| BSC Permanent Minutes April 12, 2012 |
| PERMANENT MINUTES BOXFORD SCHOOL COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING BOXFORD TOWN HALL APRIL 12, 2012 Members Present: Rusty Chadwick, Heather Fecteau, Pam Messenger (Chairperson), Cindy Murphy and Susan Philpott Members Absent: Others Present: Dr. Bernard Creeden (Tri-Town Union (TTU) Superintendent of Schools), Steve Greenberg (TTU Director of Finance and Human Resources) Stewart Sagamore and Peter Delaney (Boxford Land Committee), David Rivers (Candidate for BSC), Kimberly Suther, Kathryn Nikas and Brian Middleton-Cox (Principals, Spofford and Cole, respectively) 1. ROUTINES: a. Call to Order: P. Messenger started the meeting at 7:30 p.m. b. Remarks from the Public: P. Messenger said that Bobbi McKenna, Boxford teacher L. Salisbury’s mom, passed away and noted Mrs. McKenna’s many contributions to Boxford. c. Reports from Other Committees i. Boxford Land Committee 1. Stewart Sagamore and Peter Delaney, the Boxford Land Committee Chairman, were introduced. S. Sagamore reported about the land behind Spofford School that’s ½ way down the playground to the woods. The land, totaling 18 acres, is zoned as open space. The town believed it owned this land, but couldn’t find the deed; a title search was done and it was discovered that the land is owned by the heirs of Raymond Perley. The committee worked with Mr. Perley’s heirs regarding the purchase of this land. Fair market value of the land was offered to the heirs, with the land taken by eminent domain. A warrant article for this land will be presented at Town Meeting: $126K appraisal for the land, plus $4K in legal fees, to be paid for with Free Cash. No action is needed by the BSC; the Land Committee just wants BSC’s support for the warrant article. ii. Math Committee: Dr. Creeden reported; the committee met Tuesday of this week to determine a summer training schedule and will meet on a regular basis. 2. REPORTS: a. Reports of the Building Principals: i. Brian Middleton-Cox, Cole School: 1. Professional development for differentiated instruction will occur after April school vacation and on the 5/2 Early Release Day. The results of the parent survey have been completed; they will be on the school website. Principal Middleton-Cox will be attending a Blue Ribbon Commission at Reading Public Schools tomorrow; there will be presentations on how to integrate technology into the classroom. Principal Middleton-Cox said that he and the staff are moving ahead to implement 5 Day tuition-free Kindergarten as a core program for Cole. ii. Kathryn Nikas, Spofford School: 1. Principal Nikas thanked Jennifer Sirmian for her planning of the recent Math Night; all grade levels were there. K. Nikas would like it to be an annual event. The latest round of MCAS has just been completed; the next MCAS is 5/8. There is still time to order a yearbook. 2. Dr. Creeden positively commented on the Math Night. There was a related brochure in the packet. b. Report of the Superintendent: See the report included in the packet. i. Spring Break will start at the end of the week; schools reopen 4/23. The next TTU meeting is 4/26. The League of Women Voters’ Moderators’ Forum should be soon; the BSC could talk about its warrant articles at the forum. Town Meeting is 5/8; the election is 5/15. 5/24 is a reorganization meeting for the BSC. Dr. Creeden introduced David Rivers, candidate for the BSC. 4/28 there is MA Association of School Committees (MASC) new school committee member training. The last day of school is 6/15/12, a Friday. ii. P. Messenger moved to make Friday, 6/15/12 the last day of school, seconded by H. Fecteau; motion passed unanimously. iii. The Educator Evaluation Program will be presented at Reading High School on 5/3 from 8:30-11am. Reading is an early adopter of this program; Boxford will adopt the Educator Evaluation Program in the 2013-2014 school year. 3. NEW BUSINESS: a. Advertised Public Hearing on FY 2013 Budget at 8 p.m.: See the hard copy of the PowerPoint presentation in the packet. i. P. Messenger moved to open a public hearing on the 2013 budget as advertised, returning to an open meeting afterwards, seconded by C. Murphy; motion passed unanimously. ii. S. Greenberg presented. The PowerPoint presentation will be posted on the TTU website tomorrow. iii. R. Chadwick arrived at this point. iv. D. Rivers asked what a step was; S. Greenberg explained the step and level system for teacher salaries. S. Greenberg said that steps were salary increases related to years of experience and levels were increases related to achieving additional educational degrees. v. S. Greenberg said that Free Five Day Kindergarten has a residual offset, so the increased cost for this program in FY 2013 is $979. Without the offset, five day kindergarten would’ve caused a $100K