| BSC Permanent Minutes September 15, 2009 |
| PERMANENT MINUTES BOXFORD SCHOOL COMMITTEE (BSC) REGULAR MEETING BOXFORD TOWN HALL SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 Members Present: Rusty Chadwick, Cynthia Foster, Rebecca Lundrigan, Pam Messenger and Cindy Murphy Others Present: Kathryn Nikas (Principal - Cole School), Larry Fliegelman (Principal – Spofford School), Dr. Bernard Creeden (Tri Town Union (TTU) Superintendent), Tiffany Stone, Jane Bonaventura and Lisa Salisbury (all Boxford Teacher Association (BTA) - Cole School), Beth Yando (Cole and Spofford Schools) and Ellen Gaskell (Recording Secretary) ROUTINES: 1. Call to Order: Chairperson Pam Messenger called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. 2. Remarks from the Public: None 3. Reports from Other Committees: None REPORTS: 1. Report of the Building Principals: a. Kathryn Nikas, Cole School Principal i. Principal Nikas presented this report, a copy of which was included in the packet. ii. School Opening 1. The teachers and students were well prepared for the opening of school, as was the school itself. iii. Two grade levels recently prepared notebook lessons for the Smart Boards. iv. Artsonia 1. Principal Nikas presented a letter from Artsonia. The letter stated that Art Teacher Pam Dalton recently received an Artsonia award. Only a select few art teachers receive the award and Principal Nikas congratulated Ms. Dalton on her achievement. b. Lawrence Fliegelman, Spofford School Principal i. Although Principal Fliegelman arrived later in the meeting (around 8 p.m.) due to Spofford School’s Open House and presented his report later in the meeting, for the sake of continuity his report is included here. ii. School Opening 1. Principal Fliegelman remarked that this was the smoothest school opening in his three years at the school. iii. There was good attendance at the Open House. iv. Today was Picture Day at Spofford. v. Tomorrow Principal Fliegelman will host his first Parent Coffee. 2. Report of the Superintendent: a. Dr. Creeden presented this report, a copy of which is included in the packet. b. DESE Coordinated Program Review Update i. All progress reports sent to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) were related to English as a Second Language and English Language Learner education. They were all accepted by DESE. ii. A letter from DESE, included in the packet, stated that no further Corrective Action Plan progress reports are required. iii. The next Mid-Cycle review will be coming up soon. c. Personnel Update i. Dr. Creeden corrected an item in the Superintendent’s Report: Terry Marcille did not resign; she accepted a transfer to the Spanish position. ii. Part-time Math Coach Mary Lee Kennefick has accepted the Grade 2 position made vacant by Terry Marcille’s transfer. Rebecca Knowles will expand her role as Math Coach to take over Mary Lee Kennefick’s previous responsibilities. iii. Sharon Fenderson is on a long-term Family Medical Leave and Diane Matteson is on long-term Medical Leave. The staff has supported their replacements, Valerie Albanesi and Susan Swan, in getting ready for the school year. d. School Opening Enrollment i. Dr. Creeden presented the Current Enrollment 2009-2010 report, a copy of which is included in the packet. ii. NESDEC projections were off this year by 33 students in the total PreK to Grade 6 number; Kindergarten was off by 17 students. Pam Messenger remarked that she’s never seen NESDEC projections that far off. iii. Rebecca Lundrigan wondered if more parents had chosen to hold back 5 year olds from attending Kindergarten. iv. Dr. Creeden said he would have an explanation of the discrepancies of the NESDEC projections by the 10/20/09 BSC meeting. e. Transportation i. The bus routes have started out smooth this year, better than previous school years. ii. This is the last year of a 5-year bus contract. f. MCAS Statewide Results and Local Results Release Schedule i. The statewide results were released 8-10 days ago and the school, district and individual student results were released today. Individual student results will be sent to the parents by mail shortly. ii. Last year’s 6th Grade results have been sent to the 7th Grade at Masconomet and they will handle distribution of these results. iii. More reports are being sent electronically to use less paper. iv. There is a report of MCAS performance of groups of students over time, from 3rd to 6th Grade. MCAS results can also be sorted by subgroups, such as gender and IEP students. v. The ultimate goal is to link student performance to teacher. g. Fall Town Meeting – October 27, 2009 i. The BSC has no proposed warrant articles for this town meeting. h. H1N1 Planning and Collaboration with Local Health Officials i. A Public Health bulletin, “Tri Town Departments Collaborate on Seasonal and H1N1 Flu Program”, included in this packet, was presented by Dr. Creeden. ii. For H1N1 updates, please visit the Superintendent’s Blog on the TTU website at www.tritownunion.com. iii. Two flu clinics will occur: a seasonal flu clinic on 10/07/09 and a H1N1 clinic on a to-be-determined Saturday at the Masconomet Field House. Information on these clinics will be in the newspaper, on the local cable channel and on the school websites. iv. Cindy Murphy asked if students will be notified if a classmate gets H1N1; Dr. Creeden replied that they would not because the prevalence of H1N1. i. US Senate Election (December 8 and January 19) i. The Spofford School will be used for the Primary on December 8, 2009 (an Early Release Day) and the Final Election on January 19, 2010. 