HomeMy WebLinkAboutFINAL SC Minutes 2019-04-09.pdf FINAL
April 9,2019
MINUTES
MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
REGULAR SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
APRIL 9, 2019 6:30 PM
PAUL REVERE ROOM,MINUTEMAN HIGH SCHOOL
Present:
Dave Horton, Chair(Lexington) Alice DeLuca(Stow)
Jim Gammill,Vice-Chair(Belmont) Sue Sheffler(Arlington)
Ford Spalding(Dover) Pam Nourse, Secretary(Acton)
Jeff Stulin, (Needham) David O'Connor(Bolton)
Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)
Absent: Dr. Edward Bouquillon and Carrie Flood(Concord)
Weighted Vote: Weighted Vote present at start of meeting: 92.65 %
Others Present: Kevin Mahoney,Jack Dillon,Michelle Shepard and Julia Pisegna
1. CALL TO ORDER: OPEN SESSION
The Chair called the regular meeting to order at 6:35 p.m.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no Public Comment.
3. CHAIR'S REPORT,Dave Horton
a. Comments for the Good of the Organization
Ms. DeLuca shared that she participated in a phone conference with the Department of Education regarding
the financing of the High Quality and Career Pathways Program.
Mr.Ford and Mr.Horton attended the March 18th Advocacy Day event to increase support for career technical
education held at the State House and shared their comments on the event.
Mr. Gammill shared that he attended an event hosted by State House News Service held at State Street Bank
on STEM. The event was also attended by many companies from the private sector.
Mr. Horton attended the Lexington Town meeting and Awards Night for outstanding seniors of Lexington
High School and Minuteman High School and shared he was very proud of Minuteman students and
administration for a great presentation.
Mr. Horton also shared how much he enjoyed the wonderful play, The Odd Couple, presented by the Drama
Club.
4. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT,Ed Bouquillon
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FY19 Goal#1: Superintendent will support the Minuteman Academy Model.
No update.
FY19 Goal#2:
Mr. Horton shared that a revised meeting agenda provided to members includes the deletion of the vote for
the Admissions Policy as reflected in the original meeting agenda,but rather the vote will be for the approval
of the letter to be sent to Commission Jeffrey Riley dated April 9,2019.
Discussion ensued relative to signatories of the letter.
ACTION 2019#19
Moved(Spalding)and seconded(Leoni)
To authorize the letter to Commissioner Jeffrey Riley dated April 9,2019,pending grammatical
edits,
VOTE: 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present: 92.65%
Weight needed: >46.32%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining: none
Final percentage results of vote: 92.65%
Final status of the vote: Unanimous
b) Correspondence to Governor Charles Baker dated March 21, 2019 requesting release of the$1.4 million
for the design and construction of the photovoltaic solar overlay.
Mr. Mahoney shared with Committee members the letter submitted to the Governor from our legislative
delegation urging release of the funds for the photovoltaic canopy project which was approved in the capital
bond bill.
Discussion ensued relative to follow up on this matter, and Ms. DeLuca noted that not all of the legislative
delegations were included as signatories on this letter.
FY19 Goal#3: Superintendent will communicate all appropriate information to Watertown school and city
officials regarding membership in the Minuteman District and will secure a Memorandum of Understanding
No update.
FY Goal #4: Superintendent will support and guide the expansion of a robust marketing, recruitment and
visibility campaign to increase member town applications.
Enrollment Task Force Update:
Ms.Nourse updated the Committee on the continued work of the Enrollment Task Force. The team reviewed
the number of applications received (197 applications), and at the date of the Officers meeting, the total
number of applications received equaled 253.
Mr. Dillon presented the updated applications numbers as of April 9th as follows:
199 applications in district
80 applications out of district
Total: 279 applications received
To date: 200 acceptance letters have been sent out, and a total of 105 commitments from students have been
received.
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Ms. Nourse acknowledged and thanked the administration for their hard work and efforts to increase
application numbers.
Ms. Nourse also shared that the final technical edits to the approved Middle School Access document have
been completed and the administration is preparing a letter to be sent to School Committee Chairs and
Superintendent.
Ms. Nourse reported to the Committee that a significant number of applications have been received for the
new position of Communications Director.
Discussion ensued relative to applications received,class size numbers,and the need to revise and update the
Admissions Policy.
Mr. Dillon shared the total application numbers received by town to date as follows:
Acton 26
Arlington 63
Belmont 20
Bolton 5
Concord 9
Dover 1
Lancaster 17
Lexington 23
Needham 15
Stow 20
Total— 199 applications
Mr. Dillon also noted the following out of district applications received to date as follows:
Billerica 1
Boston 3
Boxborough 1
Burlington 2
Carlisle 2
Everette 2
Framingham 1
Hillsborough 1
Hyde Park 1
Lincoln 4
Lowell 1
Medford 1
Melrose
Newton 3
Reading 1
Sherborn 1
Sterling 1
Stoneham 1
Sudbury 6
Wakefield 2
Waltham 3
Watertown 25
Wayland 4
Wellesley 1
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Weston 1
Wilmington 2
Winchester 1
Woburn 6
Discussion ensued relative to out of district applications received.
FY19 Goal#5: Superintendent will develop an Inter-Municipal Agreement with the Town of Lexington to
fully build out the Athletic Facility, will implement a Phase 00 Campus Development Plan, and will keep
the MBVA project on time and on budget.
a) Update on Request for Proposal(RFP)Process
Mr. Mahoney shared that discussions with the Town of Lexington have been paused for the time being.
The Request for Proposal(RFP)process has been issued,with eight interested entities exploring more about
the project. An informational meeting with those interested parties is scheduled for April 10th and proposals
will be due on Monday,April 22nd.
