DISTRICT COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES MEETING #1656 The Regional District Committee met in a regular meeting on May 26, 2015 at 6:30 PM at Greater Lawrence Technical School, 57 River Road, Andover, MA 01810. Members Present: Leo Lamontagne Lawrence Chairperson Jessica Finocchiaro Methuen Vice-Chairperson Marilyn Fitzgerald Andover Assistant Treasurer Angel Garcia Lawrence Barbara Grondine Methuen Gary Mannion Lawrence Members Absent: Frank Rossi North Andover Others Present: John N. Lavoie Superintendent-Director Gerry DiStefano Treasurer Maria Silva School Business Administrator Janice Butler District Recorder 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Lamontagne called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM and opened the meeting with a Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence. He asked members to remember those who protect us around the world. 2. MINUTES MOTION: Ms. Fitzgerald moved to approve the minutes of May 12, 2015 as presented. #16702 3. FINANCE REPORT a.) Cash Balance Report Mr. DiStefano read the report into the record. MOTION: Ms. Fitzgerald moved to approve the Cash Balance Report. #16703 b.) Consolidated Cash Reconciliation Report c.) Warrants One member stated she felt the cost of the umbrellas purchased for the outside café were very expensive. One member asked if the $14,000 being paid for unemployment is for past or future employees and Ms. Silva responded it is the first installment of three for MVNP to payback the $41,000 they owe in unemployment benefits. d.)revolving Fund Report e.) Budget Report 1
f.) Budget Transfers MOTION: Ms. Fitzgerald moved to approve the budget transfers as presented. 2 ND : Ms. Garcia #16704 4. COMMUNICATIONS a.) June School Calendar b.) Donation A 1999 Ford Ranger valued at $2,475 from Mr. Steven Sirois of Salem, New Hampshire c.) Newspaper Articles Methuen Life Methuen Has A Strong Showing at GLTS Athletic Hall of Fame Methuen Life 13 Enter NHS at GLTS Salem News Podium Dedicated to Court Clerk d.) Public Participation Mr. Maali-Lawrence Mr. Maali thanked Supt. Lavoie for the meeting he had with him. This was his second meeting with Supt. Lavoie and he received lots of good information. He stated Supt. Lavoie s leadership has been outstanding and this is the reason why this is such a great school. He requested support for the teachers and their union. As a level 1 school it has responsibilities to be a role model for success in Lawrence. There is need for more parent and citizen involvement. 5. REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT-DIRECTOR a.) School Choice Supt. Lavoie reported he recommends that the school does not remain a school choice school given the number of students who want to come to our school and the wait list. Students already enrolled should be allowed to continue until they graduate but we should not take any incoming freshmen. MOTION: Ms. Grondine moved to discontinue Greater Lawrence Technical School as a School Choice school. Discussion: One member asked if students who are applying this year from out of district were told and Supt. Lavoie responded he believes there is only one student and this student was informed. All future applicants will be informed. It was asked how many students from each city/town enter Whittier and Supt. Lavoie reported this information is in the Budget Report. Ms. Silva reported there are 142 from Methuen. One member asked if the sending school district pays us and Supt. Lavoie responded they send us $5,000 for each student coming from their district. The foundation cost per pupil is just under $17,000. It was asked about out of state students and Chairman Lamontagne responded they must pay their own tuition. One member stated this is a great message to the four communities that we are doing a good job. People are angry with Whittier because students from their district are being denied because of outside district enrollments. #16705 b.) Crest Agreement Revisions MOTION: Ms. Fitzgerald moved to approve the amended Articles of Agreement to include Dracut and Triton as members and to add language regarding associate membership. Discussion: One member stated she requested updates on the CREST budget and expressed her appreciation for getting this document tonight. Supt. Lavoie reported the only thing that comes out of our budget for CREST is for students who we send there. #16706 c.) Superintendent s Evaluation Process Supt. Lavoie reported the Committee would be completing a summative report. He asked if this is the report the Committee would like to use for the final evaluation. He recommends using this and following the four standards and indictors. Staff and administrators are evaluated on standards 1 and 2 only because standards 3 and 4 are not focused standards. If it makes it easier he will give evidence of work that aligns to each of the standards and 2
indicators. It was asked how many pages are contained in the evaluation and Supt. Lavoie responded about 10 pages. Supt. Lavoie recommends going through the performance goals and standard 1 and 2. He could provide feedback as there may be indicators he has not worked on all year. One member stated the form itself is compact and easier to process than last year. He asked if they would only do performance goals and standards 1 and 2 or would they do standards 3 and 4 as well and Supt. Lavoie responded it is the Committee s decision. Only standards 1 and 2 were done for staff. Chairman Lamontagne suggested setting aside 30 minutes at the next meeting to discuss Supt. Lavoie s evaluation. One member stated he is fine doing this in a regular meeting all members offered similar comments last year. One member stated she felt bad that last year s evaluation was completed past the deadline and she would like to do it before the June 30 deadline this year. 6. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES 7. OLD BUSINESS a.)district Committee Priorities b.) Policy c.) Admissions Update Ms. Finocchiaro entered at this time. 8. NEW BUSINESS a.) 2015-16 School Calendar Revisions Supt Lavoie reported the following revisions to the calendar that was previously approved: Noche de Ciencias on October 16, 2015 was removed; The Freshman Career Area Selection date was changed from January 21, 2016 to January 29, 2016; Grade 9 Parent Career Night was added on February 25, 2016; Senior Award Night was added on June 7, 2016; The Graduation date was changed from Friday, June 3, 2016 to Thursday, June 9, 2016. MOTION: Ms. Fitzgerald moved to approve the revisions to the 2015-16 School Calendar as presented. #16707 9. PERSONNEL CONSIDERATIONS/REPORT a.) Non-renewals Chairman Lamontagne reported two Dental Assisting Teachers, one Graphic Arts Teacher, one English Teacher and one ELL Teacher will not have their contracts renewed. b.) Terminations Chairman Lamontagne reported one Chemistry Teacher will be let go due to lack of licensure and one Special Education Teacher who oversees the ERC will be let go due to restructuring. c.) Resignations Chairman Lamontagne reported George Mouzakis the School Psychologist resigned effective June 26, 2015. d.)leaves of Absence e.) Retirements f.) Appointments Chairman Lamontagne reported Rebecca Roy was hired as a Chemistry Teacher for the new school year. g.) Job Postings Library Technical Services Assistant Cross Country Head and one Assistant Coach.8 School Psychologist, bilingual preferred 2 Cafeteria Staff 3
Graphic Arts Teacher Full-time Custodian Security Paraprofessional MOTION: Ms. Grondine moved to approve the job postings as presented. 2 ND : Ms. Fitzgerald Discussion: One member expressed her appreciation for the documents indicating whether a position is new or a replacement position. #16708 Lead Teachers: o Auto Collision/Repair o Automotive Technology o Biotechnology o Business Technology o Carpentry o Cosmetology o Culinary Arts o Dental Assisting/Health Careers o Electrical o ELL o English o Graphics o Information Technology o Marketing o Math o Metal Fab/Machine Shop o Plumbing/HVAC o Pre-Engineering Liaison o Science o Social Studies o SPED o Culinary Arts Stipend position MOTION: Ms. Fitzgerald moved to approve the job postings as presented. 2 ND : Ms. Grondine Discussion: One member asked why the Culinary Arts position is a stipend position and Supt. Lavoie responded the stipend position is for additional responsibilities because the lead teacher is now teaching students all day. #16709 Advisor Positions: o (2) DECA o (2) National Honor Society o (4) SkillsUSA Advisors and (2) Coaches o (1) Drama o (1) Glee o (1) Non Tradition o (2) Peer Leaders o (1) Student Council o (1) Yearbook o (1) Extreme Sports o Up to (6) After School Homework Help o (1) After School Homework Help Facilitator o (1) Detention Monitor o (8) Morning Monitors MOTION: Ms. Grondine 4
Discussion: One member asked if class advisors are no longer stipend positions and Supt. Lavoie responded they may have been left off the list. #16710 CPT Facilitators - 19 Career Area, 17 Academic and 1 Guidance MOTION: Ms. Fitzgerald moved to approve the job postings as presented. 2 ND : Ms. Finocchiaro Discussion: Supt. Lavoie reported these positions are to improve work done in CPT. It is a major initiative that will help drive higher quality instruction and data driven assessments that can be analyzed. He is excited about the program. The trainer is a RBT consultant from Colorado who is training our administrators. This will have a major impact on the growth of our students and the quality of instruction. #16711 10. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS a.) Policy Review Section AA/School District Legal Status Chairman Lamontagne stated he would like to see three or four policies reviewed at each meeting instead of one and would like the Committee to vote on each policy and identify the approval date on each document. One member stated the date is a good idea. Chairman Lamontagne stated if anyone has questions ahead of time they should contact administration so we can have information before the meeting. Supt. Lavoie asked if members want to see the existing policy and recommendations for changes and all members responded yes. One member stated she remembers paying MASC to review all policies and making recommendations. She feels it is better for us to do this as they did not pick up on some items. Chairman Lamontagne stated by reviewing the policies ourselves we have more control and will know them better. If some of the policies require legal assistance we will involve legal counsel. One member stated if some policies are no longer needed they should be pulled from the book. Supt. Lavoie stated he will rewrite policies if necessary and submit them for approval. One member asked for changes to be indicated in red. One member thanked the administration for putting the manual on the new website so quickly. 11. EXECUTIVE SESSION MOTION: Ms. Fitzgerald moved to enter into Executive Session for the purpose of possible litigation. Roll Called by District Recorder Ms. Finocchiaro Ms. Fitzgerald Mr. Garcia Ms. Grondine Mr. Mannion Mr. Rossi Absent Mr. Lamontagne #16712 ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION ENTER OPEN SESSION MOTION: Ms. Fitzgerald moved to allow IT seniors to keep the computes they build over the last four years as they no longer have value. #16715 12. ADJOURNMENT at 7:40 PM. MOTION: Ms. Fitzgerald moved to adjourn. #16716 5
Respectfully Submitted: Minutes Reviewed Janice T. Butler District Recorder John N. Lavoie Superintendent-Director 6