HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Comm. 12/05/2017•- Approved 12-19-17
Mansfield School Committee Meeting
Minutes for Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Town Hall, Room 3ab 7U' RECEIVED
CLF'RKS OFFICE
An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in room 3AB of tj#IjHail ons 9
Tuesday, December 05, 2017. The open meeting session was opened and called to ord by i S
O'Neil at 7:33 pm. IM -1
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Members Present: Administration Present: AS SA "S -TTI
Kiera O'Neil Teresa Murphy, Superintendent of Schools
Lynn Cavicchi Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent (Teaching/Learning)
Jenn Walsh Edward Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent (Finance/Operations)
Lauren Scher
Members Absent: Linda Fernando
Communications: None
Superintendent's Report:
Teresa Murphy met with Mark Cook, Ed Donohue and Matt Jacques to discuss past practice and
plans for the upcoming snow season. Teresa's goal is to cancel school as early as possible while
being cognizant of the safety and security of students and staff; the cancelation plans of neighboring
communities and the recommendation of the DPW.
Teresa gave a shout out to staff for their involvement in community giving via the West Side
Benevolent Society. MHS donated gift cards for teens; QMS, Robinson and Roland Green had giving
trees; JJ had an item donation. Thank you to their generosity.
Student Advisory Report:
MHS is happy to celebrate the return to level 1 accountability status for MCAS. The fall play, Peter
and the Starcatcher was a rousing success; The Quiz team made it to the top 16 and will tape their
next competition at WGBH studios in January. Representatives from the National Honor Society
attended the Joint Chapter Conference. Participants of the National Honor Society donated their
time to Bah grade parent night and parent/teacher conferences.
Approval of Warrant:
Warrants
Warrant #'s
Dates
Amount
Salary & Wages
2018-7
10/06/17
1,622, 751.33
Goods & Services
2018-1011
10/10/17
615,545.04
Salary & Wages
2018-8
10/20/17
1,720,251.90
Goods & Services
2018-1013
10/24/17
529,971.73
Motion to approve the warrant by Jenn Walsh/Lauren Scher
Motion Passes 4 - 0.
Approval of Minutes:
Mfil.'YZII1717
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Approved 12-19-17
Mansfield School Committee Meeting
Minutes for Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Town Hall, Room 3ab
Open Session Minutes of 11-7-17
Motion to approve the minutes by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher
Motion Carries 4-0
Open Session Minutes of 11-14-17
Motion to approve the minutes by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher
Motion Carries 4-0
Open Session Minutes of 11-23-17
Motion to approve the minutes by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher
Motion Carries 3-0-1 (Lauren Scher abstained- was absent from the meeting)
Old Business:
Subcommittees:
Audit: Meeting tomorrow to review preliminary draft of CAFRA
CIP: School Committee presented the FY18 Capital Requests to the CIP committee on 11/28.
Kiera commended the school district for the presentation that was put together. Next week
the CIP will vote on the priorities.
Budget: Meeting to be held 12/11/19 to discuss FY19.
Facilities: Looking at other districts for ideas on defining the scope of this committee.
Policy: A few policies in progress. Looking ahead to additional policy work in January.
New Business:
Field Trip Approvals:
1. Motion to Approve MHS Performing Arts Group to NYC by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher
Discussion: Lynn inquired on the 12/8 deposit due date being too short of notice. Will bring
this back to Sheila Newton.
Motion Carries 4 - 0.
2. Motion to Approve MHS Dance Group to Providence, RI by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher
Discussion: None
Motion Carries 4 - 0.
3. Motion to give final approval to MHS Girls basketball to NYC by Jenn Walsh / Lauren Scher
Discussion: Lynn asked if there would be a refund it it snowed. Mary Watkins noted that
students would not be penalized. This is the second step in the approval process.
Motion Carries 4 - 0.
SEPAC Presentation
Kerry Smith and Dawn Low of the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee provided
an annual update. The goal of the group is to increase communication to and from parents
of special needs students. This includes keeping parents up to date on the ever changing
MCAS testing procedures.
Some highlights (details can be found in presentation material):
Mission: understanding of, respect for and support of all children with special needs
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Approved 12-19-17
Mansfield School Committee Meeting
Minutes for Tuesday, December 05, 2017
Town Hall, Room 3ab
Group will advise the school committee, meet regularly with school officials, provide at
least one workshop annually, communicate with parents, and promote communication
between SEPAC and local, state & national organizations.
The group is run by volunteers and is actively seeking additional members.
Recent highlights include: promoting SEPAC to parents by attending Family Fun Night, PAC
meetings, maintaining a Facebook page, creating a new email address, accepting a $250
donation from Mansfield Women of Today
Recent presentations include: Meet & Greet with Bernadette Conroy, Basic Rights,
Guardianship Concerns, Organizing documents, Summer and vacation services in an IEP.
Lauren Scher asked if the group gave out advice to parents who may not know the protocol
for contacting the schools. They do help parents get in touch with special education
department chairs and help the parents to understand the chain of command in the
schools.
FY19 Budget Review:
Ed Donoghue reviewed the work to date. It continues to be an ongoing process. He is still
holding meetings with department chairs and principals to workout details. The budget
review continues to run parallel with the CIP requests and will be adjusted once final CIP
priorities are set. Ed will have a draft of the budget for the budget subcommittee on
12/11/17 and will report the initial budget to the committee on 12/19/17.
Upcoming Agenda Items:
Elementary Team Reading Program presentation
Gifts
Bullying and Teen Violence
Vote on Protocols.
January: School Choice Discussion
New School Committee Business:
Kiera and Lauren completed a draft of proposed protocols. The committee will review and then
vote on 12/19/17. The goal in creating protocols is to set longstanding protocols for future
members to follow. There are 4 main sections: Communication, Decision-making, Collaboration,
Meetings. Lynn would like to see the protocols reference back to existing policies. She also
suggested that policy BIA (orientation of new school committee members) be updated to reference
these protocols.
Documents Referenced:
SEPAC Presentation Material
School Committee Protocols
Motion to adjourn: At 9:59 p.m., Motion to adjourn by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh
Motion U.C. 5-0
Respectfully Submitted,
Diane Nugent, Secretary to the
Superintendent & School Committee
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