Greenberg was very pleased that the School Committee was able to put this together. Mrs. Miller noted that this is not a final document but something from which the School Committee could work. Mr. Trowbridge noted it was a living document, a planning guide, an excellent tool for long range planning. Mr. DelVecchio pointed out the need to project the necessities that the school district can anticipate and articulate these numbers for the future. Motion to accept made by Mr. Greenberg, 2" d by Mrs. Miller Motion U.C. 5 - 0 S. C. Minutes Page 3 Update on Athletic Director Search: The school district received very high quality applicants for the position of Athletic Director. It has been an extensive interview process over the past few weeks. The Search Committee will have two finalists to bring forward very soon. Update on Modular Building Proiect: The footings have been poured and the connector & slab will be started. The classrooms should be delivered the 1 sr week of July from Indiana. The question has been raised as to why the construction began even before the Debt Exclusion had even been voted on. The Committee explained that the contract needed to be signed in April to begin the process so the classrooms would be ready for the September start of school. The Superintendent, Finance Director and a few School Committee members met with Town Manager John D'Agostino to discuss the contract and with his direction we proceeded. It was decided at the time that the funds would become available through the Special within the Annual Town Meeting. The Town Manager advised everyone on all boards combined that we not segregate the modulars and that we combine everything for one Debt Exclusion on July 151i. After many meetings of all the boards, the decision was made to go ahead with this plan for the modulars. The Town Manager is very supportive of education and stressed safety & schools. The scenario was raised that if the Debt Exclusion is not approved, our only recourse would be that we owed $400,000 on the project and we have to go back to KBA and try and work out a payment plan. What started as a $35,000,000 renovation project a few years ago has now been carefully scaled back to a $825,000 space needs project, that will be ready for use in September. Whenever it was later determined by the Chairman of the Finance Committee and the Town Manager that this would not be possible, the funding of the project was called into question. Update on Relocation of Little Hornets Day Care: The Little Hornet Daycare will be relocated to the Robinson Elementary School near the playground on the west side of the building. The PPS Office will be relocated to the Jordan Jackson School. These moves will occur over the summer. NEW BUSINESS Superintendent's Evaluation: Chairman Michael Trowbridge informed the rest of the Committee that their evaluations of the Superintendent will be due in ten days. Mrs. Hodges gave the Committee her permission to extend the time past the July I't deadline. 2008 — 2009 — School Committee Dates: The Committee voted to accept the meeting dates presented as amended. Motion was made by Mrs. Miller to accept, 2" d by Mrs. Losiewicz. Motion U.C. 5 -0 S. C. Minutes Pape 4 School Choice: It is the recommendation of the Superintendent not to support School Choice. The Committee voted to accept recommendation. Motion was made by Mr. Greenberg, 2nd by Mr. DelVecchio Motion U.C. 5 - 0 Other: The Superintendent wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the parents and volunteers that have worked so hard to raise such substantial funds to subsidize the schools. The PAC has donated $77,000 to the Elementary Schools with the MESA group raising $118,000 so far. Their volunteerism is amazing. The Superintendent brought up the issue of hiring a Grade 1 teacher at the Robinson. Mrs. Hodges will be monitoring the enrollment numbers as they grow and believes that we may need to add back the teacher to keep the numbers down. When asked how she plans to pay for an additional teacher, Mrs. Hodges stated that she could hire a teacher at a lower salary to replace a teacher leaving at a higher salary and still remain within the budget. The Committee voted to accept recommendation. Motion was made by Mr. Greenberg, 2nd by Mrs. Losiewicz. Motion U.C. 5 — 0 Motion to adiourn Motion was made to adjourn the School Committee Meeting of June 17, 2008 at 9:00 PM for the sole purpose of adjourning. Motion by Michael Trowbridge, 2nd by Steve Greenberg. Roll call to close: Jean Miller, yes: Michael Trowbridge, yes: Frank DelVecchio, yes: Lisa Losiewicz, yes; Mr. Greenberg, yes. Motion U.C. 5 - 0 Respectfully submitted, Mary O. Jackson Secretary to the Superintendent