HomeMy WebLinkAboutFINAL SC Minutes September 22 2020.pdf FINAL
MINUTES
MINUTEMAN REGIONAL VOCATIONAL TECHNICAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
REGULAR SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING
SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 6.30 P.M.
VIA REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Present.
Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton) Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham)
Alice DeLuca, Secretary(Stow) Michael Ruderman(Arlington)
Steve LeDoux(Concord) Ford Spalding(Dover)
Jennifer Leone (Lancaster) Judith Crocker(Lexington)
Dave O'Connor(Bolton)
Absent None
Weighted Vote Weighted Vote present at start of meeting 63 26%
Others Present Dr Edward Bouquillon,Dr Robert Gerard',Dr Amy Perreault, George Clement and
Julia Pisegna
1 CALL TO ORDER OPEN SESSION
The Chair called the meeting to order at 6 31 p m
2 ADOPTION OF REMOTE PARTICIPATION
VOTE To adopt remote participation by all members of the Minuteman School Committee
pursuant to and in accordance with Sections (2) and (3) of the Executive Order Suspending
Certain Provisions of the Open Meeting Law made by the Governor of Massachusetts on
March 12, 2020, such adoption to be effective until said Executive Order is rescinded or the
Commonwealth's State of Emergency as referenced in said Executive Order, is terminated,
whichever happens first
ACTION 2020#97
Moved(Leone)and seconded(Spalding)
To approve remote participation
VOTE 8 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present 63 26%
Weight needed >31 63%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining none
Final percentage results of vote 63 26%
Final status of the vote Unanimous
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Roll Call
Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton)
Dave O'Connor(Bolton)
Steve LeDoux(Concord)
Ford Spalding(Dover)
Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)
Judith Crocker(Lexington)
Jeff Stuhn,Vice-Chair(Needham)
Alice DeLuca, Secretary(Stow)
3 CHAIR'S REPORT,Pam Nourse
a For the Good of the Organization
Ms Nourse thanked the administration and faculty for all their hard work in preparation for the opening
of school
(Mr Ruderman joined the meeting at 6 35 p m)
Ms Nourse shared that subcommittee goals for the coming year will be discussed at the School
Committee meeting on October 13th, and asked members to review their goals for next year and submit
goals to Ms Pisegna in advance of the Officers meeting on October 6th
4 SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT,Dr Edward Bouquillon
a Reopening
Dr Bouquillon provided Committee members in their packet a review of the communications recently
sent to parents and staff,along with the videos which were prepared
Dr Bouquillon also discussed the metncs from our social media outlets, as well as the Lexington
Selectman who reported Minuteman news
b Review of School Wide Goals
Dr Bouquillon presented the school wide goals, noting they are similar to last year's goals, but include
safety and health as the number one pnonty item for the Distnct
Dr Bouquillon noted that these goals are incorporated into his goals,the goals of the administrative team,
and the goals are shared school-wide
c School Building Committee Report
1) Athletic Fields Project—Mr Spalding shared that the District is now at Module 8 of the
MSBA project We continue to provide information and await receipt of the Certificate
of Occupancy from Lincoln There are a few punch list items remaining which mainly
include hardware and doors
Mr Spalding updated members that the approval for the athletic fields will be moved
out approximately three weeks and noted that Mr Mahoney reported that the funding
plan is being developed and is very positive and achievable
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5 PRINCIPAL'S REPORT—George Clement
Mr Clement reported that students are back in the building, and teachers are very happy to have them
back Prior to the beginning of school, teachers participated in ten days of Professional Development
which was very informative and helpful for the staff, and included training in Aspen and Teams,
workshops on trauma and anxiety, recent changes to the sexual harassment law, bullying, anti-racist
classrooms The training was a really good use of the Professional Development time
Mr Clement shared that there has not been one issue with students wearing masks and they are doing
great with social distancing Lunches seem to be going great The schedule for the hybrid model is
working well There have been a vanety of issues with technology and we continue to address them as
they arise There is a concern with obtaining replacement computers, but overall, issues are being
handled The technology group is assisting staff, students, and parents Exploratory is going well also
Transportation is one item that has been a little rough from the start In addition to the transition to a new
bus company, every week is a new route for each grade Mr Tildsley is working with the bus company
regarding all issues We continue to work with NRT to resolve these issues and may begin to do a daily
roll call on each bus
Mr.Clement shared that overall,we are off to a great start. Teachers are doing a great job teaching remote
and adjusting to this new normal
Mr O'Connor commended the administration on the great job of the team, and shared that he also
witnessed some classes, and shared that the teachers were engaging and doing a terrific job
Ms. Leone asked about the freshman students developing friendships with their peers. Mr. Clement
shared that there is an opportunity in exploratory for developing friendships At this time, students are
grouped together alphabetically Once students pick their specific shops, they will be mixed with other
students The administration is very mindful of how students are being grouped together Junior peer
leaders have been present when the freshman have been in school, and they are working with students to
facilitate connections through games with each other
Mr Spalding asked about how students build relationships with their teachers Mr Clement shared that
the CTE teachers will find that a little easier because they have the opportunity to meet the students in
their shop Teachers covered this topic this during Professional Development and reflected on the
differences and challenges of through the intermediary of the camera lens
Mr Stuhn shared his thoughts, from a teacher's point of view, that teachers will know their kids very
well Mr Stulin thanked Mr Clement and the staff for starting the year off in such a good way
