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Home My WebLink AboutSchool Comm 04/10/2018Approved 04-24-18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, April 10, 2018 RECEIVED Town Hall, Room3ab fU"AflN, CLERKS OFFICE 2018 MAY -3 P 2: 28 An Open Meeting of the Mansfield School Committee was held in room 3AB,f tb, T� Hpall on ' i # Tuesday, April 10, 2018. The open meeting session was reconvened afterje., � nd called to order by Kiera O'Neil at 7:04 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) Lauren Scher Jenn Walsh Members Absent: None Video Recordin¢: Dana Hourigan, 15 Evans Circle Communications: None Superintendent's Report: Teresa Murphy announced that Maya Dancey, grade 7 (Blue Team) was nominated by her team for the JFK Make A Difference Award. Maya has been chosen as a recipient of this award which will be presented to her at the JFK Library. Annroval of Warrant: Warrants Warrant Vs Dates Amount Goods & Services 2018-1031 03/06/18 380, 954.92 Salary & Wages 2018-18 03/09/18 1,564,005.67 Goods & Services 2018-1033 03/20/18 387,421.88 Salary & Wages 2018-19 03/23/18 1,595,528.78 $ 3,927,911.25 Motion to approve the warrant by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh Motion Carries 5 - 0 A_nnroval of Minutes: Open Session Minutes of 3-27-18 Motion to approve the minutes by Linda Fernando / Lauren Scher Motion Carries 4 - 0 - 1 Qenn Walsh abstained; was absent from meeting) Executive Session Minutes of 2-27-18 Tabled; no motion Old Business: Subcommittees: Audit: No update. CIP: Projects have been approved and are ready for town meeting. Page 1 of 6 Approved 04-24-18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, April 10, 2018 Town Hall, Room 3ab Budget: Attended a meeting with FINCOM Facilities: Will meet after April vacation to review rental agreement and to get an update on improvements due to water testing results Policy: In progress. A few policies will be approved today. Lauren is working with Jocelyn LeMaire on staff policy changes. 2018-19 School Calendar. Roland Green has asked for a change in conference dates for the 2018-19 calendar. A proposal was brought forward last week but tabled due to questions. Roland Green has revised the conference dates to align with Robinson to minimize impact to parents. Motion to approve the revised 2018-19 School Calendar for new Roland Green conference dates by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh Motion Carries 5 — 0. Calendar is now approved and can be published. New Business: Interview for Director of Special Education: Teresa Murphy reviewed the process to date. A search committee, including Linda Fernando, determined interview questions and reviewed applicants for the first round of interviews. Two candidates (one internal, one external) were brought forward to Teresa Murphy. Teresa interviewed the two candidates and has brought forward Jim Leonard, Assistant Director of Special Education (grades 6 - 12+). Teresa provided highlights of Jim's experience and education background. She asked Jim to provide an opening statement. Jim has lived in Mansfield for 25 years with his wife and three children. He came into education from a prior career and four years ago he had the opportunity to work as the Assistant Director of Special Education for QMS and MHS. During that time Berndadette Conroy was a wonderful mentor to him. Some of his accomplishments include expanding capacity at MHS and QMS; building vocational opportunities; creating a co -teaching model at QMS; writing grants which have been approved for Mansfield; and creating the Mansfield Career Night. School Committee asked the following interview questions: Lynn Cavicchi: How would you go about assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the current special education program and develop a long term plan if needed? We are in the process of doing this right now as part of our coordinated program review. He is starting with our infrastructure, our student / teacher ratios, para professional support, educational opportunities in the inclusion settings and in the sub separate programs. We are constantly in that mode of assessing so that we can build capacity in our district. Jenn Walsh: Can you describe your view of 504s within school system? What is your experience working with 504 requests? And in your opinion the legal responsibilities with 504s? l have not been directly involved with the creation of 504s because they are related to accommodations with civil rights. Mansfield has a parallel process modeled after the special education process. Building administrators are responsible for those accommodations. Some students on 