HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchool Committee 12/19/2017Approved 1-23-18
Mansfield School Committee Meeting
Minutes for Tuesday, December 19 E2t7iVEQ
Town Hall, Room.3,1fh CLERKS OFFICE
An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was room 3 B of the Town Hall on
Tuesday, December 19, 2017. The open meeting session was oR'e M5iMFt10d to order by Kiera
O'Neil at 7:32 pm.
Members Present: Administration Present:
Kiera O'Neil Teresa Murphy, Superintendent of Schools
Lynn Cavicchi Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent (Teaching/Learning)
Linda Fernando Edward Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent (Finance/Operations)
Jenn Walsh
Lauren Scher
Members Absent: None
Video Recording: Dana Hourigan, 15 Evans Circle
Communications: None
Superintendent's Report:
The agenda listed an introduction for Steve Fortin. However, due to a conflict in scheduling, he was
not able to attend. This introduction will occur in January.
Teresa Murphy took this time to thank Liz Christo for her tremendous contributions as a volunteer;
she is a wonderful friend to Mansfield Public Schools. She started as a parent volunteer when her
oldest child started school. She has seen her three children graduate. To highlight a few, Liz has
been involved with and has led parent associations, run student events, participated on school
councils, served on administrative search committees. Liz has been part of FINCOM for 7 years and
has served as a liaison for the school department. Teresa thanked her for her energy, passion and
time to Mansfield. Jay Barrows was on hand to present a proclamation signed by him and the
Senate President.
A_nproval of Minutes:
Open Session Minutes of 12-5-17
Motion to approve the minutes by Jenn Walsh / Linda Fernando
Motion Carries 4-0-1 (Linda Fernando abstained, was absent from meeting.)
Executive Session Minutes of 12-5-17
Motion to approve the minutes by Jenn Walsh / Linda Fernando
Motion Carries 4-0-1 (Linda Fernando abstained, was absent from meeting.)
Gifts:
Samsonite donated suitcases to Mansfield High School valued at $3750 - $4000.
This gift allows our Visual Arts Director, Derek Harding to bring to life his vision for a
showcase of "art around the world." The district -wide art show, which will display projects
created by students in grades 1 — 12 could not be completed without the support of
Samsonite.
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Approved 1-23-18
Mansfield School Committee Meeting
Minutes for Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Town Hall, Room 3ab
MassCUE: Shawn O'Neill won a brand new 7000 series 75" SMARTboard via a raffle at the
recent MassCUE conference. Mansfield Public Schools will be responsible for the wall
mount. The SMARTboard will be installed in Shawn's classroom.
Raytheon donated $1000 to Mansfield High School in recognition of Jackie Prester being a
MA STEM Teacher of the Year Finalist. The donation will be used in support of our
Business Department Curriculum.
Anonymous Donor: Mansfield Public Schools received a cash gift from an anonymous
donor. The gift value is $10,000 with a corporate match of an additional $10,000. The
donor did request that the money be put toward renovations of the Mansfield High School
Auditorium. Matt Jacques researched sound systems; he feels we can install a system for
approximately $20,000. Incidentals may cost upwards of $3000 and would be paid for out
of the school budget. The overall renovations to the auditorium are likely a 4 year project.
Mansfield is extremely grateful to these donors.
Old Business:
Subcommittees:
Audit: The town audit was completed and will be presented to the Board of Selectmen in
January. The school department received a favorable report with no negative notations.
CIP: A substantial amount of our capital improvements were approved, most notably,
technology, paving, and a generator. The next meeting will be held in the spring to prepare
for town meeting.
Budget: Last week the committee met to review the initial FY19 budget numbers in
preparation for tonight's meeting. Lynn Cavicchi suggested that a workshop be held in
January or February to discuss 5 year projections, the revolver fund and fees. A time frame
of late January or early February was set.
Facilities: No update
Policy: Lynn Cavicchi met with Michael Connolly and Ed Donoghue to discuss student
activity accounts. Further work will be done on this policy in January.
New Business:
MHS High School Principal Position:
Teresa Murphy shared her thoughts on filling the high school principal position (Mary
Watkins is currently a 1 year interim principal.) Mary hit the ground running and has
moved the school forward in a number of ways. Mary does "what is best for the kids."
Teresa would like to appoint Mary as the new principal rather than do a search. Itis not
often we have the opportunity to promote to principal from an internal position as many
teachers jump from district to district looking for administrative positions. Teresa does
recognize the importance of seeking outside candidates. She noted that we hired Ed
Donoghue, Jocelyn LeMaire and Matt Jacques from the outside and they have offered fresh
perspectives to our operations. In this case though, Teresa felt there was significant value
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Approved 1-23-I8
Mansfield School Committee Meeting
Minutes for Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Town Hall, Room 3ab
hiring from within. Teresa presented several comments from high school staff
commending Mary on her efforts including "she has had a positive impact on the climate of
the school; she meets the needs of the whole student and always provides exceptional
leadership to our school," The committee supported Teresa's decision to appoint Mary
Watkins to MHS principal. Both Teresa and Kiera O'Neil extended their congratulations to
Mary.