Ms Nourse asked if there were students in the high needs category who needed more instruction Mr
Clement responded that a little more time needs to elapse to determine how we handle that Advisory is
no longer planned into the day, and that historically that period that allowed for contact with students
who might have additional needs
b Marketing and Recruitment
Mr Chiairello provided a summary in the Committee packet on the different marketing strategies in place
for admissions this year He shared some of the tools, including mailings, digital content to increase
exposure,restricted and small in-person groups to showcase the school, as well as virtual events
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He hopes to utilize some of these processes in the future This information was also shared with the
Minuteman Parents Association to promote Minuteman The vendor was selected for our marketing and
filming which will begin the first week in October for the marketing video and virtual tour. The
multimedia engmeenng shops will have students prepare vignettes of each shop,similar to showcase day,
which highlight shop instructors and their enthusiasm for Minuteman, and provide parents a sense of
what's next for students after they graduate from Minuteman Student ambassadors will prepare their
story for posting on the admissions website, as well as a digital newsletter which provides meaningful
highlights to show what current student and alumni are doing now
Mr Chiairello also shared that the in-person visits to showcase the school will be limited,but he will be
hosting up to three tours per day, dunng days, evenings, and weekends Each tour will need to be
scheduled thru the admissions website, which also requires potential students interested to input their
contact information so that we can reach out to them in the future Open House events will be held,
limited to 50 families in the building at a time,one parent and one student,who will register for two shops
that they really want to visit They will have 30 minutes in each shop Additional shops can be viewed
virtually Reservations have already been received from the first mailing
Virtual events will be planned as the market video is released It will include members of the Minuteman
Parents Association and alumni who will share their experiences of Minuteman, along with a question
and answer period.
Mr Chiarello will also be meeting with all the principals and guidance counselors of ascending schools
to discuss support and distribution of Minuteman materials to families
Mr Stuhn thanked Mr Chiariello for the presentation and added how important it is to emphasize what
happens to students after Minuteman. Mr. Stulin suggested that, to get student's attention, the school
host a competition for all 8th grade students with prizes and advertise it through the television and
newspapers
Mr Spalding thanked Mr Chiarello for all his work, and shared that the Superintendent in Dover is a
great fan of Minuteman, shared that Twitter and Dover Cable are great resources, and reiterated the
importance of continued communication from Minuteman
Mr O'Connor shared some ideas that he has seen for the class vignettes as creative ways to introduce
Minuteman to prospective students
Ms. Nourse shared that she is happy to see the involvement of the Minuteman Parents Association and
that it is especially important to have parents involved
Ms Crocker thanked the administration for all their terrific work and suggested the use of videos at the
middle schools
6 SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
a Finance Committee Report—Steve LeDoux
Mr LeDoux shared that the Finance Committee had met and prepared their goals,which mirror the goals of last
year, and thanked the Business Office for putting together the Adobe program so that warrants and documents
can be signed electronically The Committee is ready to review the costs associated with the athletic fields once
the bids are open The budget calendar for FY22 was reviewed and work will begin in early December
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b Policy Subcommittee Undate—Alice DeLuca
Policies for Review
Ms DeLuca welcomed Ms Crocker as the newest member of the group,and shared that she brings a lot of policy
experience to the group
Ms DeLuca shared that another Harassment Policy needs to be approved, ACAB and, also ACAB-R for first
reading She noted that after these policies are approved,the policy entitled Sexual Harassment adopted in 2018,
will be removed due to new federal guidelines She referred to the memorandum from MASC advising us of the
need to adopt a new policy and noted their unusual suggestion that the school attorney review the language they
had provided
Ms DeLuca also noted that the policies have been reviewed and edited by the school attorney
Mr Stulin shared his concerns and that the policies are unclear and hard to read and referred specifically to Part
1A, which included the name of the title IX Coordinator, additional language that needs to be deleted, and
expressed his uncomfortableness on voting on these policies, and he asked what type of support is available for
the individual investigating any claims
Dr. Perreault shared that the person is named in the policy because it is required by law. She added that as part
of the Professional Development training, the administrative team participated in a 3-hour session on all the
updates to the policy and updates to the law As far as the investigator, that would be anyone at the
Superintendent's discretion The Title IX Coordinator is the person that coordinates the investigation, not
necessarily the investigator, depending on the situation
Mr. Ruderman asked about the process of dissemination of the documents that the Committee agrees on and if
the District is obliged to ensure that every student and every family acknowledges receipt of this information
and if we are allowed to give prefatory comments so that families and students understand where these are
coming from, as this language is harsh and intimidating
Dr Perreault reviewed that the staff training and training documents will also be posted on our website,which
is a legal requirement, as well as all policies posted on the District website, and she is not aware of any
requirement for us to let people know why this policy was done
Ms DeLuca shared that this is a different scenario, as the federal government does not usually reach into the
individual school districts She also noted that the attorneys advised the District of what would happen if we did
not adopt it, and that the District would be left vulnerable if someone were to be accused.