to $140K increase. vi. Additional maintenance staff for FY 13 was considered cost-neutral, due to the expected reduction in paying for outside contractors. vii. Enrollment projection Kindergarten-6th Grade: loss of 48 students. viii. Chapter 70 funding from the state has recently either remained flat or declined. ix. Circuit Breaker funding is projected to increase in FY 13. Circuit Breaker funding is reimbursement for students with much higher education costs than the average student, not including transportation costs. Dr. Creeden said that the elementary schools have addressed the vagaries of state Circuit Breaker funding by establishing more in-house Special Education programs. x. S. Greenberg said that the Revolving Fund level remained stable. xi. S. Greenberg said that the BSC doesn’t have discretion over most of the FY13 Budget, due to contractual obligations. xii. Next school year, there will be a reduction of 42 to 37 sections K-6. xiii. P. Messenger said that specialists will be teaching fewer students in FY13 (so they will spend less time teaching), but will take on Extended Studies Program responsibilities to compensate for this. xiv. S. Greenberg spoke some of FY13 improvements: free Five Day Kindergarten, the new math curriculum and a .3 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Maintenance Worker (Topsfield and Middleton will cover the rest of this worker’s salary). xv. Boxford Elementary School parents will receive an email message regarding the availability of this budget presentation for review and information about the school’s warrant article at Town Meeting. b. Public Hearing on School Choice for 2012-2013 i. P. Messenger moved to close the Public Hearing on the FY13 Budget, seconded by C. Murphy; motion passed unanimously. P. Messenger then moved to open the Public Hearing on School Choice for 2012-13, seconded by H. Fecteau; motion passed unanimously. ii. Dr. Creeden said that Boxford has to opt out of School Choice; the default position is School Choice. Dr. Creeden recommended not participating in School Choice. iii. P. Messenger moved that Boxford Elementary Schools not participate in School Choice for the 2012-13 school year, seconded by S. Philpott; motion passed unanimously. iv. P. Messenger moved to close the Public Hearing on School Choice for the 2012-13 school year, seconded by R. Chadwick; motion passed unanimously. c. FY 2013 Budget Development i. Preparation for Town Meeting 1. Dr. Creeden said that the BSC had to have a position on its own warrant article. 2. P. Messenger moved to endorse the warrant article related to the purchase of the Math in Focus Curriculum, in the amount of $144,037 at the 5/8 Town Meeting, seconded by R. Chadwick; motion passed unanimously. 3. Dr. Creeden said also that the BSC should have talking points for the math curriculum warrant article. ii. Final Vote on Budget Adjustments for FY 2012: none needed d. Tentative Organizational Design Posting for 2012-2013: See the related memo in the packet. i. Dr. Creeden said that a memo regarding this has gone out, well before the 4/15 deadline; the teachers must respond by tomorrow. Dr. Creeden met with the non-professional status teachers today. There will be meetings with teachers regarding staff reductions. There will be tentative assignments to teachers by 5/15.There is a vacancy in 6th grade – Maryellen Sorenson. 6 sections of Kindergarten will be reduced to 4 next year. The reduction of 42 to 37 class sections will mean significant movement, more than there has been in quite some time. There was discussion of the reductions in classrooms in Topsfield and Middleton for the upcoming school year. e. Policy Development: i. Head Lice (First Reading): See the related documents included in the packet. 1. Dr. Creeden said that the MASC suggested schools not have a head lice policy; this is an administrative procedure or nurses’ best practices topic. Nurses would like to have some sort of policy in place. There are 2 parts of the policy: acceptable advice from American Academy of Pediatrics, National School Nurses’ Association and MA Department of Health and best practices. On an annual basis, there should be an adoption of best practices. Middleton just approved its opinion on lice and it may be in conflict with the experts’ opinions. Middleton said the child with lice will be picked up and will not go back to class. Dr. Creeden said (Middleton’s stance) could be problem with HIPAA (individual’s right to medical privacy). The other change in lice policy regards whether the child is re-checked when he/she returns to school. P. Messenger went on record to say that lice aren’t a public health crisis. R. Chadwick wanted this language in the policy, “nurses will recommend procedures to include in the parent handbook each year” f. At the suggestion