SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Regular Session March 10, 2014 Seekonk High School Media Center

SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Regular Session March 10, 2014 Seekonk High School Media Center Mission Statement The mission of the Seekonk Public Schools is to inspire all students to acquire the skills, habits, knowledge and passion to be responsible citizens of the global community. M.G.L. Ch. 30A REQUIRES ANY PERSON RECORDING MUST NOTIFY CHAIRMAN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING I. Call to Order Mr. Bilodeau called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. Other School Committee members present included Mr. Freitas, Mr. Rose and Mr. Berwick and Mr. Vieira. II. III. Motion to Enter into Executive Session Mr. Freitas made a motion to convene into Executive Session pursuant to M.G.L. Ch. 30A, 21 which was seconded by Mr. Vieira and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. Regular Session Reconvened Regular session reconvened at 7:42 PM. Others in attendance were: Arlene Bosco, Superintendent of Schools Barbara Hamel, Finance Administrator Susan Doe, Interim Director of Special Education Kristin Dykstra, Director of Curriculum & Instruction Bartholomew Lush, Martin Elementary Principal Nancy Gagliardi, Aitken Elementary Principal Mary Westcoat, Hurley Middle School Assistant Principal Christine Whatley, Director of Guidance Dr. Christopher Jones, Seekonk High School Assistant Principal Dr. William V. Whalen, III, Hurley Middle School Principal Marcia McGovern, Seekonk High School Principal James Roy, Supervisor, Buildings and Grounds Neil Joyce, Student Representative Eli Mello, SEA President IV. Approval of Minutes A. Budget Work Session, January 11, 2014 Mr. Vieira made a motion to approve the minutes of January 11, 2014 as written which was seconded by Mr. Berwick and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. B. Regular Session, January 13, 2014 Mr. Vieira made a motion to approve the minutes of January 13, 2014 as written which was seconded by Mr. Freitas and approved by a 4-0-1 vote. 1

C. Regular Session, January 27, 2014 Mr. Vieira made a motion to approve the minutes of January 27, 2014 as written which was seconded by Mr. Freitas and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. V. Unfinished Business A. Full Day K Ms. Bosco stated that a meeting for parents will be held on March 20 th at 6:30 PM at the high school library. She indicated that a lottery date will be determined at this meeting and the lottery will be held either at town hall or at the high school library. She indicated that the district will look to fill 22 slots at each school which will leave spaces for any special education students. B. Transportation Bid Ms. Hamel informed the Committee that only one bid was received for FY15-FY17 and it is from the current transportation provider, Tremblay s whose current contract expires on June 30th. She stated there new bid represents approximately a 16.4% increase over what the district is currently paying. She reminded that Committee that at least 4 bus monitors were added this year and also stated that this information is not currently included in the FY15 budget proposal because it requires approval first. Mr. Rose expressed that the district is doing an injustice to the high school students by not offering a late bus. Mr. Bilodeau asked for more information by the next work session on March 24 th. C. Consider Approval of Revised Residency Policy, Procedures and Required Documentation Ms. Bosco explained that the residency policy has not been updated in quite some time and every effort was made to make this latest version of the policy as concise and manageable as possible while at the same time being very thorough. Ms. Bosco then outlined for those in attendance any amendments and/or changes made by the Committee. Mr. Vieira made a motion to approve the revised residency y policy with all amendments previously stated by the Superintendent which was seconded by Mr. Freitas and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. Mr. Freitas made a motion that the Committee forego a second reading of the residency policy which was seconded by Mr. Vieira and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. Mr. Freitas thanked Ms. Bosco and her team for spearheading this effort. D. Continued Discussion of FY15 Positions List Ms. Bosco updated the Committee that there is an administrator s meeting scheduled for the following day to review the priority list again. Mr. Vieira asked Ms. Hamel if she has an estimate from the town for fixed costs. Ms. Hamel responded that she has an estimate which is outlined in item V-C of the agenda. Mr. Freitas made a motion to discuss agenda item V-C for its relevancy to this item which was seconded by Mr. Vieira and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. Ms. Hamel stated that the governor s recommendation for Chapter 70 school aid is $4,931,240 and for local (town) aid it is $18,251,535 making total available for school department budget, $23, 182,775. She also stated that there are 2

more students registered at Tri-County now which went up by 14%. She suggested that whatever is left in contingency fund be used to offset something in next year s budget to reduce our request. Mr. Freitas shared that he would be willing to entertain busing fees for the district. Mr. Bilodeau responded that he is not a proponent of fees. Ms. Hamel commented that in the past, a busing fee of $180 (or $1 per day) with a family cap generated approximately $110,000 for the district in one year. Mr. Vieira suggested the list be reviewed again to eliminate any positions that they don t wish to consider for next year and then hold a 3 rd budget work session to review a final priority list. He also recommended that the Committee give the administrators until the work session on March 24th to have the information back to them. Mr. Rose asked Ms. Hamel if she sees any upcoming saved costs for this year. Ms. Hamel answered that the technology department restructure will dictate that the technology lines be revisited. She also confirmed that she can have something presentable for the Committee by the 24 th of March. E. Continued Discussion of Technology Department Restructure Ms. Bosco shared that last year an internal audit was done to assess the technology needs of the district and most recently, the administrators spent time looking at the organizational chart for the technology department. She reviewed the new organizational chart with those in attendance and explained that the re-structure should protect the instructional portion of technology and satisfy town needs at the same time. Mr. Bilodeau then briefly explained to those in attendance that the previous Director of Technology, Ms. Spino no longer works for the district. VI. New Business A. Consider Approval of Revised Physical Examination of Children Policy and Procedure Ms. Volpe and Ms. Bostian presented to the Committee. Ms. Bostian explained to the Committee that this is simply a revision of an existing policy which had last been reviewed in 2007. She added that the revisions are a result of changes in state laws, specifically to body mass index (BMI). Mr. Vieira made motion to adopt the revised policy which was seconded by Mr. Berwick and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. B. Consider Approval of Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Policy and Procedure Ms. Bostian explained that it was revised to reflect changes in state law and in performing CPR to conform with the American Heart Association changes implemented in 2010. She mentioned that Seekonk has had AEDs for the last fifteen years. Mr. Rose made a motion to approve the AED policy and procedure which was seconded by Mr. Berwick and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. C. Consider Approval of Seekonk High School Senior Class Trip to Boston, MA/Salem, NH for June 8, 2014 to June 9, 2014 3