Mr Stulin expressed his gratitude to Ms DeLuca, Dr Perreault, and Ms Crocker for their work on these
particular policies
Ms Leone also shared that this policy is disturbing Ms Crocker noted that every district is going through the
same thing
1) Harassment—Policy ACAB
VOTE To approve the Harassment—Policy ACAB for first reading, as presented
ACTION 2020#98
Moved(Leone)and seconded(Spalding),
To approve the Harassment Policy ACAB for first reading, as presented
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VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present 100%
Weight needed. > 50.00%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining
Final percentage results of vote 100%
Final status of the vote Unanimous
Roll Call
Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton)
Michael Ruderman(Arlington)
Dave O'Connor(Bolton)
Steve LeDoux(Concord)
Ford Spalding(Dover)
Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)
Judith Crocker(Lexington)
Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham)
Alice DeLuca(Stow)
2) Grievance Procedure for Complaints of Sexual Harassment under Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972—Policy ACAB-R
VOTE To approve Gnevance Procedure for Complaints of Sexual Harassment under
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972—Policy ACAB-R for first reading, as
presented
ACTION 2020#99
Moved(Leone)and seconded(Spalding),
To approve Gnevance Procedure for Complaints of Sexual Harassment under Title IX
of the Education Amendments of 1972—Policy ACAB-R for first reading,as presented
VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present 100%
Weight needed > 50 00%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining
Final percentage results of vote 100%
Final status of the vote Unanimous
Roll Call
Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton)
Michael Ruderman(Arlington)
Dave O'Connor(Bolton)
Steve LeDoux(Concord)
Ford Spalding(Dover)
Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)
Judith Crocker(Lexington)
Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham)
Alice DeLuca(Stow)
Ms DeLuca provided members in their packet Policy KF and a draft of the administration's procedures
that will be used to implement the policy,noting that there has been a great amount of detail added as to
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how the facilities will be managed and the rules for use of the facilities The school committee, in
adopting this policy, expects details to be managed by the administration
Ms DeLuca brought to the attention of members the issue of whether alcohol should be allowed on the
premises This version of KF acknowledges that under Mass General Law the School Committee is the
only authority that can issue a temporary liquor license for certain events. She pointed out that in the
Facilities Usage Guide, #15 prohibits alcohol on school property, which is in conflict with the idea of
the school committee allowing alcohol sales on school property She noted that 2 of 3 members of the
previous policy committee voted that the option to allow alcohol sales even temporarily should not be
included at all
Mr Spalding questioned that if No 15 in the Usage guide says no alcohol is allowed, the policy KF
should match, and alcohol should not be allowed at a school facility
Mr Ruderman expressed his opinion on serving alcohol being allowed certain events
Ms Crocker shared that it provides an opportunity for some professional organizations using the school
as another option
Ms Leone noted that with a professional kitchen and the space to accommodate banquets, she is torn as
this is a different situation given the professional facility that we have
Dr. Bouquillon shared that most other vocational schools do host events where wine and/or beer is sold
at and have policies that govern those events, and that he has attended events at those school and no
students are included in the serving of the meal or dnnks, and that it is different than a regular school.