3. Report of the Director of Facilities: a. This report was not yet available for distribution and will be later sent to the Committee members electronically. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Meeting and Agenda Calendar 2009-2010: a. Dr. Creeden presented the Preliminary Meeting Calendar, a copy of which was included in the packet. b. Saturday morning workshops during budget season were proposed. c. Some meetings must be added to the meeting calendar: Negotiation Subcommittee meetings and those meetings with the Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen. Dr. Creeden said he would send out a revised draft of the meeting schedule soon. d. Dr. Creeden said that for the purpose of streamlining, certain TTU officials, (e.g. Special Education Director Sharon Lyons) would present their reports to the TTU instead of reporting to each of the three town’s school committees. 2. Review of District Strategic Plan: a. A copy of the BSC District Goals 2008-2012 and Action Plan for 2008-2009 was included in the packet. b. The Leadership Team meeting is this Thursday. c. Dr. Creeden asked the Committee members to review the District Strategic Plan and email comments to him. 3. Correspondence: a. Pam Messenger received a copy of the Massachusetts’ General Laws. i. Rusty Chadwick said that Open Meeting Law has been changed and this should be an agenda item at a future meeting. ii. Dr. Creeden said that the jurisdiction for the Open Meeting Law has changed from a local level, the District Attorney to a state level, the Attorney General. iii. Dr. Creeden stressed that emails are public documents. Pam Messenger said the BSC tries to be very transparent (and doesn’t attempt to circumvent the Open Meeting Law via email). b. Cindy Murphy received a bulletin about the streamlining of MCAS. c. Rebecca Lundrigan inquired about a recent letter the Girl Scouts wrote to the BSC regarding Cole School Playground safety. Cole School Principal Kathryn Nikas responded that she had the letter and would make it available to Rebecca. 4. Other: a. Cindy Murphy praised the new Cole and Spofford School websites and found the TTU website very informative about H1N1. She and Cynthia Foster did express concern that links (to other websites within the schools’ websites) were sometimes inactive. Dr. Creeden said he would insure that links are updated. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meetings: a. August 25, 2009 – Regular Meeting i. Note – Pam Messenger was absent, so she had to abstain from approving the minutes of the Regular Meeting and the Executive Session. ii. Under the Reports Section, Paragraph 2, iii. Subheadings a. and g., Page 1, change the spelling of Sue Bodewell to Sue Bodwell. iv. Subheading g., Page 1, these sentences need to be changed, “Ms. Murphy told Sue Bodewell that the Student Council was concerned about food waste; she acknowledged that there was and it depended on the meal. She agreed to meet with the Student Council to address their concerns.” They should be changed to, “Cindy Murphy asked Sue Bodwell about food waste in the Caf.; Sue Bodwell acknowledged that there was and it depended on the meal. She agreed to meet with the Student Council and get their input on reducing food waste. A motion was made by Cynthia Foster to accept the 8/25/09 Regular Meeting Minutes as amended, seconded by Cynthia Murphy. Motion passed 4-0-1. b. August 25, 2009 – Executive Session i. No changes needed. A motion was made by Rusty Chadwick to approve the August 25, 2009 Executive Session Minutes, seconded by Cindy Murphy. Motion passed 4-0-1. 2. Bills and Payrolls: a. Payroll A motion was made by Pam Messenger to ratify and approve the payroll, weeks ending 8/21/09 and 8/8/28/09, in the total amount of $248,793.67, seconded by Rusty Chadwick. Motion passed 5-0-0. Another motion was made by Pam Messenger to ratify and approve the payroll, weeks ending 9/4/09 and 9/11/09, in the total amount of $297,213.46, seconded by Cindy Murphy. Motion passed 5-0-0. b. Bill Warrants A motion was made by Pam Messenger to pay BW#10-08 to BW#10-11, in the total amount of $96,978.77, seconded by Cindy Murphy. Motion passed 5-0-0. 3. Declaration of Obsolete Equipment and Materials: None 4. Home Schooling Requests: None EXECUTIVE SESSION: At 8:45 p.m., a motion was made by Pam Messenger to close the Regular Meeting and enter into Executive Session for the purpose of preparation for negotiations with represented personnel, returning to the Regular Meeting for the purpose of adjournment only, seconded by Cynthia Foster. On a roll call vote, the motion passed 5-0-0 (in favor: Rusty Chadwick, Cynthia Foster, Rebecca Lundrigan, Pam Messenger and Cindy Murphy). ADJOURNMENT: At 9:45 p.m., on a roll call vote, the BSC returned from Executive Session for the purpose of adjournment. Pam Messenger moved to adjourn, seconded by Cindy Murphy. Motion passed 5-0-0. Respectfully Submitted, Ellen Gaskell Recording Secretary |
