WACHUSETT REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT. Minutes. Regular Meeting #1298. Monday, May 22, :00 PM

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1 WACHUSETT REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT HOLDEN PAXTON PRINCETON RUTLAND STERLING Minutes Regular Meeting #1298 Monday, May 22, :00 PM Media Center Wachusett Regional High School 1401 Main Street, Holden Wachusett Regional School District Committee Kenneth Mills, Chair Linda Long-Bellil Christina Smith, Vice-chair Robert McCarthy Sarah LaMountain Adam Young Committee Members Absent: Robert Imber Lauren Maldonado Committee Members Participating Remotely: Administration Present: Darryll McCall, Superintendent of Schools Robert Berlo, Deputy Superintendent Joseph Scanlon, Director of Business and Finance Jeff Carlson, Director of Human Resources Rebecca Petersen, Executive Secretary to the Superintendent Student Representatives Present: Others present, who desired to be recorded as present (see attached Attendance Sheet attachment 1). Chair Mills called the meeting to order at 7:09 PM. Chair Mills reported the meeting was streaming online and was being shown live on Holden Cable Television. I. Public Hearing Chair Mills read aloud the Guidelines for Public Hearing.

2 Page 2 Heidi Lahey, WREA President, joined at the podium by members of the PEC (Public Employee Committee), read a prepared statement (attachment 2). Kevin McDonough, Holden resident, addressed the School Committee. Duncan Leith, Holden resident, read a prepared statement (attachment 3) II. Chair s Opening Remarks Chair Mills invited WRHS teachers Beth Litterio-Foster, Nick Guerin, and Dan Whitmore to the podium, along with WRHS Science Seminar students who recently competed in science fairs. The students and their science projects were: Mary Zgurzynski (11)- Rounding Up the Disappearing Honey Bee: The Effects of Glyphosate on Apis mellifera Abigale Foster (10)- The Effects of Warfarin on Drosophila melanogaster Memory. Christopher VanLiew (10)- The Effect of the TGF-beta1 Protein on Planarian Regeneration After Photodamage Tyler Jones (11)- Show Me the Way Natalie Matis (10)- The Effect of Arachidonic Acid on Daphnia magna Reproduction Christopher Dwyer (10)- More Green for Less Green: An Analysis of the Necessity of Stirring Compared to Nutrient Levels in an Algae Photo-bioreactor. Annabelle Mathers (11)- Evaluating Floc Interaction Nicole Stark (11) - Daphnia magna as a Bioassay in an Ecotoxicology Study on Pharmaceuticals Jamie Zhuge (11) - Can the Anti-diabetic Drug Metformin Be Used to Treat Alzheimer's Disease? Evan Mizerak (11)- Re-Evaluating Reproduction: The Transgenerational Effect of High-Fat Dairy Intake on Fertility in Drosophila melanogaster At the conclusion of the students presentations, the group was given a hearty round of applause, and School Committee members were given the opportunity to address the students, to ask questions, and to congratulate the students on their successes. The students and teachers were thanked for attending the meeting. Chair Mills distributed subcommittee preference sheets to members, briefly explaining the roles of each subcommittee, and he spoke about possibly naming an Ad Hoc Subcommittee for Budget Sustainability. There was some discussion about subcommittees and the Chair s ability to name ad hoc subcommittees as needed. School Committee members were also provided with sheets to update or share their biographical information for posting on the District website, and were asked to return the updated sheets as soon as possible.