of the BSC Chair, R. Chadwick motioned to adopt the Head Lice & Students Policy JHL, seconded by C. Murphy; motion passed unanimously. g. Correspondence: P. Messenger received a magazine, School Planning and a solicitation from Walden University. Dr. Creeden received a letter to Andrea Monty from one of her former students, requesting that people sign up to be bone marrow donors. h. Other: Facilities Director S. Clifford had surgery a week ago and will do rehab. Rick Clark, night custodian, just had knee surgery. S. Greenberg reported that the MA School Building Authority (MSBA) may fund school repair projects that increase energy efficiency, e.g. windows, boilers. Boxford already has an ongoing MSBA Statement of Interest and because of this, Boxford may be eligible for this new area of reimbursement. S. Greenberg said Boxford has received the $179K MSBA reimbursement for the $474K roof replacement project. P. Messenger asked the BSC to review the Code of Conduct. 4. CONSENT AGENDA a. Approval of Minutes of Previous Regular Meetings: See the minutes in the packet. The changes to these minutes were determined at this meeting and will be recorded in the Permanent Minutes. i. 1/12/12 1. Page 1, 1b., correct the spelling of Sara Hartley. 2. C. Murphy moved to approve the amended 1/12/12 BSC Regular Meeting Minutes, seconded by P. Messenger; motion passed 4-0-1, with H. Fecteau abstaining due to absence. ii. 1/26/12 1. Page 1, Members Present section, insert a comma between Cindy Murphy and Rusty Chadwick. 2. C. Murphy motioned to approve the 1/26/12 amended BSC Regular Meeting Minutes, seconded by S. Philpott; motion passed unanimously. iii. 2/9/12 1. Page 1, Others Present section, add TTU Director of Curriculum Christine Elliott. 2. Page 1, 1b., i., 1st sentence should read: B. Middleton-Cox said Cole just did math interims and teachers will meet to discuss the results soon. 3. Page 5, Consent Agenda, 3., 1st sentence, name should read Mr. Turner. 4. C. Murphy moved to approve the amended 2/9/12 minutes, seconded by R. Chadwick; motion passed 3-0-2, with H. Fecteau and S. Philpott abstaining due to absence. iv. 3/22/12 1. Page 1, Others Present section, names should read Pam Dalton (Art Teacher) and Toby Turner (Music Teacher). Pam Dalton’s name needs to be corrected throughout the document. 2. Page 2, 2a., ix., 1st sentence should read: The BSC thanked the ESP for their hard work. 3. Page 3, 1st sentence, erase the subheading ‘c.’ . 4. Page 4, 2e., ii., 3rd sentence should read: The FinCom has invited the BSC to meet with them again on Tuesday 3/27; 4 of the BSC members – P. Messenger, S. Philpott, C. Murphy and R. Chadwick can’t attend. 5. Page 4, 3a., omit the 7th sentence and replace it with, The original first day on Draft #4 has become a teacher-only professional development day. 6. P. Messenger moved to approve the 3/22/12 BSC Regular Meeting Minutes as amended, seconded by C. Murphy; motion passed 4-0-1, with H. Fecteau abstaining due to absence. b. Bill Warrants and Payrolls: See the memo passed out at the meeting. i. Sign and Vote to Accept 1. PCARD BW#12-06 2. TTU BW#12-15CF 3. BW#12-43 4. Total: $55,278.44 5. P. Messenger moved to approve the Bill Warrants, in the total amount of $55,278.44, seconded by C. Murphy. Motion passed unanimously. ii. Vote to Accept Only 1. Payroll, weeks ending 3/31 and 4/6/12 $287,625.29 2. P. Messenger moved to ratify the payroll, seconded by C. Murphy. Motion passed unanimously. 5. ADJOURNMENT: At 10 pm P. Messenger moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by C. Murphy; motion passed unanimously. 6. EXECUTIVE SESSION: At 9:45 pm, a motion was made by P. Messenger to suspend the Regular Meeting and enter into Executive Session to approve any previous Preliminary Executive Session Minutes and to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining with union personnel where an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining, seconded by C. Murphy. Motion passed unanimously by roll call vote (all in favor: for names see Page 1 of the minutes). Respectfully yours, Ellen Gaskell Recording Secretary 2011-12 Per the Open Meeting Law, here is a list of the documents either given to the BSC before the meeting in the packet or at the meeting: 1. Agenda 2. Attendance Log 3. Superintendent’s Report 4. Bills and Payrolls 5. Minutes of Previous Meetings 6. 4/4/12 Memo re: Tentative Classroom Design 7. MA General Law: Chapter 76: School Attendance 8. Policy JHL: Head Lice and Students 9. Boxford Head Lice Guidelines for School Nurses 2012-2013 10. 4/4/12 Spofford Pond School Math Fair brochure 11. 4/12/12 Boxford Elementary Schools Public Hearing for the Proposed FY 2013 Budget: copy of the PowerPoint presentation 12. Personal Code of Conduct for Volunteer Board, Commission and Committee Members |