Ms. DeLuca requested that the record reflect that the School Committee should re-consider the wording of
Superintendent's Goal#5,since the District is not working with Lexington to the exclusion of other entities.
5. PRINCIPAL'S REPORT,Jack Dillon
Approval of the Overnight Trip for SkilisUSA to attend the Massachusetts Ski11sUSA State
Leadership and Skills Conference in Marlborough,MA—Thursday,April 25th to Sunday,April
27th
Mr. Dillon recommended approval of the overnight trip for SkillsUSA to attend the Massachusetts
Ski11sUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference in Marlborough,MA—Thursday,April 25th to Sunday,
April 27th
ACTION 2019#20
Moved(Spalding)and seconded(DeLuca)
To approve the overnight trip for SkillsUSA to attend the Massachusetts SkillsUSA State Leadership and
Skills Conference in Marlborough,MA—Thursday,April 25th to Sunday,April 27th, as presented,
VOTE: 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present: 92.65%
Weight needed: >46.32%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining: none
Final percentage results of vote: 92.65%
Final status of the vote: Unanimous
Approval of the Overnight Field Trip for the Environmental Technology Program Trip to
Downeast Institute in Beals,Maine—Monday,May 6th—Friday,May 10th
Mr. Dillon recommended approval of the overnight field trip for the Environmental Technology Program
trip to the Downeast Institute in Beals,Maine—Monday, May 6th—Friday,May 10th and noted that due to
a student medical situation,the dates may need to be adjusted,
ACTION 2019#21
Moved(Spalding)and seconded(DeLuca)
To approve the overnight field trip for the Environmental Technology Program Trip to Downeast Institute
in Beals,Maine—Monday,May 6th—Friday,May 10th, as presented,
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VOTE: 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present: 92.65%
Weight needed: >46.32%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining: none
Final percentage results of vote: 92.65%
Final status of the vote: Unanimous
Mr. Dillon shared that he met with representatives from Hanscom regarding the use of their pool. A letter
was submitted seeking pool access for practice purposes only. Mr. Dillon awaits a reply and will continue
to update the Committee on this matter.
6. ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT,Kevin Mahoney
a. Acceptance of Scholarship Funds
Mr. Mahoney recommended approval of the acceptance of scholarship funds and noted that one of the
scholarships is in the memory of former automotive teacher,Bruce Flood.
ACTION 2019#22
Moved(Spalding)and seconded(Leoni)
To accept the scholarship funds, as presented,
VOTE: 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present: 92.65%
Weight needed: >46.32%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining: none
Final percentage results of vote: 92.65%
Final status of the vote: Unanimous
b. Approval for Request for the Disposal of Surplus Property
Mr. Mahoney shared that action on this item was not needed at this time.
c. Minuteman Retirement Board-COLA
Mr. Mahoney shared that members received notification from the Minuteman Retirement Board in their
packet of the annual vote for the Cost of Living Increase scheduled for April 25th. Mr. Mahoney noted that
this item is for informational purposes only and does not require School Committee vote.
d. FY20 Budget/Assessment: Town Meeting Update
Mr. Mahoney presented Committee members with an updated Town meeting schedule, and noted that to
date,three towns have approved the FY20 budget assessment.
7. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
a. School Building Committee—Ford Spalding
Mr. Spalding reported that the building remains on time and on budget and presented a new Andrew
Mudge film with recent building updates.
Mr. Spalding noted that a joint tour of the building will be held with School Building Committee members
and School Committee members on April 22nd and encouraged all to attend.
Discussion ensued relative to the new building.
b. Finance Committee Update—Jim Gammill
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Mr. Mahoney shared that discussions were held during the Finance Committee meetings relative to the
cancellation of the summer programs. Due to the construction project and the coordination of the move into
the new building during the summer, decision was made to cancel summer programs, however, Summer's
Edge will remain on schedule in the building.
Mr. Mahoney noted that due to the cancellation of the summer programs, the anticipated impact to the
revolving account would be approximately$140,000 and recommendation was made to apply the $100,000
line item in the administration fund to off-set the loss due to the cancellation of the summer program. The
administration will continue to identify an additional $40,000 to avoid a deficit in that account.
Mr. Gammill shared that the Finance Committee continued discussions on the OPEB Trust Fund and noted
that the laws have changed since the Committee originally voted on this item in 2015, and it is time to bring
the item before the Committee for a vote again.
Mr. Gammill shared some of the changes in the law to date and presented the next three steps necessary for
the Committee to consider:
1) revisit the acceptance of the law under the new language;
2) obtain a new version of the Trust Agreement from the attorneys;
3) create an Investment Policy Statement to guide the actions of the Trustees in terms of management; and
4) evaluate whether$50,000 is the correct amount to continue to add to the account
A draft version of the Investment Policy Statement was included in the packet.
Discussion ensued.
Mr.Mahoney thanked Mr. Gammill for his work and research on this item and discussed further the work
done with the Finance Committee.
8. SECRETARY'S REPORT,Pam Nourse
a. Approval of Draft Minutes of March 12th, and the following vote was taken:
ACTION 2019#23
Moved(Nourse) and seconded(Leone)
To approve the draft minutes of March 12th, as presented
VOTE: 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present: 92.65%
Weight needed: >46.32%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining:
Final percentage results of vote: 92.65%
Final status of the vote: Unanimous
9. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business,the School Committee took the following vote:
ACTION 2019#24
Moved(Leoni)and seconded(Spalding)
To adjourn the meeting at 7:58 p.m.
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VOTE: 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present: 92.65%
Weight needed: >46.32%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining:
Final percentage results of vote: 92.65%
Final status of the vote: Unanimous
Respectfully submitted,
Julia Pisegna Pam Nourse
District Assistant Secretary
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