3 Page 3 Chair Mills spoke about the proposed FY18 Appropriation, which did not gain the support in four of the five Member Towns at the May 2017 Annual Town Meetings. He explained that a fifteen day extension has been requested of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, giving the District some additional time to prepare an amended FY18 Appropriation for School Committee approval, after which the amended budget will be provided to the Member Towns and the towns of Paxton and Rutland will again bring the District budget before the voters for consideration. Members were provided with copies of two documents recently received from local legislators (titled Regional School Foundation Budget Commission and Foundation Budget Review Commission Recommendations) (attachments 4 & 5)). Chair Mills explained that the two amendments are scheduled to be voted on by the state legislature on May 23, 2017, but any School Committee members interested in reaching out to local legislators to encourage support of these amendments were encouraged to do so. Chair Mills reported that a representative from MASC (Massachusetts Association of School Committees) will be invited to address the School Committee at the July 12, 2017 regular meeting, to review goal setting and the Superintendent evaluation process. School Committee vote on the Superintendent s annual goals is expected to take place at the September regular meeting. Chair Mills reminded members that when voting on the FY18 Appropriation, a twothirds vote in favor is required to pass a motion on the budget. Chair Mills reminded members remote participation is an option when a member is unable to attend a meeting in person due to allowable circumstances. Chair Mills reminded members of upcoming graduations. High school seniors will be graduating on Thursday, June 8 th, at the DCU Center in Worcester. Eighth graduation ceremonies in Holden, Paxton, Princeton and Sterling will take place on Thursday, June 22 nd ; Central Tree Middle School in Rutland will hold its graduation ceremony on Wednesday; June 21 st. At Member Dennis request, Superintendent McCall spoke briefly about the two proposed amendments that deal with the Foundation Budget Review Commission. Chair Mills informed the Committee that the meeting agenda will be altered and the Committee will not return to public session at the adjournment of the executive session, which will take place at the conclusion of this regular meeting. 8:26 PM Member Brown left the table. III. Student Representatives Reports (Alyssa Stark, Chloe Tolderlund) The Student Representatives were not in attendance. IV. Superintendent s Report A. Discussion of Report

4 Page 4 Chair Mills explained District administration is requesting School Committee feedback about the proposed FY18 Appropriation, seeking suggestions and ideas about possible reductions to the proposed FY18 budget. The School Committee will be asked to vote on an amended FY18 budget at the June 12, 2017 regular meeting. If the Committee cannot agree on an amended FY18 appropriation at the June 12, 2017 regular meeting, a special meeting has been posted for Tuesday, June 13, The Committee is required to amend the FY18 Appropriation for Member Town approval by a date certain. 8:29 PM Member Brown returned to the table. Member Mills turned the meeting over to Superintendent McCall. Superintendent McCall addressed the Committee, outlining the process Central Office administration will follow to develop an amended FY18 Appropriation, in hopes of gaining support of the District budget by at least one more Member Town. Member Dennis referenced Section 5 of the Budget Book and asked for information about FY18 staffing per school/per classroom. He is interested in seeing anticipated teacher FTEs as well as FTEs for other support staff. Member Lavoie asked for information about how the budget would be if there were no staff reductions, but no staff increases either. A question was asked about FY17 Instructional Support spending, since a $400,000 transfer out had been made. Member Weeks offered her opinion that if reductions are necessary, she would prefer to see Instructional Support reduced rather than staff cuts. Discussion of the budget continued, with most members of the Committee contributing to the discussion. At the conclusion of the budget discussions, Chair Mills again reminded members of the need to vote on an amended budget at the June 12, 2017 regular meeting or at the June 13, 2017 special meeting, and again mentioned a two-thirds vote in favor is needed to approve an amended budget. Superintendent McCall spoke about the spring s science fairs, commending all participants, commenting that the ten students who addressed the Committee were only a portion of students involved in Science Seminar at the high school. B. Recommendations Requiring Action by the School Committee Motion: To authorize the School Committee to appoint Fletcher Tilton, and Nuttall, MacAvoy & Joyce, P.C. as District Legal Counsel. (R. McCarthy) (S. Brown) Vote: In favor: Kenneth Mills

5 Page 5 Sarah LaMountain Linda Long-Bellil Robert McCarthy Christina Smith Adam Young Opposed: The motion was approved unanimously. Motion: To approve the School Committee meeting schedule. (H. Fradellos) (S. Hitchcock) Vote: In favor: Kenneth Mills Sarah LaMountain Linda Long-Bellil Robert McCarthy Christina Smith Adam Young

6 Page 6 Opposed: The motion was approved unanimously. Motion: To approve the Superintendent s vacation carryover. (R. McCarthy) (S. Brown) Vote: In favor: Kenneth Mills Sarah LaMountain Linda Long-Bellil Robert McCarthy Christina Smith Adam Young Opposed: V. Unfinished Business The motion was approved unanimously. There was no unfinished business brought before the Committee. VI. Secretary s Report A. Approval of 1297 th Regular Meeting Minutes of the Wachusett Regional School District Committee held on April 24, 2017

