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Home My WebLink AboutSchool Committee 11/8/2016Approved 11-15-16 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, November 8, 2016 Assistant Superintendent's office Tvls,,; r?ECOVED A meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was opened and called to order at 7:53 p.idijb CEr r Ci_ 1 � 2' S9 Members Present Kiera O'Neil, Chair Lynn Cavicchi,Vice Chair = rTS Linda Fernando Laurent Scher Jenn Walsh Discussion The Committee discussed competencies they felt needed to be focused on across the district, with the intent of developing a shared vision about the traits, experience, and skills the incoming superintendent would need. The group also discussed the progress that had been made over the past two years in the district, including technology, curriculum review, professional development, and improved relationships with union and municipal officials, and areas of concern, including a relatively new administrative team, the retirement of the finance director, declining enrollment, and the need to better communicate the work of the district to the community. Kiera O'Neil asked each SC member to prepare and submit 3 interview questions to her by Friday, November 11 on the following topics Kiera O'Neil —School Committee/Administration Lynn Cavicchi — Management Operations/Personnel Linda Fernando — Family/Community Laurent Scher—Financial Jenn Walsh — Instruction/Curriculum At 9:16 p.m., Kiera O'Neil asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was made by Lynn Cavicchi and seconded by Linda Fernando. Motion UC 5-0. Respectfully submitted, Lynn Cavicchi Vice Chair School Committee Approved 11-16-16 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Special Education Workshop Minutes for Tuesday, November 8, 2016 Assistant Superintendent's Office A meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was opened and called to order at 6 p.m. Members Present Kiera O'Neil, Chair Lynn Cavicchi,Vice Chair Linda Fernando Laurent Scher Jenn Walsh Others present: Mary Ellen Sowyrda, special education legal counsel; Zeff Gianetti, Teresa Murphy, Bernadette Conroy, Jim Leonard, Nancy Beier, Dave Farinella, and Yogen Chemburkar, Finance Committee School Liaison Discussion Zeff Gianetti explained the purpose of the workshop was to provide an overview to the School Committee and the Finance Committee representative on the changing nature of special education requirements under the law, special ed placements, staff case load, and recent legal cases/case law. Mary Ellen Sowyrda outlined the cornerstone of special education law, which is to provide educational services in the least restrictive environment, and the district's legal obligation to address educating the whole child. Discussion centered around the changing needs of students and special education. Bernadette Conroy explained the various approaches the district uses to support student needs, from Response to Intervention to district residential outplacement. Dave Farinella gave an overview of the evening school and how it addresses the needs of students who need credit recovery and students who did not graduate with their class, as well as a limited number of fee-based students from other districts. He noted that the evening school has also seen an increase in day students who are unable to make it through the school day due to social -emotional issues. The group also discussed the need for parent education around social -emotional issues, particularly at the lower grade levels, and the type of supports and resources the district may need to provide in order to address the changing needs of students in the district. At 7:45 p.m., Kiera O'Neil asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion was made by Lynn Cavicchi and seconded by Jenn Walsh. Motion LIC 5-0. Respectfully submitted, Lynn Cavicchi Vice Chair School Committee Approved 11-15-16 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, November 1, 2016 Town Hall, Room 3A&B town meeting with two lists. One assumes reimbursement and the other does not. We took this same approach last year. There was some concern with completing these two items while ignoring those that were listed as safety issues. Mansfield in not obligated to pursue the boiler and windows at this point; we are just pursuing the option of state funding. Conclusion: It is in Mansfield's best interest to pursue the two items while still looking at other priorities on the list. Linda Fernando motioned to move forward with a request to the state for both the MHS windows/door and MHS Boiler requests. Lynn Cavicchi seconded the motion. Motion Carries 5 - 0. New Superintendent Search: As of Friday, Mansfield had received over 450 responses on the survey. The school committee thanked the community and staff for taking the time to complete the online survey. On 11/8/16 the committee will meet to determine a set of interview questions. The meeting will start at the conclusion of the special education workshop meeting. Interviews are scheduled for 11/16/16. Student Advisory Committee; Nithin Lankipalle provided an update on MHS. In athletics, girls soccer and boys cross country are Hockomock Champs. There have been many exciting Senior nights at all the sporting events. The high school will put on two one -act plays this coming weekend. Foreign Language Honor Society inductions to be held this week. The committee requested that Nithin seek out input from the Student Advisory Committee and present interview questions to the board. Citizens Comments: None School Committee New Business: School Committee Other Business: Documents Referenced: Letter from Roxbury resident on Charter School Amendment Map of new Walking Trail for senior project Connolly Bus Contract Capital List Motion to adjourn by Linda Fernando at 8:26pm; seconded by jenn Walsh. Motion U.C. 5-0 Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent Secretary to the Superintendent & School Committee Page 4 of 4 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, November 1, 2016 Town Hall, Room 3A&B needed for clearing Discussion: Approved 11-15-16 • Student and mentor should discuss option of creating a loop trail that does not end on school property. This would eliminate issues of residents and cars on school property while making it easier for hikers to get back to their cars at the end of their walk. • Student and mentor should meet with SRO to discuss any safety concerns. • Student needs minimal tools for construction of the trail. Gus will provide his own tools. The work is minimal creating walking paths while trying to have little impact on nature. • Gus will return to planning process with his mentor and discuss the project with the SRO. Gus will then come back to the November 15th meeting with updates. Field Trips: QMS French class to Rhode Island for a school concert. Motion to approve the field trip was made by Linda Fernando and seconded by Jenn Walsh. Motion Carries 5 - 0. Connolly Bus Contract: Our existing contract is about to expire. Ed Vozzella put the contract out to bid but the only return bid received was from Connolly Bus. Ed is asking the committee to vote to go into contract with Connolly Bus. At that point we would also get approval from the town manager and then get an actual contract. The contract will be approved at town meeting. " Ed Vozzella feels comfortable with the new contract despite the 11% cost increase for next year. Following year increases are minimal and overall we are still low compared to other districts in the area. Connolly has been very reliable for us over the years. Part of the cost increase is due to the state mandate requiring Connolly to provide health insurance to its employees. Typically these costs are partially transferred to customers. Linda Fernando motioned that the school committee vote to enter into a pupil transportation contract with the Michael J. Connolly Bus Co. for a period in excess of three years, for a total contract not to exceed five years. Lynn Cavicchi seconded the motion. Motion Carries 5 - 0. Capital Needs: A meeting was held on October 10th along with the Finance Committee to listen to our consultant Tighe and Bond, discuss our capital needs and the possibilities of reimbursement from the state. Ed Vozzella will meet with Mike Ahern and the school principals to discuss their needs. Once that is done, he can update the spreadsheet with a current wish list. He also suggested that we add Chromebooks to the list. Discussion centered around the two items that area potentially reimbursable from the state: MHS Window/Door and Boiler/Hot water. Points were made regarding our ability to match funding. What if they approve reimbursement at 50% but we are not able to make up the difference? In this case we can go back to the state and let them know we do not want to pursue. What if the state refunds us for only one of the two? Should be prioritize which of these two is most important? The state will make that determination so it makes the most sense for us to apply for both and see what happens. What if we put these two items as priority 1 and 2 but we do not receive funding? Can we re -arrange priorities? Yes, we can adjust priorities as needed once reimbursements are identified. Ed Vozzella indicated that we would move toward Page 3 of 4 Approved 11-15-16 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, November 1, 2016 Town Hall, Room 3A&B APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Open Meeting Minutes of 10-18-16 A motion to approve the minutes was made Istby Linda Fernando and 2nd by Jenn Walsh. Motion Carries 5-0 Executive Session Minutes of 10-18-16. A motion to approve the minutes was made Istby Linda Fernando and 2nd by Jenn Walsh. Motion Carries 5-0 Open Capital Minutes of 30-20-16. Request to add Tighe & Bond document to minutes. A motion to approve the minutes as amended was made Istby Linda Fernando and 2nd by Jenn Walsh. Motion Carries 4-0-1 (Linda Fernando abstained / not in attendance) Open Workshop Minutes of 10-24-16. A motion to approve the minutes was made ]stby Linda Fernando and 2nd by Jenn Walsh. Motion Carries 5-0 No new updates. OLD BUSINESS: Sub Committee Updates 1. Audit: Two meetings upcoming to discuss. Awaiting numbers from Bristol County Retirement. 2. CIP: 11/29 is school presentation to CIP committee. 3. Budget: Initial meeting held with Zeff Gianetti and Ed Vozzella. 4. Policy: Upcoming meeting on Thursday 11/3 to discuss priorities. NEW BUSINESS: Special Education PAC Presentation. • Jennifer Sellon, a SEPAC member, presented an overview of the organization: Mandated by state to have a SEPAC within district, Resource to parents, and Guidance to schools. • Survey sent out last year. Results were used to determine priorities, set meeting schedules, create an informational brochure, create bylaws and social media outlets. • Upcoming meetings: Future Planning for Special Needs; How to establish an 'ABLE" account,• Understanding your basic rights. • Moving forward: Expand reach, provide informational packets to new special education parents; join local towns to create a regional SEPAC. Senior Project. Nature Trail behind jl. Gus Huiskamp, a MHS senior, is working with Teacher Ben Caisse and the Natural Resources Trust Management to create a new walking trail off of existing trails. He explained his project and showed the committee details on a map. The trail will branch off an existing trail that starts on Natural Resources Trust property, passes through town property and ends on School property. Concerns: • Residents on school property during school day, parking on school property and equipment Page 2 of 4 Approved 11-15-16 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, November 1, 2016 Town Hall, Room 3A&B An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held at the Town Hall on Tuesday, November 1, 2016. The open meeting session was opened and called to order by Kiera O'Neil at 7:02 pm. Members Present: Also Present: Kiera O'Neil, Chair Zeffro Gianetti, Superintendent of Schools Lynn Cavicchi, Vice Chair Teresa Murphy, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Linda Fernando Edward Vozzella, Director of Finance and Operations Lauren Scher Jenn Walsh Members Absent: None Video Ta -pine: Dana Hourigan,15 Evans Circle COMMUNICATIONS: Letter was received from Shellina Semexant of Roxbury, MA expressing her disappointment with the school committee's decision on charter schools. Letter was summarized for the board. A MHS Spanish teacher has been hired and has started. Teresa Murphy reported on professional day next Tuesday (Election Day.) The district is offering a wide array of opportunities for staff. There are outside groups coming in to present (example: Use of Chromebooks; Use of Texas Instruments Tools). Several staff members are going outside the district. Mansfield now participates in a Local Staff Opportunities Group which allows us to attend a variety of professional development activities not previously available to us. (Examples: PE/Wellness; ELL& Special Education; Elementary Art therapy; World Language). Kiera asked if Teresa could provide a mid -year update to parents on our instructional technology accomplishments. Teresa will prepare this update. APPROVAL OF WARRANT: Warrants Warrant Vs Dates Amount Salary & Wages 2017-8 10/07/16 1,583,295.30 Goods & Services 2017-1011 10/11/16 606,660.49 Salary & Wages 2017-9 10/21/16 1,586,840.15 Goods & Services 2017-1013 10/25/16 792,839.49 4,569,635.43 A motion to approve the warrant was made Istby Linda Fernando and 2nd by Jenn Walsh. Motion Carries 5-0 Page 1 of 4