Hampshire Regional School District School Committee Minutes Monday, November 10, 2014 Hampshire Regional High School Library Approved 12/08/14 Members Present: Chesterfield: Trish Colson-Montgomery, Barbara Bak, David Marshall Goshen: Kristen Estelle, Jessica Judd Westhampton: Tarin Weiss, Karl Norris, Ashleigh Norris Williamsburg: Sarah Christiansen, Carl Schlerman, Diane Bishop Southampton: William Curran, Joseph Moynahan, Kim Schott, Jon Moro, Corey Braastad, Lucy Dalton Members Absent: David Nardi Administration Present: Superintendent Craig Jurgensen, Principal Kristen Smidy, Assistant Business Administrator Bobbie Jones, Director of Information Technology Kim Florek Visitors: Greg Reynolds, Jeanne Kowaleski, Grayson Dewitt, Maryellen Blais, Ruth Kennedy, Darlene Mcveigh, Melissa Kelly, Cheryn Wojcik, John Shaw, Art Pichette, Robert Martin, Sunia Pallante, Amanda Brooks,Maria Bebee, Debbie Carnes, John McDonald, Tom Wisnaukis, Pat Miller Student Representatives: Allie Roessling Call to Order: At 6:34 p.m., Chair, Trish Colson-Montgomery called the meeting to order. Routine Matters: Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Mr. Schlerman, seconded by Ms. Estelle the School Committee voted to approve the October 6, 2014 minutes. Mr. Moynahan, Ms. Bishop, Ms. Norris, and Ms. Judd abstained. Warrants: Warrants were circulated for signature. Announcements Superintendent Jurgensen announced that MASC School Committee Training would be held on Saturday, November 15 at 1:00 pm at the Worthington school. David Marshall was welcomed as the newly appointed School Committee member from Chesterfield. Visitors Mr. John Shaw from Westhampton requested that the agenda order be revised to address the Worthington MOA earlier on the agenda. Ms. Colson-Montgomery agreed noting that the Student Report and presentation by Mr. DeWitt would come first. Student Report: Ms. Allie Roessling, Student Representative presented the HRHS student report.
Visitors: Mr. Grayson DeWitt, History Program Leader, addressed the School Committee about changes and improvements the Department is seeking to implement. He outlined the current course sequence and compared it with the new sequence to be implemented. Starting with a 2013-2014 student survey the department will proceed in 2016-2017 with the implementation of topical quarter courses. A survey course will replace History 1 and 2. These courses would be interest-based with a broader range of topics being offered in11 th and 12 th grade. Mr. DeWitt shared that students were survey to gauge their interest and to gather information about how some cross curricular linkages might be made. He shared his enthusiasm and hope that this work will translate to new student interest and involvement. Greg Reynolds, HREA President, shared information about a DESE proposal to link teacher evaluation with certification and urged members to oppose this proposal. Mr. Reynolds agreed to forward information to the Superintendent for dissemination to School Committee members. Worthington MOA Ms. Colson Montgomery provided some background to those in attendance about how HRSD and the district s member towns became involved with Worthington s effort to reopen its local elementary school and withdrawn from the Gateway Regional School District. Mr. Shaw and Ms. Melissa Kelly, a Southampton resident and a member of the elementary school committee, asked questions about the intent of the MOA. Ms. Norris requested more information about the timelines of tasks and completion dates. Mr. John McDonald, Chair of the Worthington School Committee, addressed the HRSD School Committee and attempted to answer the questions being asked. Mrs. Patricia Miller, a Westhampton resident, spoke about trust and suggested that the MOA appeared to be a done deal. She was upset that she read about Worthington in the Country Journal. She further asked about restrictions she had heard were placed on HRHS staff regarding access to the District s Central Office. Superintendent Jurgensen responded that this arrangement was made to allow office staff uninterrupted work time to complete payroll and bill warrant work. He acknowledged that HRHS staff were asked to schedule appointments or to come at certain times before and after school. Peter Cleary, a Westhampton resident and member of the elementary school committee shared hesitation to the signing of a MOA that makes a commitment to a contract that is not yet specified. Discussion continued with concerns about lack of information shared by Dr. Jurgensen. Dr. Jurgensen apologized that the information wanted by the committee and visitors was not shared earlier and more completely. Ms. Christiansen addressed the concern of the MOA and Union 66 membership. Mr. MacDonald stated that Worthington s membership in Union 66 was uncertain.