7 Page 7 Member Lavoie commented that on some Superintendent evaluation submissions, where there were multiple exemplary entries, no commentary was provided by those School Committee member(s). Member Dennis made note of a correction on page 4 of the draft minutes, where he and two others are recorded as being opposed to approving the minutes of the April 24, 2017 regular meeting, when in fact they should be recorded as abstaining. Motion: To approve minutes of the regular meeting of the WRSDC held on April 24, 2017, as corrected. (S. Hitchcock) (S. Brown) Vote: In favor: Kenneth Mills Sarah LaMountain Linda Long-Bellil Robert McCarthy Christina Smith Adam Young Opposed: Abstained: The minutes were approved VII. Treasurer s Report/Financial Statements Chair Mills reminded the Committee that if there were questions regarding the Director of Business and Finance s report that Members should contact the Superintendent; if there were questions regarding the Treasurer s Report, Members should contact the Business/Finance Subcommittee Chair.

8 Page 8 VIII. Committee Reports Chair Mills noted that until subcommittee assignments for are made, only the Business/Finance Subcommittee stays seated as a subcommittee. A. Management Subcommittee The Management Subcommittee has not met since the last School Committee meeting. B. Education Subcommittee The Education Subcommittee has not met since the last School Committee meeting. C. Business/Finance Subcommittee (M. Dennis, L. Long-Bellil, R. McCarthy, E. Novak, C. Witkes, A Young) The Business/Finance Subcommittee has not met since the last School Committee meeting. D. Legal Affairs Subcommittee The full Committee will be updated on negotiations and the PEC Agreement in executive session at the conclusion of the regular meeting. E. Audit Advisory Board The AAB has not met since the last School Committee meeting. F. Ad-Hoc Subcommittees 9:25 PM Member Silva left the table. G. Building Committees 1. Mountview Building Committee Member McCarthy reported the Building Committee is awaiting the final audit for the building project. H. School Council Reports: Central Tree Middle School, Chocksett Middle School, Davis Hill Elementary School, Dawson Elementary School, Glenwood Elementary School, Houghton Elementary School, Mayo Elementary School, Mountview Middle School, Naquag Elementary School, Paxton Center School, Thomas Prince School, Wachusett Regional High School, Special Education Parent Advisory Council, Early Childhood Center

9 Page 9 Member Young SEPAC Wind Beneath Their Wings, May 23, 2017 Member Witkes Naquag Elementary School Member Curran Mayo Elementary School 9:27 PM Member Silva returned to the table. IX. Public Hearing No members of the public wished to addressed the School Committee X. New Business Member Young asked Superintendent McCall about the District s policy /procedure/protocol when eighth grade students move on to high school. Superintendent McCall reported he and Deputy Superintendent Berlo have recently met about this question, and he further reported there is no clear direction from the state/at the state level about requirements to be met when transitioning from middle school (8 th grade) to high school. Member Novak commended District administration on the recent principal search process and appointment of next principal at Central Tree Middle School. Member Brown spoke about the Superintendent of Worcester schools who, it is reported, spends 40% of her time seeking revenue(s) for the Worcester schools, and Member Brown would recommend Superintendent McCall consider doing similar outreach. Superintendent McCall reported on two meetings he had in the spring when this topic was discussed. Superintendent McCall took this opportunity to again inform the School Committee of the condition of the turf field at the high school and the need for it to be replaced in the very near future. He told that a quote to replace the turf field has been received, in the amount of approximately seven annual payments at $75,000 per year. Superintendent McCall will keep the Committee informed as the field replacement process moves forward. XI. Adjournment Motion: To adjourn to executive session to discuss strategy for contract negotiations with all bargaining units (SEIU Local 888 ABA Program Assistants, Teamsters Union Local 170 (paraprofessionals), Wachusett Cafeteria Association, Wachusett Administrators Association, AFSCME, Council 93, Local 2885 Custodial Employees, AFSCME, Council 93, Local 2885 Clerical Employees, Wachusett Regional Nurses Association, Wachusett Regional Education Association), as the Chair deems a discussion in public session would have an adverse effect on the District s bargaining position, not to return to public session

10 Page 10 (R. McCarthy) (M. Weeks) Roll call vote: In favor: Kenneth Mills Sarah LaMountain Linda Long-Bellil Robert McCarthy Christina Smith Adam Young Opposed: The motion was approved unanimously. The meeting adjourned to executive session at 9:37 PM. Respectfully submitted, Darryll McCall, Ed.D. Superintendent of Schools DM:rlp