504 plans originate with students previously on an IEP who now have accommodation needs. Linda Fernando passes; has already participated in original interview Page 2 of 6 Approved 04-24-18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, April 10, 2018 Town Hall, Room 3ab Lauren Scher: Describe one or two of the biggest challenges you expect to face and how you plan to handle those challenges? The biggest challenge will be managing change: changes to procedures; changing student demographics; expectations of schools by parents. The district must active; anticipate change and be prepared. Kiera O'Neil: If you were to think of a special education classroom 10 years ago; 5 years ago and today? What are the biggest changes today and what it might look like in the future? The biggest push has been toward inclusion. There wasn't always a focus on making sure those students are afforded every opportunity that other students have. In Mansfield, the dedication to those students is important including being flexible to allow for inclusion settings. Motion to appoint Jim Leonard as the new Special Education Director for the district by Lunn Cavicchi / Jenn Walsh Motion Carries 5 — 0. Communities that Care Survey 2017: Christine Dooling gave a presentation on the 2017 results along with a comparison of data over the last few years. This survey has been in place since 2007 and is given to students in grades 6, 8 and 10. Specific topics are cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and prescription drugs (added in 2015.) 35% of students in grade 10 reported having had a drink in the last 30 days. That has been a stable number over the years. Christine would have liked to see that number decrease. Cigarette use is very minimal. She suggested that we need include vaping in future surveys due to the increased use among teens. Marijuana use showed a slight increase as well as a perception of students that cigarettes are more dangerous than marijuana. Questions by the school committee: Linda Fernando asked Christine if the survey was showing that the students felt it was easier to obtain alcohol and marijuana than cigarettes. Christine confirmed this and stated she would like to change this perception of students. Kiera O'Neil asked if it were possible to get comparisons to other districts. Christine had reviewed other districts and we are very parallel in scoring. The only thing that we showed slightly higher was alcohol use. Lynn Cavicchi asked if this survey is presented to students in health class. Christine stated that it has not. She was not sure how it should be best presented and whether or not it would hurt or help. Christine felt that the screening for substance abuse efforts that we have started will have a much better impact. Lauren Scher asked about vaping and how big an issue it is in Mansfield. Should we be spending more time on it? According to statistics, vaping can lead to addiction to nicotine due to the content of the chemicals. It can also lead to marijuana use. We will add it to the 2019 survey but we need to add it to the curriculum now. Kiera asked at what grade we should start. There was varying opinion. Christine is open to starting it at a young age when we talk about cigarettes. Page 3 of 6 Approved 04-24-18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, April 10, 2018 Town Hall, Room 3ab Next Generation Accountability System: To coincide with next generation MCAS testing, the state is introducing a new accountability reporting system. Mary Watkins and Suzanne Ryan attended a high level overview of the new process and is sharing it tonight. There are still a lot of unanswered question. The new system is intended to spotlight students who need help but may have been missed in the prior reporting methods. Items now taken into consideration include chronic absenteeism, EL progress, and advanced coursework. District scoring is now based on the district as a whole rather than assuming the lowest scored school in the district. The grading is no longer a 1- 5 rating but a combination of indicators. Districts without required intervention or assistance: Meeting Targets; Partially Meeting Targets; Not Meeting Targets Districts requiring assistance or intervention: Focused/Targeted support; Broad/Comprehensive Support Sue and Mary discussed samples of potential test scores. The new system will be in place for this testing cycle. We will not be able to compare scores from one year to the next for this coming year. As a district, we will need to be very cognizant of the factors involved in scoring and be sure that we are on top of annual SIMS reporting. Field Trip Approvals: Motion