Ms. DeFusco, high school teacher, explained that the trip will be from June 8 th to June 9 th. The trip includes round trip bus transportation, Ms. Whatley will go as the administrator and there will be a registered nurse present as well. Ms. McGovern recommended approval. Mr. Freitas raised concern about the material to be covered in the comedy show at the Improv Asylum. Ms. DeFusco stated that because it is a large group (180 kids), it will be a private show and the school has control of the rating of the show. Ms. Bosco stated she will review the material given to the Improv Asylum by the high school to ensure it is appropriate. Mr. Vieira made a motion to approve the senior class trip with the Superintendent s content approval which was seconded by Mr. Freitas and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. D. Consider Approval of Full-Day Kindergarten Revolving Account Warrant Article Ms. Bosco read aloud the article as written. Mr. Vieira asked that the letterhead be adjusted on the final version. Mr. Freitas made a motion to approve the article as written which was seconded by Mr. Berwick and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. E. Review Estimates from DRA for School Repairs to be Submitted to Capital Improvement Committee Mr. Roy stated that the Capital Improvement Committee had asked for these estimates which are currently not prioritized but if he had to do that, he would recommend the high school, followed by Martin, followed by Hurley and lastly Aitken. Mr. Vieira as how the non-quorum of the CIC will affect school projects. Mr. Roy responded that he doesn t know. Ms. Hamel stated she received an e-mail with the minutes from the last CIC meeting which stated that they wanted figures from the school department. She recommended that perhaps these estimates should be presented to the town administrator in lieu of the CIC not having quorum. Mr. Freitas made a motion to approve the prioritized submission to the Capital Improvement Committee and town administrator which was seconded by Mr. Berwick and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. F. Consider Acceptance of Donations to Aitken Elementary School from the Aitken Parent-Teacher Organization 1. Nine (9) Kindle Readers Ms. Bosco recommended approval and stated she is very grateful to the Aitken PTO. Mr. Freitas made a motion to accept the donation of the nine (9) kindle readers under the discretion of the Superintendent which was seconded by Mr. Vieira and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. 2. Grade Three Level Books Mr. Freitas made a motion to accept the donation of grade three level books under the discretion of the Superintendent which was seconded by Mr. Berwick and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. 4

G. Discussion of Technology Purchases for FY2014-2015 Ms. Bosco stated she is reviewing originally requested purchases with the current IT Manager and will re-prioritizing those items. She stated they will have a newly prioritized list for the next meeting. H. Discussion of Joint Session with Board of Selectmen Mr. Bilodeau stated it would be a good idea to do this and include new town administrator. He will reach out to the Chair, Mr. Almeida and select a date. Mr. Vieira suggested that perhaps they come for a later portion of the upcoming work session on March 24th. Mr. Bilodeau will look into this and let the Committee know. VII. Finance Reports A. FY14 Budget Update Ms. Hamel stated that at this point the district has expended or encumbered 55.3% of the budget and for the same period last year it was 52.4%. She indicated that there are credits from SouthCoast tuition that have not been applied yet and last year at this time they had been so there is a difference of approximately $600,000. B. Budget Transfers Ms. Hamel reviewed the proposed transfers with the Committee. Mr. Freitas asked if we have an article for the next town meeting about replenishing the SPED funds. Ms. Hamel said not yet but will speak to the town manager for the appropriate wording and will get back to the Committee at the work session. Mr. Vieira made motion to approve transfers as submitted which was seconded by Mr. Freitas and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. VIII. Public Comments A. Noah Escaler, 42 Mohawk Drive, thanked the Committee for the work regarding the full-day kindergarten program. He asked for clarification on the tuition amount for the full-day kindergarten program. Mr. Freitas said last the last official action by the Committee authorized the Superintendent to charge up to the maximum $4,000 but after some back of the napkin math, it appears the amount will be closer to $3,000. Mr. Escaler made the suggestion to have a paid third party look at capital projects to be sure they are being done correctly. B. Beverly Simas, 21 Coleman Street, asked for confirmation that the lottery will be public. Ms. Bosco responded yes and that it will be televised. She stated there will be additional information made available at the parent meeting on March 20 th. Ms. Simas also stated that when she brought her residency forms to the library to be notarized, they were notarized without asking for any proof of residency. 5

C. Diana Shields, 11 Rye Street, asked about class size and whether that information will be available at the upcoming parent meeting on March 20 th. She thanked the Committee for the work that has been done so far regarding the full-day kindergarten program. IX. Upcoming Meetings A. Work Session, March 24, 2014, Aitken Elementary School Library B. Regular Session, April 7, 2014, Seekonk High School Media Center. Mr. Vieira commented that this might need to be rescheduled due to town elections. C. Work Session, April 28, 2014, Hurley Middle School Media Center X. Adjourn Mr. Freitas made a motion to adjourn regular session and re-enter executive session which was seconded by Mr. Rose and approved by a 5-0-0 vote. Regular Session adjourned at 9:15 PM. bkm 6