Insurance Task Force Recommendation:
Lynn Cavicchi participated with members of the Board of Selectmen, Finance Committee,
Jocelyn LeMaire, Ed Donoghue, Deb Scott, John Stanbrook and Jackie Boudreau to evaluate
our current purchasing group for health benefits. The general sense is that current group
(SMHG Southestern MA Health Group) has its challenges in providing us services.
Additionally, the town is looking to minimize cost increases. The task force evaluated the
current purchasing group against other available groups. Note, any proposed changes will
not impact the actual insurance provider, only the purchasing mechanism. After a
thorough analysis, it was decided to leave the current purchasing group and move to MHA
(MA Interlocal Insurance Association.) MIAA is more proactive in their service and adds
wellness benefits. Other towns such as North Attleboro, Foxboro, Easton have already left
the SMHG group. There are 120 towns in the MIIA group which will help to reduce risk
and hopefully balance cost. Steve Schoonfeld was one of the FinCom representatives on
the task force. He spoke briefly to provide his insight as to why the switch would be
beneficial to us. He felt the operating structure of MIIA far exceeded that of our current
provider; there are many wellness benefits that we can start to take advantage of; MIIA is
guaranteeing a low rate increase for our first year.
No vote is required by school committee. The task force will recommend their proposal to
the Board of Selectmen on 12/20/17 for a vote.
Elementary School Reading Program:
Michael Connolly opened the presentation thanking the school committee for allowing the
district to review their findings. The presentation will be in four parts with various
speakers.
I. Introduction:
Michael highlighted the number of staff from varied backgrounds who worked long and
hard on the review process. This has been a very long and thorough search.
Here tonight is John Nieratko, Kerri Sankey, Tanna Jango, Jenn Hartman, Meghan McCarthy
and Jenn Fleischman.
II. Reasons for Exploring a New Literacy Model:
A. MCAS scores - areas where we could improve
B. Age of Reading Street: This is a 10 year old product
C. Current program no longer aligned with MA Frameworks/Common Core
D. Technology component of program no longer available
E. Publisher no longer prints all the key components
III. Literacy Review Process:
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Approved 1-23-18
Mansfield School Committee Meeting
Minutes for Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Town Hall, Room 3ab
Jenn Hartman and Tanna Jango reviewed the steps taken to date. Staff, including reading,
social studies and ELA teachers, looked at many options as well as a survey of staff. After
many meetings with vendors, the programs were narrowed down to four. Schools were
visited and the final two programs were chosen.
IV. Recommendation and Rationale:
John Nieratko and Kerri Sankey spoke about the final stage of the project where the final
two programs were studied in depth; costs and implementation plans were reviewed,
discussions were held with Central Administration. Kerri and John's vision is that of a
reading, writing, listening and speaking program. As such, this effort is more about a
literacy program than a reading program. The goal is to meet the needs of all individual
learners and support a variety of skill levels and student backgrounds. The reading
needs at the Robinson and Jordan/Jackson schools are unique. Both schools are committed
to providing a model of instruction that best meets student needs. The final decision of the
team was to identify individual reading programs for each school.
The Robinson School chose the Journeys Comprehensive Core Program. It provides
whole and small group instruction. It also provides a variety of assessment tools to identify
student needs. The model is aligned with Common Core standards. Kerri then spoke of
the three year timeline.
• 17-18: Overview of core model (professional development); Set school -wide vision and expectations.
18-19: Implementation of core model; Additional professional development in support of first year
implementation and instruction.
19-20: Use of Core assessments within Journeys; Continued professional development; begin
curriculum mapping to MA frameworks.
The Jordan/Jackson School chose Fountas & Pinnell and Fundations Phonics Instruction.
Highlights of the model include small group instruction, variety of complex texts,
framework to guide teachers which is flexible for range of learners, integrates reading and
writing across social studies and science. J/J will also continue to use components of
Reading Street that still work well with our vision. John's four year plan is as follows:
17-18: Professional development; pilot Fundations in grade 3; Implement Reader's Workshop using
Fountas & Pinnell
18-19: Integration of Reading Street; continued professional development; End of Year assessment of
new model
19-20: Implement changes based on prior year assessments; professional development on expansion
of model
• 20-21: Review effectiveness of data and impact on small group and whole group instruction;
continued professional development
Questions and Comments:
Lauren Scher asked how the process would affect the current RTI (Response to
Intervention Model). Kerri indicated that changes would be required but it would not be a
major overhaul. Mansfield will continue to use their current benchmarks to identify
intervention needs.