to Approve MHS special education class to Pawtucket, RI for a PawSox game by Jenn Walsh /Linda Fernando Motion Carries 5- 0 Motion to Approve QMS Grade 7 students to Canobie Lake Park in NH by Jenn Walsh / Linda Fernando Motion Carries 5- 0 Motion to Approve QMS Grade 6 to Roger Williams Park in RI by Jenn Walsh / Linda Fernando (entered under "other") Motion Carries 5- 0 Proposed Facilities Usage Fees for FYI and later: Ed Donoghue and Matthew Jacques reviewed our fees compared to neighboring districts. Overall we are lower than these districts and inconsistent within our own structure. It has been four or five years since these rates were reviewed. Ed is proposing new rates (attached) which should be able to stand for the next few years. Page 4 of 6 Mansfield Recommendation Current H.S Fields Hourly New Hourly Rate Alumni Add lights Add Bathrooms $60 $25 $25 $125 $50 $50 Track $50 $75 Field Hockey Field 1 $50 $75 Page 4 of 6 Approved 04-24-18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, April 10, 2018 Town Hall, Room 3ab Auditorium Add lights/sound Add A/C $100 $50 n/a $125 no change $25 Gym $60 no change Locker rooms $25 no change Scoreboard 1 Cafeteria Add Kitchen $60 $50 no change no change Classroom $25 no change Audio/Visual $10 $15 Varsity Softball $50 $75 Varsity Baseball $50 $75 JV Baseball Field $50 $75 JV Softball $50 $75 Soccer Field $50 $75 Staff Fees Add font per MASC Amend Su ervisor-re &d/t rate $50/$75 no change Custodial -re &d/t rate $35/$50 $42/$55 Kitchen $30no change Computer Lab $45 no change AV Tech $30 $40 Motion to approve the new Facilities Usage Fee Structure by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh Motion Carries 5- 0 Policy; Lynn brought forward policies related to facilities and graduation requirements. Discussions on EEAJ Idling: Kiera asked if we could educate parents on the definition of idling since many probably don't know what it is. Matt Jacques is reviewing all signage to be sure they meet standard. Questions on how to enforce were discussed. Discussions on IKF graduation requirements: These requirements reflect what MHS does today to ensure graduation requirements are met. Discussion then moved to how we should manage in the future. For example, how do we accommodate students transferring in from another state or country; should we require 4 years of math; how do we keep up with any new state changes. Further review of this policy will take place but for now the committee will vote on how it stands today. Code Title Notes Action Motion Motion Vote 1 2 ECBD Inspections of Delete LF JW 5 - 0 Buildings & Grounds EEAJ Motor Vehicle Add font per MASC Amend LF JW 5- 0 Idling recommendation FA Facilities Recommended Wording per MASC Amend LF JW 5 - 0 Page 5 of 6 Approved 04-24-18 Mansfield School Committee Meeting Minutes for Tuesday, April 10, 2018 Town Ball, Room 3ab Upcoming Agenda Items: April 24: Budget Hearing as part of regular school committee meeting. Public notification in newspapers completed. May 22: handbooks June S: school improvement plans New School Committee Business: None Documents Referenced: 2018-19 draft calendar Communities That Care Survey Next Generation Accountability Reporting FY19 Facilities Fee structure Motion to adjourn: At 8:36 p.m, Motion to adjourn the open meeting and return to executive session meeting pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 30A, Section 21 for the Following Purpose: Under Exception No. 2, To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh. Roll Call Vote: Lauren Scher Development Goals Linda Fernando Yes Jenn Walsh Yes Lynn Cavicchi FA -E Facilities Yes Delete Development Goals IKF Graduation New per MASC New LF JW S - 0 Re uirements Upcoming Agenda Items: April 24: Budget Hearing as part of regular school committee meeting. Public notification in newspapers completed. May 22: handbooks June S: school improvement plans New School Committee Business: None Documents Referenced: 2018-19 draft calendar Communities That Care Survey Next Generation Accountability Reporting FY19 Facilities Fee structure Motion to adjourn: At 8:36 p.m, Motion to adjourn the open meeting and return to executive session meeting pursuant to M.G.L. Chapter 30A, Section 21 for the Following Purpose: Under Exception No. 2, To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with nonunion personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with nonunion personnel by Linda Fernando / Jenn Walsh. Roll Call Vote: Lauren Scher Yes Linda Fernando Yes Jenn Walsh Yes Lynn Cavicchi Yes Kiera O'Neil Yes Respectfully Submitted, Diane Nugent, Secretary to the Superintendent & School Committee Page 6 of 6