| BSC Preliminary Minutes January 4, 2010 |
| PRELIMINARY MINUTES BOXFORD SCHOOL COMMITTEE (BSC) REGULAR MEETING BOXFORD TOWN HALL MEETING ROOM #2 JANUARY 4, 2010 Members Present: Rusty Chadwick, Rebecca Lundrigan, Pam Messenger (Chairperson) and Cindy Murphy Members Absent: Cynthia Foster Others Present: Jane Bonaventura, Heather Walker and Lisa Salisbury (Cole / BTA), Dr. Bernard Creeden (Tri-Town Union (TTU) Superintendent), Steve Greenberg (TTU Director of Finance and Human Resources), Kathy O’ Brien (Tri-Town Transcript) and Ellen Gaskell (Recording Secretary) ROUTINES: 1. Call to Order: Chairperson Pam Messenger called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. 2. Remarks from the Public: Happy New Year! 3. Remarks from Other Committees: a. TTU Regionalization Readiness Study Committee Update: i. Dr. Creeden said the next meeting would be 1/6/10 at the Boxford Town Hall. Specific recommendations for the 1/21/10 TTU meeting will be discussed. The next steps involve these areas: governance, leadership, program integration and financial implications. ii. Steve Greenberg asked Study Committee members if they were for regionalization. Their overall opinion was that efforts should be continued to strengthen the TTU with a move to regionalization in the long term. iii. Pam Messenger was surprised the Study Committee was lukewarm to regionalization; Steve Greenberg said the loss of local control and the fact that regionalization will probably not be a cost savings are the reasons for this. iv. Dr. Creeden mentioned that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Regional Planning Study Results report was included in the packet. REPORTS: 1. Report of the Superintendent: a. Dr. Creeden presented his report, a copy of which was included in the packet. b. Personnel Update: i. Sharon Fenderson has returned from her leave of absence (LOA); Jennifer Sirmaian has just gone on maternity leave; Valerie Albanesi covered Ms. Fenderson’s LOA and will now cover Ms. Sirmaian’s LOA. ii. Speech and Language Pathologist Leslie Bilosz resigned suddenly. Dr. Creeden hoped to have an exit interview with her. Rusty Chadwick asked if there was a resignation procedure outlined in the Teachers’ Contract. He asked Dr. Creeden for an update on Ms. Bilosz at the next meeting. c. State Local Aid Update: Restoration of Regional Transportation Aid: i. The governor will probably restore $22 million to regional transportation aid to regional school districts, such as Masconomet. d. Tri-Town Union Meeting – January 21, 2010 e. “Race to the Top” Grant: i. “Race to the Top” information was included in the packet. ii. The deadline to agree to the Memo of Understanding regarding this grant is 1/13/10; the superintendent, school committee chairperson and teachers’ union would have to sign on, agreeing to complete the requirements to be eligible for grant money. iii. The proposed grants seem to be targeting under-performing districts and Boxford is not one of these. iv. There was a consensus among the Committee and the BTA members present that there is insufficient information about the grants. The Committee decided not to sign the Memo of Understanding. NEW BUSINESS: 1. School Committee District Plan 2009-2010 Update: No action tonight. a. Dr. Creeden suggested voting on this at the next meeting. 2. FY 2011 Budget Development: a. Overview of FY 2011 Budget: i. Steve Greenberg is putting together the Budget Book and presented a related memo, included in the packet. This year he will present the budgets in a narrative form instead of just spreadsheets. In order to conserve paper, there will be one paper copy of the appendices and they will also be available electronically. ii. The FinCom has requested a 0% budget increase, which will be challenging due to a 12% increase in health insurance costs ($120K) and the step and level increases of the teachers. iii. On the bright side, energy expense will be less due to a decrease in energy prices and the school lighting retro-fits. Cindy Murphy asked Steve Greenberg to quantify the savings; he thought it would be between $10-$20K. The transportation contract will cost $13.4.K less, also. iv. Dr. Creeden said that the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) enrollment projections have just been received; the kindergarten class will be smaller. v. Cindy Murphy asked Steve Greenberg if strengthening the TTU would have a cost savings; Steve Greenberg said that when comparing the TTU against a single-town district such as Boxborough, the TTU costs significantly less. vi. Dr. Creeden said the Committee would have the Budget Narrative by the next meeting on 1-19-09. b. Regular Day Transportation Contract: i. Steve Greenberg presented a report about the contract award, included in the packet. ii. The contract was awarded to the low bidder, North Reading Transportation. iii. Steve Greenberg was impressed with the company’s references. A motion was made by Pam Messenger to authorize Steve Greenberg to draft a contract with North Reading Transportation for 5 years in the amount of $7,916,074.50, seconded by Cindy Murphy. Motion passed 4-0-0. 3. School Calendar 2010-2011 Draft #2: a. Pam Messenger asked the BTA members at the meeting to comment on the calendar; Heather Walker noted that the kindergarten start date was 9-9-10 on both versions of the calendar. If there was a pre-Labor Day start, there would be a gap between the end of kindergarten screening and the start of kindergarten classes. b. Dr. Creeden noted that Rosh Hashanah is 9-8-10 and the start date might have to be changed to address this. c. There was no action tonight on this item; Dr. Creeden said the calendar must be finalized by the 1st BSC meeting in February. 4. School Committee Annual Report 2009: a. An amended draft of this report will be sent to Pam Messenger, who is in charge of producing the final report. It is due in February. 5. Correspondence: a. Pam Messenger received a School Design Spaces magazine. She also received a membership renewal. 6. Other: a. Dr. Creeden introduced Kathy O’Brien of the Tri-Town Transcript to the Committee and the audience. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meetings: a. December 15, 2009 – Regular Meeting: No changes were needed. A motion was made by Rusty Chadwick to approve the December 15, 2009 Regular Meeting minutes, seconded by Cindy Murphy. Motion passed 3-0-1 (Pam Messenger abstained due to absence). b. December 15, 2009 – Executive Session: As covered at the last meeting, these minutes will now be approved during Executive Session. 2. Bills and Payrolls: a. A Bill Warrants and Payrolls handout was included in the packet. A motion was made by Pam Messenger to adjust the budget by moving $1,500.00 from the Custodial Maintenance Account to the Custodial Maintenance Supplies Account, seconded by Rebecca Lundrigan. Motion passed 4-0-0. A motion was made by Pam Messenger to approve and accept these bill warrants: BW#10-33 CF $2,317.14 BW#10-34 $54,061.34 BW#10-35 $20,187.57 Seconded by Rebecca Lundrigan. Motion passed 4-0-0. Motion made by Pam Messenger to ratify the 1/13/10 Payroll, weeks ending 12/25/09 and 1/01/10, totaling $267,893.11, seconded by Cindy Murphy. Motion passed 4-0-0. EXECUTIVE SESSION: At 9:15 p.m., a motion was made by Chairperson Pam Messenger to leave the Regular Meeting and enter into Executive Session for the preparation for negotiations with represented and non-represented personnel, returning to Regular Meeting for the purpose of adjournment only, seconded by Rusty Chadwick. Motion passed 4-0-0 by roll call vote (in favor: Rusty Chadwick, Rebecca Lundrigan, Pam Messenger and Cindy Murphy). ADJOURNMENT: At 11:05 p.m., on a roll call vote, the Committee returned from Executive Session for the purpose of adjournment. Cindy Murphy moved to adjourn, seconded by Pam Messenger. Motion passed 4-0-0. Respectfully submitted, Ellen Gaskell Recording Secretary |