Ms. Dalton joined the meeting. Ms. Estelle said that transparency with towns is a question that needs to be answered. Information has come from Gateway and Worthington rather than from Hampshire. Dr. Jurgensen again apologized for not getting information to members. Mr. Schlerman offered that the agreement with Worthington would help address enrollment decline at HRHS. Mr. Karl Norris said it is an unfortunate process but asked the Committee School Committee to approve the MOA as amended. Mr. Schlerman seconded the motion. Ms. Colson-Montgomery requested a voice vote. The motion passed with 16 members voting affirmative and one member (Ms. Dalton) abstaining. Principal's Report: Interim Principal Smidy reported on the following 1. School Council Update 2. NEASC Update 3. English Language Learners Update 4. MCAS Make Up Tests (new students, absences, not proficient) 5. Smith College Donation 6. New Student Representative from Class of 2017 for December (RoseMarie will no longer be joining for meetings) 7. Course Enrollment Overview Ms. Smidy informed the Committee about a donation of computer equipment from Smith College and asked the Committee for permission to accept the donation. On a motion from Ms. Schott, seconded by Ms. Estelle, the Committee voted unanimously to accept the donation of computer equipment from Smith College. Superintendent's Report: The Superintendent reported 1. A team of district administrators attended the DESE workshop Initiative Integration: Putting the Pieces Together on October 28. 2. On Thursday, October 30, Dr. Ruth Potee, a doctor at Valley Medical and member of the District Attorney s Opioid Task Force, spoke to a small group of district staff, parents, and members of the Westhampton police and fire departments. Dr. Potee s topic was Protecting the Developing Brain: Impact of Substance Abuse and she discussed the science of addiction, signs & symptoms of opiate use, intervention, and proactive prevention with families and the school community. Those in attendance were enthusiastic and appreciative but disappointed that the audience was not larger. 3. A HMAC/CGMAC (Hampshire Municipal Advisory Committee/Chesterfield- Goshen Municipal Advisory Committee) met on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 at 6:00. HMAC consists of the select board, finance, and HRSD school committee members from our five member towns. CGMAC consists of the select board and finance committee members from Chesterfield and Goshen and Chesterfield- Goshen Regional school committee members. The meeting agenda included a
discussion of school funding with a specific look at regional transportation reimbursement for FY 2015 and initial budget planning for FY 2016. 4. The Superintendent attended the MASS/MASC Joint Conference. Glenn Koocher, MASC Executive Director, will convene an MASC School Committee Orientation on Saturday, November 15 in Worthington. 5. Several competitive grant applications are/will be submitted to DESE [1] Mental Health and Substance Abuse Grant (Amount to be determined, due November 11); [2] Regional Planning Grant ($25,000); [3] Digital Connections Partnership Schools Grant (Amount to be determined, due November 17). 6. Contract negotiations in Chesterfield-Goshen and Westhampton have been successfully completed. Negotiations for successor contracts for Southampton teachers and paraprofessionals will be initiated this month. 7. DESE has distributed a schedule for the finger printing of employees hired before September 2013. The schedule is as follows and applies to all employees: A-D October 2014 through March 2015 E-K April 2015 through August 2015 L-P August 2015 through December 2015 Q-Z January 2016 through May 2016 Budget: Due to the late hour, the budget report and discussion was deferred to the December meeting. Ms. Jones, however, asked the Committee to consider approving the expenditure of resurfacing the HRHS track so that the project could move ahead. Ms. Jones reported that when bids were solicited for the work, eight bidding packages were requested but only one was returned. That bid, from Cape and Island Track and Courts, was for $98,985. Funding will combine $61,000 from the HRHS renovation project, $12,985 from Special Education Out of District tuitions, and $25,000 from the FY 2015 budget. On a motion from Ms. Norris, seconded by Ms. Bishop, the Committee voted unanimously to accept the bid of $98,985. On a motion by Ms. Bishop, seconded by Ms. Judd, the Committee voted unanimously to use the remaining school renovation funds in the amount of $61,000 to resurface the HRHS track. Policy: Agenda Policy (BEDB-E) was reviewed. Mr. Reynolds explained his idea for the proposed teacher report so as to improve communication and information sharing from HREA to the Committee. The HREA report will be included on the agenda beginning in December. Ms. Colson-Montgomery and Dr. Jurgensen will make additional changes to the policy for a second reading in December. Staff Social Media Policy (IJNDD) First Reading. Discussion and Second Reading of the policy will be scheduled for December. Items Requiring Action: Field Trips:
Ms. Walker s 2016 trip to Spain was approved unanimously on motion by Ms. Schott, seconded by Ms. Estelle. Mr. Mousette s December 29, 2014 trip was approved unanimously on a motion by Ms. Schott, seconded by Mr. Moynahan. Mr. Mousettte s February 15, 2015 trip was approved unanimously on a motion by Ms. Schott, seconded by Mr. Moynahan. Adjournment: On a motion by Kim Schott, seconded by Diane Bishop, the School Committee voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:40 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, December 8, 2014.