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Approved 1-23-18
Mansfield School Committee Meeting
Minutes for Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Town Hall, Room 3ab
Lynn Cavicchi asked if the vendors would provide professional development. The
Journey's program provides professional development as part of their base package. It
includes 3 full days of an overview and then additional training on the detailed model. A
digital training platform is also available. The Fountas & Pinnell program has literacy
specialists who will train our staff and provide model lesson plans. In addition they
collaborate through Leslie University for training. Michael Connolly indicated that we
would work within our professional development budgets for this training.
Lynn asked if the principals have looked at the technology standards or new social studies
standards for the state. Michael Connolly thanked her for her input. The implementation
team is aware of these outside factors but have not yet dug deep into the impact of these
changes. He will continue to look at technology integration and our curriculum standards.
Lynn asked if there will be parent presentations. Michael and the team have been working
mostly on the integration piece to date. However, Kerri and John have had preliminary
discussions on parent presentations. It was agreed with the committee that these
presentations should occur in the fall. Kiera suggested that these presentations be very
user friendly and easy for parents to understand. It was suggested that Mansfield teachers
be an integral part of the presentation. It is very important to have parent buy in. Kiera
reiterated the importance of the parent presentations.
Lauren appreciated the thought put into supporting the different age groups. She asked if
the team was focusing on the transition period and whether or not it could be sped up
slightly. She was also concerned that teachers could get overwhelmed with the changes
and the number of resources available. Could the schools designate resources to ensure
consistency in the use of the materials? Teresa reiterated that the J/J was still going to use
components of Reading Street which would help the transition from grade 2 to grade 3.
The committee asked if parents would see significant differences in the programs. Jenn
Fleishman spoke about the Journeys program. The change will not be as significant as it
was when we first moved to Reading Street. She was confident in a smooth transition.
Meghan McCarthy spoke of the new J/J program. She felt that we would see our students
enjoy reading again. The material available will be more engaging for our students.
The committee commended the Literacy Review team on their hard work. A change in
curriculum requires a vote by School Committee.
Motion to approve the new Literacy Programs for Jordan/Jackson and Robinson was made
by Linda Fernando/Jenn Walsh.
Motion Carries: 5 - 0.
FY19 Budget Review:
Teresa Murphy provided some background into this year's process. District
administration, principals, department chairs and department heads have been working
since the summer to build the budget per our budget timeline and the overarching goals of
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Approved 1-23-18
Mansfield School Committee Meeting
Minutes for Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Town Hall, Room 3ab
our district. In the fall, the school committee set priorities for the district which included
technology integration; social emotional learning; and 504 plans, among others.
Each year the schools starts with a zero based budget. Schools presented to Ed Donoghue
at the end of October. During November, Ed, Teresa and Mike met with each school to fine
tune the figures. In November, the administration & School Committee met with the Board
of Selectmen, FinCom and John Stanbrook to review the budget forecast. At that meeting, a
target percent increase was identified. At the same time, we worked with the town to
identify our capital improvements for the upcoming year. Based on recommendations
from FinCom we moved technology and furniture from our operating budget to capital.
Tonight the district will present a high level view of the budget and ask that the committee
approve the bottom line number.
Ed Donoghue reviewed the slides. To start, he reviewed the consolidated spreadsheet for
FY17, 18 and 19. He highlighted significant changes. Central Services is up 11.8%
primarily due to the transportation contract; special education costs are down due to
projected move outs and age outs. Note that the special education cost is very variable.
Athletics is up due to recurring costs such as uniforms. Robinson costs include the reading
program and enhancements to the math program. Our resulting number is a 3.3%
increase.
On the budget reconciliation page, Ed provided information on the changes from FYI to
FY19. To clarify the literacy program, in FY19 we will pay for the total J/J program but only
r/2 of the Robinson program since we were given an opportunity to split the cost over two
years.
Teresa noted that we are presenting in a different manner this year. In the past we
surveyed the schools and asked for their wish lists. That was presented to committee with
a number. Then, in January we typically had to cut from the preliminary budget to meet
town needs. This year we were asked to come in with a very tight budget. We are coming
in as close as possible to the target of 2%. However we are noting that if money were to
become available, our wish list would be as follows: ALC teachers at QMS and MHS; a full
time office assistant at MHS and an Instructional Technology Specialist district wide.
IIpcoming Benda Items:
Jenn Walsh asked if the committee would consider moving the open meeting start times back to
7:00. She requested this for a future agenda. However, the committee discussed and decided that
7:00 would be the start time for open meetings and any executive session meetings would start at
6:30 pm. No vote required.
New School Committee Business:
None
Documents Referenced:
Page 6 of 7
Approved 1-23-18
Mansfield School Committee Meeting
Minutes for Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Town Hall, Room 3ab
Insurance Task Force Summary Sheet
Elementary Reading Program Presentation
District Reading Program Analysis
Glossary of Terms
Reading Program rankings
MCAS Results
Staff Survey Results
FY19 Budget Presentation
Motion to adjourn: At 9:17 p.m., Motion to adjourn by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh
Motion U.C. S-0
Respectfully Submitted,
Diane Nugent, Secretary to the
Superintendent & School Committee
Page 7 of 7
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