He does not view this as a common usage at Minuteman
Before the second reading, Mr Stulm would like to see a draft set of guidelines stating what kind of
events we would allow this for and what kind of rules would be enforced, after which he might not be
against an occasional event which served alcohol
Mr Spalding inquired about the liability issues and a determination from our insurance carrier
surrounding the liability of serving alcohol He wants to be informed about what happens in the event
of a fatal traffic accident He would like the lawyers to weigh in as well
Dr Bouquillon shared his opinion that that would be against the lessee and not on the school, and they
would sign a form indicating that they have $2 million of liability coverage The District would have
not liability
Mr O'Connor confirmed that there are items in the culinary program that contain alcohol, such as
bourbon or sherry in a sauce
Mr LeDoux stated that it does come down to policy,and that Boards of Selectmen usually do put some
conditions on the license Based on his experience as Town Manager, organizations used servers that
were TIP certified and who were able to recognize those who had been over-served He thinks there are
a lot of policies out there that would cover this, and he might be able to provide some
Ms DeLuca confirmed that for the next meeting,items to be included for follow up include
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• Draft guidelines,
• Types of events,
• Rules to be enforced;
• Liability issues from insurance Garners,
• Servers are tip certified and able to recognize people who are over served, and
• Liquor liability rider information
Ms Leone also suggested limitation to certain areas in the building,such as the restaurant and Paul Revere
Room
Mr Ruderman shared that he reviewed the fee schedule for the use of facilities, and the pncmg of the
auditorum/theater was high, due to the needs of organizations and what they would require, would run
several hundred dollars per hour He is womed about shutting out community organizations
Dr Bouquillon shared that he does not anticipate theater groups from other schools coming into
Minuteman and using our space, He has been reaching out to professional performing groups who want
to work with our program and put on a professional performance, and noted that if it was someone from
within the Distnct and connected to our curriculum,there is often no charge If the performance is going
to held and the audience will be charged a ticket price,Minuteman will charge to recoup costs
3) Use of School Facilities—Policy KF
VOTE: To approve the Use of School Facilities—Policy KF for first reading, as
presented
ACTION 2020#100
Moved(Leone)and seconded(Crocker),
To approve the Use of Facilities Policy KF for first reading, as presented
VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present 100%
Weight needed > 50%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining
Final percentage results of vote 100%
Final status of the vote. Unanimous
Roll Call
Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton)
Michael Ruderman(Arlington)
Dave O'Connor(Bolton)
Steve LeDoux(Concord)
Ford Spalding(Dover)
Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)
Judith Crocker(Lexington)
Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham)
Alice DeLuca(Stow)
4) Face Coverings—Policy EBCFA VOTE. To approve the Face Coverings—
Policy EBCFA for second reading, as presented
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Ms. Nourse asked about face masks for students with special needs who may be struggling and
urged that the first response not be a disciplinary one, but rather, is there an effort to work
things out first before moving to a disciplinary response
Dr Perreault shared that it would be more of an educational discussion, why they don't want to
wear it, and explain it is to keep everyone safe, and that disciplinary response would be the last
resort, and that to date, we have not seen any students opposed to wearing a mask. Participation
has been phenomenal, even dunng the summer school The response is educational, not
punitive
ACTION 2020#101
Moved(Leone)and seconded(Spalding),
To approve the Mask Policy EBCFA for first reading,as presented
VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present 100%
Weight needed. >50%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining
Final percentage results of vote 100%
Final status of the vote Unanimous
Roll Call.
Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton)
Michael Ruderman(Arlington)
Dave O'Connor(Bolton)
Steve LeDoux(Concord)
Ford Spalding(Dover)
Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)
Judith Crocker(Lexington)
Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham)
Alice DeLuca(Stow)
7. SECRETARY'S REPORT,Alice DeLuca
a Approval of Draft Minutes of September 8,2020
VOTE. To approve the draft minutes of September 8,2020, as presented
ACTION 2020#102
Moved(Spalding)and seconded(Leone),
To approve the draft minutes of September 8, 2020, as presented
VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present 100%
Weight needed > 50%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining
Final percentage results of vote 100%
Final status of the vote Unanimous
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Roll Call
Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton)
Michael Ruderman(Arlington)
Dave O'Connor(Bolton)Abstain
Steve LeDoux(Concord)
Ford Spalding(Dover)
Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)
Judith Crocker(Lexington)
Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham)
Alice DeLuca(Stow)
Ms Nourse reminded members to submit their committee goals to Ms Pisegna before October 6th,and
that the next School Committee meeting is scheduled for October 13th
8 ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business,the School Committee took the following vote.
ACTION 2020#103
Moved(Leone)and seconded(O'Connor)
To adjourn the meeting at 7 58 p m
VOTE 9 members in room at time of vote
Weighted Vote present 100%
Weight needed > 50%
Names of towns opposing or abstaining
Final percentage results of vote 100%
Final status of the vote. Unanimous
Roll Call
Pam Nourse, Chair(Acton)
Michael Ruderman(Arlington)
Dave O'Connor(Bolton)
Steve LeDoux(Concord)
Ford Spalding(Dover)
Jennifer Leone (Lancaster)
Judith Crocker(Lexington)
Jeff Stulin,Vice-Chair(Needham)
Alice DeLuca(Stow)
Respectfully submitted,
Julia Pisegna Alice DeLuca
District Assistant Secretary
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